|
Issue No. 177 | 09 May 2003 |
Joining The Dots
Interview: Staying Alive Bad Boss: The Ultimate Piss Off Industrial: Last Drinks National Focus: Around the States Politics: Radical Surgery Education: The Price of Missing Out Legal: If At First You Don't Succeed History: Massive Attack Culture: What's Right Review: If He Should Fall Poetry: If I Were a Rich Man Satire: IMF Ensures Iraq Institutes Market Based Looting
Combet Calls On Unions to Muscle Up Hotel Workers Trump Living Wage Abbott Brushes Security Concerns Rebates Thorn in Medicare Side Bosses Infected With SARS Hysteria Entitlements: Bargaining Chip Ploy Fails Nelson Plan Faces Higher Hurdle Public To Pay For Patrick Closure Airline Ratbags Bigger Than Texas Credibility Crisis for World Bank
The Soapbox Solidarity The Locker Room Postcard Bosswatch
Massive Attack Teamwork Tom Solidarity
Labor Council of NSW |
News Bosses Infected With SARS Hysteria
While Qantas is blaming its latest round of job cuts on the virus, Westpac, ANZ, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Macquarie Bank, Telstra, Lend Lease, Singapore Airlines and HSBC are among the corporate giants enforcing quarantine periods for staff travelling to Asia. Qantas this week briefed staff on unions on their latest round of staff cuts, drawing an angry reaction from the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union. "Qantas management should be absolutely ashamed of themselves", AMWU national secretary Doug Cameron says. "They are treating their staff as disposable during this difficult time while boasting to the share market about their cash reserves and payments to shareholders." "Qantas staff are shareholders in this company too. They have delivered the profits and the quality of service and safety. Qantas should be repaying that effort during the difficult times," he says. Banks Caught on Leave Balance Meanwhile, the Finance Sector Union this week outed two major banks - Westpac and ANZ - who were requiring staff to take 10 days leave, accessing their own sick or annual leave entitlements. If such leave is exhausted, the leave is decreed as unpaid. ANZ reversed this decision after the story went public, but a number of other employers are still asking workers to carry the can. Meanwhile, SBS is requiring all reporters who have been on assignment in SARS-affected regions to stay home, being forced to take the time out of their annual leave. NSW Health Department officials this week briefed union officials on the risk, confirming that forced 10 day stand downs of workers travelling to Asia were not necessary. Chief Health officer Greg Stewart told unions that only staff exhibiting flu-like symptoms returning from high-risk areas should be quarantined. He said general stand-downs need only apply to health workers. NSW Labor Council secretary John Robertson says its time for employers to take a reality check. "We have health experts telling us to be alert but not alarmed - maybe these are the people who should be setting the policy and not a bunch of SARS enthusiasts in the HR Department," Robertson says. "The bottom line is that employers should be the one's to bear the cost of any increased precautions - not the workers."
|
Search All Issues | Latest Issue | Previous Issues | Print Latest Issue |
© 1999-2002 Workers Online |
|