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Issue No. 200 | 24 October 2003 |
The Hard Yards
Interview: No Ifs, No Butts Unions: National Focus Industrial: Fools Gold Bad Boss: Bones of Contention History: The Gong Show Politics: The Hawke Legacy International: Sick Nation Economics: Closed Minds Review: Mixing Pop and Politics Poetry: One Size Fits All
Workers Rally For �Joel�s Law� It�s Official: Courts Weak on Safety Cole Insider Highlights "Agenda" "Racism" as Pacific Islanders Rorted Academics Appeal to International Umpire Poll Points to Hospital Overload Aussie Icon Set To Head Overseas AWU Rejects Bid to Fleece Shearers People�s Bank to Hear From People Unions Put Students in Picture Memo ALP Members: Think About Unions
Postcard The Soapbox Media The Locker Room Culture Politics Postcard
Advance Australia Where? God Save Us All US Seeking Aussie Info Call The Doctor Bring Back Gough Bring Back Social Democracy Look East, Look West
Labor Council of NSW |
News Activists Notebook
Urgent Event on Monday 27th October SAFETY MEETING and MARCH 11AM MONDAY 27 OCTOBER 2003. Meet: Sydney Town Hall Square 11am. Regional Centres: Wollongong: Amphitheatre, Wollongong City Mall. Newcastle: Newcastle Trades Hall, Ground Floor meeting room. Joel Exner was 16 years of age. He was killed on Wednesday October 15. Joel was killed when he fell 15 metres through the roof of a storage shed under construction at Eastern Creek. The Building Unions intend to ensure justice for Joel and his family and friends. Joel had the right to live. He was a keen footy player for Blacktown City Rugby Club. Joel was killed on his third day on the job. He left school to help his mum out with finances. Now he is dead. Unions have been fighting for a long time for the implementation of a crime of industrial manslaughter. It was passed at ALP State Conference but this is not enough. It is a crime. We want laws that ensure that if workers are killed due to negligence, bosses can be and WILL be jailed. In NSW one worker dies every TWO days from accidents and workplace diseases. Enough is Enough. Please come and show your support for this important cause and remeber Joel and every other worker who has been killed whilst at work. BREAKFAST SEMINAR TUESDAY, 28 OCTOBER commencing at 8.15am to meet DAVID BARSAMIAN, US journalist and media critic. A FREE breakfast will be provided (sponsored by JUST Super). A brief CV for David is provided below. He is a well respected commentator on mainstream and alternative media. This is an opportunity for people working in the media to discuss and debate the role and function of the mainstream media, propaganda, corporate policy and US foreign policy. Where: Alliance office, 4/221 Queen St, Melbourne. When: 8.15am (until 9.30am), Tuesday 28 October. RSVP: essential for catering purposes to email: [email protected] or tel: 03 9691 7125 (by 3pm Monday 27 October). Who is David Barsamian? David Barsamian is the founder and producer of Alternative Radio, the award winning independent public affairs program syndicated to over 125 radio stations and millions of listeners across the United States. He is the author of ten books including "Propaganda and the Public Mind" with Noam Chomsky, "Confronting Empire" with Eqbal Ahmad, "Culture and Resistance" with Edward Said, "The Future of History" with Howard Zinn and "The Decline and Fall of Public Broadcasting". David is the winner of the ACLU's 2003 Upton Sinclair Award for independent journalism and the Institute for Alternative Journalism named him one of its 'Top Ten Media Heroes.'
David lectures widely on the role and function of the mainstream media, propaganda, corporate power and US foreign policy. From railways to information superhighways at Sydney's Eveleigh railway workshops linking history, heritage and business partnerships through time and space Associate Professor Lucy Taksa School of Industrial Relations and Organisational Behaviour Date: Monday, 27 October 2003 Time: 12.00pm - 1.20pm Venue: Room 2093, 2nd Floor West wing, Quadrangle Building, UNSW ******************************************* Patterns of Union Joining in New Zealand: Causes, Characteristics and Consequences. Results of the NZ Worker Representation & Participation Survey Professor Peter Boxall University of Auckland Business School Do New Zealand workers join unions for ideological or instrumental reasons? Is there an unsatisfied demand for union representation in New Zealand? What are the consequences for NZ unions as they strive to increase membership levels? This seminar reports findings from the New Zealand Worker Representation and Participation Survey conducted in January and February this year by Peter Haynes, Peter Boxall and Keith Macky. One thousand New Zealand workers were surveyed about their experience of work, including their felt and desired levels of influence over a range of issues and their attitudes to union representation. Peter Boxall is Professor of Human Resource Management and Head of the Department of Management and Employment Relations at the University of Auckland. From 1990 to 1991, he was a Research Fellow in the National Key Centre in Industrial Relations at Monash University and in 1998 was Visiting Professor in the Work and Employment Research Centre at the University of Bath. His work on HR strategy has appeared in such journals as the Journal of Management Studies, the Human Resource Management Journal, and Human Resource Management Review. His recent book with John Purcell, Strategy and Human Resource Management (Basingstoke and New York: Palgrave Macmillan), brings together much of his work in this field. His work on union strategies and on the reform of the New Zealand labour market has appeared in such journals as the British Journal of Industrial Relations and the Journal of Industrial Relations. Date: Monday, 3 November 2003 Time: 12.00pm - 1.20pm Venue: JG Seminar Room 119, 1st Floor, John Goodsell Building, UNSW For more information contact Marie Kwok on 9385 7156 or [email protected]
Volunteering in Palestine: an Information Evening
Two Western Australians - a union Organiser and an International Solidarity Movement activist - will share their recent experiences volunteering in Palestine. Internationals perform an important role in bringing people's attention to the tragic suffering of Palestinians under Israeli occupation. � We listen. � watch in horror. � be the media. � write about and tell people back home what we see and feel. � By simply being there, provide protection for civilians against violent settler attacks and Israeli Occupation Force war crimes. � reduce the risk factor for Palestinian farmers, women, workers, students and men to revitalise their history of nonviolent resistance against Israeli's policies of ethnic cleansing. � participate in Palestinian-led direct actions. � meet and work with amazing people from throughout the world. � We learn and change before returning home, not seeing the world in exactly the same way as before we left. We learn about love, community, a culture of serving, and of making others feel welcome because we are so welcome in the homes of the Palestinian people. We learn the amazing conditions to which human beings can adapt and still show dignity. We learn of the power of patient resistance. Come and let us share with you our stories of solidarity work in Palestine. For any who feel moved to consider coming to Palestine - out of a deeper sense of commitment than solely to consume excitement and dangerous experiences - we will answer any questions the best we can, especially concerning the International Solidarity Movement (www.palsolidarity.org), which is one of the main vehicles for volunteering. We hope that out of this gathering will arise enough interest for a Perth-based Palestinian solidarity group, to raise funds to provide moderate subsidies for those wishing to do ISM work, and to send to ISM itself. Please direct any questions to Rodney at [email protected] or (08) 9322 1384. or to Pat at 93610186 and at [email protected] Fairwear! Is your organisation involved in merchandising? Do You Buy clothing to sell with your message? Do You Know if the workers making those clothes are receiving their legal wages? If you want to Be Sure that the clothing you sell is being made for fair wages, under fair conditions then this is the training for you. Fair Wear is providing a free training day on how to get your clothing supplier accredited to the Homeworkers Code of Practice. This code was developed by the Textile/Clothing Union together with representatives of the retail and manufacturing industries. The code is a self regulatory system that monitors the production chain from retailer to outworker to ensure legal wages and conditions. Some outworkers have been paid their Award entitlements for the first time as a result of the accreditation process. Once accredited, suppliers can display the No Sweatshop label: a sign of sweatshop free production. As organisations you have the power to demand companies you source from commit to sweatshop free conditions, and through demanding accreditation you can be directly involved in improving the conditions of outworkers in the Australian clothing industry. Fair Wear is calling on all NGO�s, charitable organisations and community groups to get behind the No Sweatshop Label and get their suppliers of T-shirts, windcheaters or any other garments, accredited to the Homeworkers Code of Practice. Where: Labor Council 377-383 Sussex St Sydney. Executive Board Room, Lvl 9 When: Wednesday 5th November. 9am - 12.30 Contact: Dez Karlsson; ph: 9380 9091 fax: 9380 8159 mob: 0403 128 013 www.fairwear.org.au NSW Labor Film Night - 'The Contender' A presidential political thriller. After the Vice-President dies in office, the President decides it's time for a woman to take the job. Senator Laine Hanson gets the nod, but Republican leaks and disinformation threaten to derail her campaign. 'The Contender' (rated M) stars Jeff Bridges, Joan Allen and Gary Oldman. Come and enjoy this Oscar nominated film & then enjoy some refreshments with other Party members. 6:00pm for 6:30pm start on Tuesday 11 November Theatrette, State Parliament, Macquarie Street, Sydney $20 / $15 concession (bookings essential) Light refreshments will be served after the movie. For more information please contact Paul Sekhon on (02) 9207 2000 or email [email protected] *You must be a Party member to make a booking Trading Australia Away? Anthony Albanese MP and Grayndler ALP presents "Trading Australia Away?" - a public forum to debate the important issues of free trade and globalisation. 7.30pm to 9pm Thursday 13th November, 2003 Marrickville Town Hall, 303 Marrickville Road, Marrickville,2204 Guest Speakers are Senator Stephen Conroy (Shadow Minister for Trade, Corporate Governance, Financial Services and Small Business), Pat Ranald (Convenor AFTINET) and Doug Cameron (National Secretary AMWU). Contact Shane McArdle on 02 9564 3588 or [email protected]
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