|
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.
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.
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
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 ��
Old Silver
The Golden (Th)Ong
Overtime Cap is Flawed
Outsourced Education
|
other LaborNET sites |
|
Labor Council of NSW
Vic Trades Hall Council
IT Workers Alliance
Bosswatch
Unions on LaborNET
Evatt Foundation
|
|
|
News
Liza Fights For Her Stud
A Star City dealer and supervisor is fighting for her job - and the right to wear a tongue stud.
Union member Liza Fairburn has taken an unfair dismissal case to the Industrial Relations Commission, after being suspended without pay from October 2, 2002.
Casino management claim Liza breached Star City's Code of Conduct Grooming Standards by having her tongue pierced.
But Liza does not remember signing anything banning tongue studs when she started at Star City seven years ago. And management have not been able to supply her with a copy of the casino's original grooming policy.
'In any case, I believe they have gone too far by trying to tell me what I can wear inside my mouth,' Liza says. 'The Grooming Standards are out-of-date. Tongue studs are pretty common these days.'
Liza wore a clear retainer stud at work, but this did not satisfy management. 'They couldn't tell if I was wearing it. They asked me to stick out my tongue at a meeting once.'
At Liza's last staff review, management found she was 'consistent and careful in her personal appearance' and provided a 'professional and positive image of herself and Star City'.
Angered by management's intrusion, Liza has gone for more than two months without pay, rather than give in and remove her stud.
LHMU NSW Assistant Branch Secretary Mark Boyd says that Liza and other Union members should have the right to wear tongue studs.
'Presentation is important when you deal with the public at work. But Liza is very well presented, the company has acknowledged her high standards, and her stud does not detract from that,' Boyd says.
View entire issue - print all of the articles!
Issue 164 contents
|