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Textor Messaging
Those responsible for communicating the union movement�s message to the public met in Melbourne this week and invited none other than John Howard�s master pollster to give his perspective. The spooky thing was his message to unions was an optimistic one.
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
"Slave Labour" in WA Revolt
Vaile Orange � 200 Punted
Right Turn Ends in Court
Premier on Track to Nowhere
Bosses Unite Against Holidays
Miners Stand Up to "Bullies"
All Out in the Gong
Zoo Poo Stink
Feared Beard in Shipping Scare
Mayday � Footy Player Celebrates
Teachers Roll Up for Discipline
De-Skilling Australia
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.
More Than Cricket
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News
Zoo Poo Stink
The industrial umpire has rejected a claim by bosses at Sydney�s Taronga Park Zoo that an allowance for dealing with animal excrement was only meant to apply to human excrement.
"We found it an interesting argument given it's a zoo we're talking about," says Australian Workers Union (AWU) industrial officer Richard Tripodi. "It's absurd to distinguish between types of faeces."
Taronga Zoo management were appealing an earlier decision of the Industrial Relation's Commission which upheld the payment of the Fouled Equipment Allowance to zoo staff that had to deal with animal waste in the course of their work.
The AWU viewed the allowance as applying to workers who had to deal with other unpleasant substances such as condoms and syringes, according to Tripodi.
More State Jobs On the Line
Elsewhere in the state's public sector, workers have slammed recommendations from consultants at Deloitte's to privatise the state's internal courier system, CM Solutions, which is part of the Department of Commerce.
Workers fear that, apart from job cuts, security for state documents will be compromised in the hands of a private operator.
CM Solutions, which currently runs at a profit - making money for the state government, handles sensitive documents such as HSC exam papers and NSW Police evidence and exhibits.
The news comes as almost 300 jobs, or 10%of the workforce, are set to disappear from the NSW Dept of Environment & Conservation (DEC) after the department saw it's budget cut.
"Which 10% of the state's national parks don't they want to look after any more," says NSW Public Service Association (PSA) assistant secretary Steven Jones.
The PSA and other unions will meet shortly to consider industrial action, which has also been slammed by environmentalists, who claim that the NSW government's green credentials are now "in jeopardy".
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Issue 217 contents
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