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Issue No. 162 22 November 2002  
E D I T O R I A L

A Capital Idea?
The trade union�s hierarchy will travel to Melbourne to celebrate the ACTU�s 75th Anniversary next week; a journey that says much about where our peak body has come from and even more about where it should go now.

F E A T U R E S

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.

N E W S

 Scourers Face Q-Fever Risk

 New Vehicle for Entitlements

 It�s War on Bullies!

 Drivers Pack Down For World Cup

 Howard Shrugs off Spanish Shame

 Hunted Teacher Tells of Colombian Terror

 Cole Bias Appeal Still On Cards

 Extra Care To Beat Terrorist Threat

 Strains Increase for Aged Care

 Trades Hall Welcomes Bracks IR

 Rail Campaign Gathers Steam

 Workers Win Computer Games

 Wine Workers Front Bosses

 Regional Job Loss Fear At Unis

 Canberra Get In On Outworkers ACT

 Hounding of East Timorese �Shameful�

 WTO Staff Begin Pay Revolt

 Activists Notebook

C O L U M N S

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.

L E T T E R S
 Big Issue - Begging To Differ
 WTO Fallout
 Internet Surveillance Research
 Offensive Clowns
WHAT YOU CAN DO
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News

Regional Job Loss Fear At Unis

By Stuart Mackenzie

Staff at La Trobe University�s Bendigo campus fear that regional jobs may be transferred to Melbourne as the university seeks to improve the efficiency of its regional campus operations.

Almost 170 union and non-union staff attended a meeting this week to discuss the implications of a controversial administrative service review, which many learned of in a university newsletter.

It was one of the biggest meetings of academic and non-academic staff since the Bendigo campus was integrated as a faculty of La Trobe University in 1994, according to National Tertiary Education Union branch vice-president Mary Martin.

"It shows the level of dismay felt by staff over this administrative review and the ongoing loss of control over decision-making at the Bendigo campus," says Ms Martin.

The meeting unanimously voted against endorsing the review and called upon community leaders in Bendigo to undertake steps as necessary to retain quality university education for central and northern Victoria.

The review will examine aspects of the relationship between the Bendigo campus and La Trobe's main campus at Bundoora, Melbourne that were set out in the 1994 integration agreement between the former Bendigo College of Advanced Eduction and La Trobe University.

Many of these issues were subsequently reviewed in November 2001 in a comprehensive report on the University's regional operations that involved wide consultation with regional stakeholders.

At the time of integration Vice Chancellor Prof Michael Osborne promised that Bendigo would be an autonomous part of a larger organisation, according to Ms Martin.

"All we are demanding is that capacity to be autonomous as Prof Osborne promised," she said.

"What this administrative review does is remove that capacity and this is just one more example of decision-making occurring at a distance."

University management have strongly denied that Bendigo jobs are at risk and have said the review is intended to find ways of transferring funding from campus administration to academic departments.

However, Ms Martin said that university management could not guarantee that there would be no job losses and have said nothing is set in concrete.

Disclaimer: A relative of the reporter is an employee at La Trobe University, Bendigo.


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