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Joining the Dots
At first blush there appears little connection between the Howard Government�s handling of the War on the union movement and the War on Iraq � until you realise the key players come from the same team.
Interview: Terror Australis
The Howard Government has just discovered the nation's ports are a terrorist target. The International Transport Federation's Dean Summers has been warning them for years.
Unions: Graeme Beard's Second Dig
Hidden in the Australian Workers Union Sydney office is a mild-mannered industrial officer who once strutted the international cricket stage, writes Jim Marr.
Industrial: The Hell of Troy
On the basis of a couple of hours in the witness box, Building Industry Royal Commissioner Terence Cole described Troy Stratti as "credible". Six men who, together, have known the company director for the best part of 50 years beg to differ.
Organising: Miners Strike Gold
Traditional unions are rediscovering the power of grassroots organising. Paddy Gorman reports from the coal face.
Economics: The Accepted Wisdom
Evan Jones argues that economic policy making has been narrowed and rendered mechanistic and antiseptic.
History: Vicious Old Lady
Despite its Liberal leanings, the Sydney Morning Herald has never been shy of bashing unions, writes Neale Towart.
International: Out of Sight, Out of Mind
Thailand must end its crackdown on Burmese fleeing rights abuses in their military-ruled homeland, according to a Human Rights Watch report.
Review: War Unfogged
Want to go to war but not sure where to start? Look no further than Errol Morris' latest doco-drama for the definitive 11-step lesson plan, writes Tara de Boehmler.
Poetry: TAFE
A TAFE student struggling under the weight of fees shares his wordly wisdom
Weekend Warrior Outed
Dick�s Got Form
Mum Burned By "Barbecue Stopper"
RSL Bombs Vets
Sweetener for Sugar Pills
Death Highlights Risky Business
Casual Affair On The Buses
Athens Update: Dying Games
Nuns Run Amok in Cessnock
Roving Commission for Safety Reps
Workers Order Ziggy on Toast
Divers Down
Activists What�s On!
Postcard
A Voice for Peace
Palestinian trade union leader calls on militants to lay down their arms while the ICFTU protests harassment of Palestinian union leader. The Soapbox
The Double Standard Bearers
Nicholas Way argues that when it comes to collective action, the Howard Government has different views depending on whether you are a unionist or a small business. The Locker Room
The Fine Print
While the result mightn�t be everything, it does make the back of the newspaper more interesting, as Phil Doyle reports. Politics
The Westie Wing
Ian West crunches the numbers in Macquarie Street and finds virtue in deficit.
Sick Pay
Tom�s A Furphy
Rolling in Clover
More War And Peace
Invisible Workers
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News
Divers Down
Recreational divers are being used by unscrupulous contractors to perform dangerous work for state government departments.
The Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) has slammed the "fly-by-night" diving companies that are failing to pay award wages or meet basic safety standards.
The divers are being used to work in such dangerous situations as in sewage, dams, near power station intake ducts and without many safety precautions considered essential to the job.
"You'd think that diving would be pretty good conditions and good pay packets at the end of the week but the opposite is the case," says Robert Coombs, NSW secretary of the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA). "At best these divers are employed on casual terms of employment as provided for in the relevant Federal Award. At worst they are employed on an ad hoc basis by unscrupulous employers who exploit a largely deregulated industry that relies on an itinerant workforce."
"The most alarming aspect of these employment practices is the non preparedness of some employers to follow safety standards."
According to Coombs a lack of resources at WorkCover doesn't allow for adequate inspections and, with no effective policing of the industry, safety standards have been allowed to decline. Also, dodgy employers in the diving industry are exploiting the large number of recreational divers.
Of particular concern to the MUA has been the willingness of NSW government departments to engage unscrupulous employers as contractors.
Coombs has called for the state government to establish a preferred contractors list to weed out shonky operators.
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Issue 216 contents
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