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Issue No. 164 06 December 2002  
E D I T O R I A L

The Politics of Security
Long before the Tampa sailed onto our political stage, politicians of all colours knew security was the hot issue in the electorate.

F E A T U R E S

Interview: Trade Secrets
Federal Labor�s trade spokesman Craig Emerson is on a mission to bring the shady world of trade talks into the open

Industrial: It�s About Overtime, Stupid
An overtime free-for-all is at the heart of Australia�s hours explosion and it's time to look at a cap on hours, reports Noel Hester from the ACTU�s Working Hours Summit.

Unions: Full Steam Ahead
After two weeks of rallies around the state, rural Rail Towns are making a stand for jobs and safety. Jim Marr reports.

Bad Boss: The BBQ Battle Axe
Manly restaurateur, David Diamond, is a shoo-in for this month�s Bad Boss nomination, leaving Workers Online looking for a good employer who can undo some of his damage.

Economics: Different Dimensions of Debt
Professor Frank Stilwell presented the big picture on debt policy at the Evatt Foundation�s Breakfast Seminar

History: Raking the Coals
Labour historians Rae Cooper and Greg Patmore explain why today�s organisers have much to learn from the lessons of the past.

History Special: Wherever the Necessity Exists
Rae Cooper tracks NSW union organising between 1900-1910 to argue that today�s activists should be looking closer to home for inspiration

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.

History Special: A 'Cosy Relationship'
Barbara Webster looks at Rockhampton between 1916 � 1957 to debunk the �dependence� theory of trade union growth.

Politics: Regime Change for Saddam
Labour lawyer Jim Nolan looks at the challenge for the Left in the current geopolitical stand-off in the Middle East.

International: World War
Europe has suddenly come aflame with industrial action, Andrew Casey reports.

Corporate: Industrious Thinking
Neale Towart looks at the influence of German immigration on Australian industry policy in the post-war period.

Review: Jack High
Mick Molloy�s new flick Crackerjack tells the tale of a traditional bowling club struggling to stay afloat in an industry dominated by pokies, pokies and more pokies, writes Tara de Boehmler.

Culture: Duffy�s Song
Former Labor Council official Mark Duffy�s Sydney super band Sundial clocks in a bit of a corker.

Satire: A Nation of Sooks
The Strewth Institute's Tony Moore looks at the spate of defo suits and wonders if Australia has gone soft.

Poetry: Mr Flexibility
One of the key challenges facing unions, as the ACTU celebrates its 75th anniversary, is confronting the problems of increasing working hours and work intensity under the guise of "flexibility". Our resident bard, David Peetz, takes up that theme this week.

N E W S

 We Paid Witnesses Who �Lied�

 African Immigration Scam Widens

 School Staff Block Parents� Pay

 Yarra Operators Dodge Accident Probe

 Financial Windfall in Radio Sale

 Liza Fights For Her Stud

 Vic Anti-Union Campaign Backfires

 Car Workers Rev Up For Fight

 Coles Myer Breaks Out Of Sweat

 Police Sick of Being Kicked Around

 Jobless Dumped on Drought Farms

 Men Only Scholarships Hit Snag

 Vale: Peggy Errey

 Activists' Notebook

C O L U M N S

The Soapbox
Economic Migrants
A man - a worker - risks death by machine gun to escape what he is told is a 'workers' state'. He flees East Berlin through a tunnel, dug beneath a cemetery.

Awards
And the Winner Is �
It�s that time of the year when we honour the best. In the past week, both the IR Writers fraternity and ACTU have got in the act with more to come.

The Locker Room
More Post-Colonial Madness
Phil Doyle joins the fools and Englishmen out in the midday sun, and finds that it all comes at a price.

Bosswatch
Call Waiting
The Howard Government backs off its plans to privatise the rest of Telstra under market pressure. But it�s nothing like the pressure that former HIH directors are under.

Month In Review
Way Down
As Elvis might have said, if he had had a longer-term perspective �ooh, what a month it was, it really was such a month ��

L E T T E R S
 Old Silver
 The Golden (Th)Ong
 Overtime Cap is Flawed
 Outsourced Education
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News

African Immigration Scam Widens


More evidence of widespread immigrations rorts is coming to light as Manly eatery Ribs and Rumps sues for peace with its three South African chefs.

Workers Online has become aware of another three cases involving the alleged underpayment of restaurant workers imported to Australia under controversial Section 457 immigrations visas.
 
 

WA CPSU state sercetary Toni Walkington and delegate Maureen Armstrong lend their support

Two of the sponsored workers, Black South Africans like the Ribs and Rumps chefs, were employed in the Eastern Suburbs while the third saw service in an Indian Restaurant. The claims are about to be filed with the Chief Industrial Magistrate's Court in Sydney.

Section 457 visas allow business to bring specialist workers into the country on the basis that their skills are not available in Australia. So far Workers Online has discovered the provision being applied to farm labourers, machinery operators, construction labourers, and now cooks and chefs.

An earlier South African brought to Australia and paid less than $50 a week as a construction worker had been employed as a petrol pump attendant in his homeland.

He was whipped out of Wagga Wagga Base Hospital and flown back to the Republic after being seriously injured in an accident that claimed the lives of two other men.

Labor Council assistant secretary Chris Chistodoulou says the visas are being used to "exploit guests and undermine Australian wages and conditions at the same time".

Stinky Smells a Rat

Chirstodoulou was at a protest outside Ribs and Rumps, also attended by the CFMEU's giant rat Stinky, when company representatives sought to enter negotiations.

The restaurant, Restaurant and Caterers Association, and legal representatives of William Ndlovu, Reevis Khumalo and Elliot Dube will meet at the Labor Council offices on Monday in a bid to thrash out a settlement to the six-figure underpayment claim lodged by the trio.

Labor Council secretary John Robertson stressed any resolution would be in the hands of the chefs and their representatives. "We are more than willing to help bring the parties together but any agreement must be struck with the workers," he said.

"Our role is to support these men and pressure the Federal Government to stop using immigrants in their bid to cut the living standards of Australians."

Meanwhile, the CFMEU which has driven concern over immigration scams, has welcomed Labor Party green card proposals for guest workers.


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