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Issue No. 165 20 December 2002  
 
F E A T U R E S

Interview: Taking Stock
Labor Council secretary John Robertson reflects on 2002 and outlines the challenges for the year to come.

Bad Boss: Pushing the Envelope
Ongoing and resolute commitment to principles advanced by Workplace Relations Minister Tony Abbott have seen Australia Post make history as the first recipient of the Tony Award, recognising Australia's worst employer.

Unions: The Year That Was
From Cole�s witch-hunt to funky union tunes, Peter Lewis reviews the biggest stories from the world of work in 2002.

Republic: Still Fighting
Three years since the constitutional referendum, and despite constant reports of its impending demise, the Australian Republican Movement is still around and active

International: Global Ties, Global Binds
Labourstart's Eric Lee files his annual wrap-up of the year from an international perspective.

Politics: Turning Green
Union support for the ALP is no longer a given, with trade unionists turning to the Greens, as Jim Marr reports.

Technology: Unions Online 2002
Social Change Online's Mark McGrath looks at what worked best for unions online in 2002.

Industrial: The Past Is Before Us
Neale Towart argues that 2003 will be a year where traditional industrial campaigns come back into fashion.

Economics: Market Insecurity
Sydney University�s Frank Stilwell looks back at 2002 from a political economist�s perspective.

Review: Shooting for Sanity
Michael Moore's new movie Bowling for Columbine looks at America's love affair with guns, writes Mark Hebblewhite

Poetry: The PM's Christmas Message
Workers Online has secretly obtained an advance copy of the text of the Address to the Nation that the Prime Minister plans to make. We reproduce the text below.

Culture: Zanger's Sounds of Summer
If 2001-02 was the summer of political and musical terror then this summer 2002-03 is where irreverent Aussie music runs rife.

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L A T E S T   N E W S

Abbott Gears For Grocon Stoush
Tony Abbott is hinting at federal government support for another bid to derail workplace democracy following overwhelming rejection of a non-union enterprise agreement at Grocon, Victoria.

Clearly disappointed by the 440-150 secret ballot result, the Workplace Relations Minister suggested voters would not necessarily get their way. [full story]

Delo Brushes Taubmans Pay Off
LHMU delegate Warwick Stackpoole turned down more than a year�s wages in order to win back his job at Taubmans Paints, Villawood.

Stackpoole and his nurse aide wife, Joyce, are being hailed �working class heroes� for their resistance to buy-off offers made by the company in a bid to have them take the money and run. [full story]

Restaurateur Takes Knife to Wages Protection
The sanctity of your wage packet is threatened by a Manly restaurant�s bid to evade more than $300,000 in back pay.

Labor Council has applied to join three African chefs in opposing a Restaurant and Caterers Association application to have �benefits� retrospectively discounted against outstanding wages . [full story]

Legal Double Whammy to End Year
NSW unions have ended the year with two big Commission wins, securing a right to payroll deductions and seeing off a bid to outlaw bargaining fees.

Labor Council secretary John Robertson said the twin decisions set the scene for unions to organise more vigorously, particularly in areas where they already have a presence.  [full story]

We�re Dreaming of a Sweat-Free Christmas
Fair Wear is staging demonstrations in major cities to pressure retailers to sign the National Ethical Code of Practice or risk the Christmas dollars of people unwilling to support outworker exploitation.

In an effort to �name and shame� retailers yet to sign the code, Fair Wear protestors have handed out information flyers telling shoppers which companies have, and have not, agreed to monitor their supply chains. [full story]

Star Organiser Takes Off
A young women who rebuilt union density in Qantas�s finance department has been recognised as the Labor Council NSW�s Organiser of the Year

Jennifer Acklin, a senior organiser with the Australian Services Union�s Airlines Division was awarded the prize and $2,000 to travel to extend her union experience. [full story]

ALSO MAKING NEWS

 Abbott's Xmas Message: Go To Jail

 Nurses Perform Wage Surgery

 Woolies Discount Spirit of Christmas

 New Collapses Prove Entitlements Farce

 Suncorp Ballot Draws Fire

 Unions On Big Day Out

 UN Migrant Worker Charter Welcomed

email workers to a friend latest breaking news from labornet
AWU members got in the Christmas spirit with a convoy of trucks delivering 50 pallets of food and gifts to drought-stricken comrades in Cobar. AWU delegate Marcus Weiland plays Santa.

E D I T O R I A L
There is little to celebrate from this new global dynamic and much to fear; yet the bitter irony is that the times are right for trade unions.

TOOL OF THE YEAR: Pure Madness

C O L U M N S

The Soapbox
Tread Carefully - Very Carefully
Nick Housten argues that structural weaknesses could keep federal Labor in Opposition for many years to come.

The Locker Room
A Year Of Two Halves
It was one of those years. It started with a lot of sport and it ended with a lot of sport. Noel Hester and Peter Moss check the runes and dish out the gongs in this year�s Workers Online Sports Awards.

Bosswatch
Footloose Capital
It was a year where the corporate world finally came close to consuming itself with bloated salaries, off the wall options and a string of mega-collapses

Predictions
Into the Beyond
Every year we ask our readers to gaze into the crystal ball. While history shows the view is mirky, we�ve don it again.


LETTERS to the Editor
 Refugee Review
 Representative Representatives
 Men Only?
 Dry Argument
 Vale: Phil Berrigan

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