
Issue No 16		04 June 1999

News

Rural Redundacies - Redeployment Confusion Reigns

Retrenched rail workers in Goulburn were told there were no alternate public sector jobs the same week another government department advertised for 60 vacancies in the area.

The NSW Labor Council will approach the Carr Government to improve communication between departments after the Rail, Bus and Tram Union brought the anomaly to light.

RTBU state secretary Nick Lewocki says the union was recently informed of the rationalisation of 25 Goulburn FreightCorp Terminal and were told there were no alternate government positions in the area for their surplus staff.

But less than a week later, the Goulburn Post carried a story that Corrective Services were recruiting staff in Goulburn, leaving the RTBU wondering what sort of effort had gone into finding redeployment opportunities.

"Since the deregulation and break up of the rail industry in 1996, over 2000 rail jobs have been abolished throughout all business enterprises," Lewocki says. "At no stage have management prepared an analysis of alternate employmnet opportunities for surplus employees".

Under state government policy workers who are made redundant are meant to be placed in other public sector jobs where they are available in the region.

Lewocki says the polic is important for the health of regional NSW, to ensure that families hit by economic restructuring are given the opportunity to find alternate public sector work.

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Issue 16 contents

Interview: Opening Australia
Lindsay Tanner talks about new ideas, new policy and new politics in the Information Age.

Unions: An Educated Fightback
A visiting US trade unionist reveals how training better union delegates is the key to reversing the membership slide.

Legal: A Fair Case for Free-Rider Laws
The proposal to enable unions to charge non-members a service fee for negotiating enterprise agreements is consistent with the principle of freedom of association.

History: New Ideas in Labour History
See the latest from the May issue of Labour History, A Journal of Labour and Social History.

International: Tiananmen Square Ten Years On
We remember the massacre and the role that working people continue to play in fighting injustice.

Review: Organising Our Future - What Use the US??
A new paper looks at what Australian unions can learn from the experiences of their American colleagues.

» State Wage Highlights Case for User-Pays

» Labor Hire Cowboys - the NFF Link

» Murder Call: Charge Bosses Who Kill

» Braddy Bunch to Lift Contractor Veil

» Rural Redundacies - Redeployment Confusion Reigns

» Woolies Shopfitters Win Back Jobs From Body Hire

» Political Payback: NSW Targetted in Costello Cuts

» Rio Tinto Buries the Truth

» Child Care Campaign out of the Blocks

» East Timor Mercy Ship heads for Dili

» Fabian Society Reforms

» Industrial Who�s Who Head for Geneva