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Last Year’s Model
Economists keep telling us things have never been better, all the economic indicators say so. Which sparks the obvious question: why are so many of us feeling so low?
Interview: The New Democrat
Canadian activist Judy Rebick explains how she's using lessons from Brazil to rebuild the labour movement.
Bad Boss: The Ugly Australian
Prime Minister John Howard is in California spruiking the "merits" of this month’s Bad Boss nomination …
Unions: Free Spirits and Slaves
International capital demands guest labour – legal or illegal – as a way of beating down wages and conditions and, as Jim Marr discovers, the Australian Government seems happy to oblige.
Industrial: National Focus
Noel Hester reports on another workplace death (we-will-not-RIP NOHSC), heartburn for the Canberra consensus and all the action from around the states in our national wrap.
History: A Class Act
The problem of forgetting the primacy of class in favour of other ideas of community is highlighted in a new book, writes Neale Towart
International: Across the Ditch
NZ Nurses Union leader, Laila Harré, is in Sydney this week, comparing notes with the Australian Nurses Federation and seeking transTasman support for New Zealand’s highest profile industrial campaign.
Economics: Home Truths
Sydney University's Frank Stilwell argues that tax policy is driving the housing boom.
Review: No Time Like Tomorrow
The Day After Tomorrow is one part Grim Reaper of the environmental movement and two parts fictitious fable dramatically window dressed with extreme special effects, writes Tara de Boehmler.
Poetry: Silent Note
Resident Bard David Peetz uncovers the current public service motto – "Don't tell the Minister!".
 Trade Deal a $47 Billion Dud
Ground Staff Spread Fashion Wings
Ghan Raises Trans-Continental Stink
Union Busters Bank on Labor
Witnesses Face Casual Duress
Rail Workers Cop ‘Beer Nannies’
Sun Shines on Green Bans
Big Business Plan to Cripple Compo
Money Can’t Buy Me Love
Federal Election in Doubt
Safety Defects Plague Adelaide
Police Investigate Assault Claim
Activists What’s On!
The Soapbox
The Pursuit of Happiness Part I
The Australia Institute's Clive Hamilton questions the assumptions underlying a society that defines happiness in dollar terms. The Soapbox
The Pursuit of Happiness Part II
Clive Hamilton concludes his analysis, looking at how more and more Australians are pulling back from a marketplace that is no longer providing the goods. The Locker Room
Sack ‘Em All!
Phil Doyle puts his job on the line, but doesn’t everyone these days? Politics
The Westie Wing
The NSW Government has an agenda on the table but the test is finding innovative ways to finance it, writes Ian West
Liberal Laugh
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Labor Council of NSW
Vic Trades Hall Council
IT Workers Alliance
Bosswatch
Unions on LaborNET
Evatt Foundation
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News
Rail Workers Cop ‘Beer Nannies’
RailCorp management has ordered supervisors to monitor the alcohol intake of workers out of hours in a move unions say is a sign that drug and alcohol testing is off the rails.
An internal RailCorp memo sent by Nigel Howlett, Railcorp manager of Renewals, says that if employees are forced to stay overnight in licensed premises, a supervisor should ensure ‘excessive alcohol consumption does not take place.’
Unions say the Beer nanny plan is further proof that management is not treating its workforce with respect.
Labor Council secretary John Robertson said the measures, to be applied to rail maintenance workers staying away from home overnight shows that RailCorp's approach to drug and alcohol usage is not working.
"The idea of asking supervisors to be 'beer nannies' shows that RailCorp is not prepared to treat its workers as adults.
"First, RailCorp imposed a drug and alcohol policy that places conditions more onerous than those for police officers or people who are driving their cars on the road.
"Then, rather than increase accommodation allowances to allow them to stay in motels, they have instructed supervisors to monitor alcohol intake after hours.
"It's about time RailCorp got serious and gave their workers the respect they deserve."
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Issue 223 contents
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