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A Dry Argument
It�s interesting to watch the way the mainstream media has handled the devastating drought that has laid waste much of rural New South Wales.
Interview: Life After Keating
Labor's foreign affairs spokesman Kevin Rudd looks at the world and wonders what might have been ...
Industrial: That Friday Feeling
Anthony Stavropoulos has been working six days a week for the last eight years and now he wants his weekends back. �Remember that Friday feeling?� he asks. �You just don�t get that anymore.�
Bad Boss: Begging to Work
They may put themselves about as the Saints of the Fourth Estate, but bosses at the Big Issue Magazine have been nominated by their own vendors for this month�s Tony award.
Organising: Project Pilbara
Sydney University�s Bradon Ellem reports on how unions are bouncing back in Rio territory
Unions: Off the Rails
The Federal Government is attempting to turn NSW Railways into a political football with a proposal that threatens the safety of freight and passenger trains in NSW and life in our rail Towns, writes Phil Doyle.
International: Brazil Turns Left
Union stalwarts throughout the American hemisphere are cheering the election of Lula � the peanut seller and shoeshine boy, turned union leader - who has been elected as the first working-class President of Brazil.
Environment: Brown Wash
Stuart Rosewarn argues the Johannesburg Sunmmit was a gripping showcase of Australia�s lack of a strategic vision.
History Special: Learning from the Past
Ray Markey looks at union membership growth in the 1880s & 1900s to argue that today�s unions must engage to grow.
Corporate: Will the Bullying Backfire?
Job insecurity, unemployment, a growing gap between rich and poor, massive global poverty and environmental danger are the big issues for the protests at the World Trade Organisation meeting in Sydney.
Technology: Danger Lurks For The Passive
If unions fail to exploit opportunities on the web to gain members, other organisations are likely to fill the void and provide services to workers on the internet.
History: In Labour�s Image
Neale Towart looks at a long-overdue initiative to around NSW through the eyes of the workers.
Politics: Without Power Or Glory
South Coast contributor Rowan Cahill gives his take on the Cunningham by-election result.
History Special: A 'Cosy Relationship'
Barbara Webster looks at Rockhampton between 1916 � 1957 to debunk the �dependence� theory of trade union growth.
Culture: Blood Stains the Wattle
Former Queensland Treasurer Keith De Lacey has turned up in print with a rollicking tale of life during the famous Mt Isa strike of the 60s.
Satire: Iraq Pre-empts Pre-emptive Strike
Saddam Hussein has launched a pre-emptive strike on the United States to prevent it from pre-emptively striking Iraq first.
Poetry: The Executive Pay Cut
Executives accepting pay freezes, or even pay cuts? This outrageous proposal has been put on the table by some capitalists themselves, and taken up by our bard.
Review: Time Out
When a family man invents a new life after losing his steady job, Tara de Boehmler watches his charade escalate until there is no turning back.
 African Immigration Scam Widens
Unions in New Economy Breakthrough
Water Workers Told to Stay Home
Rural Campaign Against Rail Carve-Up
Seven's Deadly Sin: Email Access Denied
Vic Election: It�s Bracks �v- Jeff junior
Aboriginal Health Workers Denied Minimum Wage
Zookeepers Settle But Pay Stink Continues
Nurses Gear Up for Aged Care Action
Stoppage Over Rubbish Protection
Nurses Care For Themselves Too
New Roster Undermines WA Prison Security
Strike Rocks Israel
ICFTU: Japan No Workers� Paradise
STOP PRESS: Libs Plan $70m Arts Heist
Activist Notebook
Month In Review
War and Pieces of Work
The Bali Tragedy dominated the news this month, leaving many questioning the motive and wondering if this is fallout from Australia�s unquestioning support of George Dubya�s �War On Terror�. The Soapbox
Beware of Greeks Bearing Historical Allusions
Roland Stephens argues that the current popular line that the USA is a modern day version of the Roman Empire is flawed. The Locker Room
Over The Fence Is Out
Phil Doyle warms up for another season of hard hitting and fast bowling in the park, making the rules up as he goes along. Indigenous
The Sea of Hands
Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation are five years old. Spokeswoman Dameeli Coates addressed labor Council to mark the event. Postcard
Tokyo Youth Call
Tokyo unions are relying on young organisers to infiltrate workplaces as part of a major organising campaign, which focuses on non-unionised companies, reports Mary Yaager. Bosswatch
Still Crazy After All These Years
With new research suggests CEO carry similar personality traits to psycho-paths, the AGM season is proving that there�s little room for logic in our nation�s board rooms.
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News
Water Workers Told to Stay Home
Workers employed by Murray Irrigation have been asked to stay home one day each week because there is not enough water to keep the company operating at the same pace.
The Riverina Irrigation Company, which employs 125 workers, is the latest in a growing number of companies being forced to wind down operations because of the ongoing drought in NSW.
The company, the main supplier of water to properties in the Riverina region, has proposed that the workers take annual leave or long service leave for the one day per week where they would be stood-down.
"The workers and the union appreciate that the company is unable to operate at its normal pace due to all the work literally drying up," AWU state secretary Russ Collison says.
But the AWU thinks it's about time that the Federal Government step in and make up the short-fall in pay for workers who have been stood down.
"Its unfair for workers to have to eat up their hard earned leave entitlements because of the drought. It's high time that the Nationals start looking after their constituencies and help out the silent victims of this drought."
Drought Claims Rural Worker
Meanwhile, the AWU has called on the WorkCover Authority to double its resources in rural NSW after the death of a station hand using equipment to deal with the impact of drought.
The accident occurred this week near Warren, in the state's Far West, where a Station Hand was operating a Grain Auger, used to transfer grain from silos into trucks.
The worker was using the Auger to access reserve grain to feed stock, a process carried out more frequently during times of drought.
Russ Collison says he is aware of an increase in the use of this type of machinery, typically by workers with little or no experience in its operation.
"The drought calls on workers to use different equipment and techniques, often which they are not familiar with," Collison says.
"The AWU is calling on WorkCover to audit the changed work practices caused by the drought and implement special training and compliance to deal with these special practices."
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Issue 160 contents
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