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From New Labor to True Labor
Holroyd Council�s commitment to labour rights, embodied in the Memorandum of Understanding it signed with the NSW Labor Council this week, is a ground-breaking commitment by a leader in this important tier of government.
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.
 Worker Rights Battle Goes Local
Scourers Face Q-Fever Risk
Suncorp Feels Heat Over Candid Camera
Living Wage Claim Not Enough?
African Chefs Claim Visa Abuse
Bushfire Volunteers Pay Heavy Price
Win in Battle For Tea Break Rights
Reith Adviser Plots New Era of Lawlessness
Kinko�s Workers Win Copybook Campaign
Sparks Fly as Build A Life Rolls On
Rail Towns Fight For Jobs
Win For Aboriginal Health Workers
Safety Crisis in Detention Centres
Miners Take Up Westfund Cudgels
Wine Workers Go the Full Bottle
Performers Close to National Deal
Blair Caught in Industrial Fire Storm
Nurses Call Public Into The Pink On Aged Care
Environmental Research Washed Away
P&O�s Shame as Inspector Banned
WTO Must Incorporate Labor Rights
STOP PRESS: Esso Is To Blame
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.
Costello's Mad Plan
Bravo Costa!
Deck Chairs on the Titanic
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News
African Chefs Claim Visa Abuse
Evidence of abuse of business visas is growing, with lawyers claiming three black South African chefs have been underpaid more than $300,000 by a Manly Ribs restaurant.
Immigration Minister Philip Ruddock�s public dismissal of South African fears of an �organised racket� supplying employers with cheap black labour will be challenged when the cases go before the NSW Industrial Magistrate�s Court on November 26.
Lawyers for the African immigrants allege each has been dudded of more than $100,000 in wages and entitlements by Manly-based, Ribs and Rumps, operated by a white South African immigrant.
Workers Online understands the trio were brought to Australia as chefs on controversial 456 visas, designed for business people considering Australian operations. After three months they were transferred to 457 visas.
Representatives were unwilling to expand on the claims prior to hearings but it is understood that the bulk of their monies were repatriated to South Africa in rand.
The situation mirrors allegations raised by the CFMEU in regard to a worker injured in the Lake Cargellico tragedy that claimed two lives. Oagiles Malothane was spirited out of Wagga Wagga Base Hospital by persons close to the employing company and flown back to South Africa.
CFMEU secretary, Andrew Ferguson, claimed that "widespread rorting" of immigration processes was undermining wages, conditions and safety standards for Australians.
South African diplomats suggested Malothane was evidence that former white South Africans were effectively bringing apartheid to Australia, tying black labour in complex immigration knots to defeat Australian entitlements.
They were aware than another "illegal" worker, Abian Gumede, had committed suicide at Villawood Detention Centre after being arrested when he was under the impression he was being taken to the airport to be flown home.
Workers Online understands that Ribs and Rumps is not the only South African-owned restaurant in greater Sydney employing immigrant labour from the Republic.
South African diplomats have gone quiet on the issue since being sternly and publicly rebuked by the Australian Immigration Minister.
Ruddock's position is further undermined, however, by leaks from the APS which insist that five senior DIMIA offers have been posted to Australia's High Commission in Pretoria over the past month, heightening fears that applications are being speeded up, increased or both, at a time of serious concern about the whole procedure.
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Issue 161 contents
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