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Issue No. 168 | 28 February 2003 |
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Issue No. 168 | 28 February 2003 |
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************* There's no secret to getting ahead in the Australian media; adopt a right-wing persona and take a high paying gig as a columnist. It's so easy; slag off at lefties; take aim at the usual suspects - Aboriginals, refugees, trade unionists; regurgitate 'academic' work commissioned from right-wing' think-tanks; and, hey presto, you're a national media commentator. A former corporate lawyer from the Eastern Suburbs with no media background and big hair, Janet Albrechtsen has followed this script to the letter; bursting onto the national media scene with a regular column in The Australian where she takes pot-shots at the Left with a bravado that belies a thin skin.
Challenges of some of her more excessive attacks, such as her celebrated misrepresentation of a French academic's comments on sexual violence amongst ethic minorities - exposed on Media Watch - have met with a shrill response. And when Mark Latham listed her in his axis of media evil in Parliament (Janet, Piers and Andrew Bolt) she threw a hissy fit - demanding she apologise for referring to her as a "skanky ho". In response she has demanded a retraction in Parliament, claiming the incident has besmirched her virtue.
But the only thing Latham accused Albrechtsen of being loose with was the truth: "She has a history of inaccurate and malicious journalism, having been found guilty in several defamation cases. In one of her pro-USA columns in February this year, she fabricated words by General Norman Schwarzkopf.
Earlier this month, in her desperation to attack the union movement, she failed to disclose her personal financial interest in the collapse of Ansett. Then in a notorious exchange, Media Watch exposed her attacks on the Muslim community in this country as being based on plagiarism and journalistic fraud. She is David Brock in a dress.
Albrechtsen has not even attempted to refute these claims, preferring instead to launch a distinctly uncivil attack on Media Watch itself. If an academic, a politician or any other public figure had such an appalling record of inaccuracy, fraud and incompetence, they would be sacked -- no questions asked, just sacked. Albrechtsen's survival is a very bad reflection on the professional ethics and standards at News Ltd."
It was this twisting of the truth that informed Albrechtsen's attack on government funding of aid agencies like Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA, that see part of their role as working with communities in support of social justice. In her column Albrechtsen stuck to the right wing, go forward textbook, sighting an ideologically loaded report from the Institute of Public Affairs's Don D'Cruz called 'Dangerous Affairs' that laid into Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA for its work in Indonesia, arguing Australian taxpayers shouldn't be supporting these programs.
Ironically, her sister in bile, the SMH's Miranda Devine served up the first salvo in publicising the paper. While it may make good copy for the Tory columnists, this 'research' is wrong: No AusAID funds are used on Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA projects in Indonesia or on campaigns about West Papua. Now, Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA has responded to the latest attack, saying it is proud of its record of supporting campaigns for an independent, free, UN-sponsored referendum by the West Papuan people.
"Albrechtsen's suggestion that aid agencies are unregulated, unaudited and uninvestigated is grossly misleading," Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA director Peter Jennings says. "In fact, aid agencies accessing funds through the Australian government aid agency, AusAID, are subject to vigorous accreditation processes and regular reporting requirements. Further, information on NGO projects funded by AusAID is publicly accessible.
In contrast, commercial, for-profit companies which are the recipients of the bulk of AusAID funds hide behind commercial-in-confidence agreements and are increasingly non-accountable and non-transparent to the public.
Jennings says AusAID's own evaluations of the NGO sector have found that they are highly efficient, effective and give value for money (Review of Effectiveness of NGO programs - AusAID 1995). Almost 100 aid agencies in Australia are also signatories to a Code of Conduct with the Australian Council for Overseas Aid (ACFOA) which requires a high level of accountability and transparency. Even the right-wing think tank, the Institute of Public Affairs has conceded that ACFOA's Code of Conduct is world's best practice. "Albrechtsen overlooks the fact that only a tiny proportion of the total government aid budget is delivered through NGOs - in fact, less than 5% in 2002/2003," Jennings says. "The bulk is delivered through commercial, for-profit companies."
But these are facts that do not appear on a right-wing think tank's website. As such, they are not relevant to the right-wing commentators that peddle their wares in the press. Next time they talk about the 'media elites' dominating the debate, the likes of Albrechtsen would do well to consult a mirror.
BIS Shrapnel says the proposal to give Canberra control of the track was based on unrealistic costings that would leave NSW taxpayers exposed by up to half a billion dollars.
It says that while the short term financial benefits to NSW "are tempting", the proposal itself is seriously flawed and opens the State Government up to "substantial risks".
"While ARTC's revenue projects are reasonable, its cost projections are unachievable without leading to a serious degradation in the quality of the leased rail network over the longer term and, most probably, an associated deterioration in performance and safety standards," the report says.
Under the proposal the Australian Rail Track Corporation would take control of NSW rural rail through a 60-year lease; paying the NSW Government peppercorn rents and undertaking to invest $872 million over the first five years.
But the sting for workers is that the commercial viability of the track would revolve around reducing labour costs, with maintenance work contracted out at a cost of up to 1,500 regional jobs.
Rail unions have campaigned against the proposal, with a regional tour of Rail Towns last year under the banner 'Keep Our Railway Together', where mass meetings called on Treasurer Michael Egan to reject the proposal.
Those calls have been backed by the BIS Shrapnel report, commissioned by the Labor Council to determine whether the proposal met key public interest benchmarks.
Among the key findings
- the financial viability of the project was 'doubtful' with current costings understated by around $800 million.
- cost projections for track inspection, maintenance and minor works was at least a third below the estimated minimum required.
- the ARTC plan would lead to a substantial decline in employment, changes to manning and employment conditions, a shift from day labour to contract or sub-contracting and "(arguably) potential impacts on safety standards and the performance of the network.
The report also highlights an existing rail telecommunications network that currently provides access to emergency services, the RTA and education department at cost price. Under the ARTC proposal this would also transfer to Canberra, a cost not calculated in the current figures.
Rail Tram and Bus Union state secretary Nick Lewocki says the Carr Government should now advise the Commonwealth that the ARTC business plan failed to meet the agreed benchmarks and should not be proceeded with.
He warns that NSW faces a long-term track crisis similar to the one faced in Britain after rail privatisation, where the government was forced to inject 33 billion pounds to rescuer the system.
NSW Labor Council secretary John Robertson says that verdict is now in. "The independent advice is that there are no public interest grounds for this proposal to go ahead."
Current affairs program Today Tonight ran footage of the private, licensed, Sydney-based assessor accepting payments from a reporter that would have enabled him to operate a 60-tonne crane on a building site. While he was at it, the reporter also got rigger’s and dogmen’s tickets for $110 each.
The footage was screened hours after radio personality Alan Jones joined Labor Party front bencher, Robert McClelland, and Greens senator, Kerry Nettle, in launching First The Verdict, a book which argues the Commission brushed evidence of corruption in favour of a political vendetta against the country's largest building union.
Jones, a one-time Liberal Party activist, told cheering building workers Abbott should use the Cole Commission's report, due out this week, as a "doorstop on one of those Commonwealth garages".
"There is a better way of spending $60 million on employer-employee relationships than taking the stick to one particular union simply because it might suit the political agenda of the day," Jones said.
Union assistant secretary Brian Parker said corruption among private assessors had been raised with the Cole Commission.
"It was one of a number of corrupt practices we brought to the Commission's notice but they did nothing about," Parker said. "They failed to find the real corruption in the industry because they weren't looking for it."
Parker said the handing out of bodgy licenses was a serious health and safety problem for the whole community.
"We have seen too many cranes toppling over and too many scaffolds crashing into public streets. Sure, these things threaten our members but they jeopardise the safety of the general public as well," he said.
Since WorkCover assessing was privatised eight years ago, around 170 private operators have been accredited in NSW. The assessor at the centre of the Today Tonight sting has been suspended, pending an investigation, but the CFMEU argues the whole system should be revisited.
Parker says WorkCover must undertake a thorough audit of all its licensed assessors.
First The Verdict, argues that safety was one of a number of building industry issues sidestepped by Australia's most expensive Royal Commission. It cites the use of illegal immigrant labour, large-scale tax rorts, and phoenixing as other problems which didn't feature in public hearings because they couldn't be used to embarrass the CFMEU.
The uses Commission transcript to support its contention that evidence was selected and presented for its capacity to embarrass the CFMEU, whilst witnesses who had different stories to tell were sent packing.
Two groups of airlines workers were scathing about CASA’s “hands-off” approach to industry standards after it refused to censure Virgin or Qantas for taking shortcuts in the face of industrial unrest.
"It is standard for our people to go through two full weeks of emergency procedures before they are allowed to fly, then regular refreshers," FAAA assistant secretary, Michael Jijatov, reported after Qantas crammed casuals through a weekend safety course then used them to replace striking international cabin crew this week.
"CASA was informed of the potential safety implications but appears to have given them the thumbs-up," Mijatov said.
Qantas has added the 106 short-haul casuals to a roster of management, ex-management and overseas-based non-union crew on standby to scab in the event of further industrial action.
Fourteen hundred angry flight attendants overwhelmingly endorsed further industrial action in support of their EBA claims at a round of capital city stopwork meetings this week. Only one vote was recorded against the resolution.
The FAAA is battling to force Qantas to honour a "recognition" clause written into its last EBA. The company, which last week posted a record half-yearly profit, had agreed to "recognise" the contribution of cabin crew in return for a crewing agreement that has saved the company $40 million in wages.
Qantas argues its "recognition" does not need to be financial.
Meanwhile, the Licensed Engineers Association is furious at CASA's green light for a Virgin Blue cost-cutting measure that authorises pilots to perform sensitive safety checks, taking the place of qualified maintenance engineers.
"This is not World Best practice, it is World Cheapest practice," association president Michael O'Rance said.
"It is dumbfounding that CASA has weighed into this dispute in support of the airline.
O'Rance said his members had logged three incidents where pilots had approved aircraft that were, in fact, unfit for flight. The ALEA will put the matter before members at a round of stop work meeting next month.
O'Rance accused the federal safety authority of "doing the bidding of the airlines".
In other airline news, Air New Zealand was accused of double standards as Australian-based workers struck for the first time this week.
Ninety ground staff took industrial action after seven months of unsuccessful negotiations over wages and conditions.
ASU assistant secretary, Kristyn Thompson said the company had one rule for its managers and another for those who did the work. She was referring to a leaked memo from managing director, Ralph Norris, which set out pay rises and performance bonuses for managers, effective from February 1.
"Some of these managers have sat across the table and insisted workers who have not had a pay increase since 1999 take another 12 month wage freeze," Thompson said. "The hypocrisy is staggering."
Howard made those positions clear this week, drawing fire for his “meanness” from industrial and political labour.
The Federal Government rejected an ACTU claim for a $24 a week increase in the mimimum wage. Instead, the Coalition will argue that the figure, sustaining 1.7 million Australians, should be limited to $8.40, after tax.
ACTU secretary Greg Combet pointed out that $8.40 wouldn't even cover a day's bread and milk for the average family.
"In 2002, after the ACTU won an $18 increase, the government and employers said the sky would fall in. Instead, unemployment fell and job growth remained strong," Combet said.
"How can Howard and Tony Abbott tell 1.7 million Australians that $8.40 is all they are worth?"
Federal Labor Workplace Relations spokesman, Robert McClelland, said the Government figure represented an increase of 85 cents a day, after inflation.
"The Government has again sought to restrict the minimum wage increase to those earning less than $27,300 a year," McClelland pointed out, "despite this being rejected by the Australian Industrial Relations Commission in each of the past five years.
"A worker earning $28,000 would get no increase at all."
Howard, yesterday refused to move against massive corporate payouts. He said the corporate sector should "heal" itself, rather than be restricted by Government intervention.
The Prime Minister acknowledged public anger at the recent $33 million payout to former Commonwealth Bank executive Chris Cuffe, and the $23 million AMP lavished on departing bosses.
A champion of private enterprise, Howard said it would be "terrible" if Governments interfered to limit the size of payouts to executives.
The 13 staff, members of the National Tertiary Education Union, will stop on Tuesday over plans to cut a raft of leave entitlements, including one for menstrual stress.
The NTEU says the Labor-controlled SRC is pushing for a reduction in working conditions by offering pay rises a full four per cent lower than those achieved in the last agreement, demanding a cut in the existing sick leave entitlements and threatening to cease negotiating the agreement with the Union.
Tensions boiled over after a hearing in the AIRC last week when solicitor for the SRC, Turner and Freeman's Sian Ryan said that the existing leave entitlement for menstrual stress was discriminatory and "denigrated women".
Ryan refused to seek advice from the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission despite this being suggested to her as "common sense" by Senior Deputy President Duncan.
The NTEU has advice from HREOC that the leave entitlement was not in breach of anti-discrimination but was in fact a "special measure" aimed at eliminating indirect discrimination against women.
NTEU Industrial Officer Mark Dolahenty says that recent tactics of the Council, controlled by members of the Labor Party, are "the latest example of ALP members, purporting to be progressive and supporting rights of workers, acting quite to the contrary once they don the boss' cap".
"NTEU members at the SRC perform a vital function for the welfare of students of the university," he says.
"It is a disgrace that Joanna Haylen and her predecessor, Daniel Kyriacou, see fit to use perhaps their first occasion in the role of an employer to try and drive down conditions, and use student money to finance expensive legal tactics to attempt to do so."
Public transport workers will wear badges, building workers will hold stop work meetings and schools will conduct peace assemblies as part of coordinated action under the ‘Unions Work for Peace’ Banner.
The day has been earmarked to send a public message of opposition to John Howard's handling of the war and is part of a series of events in the lead up to the next major peace rally on Palm Sunday.
The Labor Council's Peace Committee has produced badges, posters and fliers for the day, all available through our No War on Iraq campaign page.
Local Action for a Global Problem
Union activists this week heard of the activities already going on in workplaces at a forum organised by the Labor Council of NSW:
- Finance Sector Union delegate Susan Walsh described how she had established 'Bennelong Against the War' and mobilised her workplace of eight to attend the recent rally.
- Public Service Association delegate Marie Hotschilt highlighted the importance of email lists in keeping members informed of what's going on in the campaign.
- And Teachers Federation delegate John Morris outlined how schools were planning peace assemblies and the lowering of flags to half-mast. Morris also called for a broader debate into a general strike should war be declared.
They were also briefed by Federal Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Kevin Rudd, who raised concerns about the inadequate preparations for the humanitarian crisis that would accompany any US strike.
Long-time peace activist Audrey McDonald also outlined how workers had declared worksites 'peace jobs' during the Vietnam War.
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NSW MUA members took their argument to the St Leornards headquarters of Intercontinental Ship Management (ISM) this week to mark the return to Australian waters of the formerly Newcastle-based Wallarah. ISM reflagged the vessel last year under the increasingly-discredited Tongan Flag of Convenience and returned it to the Australian coast with exploited guest labour.
International transport groups have called for the Tongan registry to be closed after vessels flying the flag of the island state were linked to terrorist groups, including Al Queda, and other criminal activities.
Only last week, the International Maritime Bureau reported that crime syndicates based in Lebanon, were using a Tongan registered vessel to work a multi-million dollar cargo theft scam.
MUA national shipping campaign co-ordinator, Sean Chaffer, said fully-trained Tongan seaman working the Wallarah were reported to be earning less than $200 a week.
"It's just not acceptable that companies can employ people on sub-standard pay to work our coast," he said.
Chaffer said there were also environmental and security threats posed by Transport Minister John Anderson's championing of Flag of Convencies shipping.
The vessels are only able to work the Australian coast, and evade the country's tax, commercial and labour regulations, by getting permits from the Federal Government.
Industry sources say that some qualified seamen sailing under the Tongan flag are paid as little as $93 a week.
Palestinian spokeswoman, Abla Masrujeh, told Workers Online why she and delegates from Morocco, Tunisia and Lebanon felt compelled to write a letter to organisers outlining their concerns.
Two issues grated with the letter writers - the refusal of organisers to oppose war in the event of UN sanction, and their unwillingness to describe the Palestinian situation as an "occupation".
"We are opposed to war, fullstop, in these circumstances," Masrujeh explained. "If the UN gives its assent it will be because it is dominated and controlled by the United States.
"We know about weapons of mass destruction because the Israelis have already used chemical weapons against our people.
"Unfortunately, the organisers would not allow a vote on their draft resolution, despite our concerns."
Masrujeh said it was because Palestinians lived under "occupation", that Israel had had been able to stop her colleague, Anan Qadri, a Public Service International executive member, attending the Melbourne conference.
Much of the work of the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions, for whom she is Women's co-ordinator, reflects the reality of occupation.
From 87,000 paid-up members two years ago it is now, predominantly, an unemployed organisation.
Israeli moves to seal off the West Bank and Gaza Strip, along with numerous towns and settlements, meant thousands could go no longer get to work. Even when Palestinians live next to their place of employment, enterprises no longer able to trade with the outside world, had been shut down.
According to the UN, unemployment in the Palestinian Territories is 63 percent.
Unions have responded by concentrating on social, rather than workplace organising, agitating on behalf of families.
In the past two years they have won significant gains - free health services for members and their families; waved school fees for sons and daughters of the unemployed and a US$100 one-off payment for all families of more than seven people, courtesy of a deal struck with the Saudis.
The reality of trade unionism in the territories puts our brushes with Tony Abbott and Jonathan Hamberger into perspective. Three times in the past two years, PGFTU offices have been shot up by US-supplied, Israeli F16 fighter planes.
Despite her disappointment at an Iraq resolution designed to placate all, Masrujeh said the ICFTU women's conference in Melbourne had been "very useful" and there was no chance of Palestinians walking away from the organisation.
"We didn't get everything we wanted but we did get some changes," she said. "It was just disappointing that people weren't prepared to give us more say on something that affects us so vitally.
"In the event of war, Palestinians will suffer more than most."
Labor Council secretary John Robertson said in the current climate of family values, provisions in the Illawarra Mutual Building Society document could only be regarded as "neanderthal".
The IRC over-ruled ASU objections that the agreement failed to meet the No Net Detriment Test that must be overcome to allow registration, provoking union secretary Michael Want to demand a clear definition of the term.
Want said the agreement deleted a shift work clause, expanded ordinary hours from Monday to Saturday, and only provided for overtime after workers completed 150 hours in a four-week period.
The decision reinforces fears that employers are assaulting the clerical and admin sector in a bid to knock over long-established safety net provisions.
It comes hard on the heels of an Employers First bid to vary the NSW Clerical and Administrative state award to expand ordinary hours to between 6am and 10pm, Monday to Sunday.
Currently, clerical workers get penal rates for work performed outside 6am - 6pm, or 6am - midday on Sundays.
Want said employer arguments that the Illawarra Mutual agreement provided workers with "flexibility" were dishonest.
"The only flexibility available in this document comes at the whim of line managers," he said. "It is not available to the worker as a right."
Want pointed out that the new, inferior conditions would apply only to new workers who hadn't had any opportunity to endorse them. He said they would create a "two-tier" system of wages and conditions in the workplace.
The Australian Coalition for Cultural Diversity - which includes the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance, the NSW Musicians' Union and the Australian Writers' Guild - is fighting plans to include cultural industries in the trade talks.
They've taken their battle to the global stage, receiving the backing of delegates at the recent 2nd International Meeting of Cultural Professional Organisations in Paris.
More than 400 delegates from 35 countries and over 100 organisations endorsed a resolution for cultural services and industries to be exempted from the bi-lateral trade negotiations.
And they warned that current negotiations between Australia and the US could set an international precedent of aggressive liberalisation of cultural services if left unchecked.
Opening the Conference, last month, French President Jacques Chirac warned that culture must never bow under to trade. " Culture will give us the weapons we need to deal with globalisation, this new challenge in the adventure of the human race," Chriac siad.
Coalition member, Megan Elliott, who was in Paris for the Australian Writers' Guild, says she's concerned that unless workers understand the issues and assist in the campaign, the Australian Government might not realise the danger to Australian jobs and culture until it is too late.
The Coalition is warning the Australian Government not to make any agreements in bi-lateral negotiations until a proposed UNESCO treaty on cultural trade has been fully considered.
Writers Registered As A Union
Meanwhile, the Australian Writers Guild has formally applied to the Australian Industrial Relations Commission to be registered under the Workplace Relations¹ Act, 1996 and be registered as an Industrial Organisation.
Elliott says the move has full support of the membership and is partly responsible for the seven per cent increase in membership experienced in the past three months.
"Stronger industrial muscle, our continued commitment to lobbying Government and representing our members interests on issues as vital as culture and trade and the development of a more robust professional development plan, means that more than ever performance writers are ensuring that they're part of the AWG," Elliott says.
AWU national secretary, Bill Shorten, puts genetic testing at the top of a list of employer-driven privacy invasions that should be resisted by the labour movement.
"Your DNA can tell the story of your heritage, your present and potentially your future health," he said. "What right does any employer have to such personal information? And yet it is not science fiction. In the name of security, some companies are already using fingerprints as a swipe card for access to the workplace.
"They intrude by psychometric testing to discriminate between prospective employees; by spying on emails under the pretext of ensuring the content complies with company policies.
"Companies are trying to introduce drug and alcohol policies, which punish workers.
"A modern role for unions is to protect our members' rights to a private life."
The AWU national conference passed a resolution commiting it to protecting workers from random drug and alcohol testing and biometric technology.
Warning As Barrier Council Turns 80
The Barrier Industrial Council has marked its 80th Anniversary with a warning that unions needed to regain its heartland, including the Broken Hill mines, if it is to survive into the 21st century.
Barrier Industrial Council president Brett Campbell told the dinner that unions needed to increase membership and forge close relationships with each other if they were going to continue to be a force.
The eighth and youngest president of the BIC told guests that in Broken Hill, that included greater union representation at the local mine.
" The very workforce upon which the BIC was created has in recent times abandoned the union movement," Campbell said. "This shows disrespect to those who fought for the conditions workers enjoyed today.
Campbell said in the absence of a strong mining union it was being left to other unions and groups in the city to continue the fight for workers' rights.
But he said the union movement generally, including Broken Hill, needed a return to activism, where more people were prepared to get involved with unions at every level.
About 200 people, including former union leaders, attended Friday night's dinner at the Trades Hall. The night was also used to present a number of union service awards.
NSW Labor Council president Sandra Moait later told the dinner that a battle was currently being waged between those who viewed unions as part of the solution to today's workplace pressures, and those who didn't.
She said Federal Workplace Relations Minister Tony Abbott's vision of a world where bosses and workers have equal bargaining power was an insult to the memories of the visionaries who built unionism.
Barrier Industrial Council president Brett Campbell told the dinner that unions needed to increase membership and forge close relationships with each other if they were going to continue to be a force.
The eighth and youngest president of the BIC told guests that in Broken Hill, that included greater union representation at the local mine.
" The very workforce upon which the BIC was created has in recent times abandoned the union movement," Campbell said. "This shows disrespect to those who fought for the conditions workers enjoyed today.
Campbell said in the absence of a strong mining union it was being left to other unions and groups in the city to continue the fight for workers' rights.
But he said the union movement generally, including Broken Hill, needed a return to activism, where more people were prepared to get involved with unions at every level.
About 200 people, including former union leaders, attended Friday night's dinner at the Trades Hall. The night was also used to present a number of union service awards.
NSW Labor Council president Sandra Moait later told the dinner that a battle was currently being waged between those who viewed unions as part of the solution to today's workplace pressures, and those who didn't.
She said Federal Workplace Relations Minister Tony Abbott's vision of a world where bosses and workers have equal bargaining power was an insult to the memories of the visionaries who built unionism.
That is Teachers Federation president Maree O'Halloran's take on a Carr Government announcement that no extra money would be made available for comprehsive schooling.
O'Halloran said three separate, and independent reports - from the auditor general, the Productivity Commission and Prof Tony Vinson - had all identified under-investment in education as a problem for NSW.
"Instead of mapping out a positive future for public education with planned increases to target areas, the Government spins figures to dispute all three reports," O'Halloran said.
But teachers face a problem common to many employee groups in the countdown to the state poll.
"The plan announced by the Government contains some positive concepts," O'Halloran admitted. "The Coalition, by contrast, would continue to damage comprehensive schools which provide all-round-excellence in favour of the few who can attend selective schools."
Urban myth or fact, the Brits have launched a campaign which aims to enshrine the rights of workers to take toilet breaks without facing victimisation - pay docking, surveillance, warnings or other forms of employer pressure.
Hazards has revealed that workers in many industries are facing health risks because employers are determined to punish workers for any productivity lost while on the loo.
According to Hazards, stingy bosses at a Brown Brothers' factory in Scotland docked their workers' wages for the time they spend in the loo.
"The workers' union TGWU objected after the 200 staff were issued with smart cards that deducted their pay for the time they're away from the factory floor," Hazards says.
It says one worker lost an entire day's pay for time spent on the toilet.
Australian employers also get a mention thanks to Mount Isa Mines' installation last year of permanent cameras in the toilets of a drug testing facility. The cameras were capable of close-up filming of both men and women urinating. At the time it was condemned as a gross invasion of privacy and "an example of drug testing policy gone mad" by the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union.
Hazards says there is a range of negative health impacts from not being able to go to the toilet when nature calls, including: urinary tract infections; renal damage ; constipation; abdominal pain; diverticuli; haemorrhoids; bowel distension; and incontinence.
Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA 2003 Raffle
First Prize: Round the World trip for 2
Just imagine - you and a friend heading off around the world on the trip of a lifetime!
Every ticket gives you the chance to win a ticket for two to travel around the world; $720 spending money; one night's accommodation in London (stop-overs possible on the way to and from London).
Second Prize: A personal computer
Win a state-of-the-art Optima Pentium 4 Computer with 2.4Ghz, 20 Gb hard drive, 256 RAM, 17" Monitor, 56k Modem and CD burner.
The 2002 Raffle is proudly sponsored by Members Equity, ACTU Member Connect and Virtual Communities.
All proceeds assist Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA campaign for human rights and justice in developing countries.
Order a book of tickets today. 10 tickets per book - $2 each ticket
A gift of a 34cm remote control colour TV for seller of winning ticket. A gift of a 34cm remote control colour TV for seller of most tickets.
Contact us by email ([email protected]) or by phone on 02 9264 9343 with your name and address along with how many books you'd like to order.
**************
GATS Forum
As part of the Inquiry into the General Agreement on Trades and Services (GATS) initiated by the Federal Parliamentary Labor Party Task Force, Tanya Plibersek, Member for Sydney, in conjunction with Dr Craig Emerson, Shadow Minister for Innovation, Industry and Trade, will be holding a community forum looking at GATS and the proposed US-Australia Free Trade Agreement.
Dr Craig Emerson will be speaking alongside representatives from AFTINET and the trade union movement.
This forum is open to anyone who wishes to attend. Details of the GATS forum are:
Sunday March 16 2003, 2 - 3.30 pm
> Redfern Town Hall
> Pitt Street, Redfern
>
Regarding John Howard, his support for a war with Iraq,
and his critisism of those who are against war.
The first thing to grasp, is that the American economy is bankrupt. It has been bankrupted by deregulation and free trade, the likes which the Howard government has been pushing as hard as it can.
The deluge of imports into America, has caused destruction of much industry and agriciulture, and thus the destruction of millions of good paying jobs, and the US, which was once a producer nation, has become a consumer nation.
The deliberate manipulation downward, of the currencies of nations that export to the U.S., has meant that goods from such countries, which includes from developing countries where labour is very cheap in comparison -- has meant that the U.S. has been living off the rest of the world.
But Australia also, is similarly living off the cheap labour and collapsed currencies of nations further down the ladder, and this has been causing, as in the U.S., the destruction of Australia's Industry, Agriculture and well paying jobs.
Such is the effect of the deregulation and free trade policies which are being pushed globally by the financier elite, who via a global system of think tanks, help write the policies which governments legislate for them, to ensure this all happens.
So in effect, the results of free trade, is the running of nations, businesses, and ordinary people into unpayable debt, or in reality, placing them under the thumbs of the financier elite.
So getting back to the situation in America. The U.S. has accordingly, run up huge trade deficits. This fiscal year alone, such will be near $500 trillion.
These trade deficits are unpayable as the U.S., because of the high dollar value and more, can no longer pay for its imports with physical goods it once produced.
So the U.S. has been saying to nations which export to it: "let us put the U.S. dollars we owe you into our financial markets and we will give you a good rate of return".
So this is what happened and these importers in effect, thus became international investors.
This worked well at the start, the "dollars owed"
were placed into the U.S. financial markets, thus creating the biggest financial debt bubble in human history.
As the stock market indexes soared on account of all this debt being thrown in, the world was told by the elite controlled media, that this was because the U.S. economy was booming. This was a lie.
The truth is that the high stock market index, was a sign that the U.S. economy was collapsing into bankruptcy (for the above reasons).
So in the year 2000, industry profits and other things,
such as the NASDAQ, which had been propped up by the Y2K hoax, started collapsing and the so called international investors started pulling their owed capital out of the U.S. financial markets.
That is the cause of the financial market collapse in the U.S. A similar situation surely exists in Australia -- so be prepared. -- The financial markets in the U.S. are thus, being propped up presently, by the looting of the real economy such as health, education and much more. So the U.S. economy is bankrupt and is beyond saving under the present policies.
U.S. GDP is some 10 trillion and yet the debt servicing in capital and interest is now some 7.3 trillion dollars. 46 out of the 50 states are bankrupt with unpayable budget deficits with California's alone well over $25 billion.
Some states even now have four day school weeks as funds dry up.
So that may give you an idea, as to the real urgent reasons why U.S. insiders urgently want war.
The same deregulation, free trade and speculation policies which Australian Prime Minister John Howard has been pushing has caused the bankruptcy, not only of the U.S. economy, but also of the global financial system with outstanding debt some $400 billion.lion.
These are the real reasons why the war is urgent. The war is required for the coverup and excuse for the biggest financial debt bubble crash in human history which is about to hit us all.
But Mr Howard is also supporting the U.S. President in a war of aggression against another nation. This is in defiance of the U.S. constitution and in defiance of international law.
The Nuremberg trials after World War II sentenced many leaders who did such things, to hanging.
But terrorism also is being used as a tool to justify such a war -- while it is documented quite clearly, how those who are now calling for the war, are the ones who funded and built up the same terrorism on which they are now using for an excuse for the war they want.
The policy for the above mentioned war, was handed down by Richard Perle, on July 8, 1996 to then Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. It spelt out future Israeli Foreign Policy. Richard Perle is now Chairman of the U.S. Defense Policy Board.
The war policy entitled "A Clean Break: A New Strategy for Securing the Realm," was written for the Jerusalem and Washington based Institute for Advanced Strategic and Political Studies.
Amongst other things, it calls for the scrapping of the Oslo peace Accords and the elimination of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad as a FIRST STEP towards overthrowing or destabilising the governments of Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Iran.
There is much more to all this of course.
You won't read or hear about it on the main media because the main media has vested interests in pushing the war for the elite which it represents and who run it.
Mr Howard surely knows about all the above though, hence his ardent support for the war and his critisism of all who oppose the war.
Much more on all this can be found at
http://www.nex.net.au/users/reidgck
Yours Sincerely Graeme Reid
Victoria
I worked for almost 35 years , was a union member, but never knew about Currawong. I feel I was somewhat used as an artist when I donated a small work for fundraising. I thought it was more to do with PPLands . However, my point is that unions do not advertise the availability of Currawong to workers- which is why it has probably been hijacked by pople in the know rather than being available for 'worker's holidays' as originally conceived.
It should be advertised widely AND there should be a limit to how many times someone can use it within a specified period of time. This would make it more democratically available.
If the costs of maintaining it are too high, the price should be raised somewhat ( I do not know how much it costs now, however). If the Labor Council keeps the property, please make it more democratically available. Alternatively, donate it to National Park s for inclusion in Kuringai.
Megan Jones
ABOUT The penality rates.
I can remember the hotels clubs shops etc closed on sat and sun; then they put in for extended hours etc now they don't want to pay penality rates.
So why not revoke their licences? I mean, penalty rates should be going up not down so people can work reasonable hours and spend time on recreation and with their families etc if they cant afford penalty rates then open and work normal hours if this rubbish goes ahead what kind of country do we want and how is this going to attract young couples to start families.
This will really do wonders for quality of life and the aging population. I hope every worker in the country really stands togeather on this one so this would never be brought up again
DA
Thanks to NSW Labor Council for Organising a meeting of unionists to discuss the anti-war campaign. But where was the serious discussion about what unionists and the power of unions could actually acheive?
I found the feature speaker dry and dispassionate and frankly out of touch with the understanding of a large layer of workers. As one of the inspirational workplace delegates pointed out, people in her workplace went to the February 16 rally because they wanted to do something. Anther delegate showed that workers are not timid when he explained that one member called for the peak union bodies to organise a general strike. Most workers are looking for some leadership, and certainly more than a badge wearing exercise, to express their opposition to this war.
There was no time allowed for open discussion and the formal proceedings failed to indicate that unions in other states have discussed and endorsed strike action against the war. Delegates at the meeting also missed hearing the news that a 300 strong Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union delegates meeting in Sydney, 2 days prior, had voted to stop work if bombing begins. They also didn't get the report that the National Tertiary Eduction Union state division has unequivocally opposed war on Iraq and encouraged campus-based branches to stopwork if bombing starts. Macquarie University and University of Technology branches have already passed such motions. It wasn't even mentioned that the ACTU's Sharon Burrow threatened industrial action against the war in a recent speech.
Where were the fantastic exchanges about international union activity? The US unions who have established Labor Against the War, the British rail workers who have refused to carry military equipment? The French and Italian unions that are supporting industrial action? If we are serious about stopping the brutal and inhumane attack on Iraq we need to encourage the most powerful sector of society, organised workers, to take action that is felt in the hip pocket of the corporate and political elite.
Melanie Sjoberg, NSWPSA Delegate and Women's Councillor
We've long argued that AWAs were a dangerous experiment, but Abbott's play on university funding will see ideology undermine our national interest in a way we have never previously comprehended.
It follows on the heels of his aborted attempt to dictate the employment conditions on the MCG redevelopment; a move that prompted the Bracks Government to suggest where he could stick his federal funding.
But the university salvo shows the Mad Monk is on the war path; frustrated by his failure to push nasties through the Senate he is using federal funding as the vehicle for promoting his preferred model of industrial (de)regulation.
While his particular focus is obnoxious, the actual tactic demands closer scrutiny for those of us interested in imposing industrial decency at a time when governments are increasingly loath to regulate.
Indeed, the late twentieth century penchant for contracting out government services means there are more businesses than ever relying, at least in part, on government contracts to maintain their growth and profits.
Short of the sort of regulation that spooks the markets, this public purchasing power could be the most effective tool in changing the way companies treat their workers.
If Abbott can withhold public money on the grounds of ugly IR policies, why shouldn't Labor Governments do the opposite and require decency?
The first step is to develop codes of conduct, such as the one negotiated between the Labor Council of NSW and the Carr Government - where the Department of Public Works must have regard to a company's industrial relations policies when considering tenders.
Most would agree that a company should comply with the law when performing public work; but why shouldn't we impose additional standards that can be applied to ALL its projects.
And let's not stop at work relations - let's also add corporate governance and environmental standards. Why should public money prop up a company that's paying its executives multi-million dollar salaries? Why should our taxes go to contracts that deliver sustenance to serial polluters?
And what about government employees flying on an airline that is prepared to take massive profits and pay their executives big bonuses while slashing staff?
If we are serious about setting new rules within society, we should be asking our elected representatives to consider our massive purchasing power. Let's use the excesses of contracting out to strike a new deal between the people and the corporate world, with the State as our bargaining agent.
Abbott a force for positive change? Hardly. But his bully boy tactics may set a template for progressive governments fighting the growing power of corporates who suck at the public teat.
Peter Lewis
Editor
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