*****
James Hardie shares went south last week as the rest of the market headed north.
The company, whose claim to fame was flogging killer asbestos, lost its way after a report revealed that its liabilities from its asbestos disease and death it has wreaked on the community is actually $1.57 billion, not the $293 million placed in the asbestos fund when it was established in February 2001.
We all know how easy it is to mess up the budget by the odd $1.3 million or so.
So who was running James Hardie in February 2001 when they were struggling with their maths?
None other than our Tool Of The Week Alan McGregor AO, who has gone on to duller and more mendacious things since he signed off on Hardies' piece of fiscal fertiliser.
One can only guess at what AO stands for, as it very probably isn't Adults Only, but no doubt those grappling with mesothelioma will be aware of which part of McGregor's anatomy it refers to.
Our Alan is now a "Distinguished Fellow" at that lovable community friendly think tank, the Centre for Independent Studies, an organisation he has also has the pleasure of being a director of.
Obviously the Centre for Independent Studies thinks that poisoning people and leaving them with a slow, lingering painful death is the distinguished thing to do.
Which should come as no surprise from a bunch of troglodytes who engage in the intellectual equivalent of ripping the wings off flies.
McGregor has some good company: that miserable old prune Hugh Morgan (another complete AO) is also a distinguished fellow.
So what do the good folk at the Centre for Independent Studies get up to when they aren't clubbing cripples or reading Mein Kampf?
They had a good whinge earlier this year about the fact that these newfangled divorce laws mean that the good wifey can no longer be considered a piece of the husband's personal property. They've also been banging on about PNG not handing all its mineral wealth over to white boys who went to the good schools.
These people are as dry as a John Clarke sketch, but with none of the wit. They like the free market, as long as it costs. They know the world would be a better place, but only if we could pay workers in salt.
The Centre for Independent Studies is none of the three.
We wait with baited breath for McGregor's loony outfit to release their report on why emphysema is good for people, and how those who earn less than $200,000 a year don't really deserve to live anyway.
Our Tool Of The Week must have felt pretty clever when he signed off on the move of the John Hardie show to Holland, leaving the liabilities buried in the backyard for the next tenant.
Anyone with half a brain could see that James Hardie was going to be facing huge liabilities as the disaster of asbestos
Unfortunately McGregor doesn't have half a brain - but he does have the sort of contacts that can only come from having a good Cambridge background.
Which is probably why he is Chairman of those old slave drivers Burns Philp & Co. Ltd. He also had a sit at drug dealers FH Faulding & Co Ltd.
Which is just as well, maybe they can give him some advice on the best way to treat Asbestosis.
That can help this scion of the idiot-rich as he comes to terms with the death that his company has wrought on this country.
Controversial Task Force boss, Nigel Hadgkiss, fended off claims that his officers had illegally recorded people at a Perth site by arguing, in part, that it was legal for "anybody" to make covert recordings in WA.
"In these circumstances in Western Australia it is not an offence to covertly record conversations," Hadgkiss told a Senate Inquiry into the Building and Construction Industry Improvement Bill.
"I understand that it is common practice by law enforcement agencies in that jurisdiction. In the circumstances of the task force, as I say, there would have to be exceptional circumstance and it would have to be with the approval of the deputy director."
Hadgkiss said he hadn't investigated claims by Senator Peter Cook that two officers had recorded witnesses on the Tonkin Highway Extension project.
Hadgkiss said his deputy director had "no recollection" of authorising the alleged recordings.
Cook's claims echo evidence sworn into a House of Representatives inquiry, last year, in which Hadgkiss was likened to notorious American "Lord of the Files", J Edgar Hoover.
Former undercover policeman, Michael Kennedy, told the Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs that when Hadgkiss had been its senior investigator, the NSW Wood Royal Commission had routinely used illegal communications intercepts.
Kennedy told the committee Hadgkiss had used covert recordings to fit him up for falsely accusing members of the Joint Drugs Task Force of corruption. Years later, he said, Hadgkiss, himself, had taken the credit for publicly unmasking the same officers.
"I was convicted because I pleaded guilty. I was absolutely done over," Kennedy told the committee.
"Those people from the Joint Drug Task Force were all exposed in the Wood Royal Commission as being corrupt. The man who charged me was Nigel Hadgkiss. The man who revealed them years later was Nigel Hadgkiss."
Kennedy said he had lodged formal complaints about the "criminal and illegal activities of Hadgkiss" and others, at the time.
Hadgkiss told the Senate Inquiry, last month, that his Task Force, established on the recommendation of Building Industry Royal Commissioner Terence Cole, did not have enough powers.
Under cross examination, Hadgkiss said he "understood" one of his officers, Gary Ponzio, had offered a 17-year-old apprentice $20 a time, for "postage", if he would forward union publications to the Task Force.
Hadgkiss, who has denied repeated allegations of anti-union bias, gave senators a candid insight into his opinions.
He contended building industry unions were "perpetrators" of organised crime and "intimidation", whose motivation was money.
"So it is about greed, is it?" a Liberal Senator asked.
"Yes, I'm afraid it is," Hadgkiss replied.
The Task Force head offered no evidence to support his allegations.
The company has been at the centre of a storm of controversy since the AMWU blew the whistle on its importation of 29 boilermakers, pipe fitters and welders who were paid effective rates as low as $11.50 an hour to work in Western Australia.
The day after two of the South Africans, Ronald Oliveira and Roland Claasen, went public about their predicament they were both sacked. In the case of Oliveira, at least, FreeSpirit has informed him in writing it is revoking his four-year immigration visa and seeking his deportation.
FreeSpirit refuses to negotiate with the AMWU although all 29 South Africans have joined the union.
Last week it offered some of the men undisclosed amounts on condition that they signed secrecy agreements and deeds of release with a wholly-owned subsidiary that would take over their sponsorships.
Their new employer would be FSP Technical Pty Ltd of 36 Clarence St, Sydney.
The deeds require the South Africans to release FreeSpirit from "all claims and actions in relation to the employment relationship".
Workers Online understands FreeSpirit argues its only salary obligation to the skilled tradesmen is to meet the minimum $37,820 a year required by DIMIA, irrespective of hours worked, or agreements that apply to Australian workers on the same jobs.
This rate, according to the new contracts, includes loadings for annual leave, long service, sick leave, statutory holidays, termination and other entitlements, as well as "provision for repatriation of You and Your dependents".
The proposed "sponsorship employment agreements" make it clear the South Africans are "casuals" who may be moved from job to job at FreeSpirit's whim.
"You will work for the periods and the hours required by Our Clients," it reads. "We will pay You no less than the minimum annual salary level, calculated on a pro rata basis, specified in Regulation 1.20B of the Migration Regulations ..."
The workers, already charged $5000 in South Africa for fees, paperwork and airfares, are required to make another "non-refundable contribution" of $650 towards costs of new sponsorship agreements. Many are still being charged interest, at 144 percent, on their original $5000 loans.
Workers are required to meet their own insurances.
FreeSpirit insists that terms of the agreements must remain "confidential", even after they have terminated.
FreeSpirit has been accused of engaging in "pyramid labour hire" by AMWU WA state secretary, Jock Ferguson.
His organisation is seeking to carry out time and wages inspections on behalf of each of the South Africans with a view to lodging claims in the Industrial Relations Commission.
Ferguson has written to other state branches in a bid to identify 1000 South Africans FreeSpirit says it has working in Australian on Section 457 visas.
Meanwhile, the AMWU is confident of being able to prevent the deportations of Oliveira and Claasen. It hopes to be able to confirm the identity of alternative sponsors within the next seven days.
Angry NSW ambulance officers have lashed out at a "chronic" situation that saw one of five ambulances "waiting beds" dispatched from nearby Liverpool Hospital without its trolley to attend the critically injured pedestrian.
A woman died after a police officer was press-ganged into driving an ambulance following a road accident in Liverpool, last week.
Angry NSW ambulance officers have lashed out at a "chronic" situation that saw one of five ambulances "waiting beds" dispatched from nearby Liverpool Hospital without its trolley to attend the critically injured pedestrian.
Officers are threatening industrial action if the situation in the state's emergency departments is not improved.
On the night, one set of officers was forced to leave its patient on a trolley at Liverpool while it rushed to attend the road accident, where the pedestrian was discovered with severe head and chest injuries.
The ambulance officers "did what they could" but had to press gang a police officer to drive their vehicle back to Liverpool as they had no trolley and had to hold an unsecured spinal board on the floor of the ambulance.
The pedestrian was pronounced dead on arrival at Liverpool Hospital.
"The officers weren't in a position to give optimum care," says Health Services Union of Australia (HSUA) state secretary Michael Williamson. "Emergency crews should be able to respond to emergencies instead of 'babysitting' patients while stuck five deep at a hospital emergency department."
"This is a chronic problem that need s a long term solution."
Williamson has called for an improvement to hospital discharge policies to free up more beds and address the 'blockage' in the system.
The union also wants an increase in patient transport officers to free up qualified paramedic staff to attend emergencies.
Ambulance officer delegates will meet this week and have flagged industrial action if there is no move to address their concerns.
In the absence of direct communcations from Macquarrie St, the AMWU is still trying to confirm the validity of this week�s news media reports.
Secretary, Paul Bastian, said it would be "shameful" if James Hardie's "million dollar legal team" wasn't counterbalanced at the Jackson Inquiry by advocates for people dying of mesothelioma and lung cancers.
The inquiry was established to examine James Hardie's actions in hiving off asbestos liabilities to a trust fund that actuaries say will be left more than a billion dollars of shy of being able to compensate sufferers.
"Evidence to the Jackson Inquiry has been nothing short of scandalous," Bastian said. "A lot of very well paid, respected people have made a lot of money out of asbestos. Now they're going to a lot of trouble to avoid paying compensation to ordinary people whose lives have been destroyed."
Bastian said there had been a "fleet" or corporate lawyers defending Hardies and its associates while victims had been represented, without payment to this point, by a counsel and two lawyers.
He said, if legal aid was denied, there would no further representation of victims at the inquiry.
Already, commissioner David Jackson has foreshadowed the possibility of legal action being canvassed in closing submissions.
Sensational evidence by a range of current and former Hardies directors has suggested the company put out misleading press releases; failed to supply actuaries with relevant information; and misled the Supreme Court before restructuring to distance the parent company from asbestos liabilities.
Hardies boss, Peter McDonald, claims the company has no further legal or moral obligations to sufferers of asbestos-related diseases.
A new deal will make a Wollongong Hospital Doctor available for medical and rescue work across the Illawarra.
The new 'Memorandum of Understanding' (MOU) was thrashed out between union delegates, the Ambulance Service of NSW, the Medical Retrieval Unit (MRU), the Westpac Lifesaver Helicopter Service and Illawarra Health.
Combined Union delegates in the Illawarra, who unanimously endorsed the new MOU last week, had threatened a district stoppage if no progress was made on their claim for improved emergency services.
Workers campaigned for the service after concrete renderer Ron Tabak died before he could be reached by a doctor dispatched from Sydney - two and a half hours after witnesses say he fell into a trench.
"This is good news not just for workers in heavy and dangerous industry but the broader community as well," says South Coast Labour Council secretary, Arthur Rorris. "The unanimous vote of combined union delegates is a positive indication that this deal will increase confidence in medical retrieval services in the Illawarra."
"The delegates were particularly appreciative of the goodwill and professionalism of the Wollongong Emergency Doctors who undertook their basic helicopter training at short notice this week given their heavy schedules at the hospital."
"Having secured an acceptable outcome regarding the use of Wollongong ED Doctors, the delegates are keen to ensure that the tasking of Wollongong's Lifesaver 3 Helicopter is also addressed by the upcoming findings of the Aeromedical Review."
But the Carr Government faces ongoing industrial action from public school teachers after the IRC �moderated� its final decision in the landmark pay case because government cried poor.
The IRC conducted inquiries into the changing work values of teachers in both public and Catholic schools, a change that teachers argued justified a 25 per cent pay rise.
The IRC awarded just under half that, to be paid over two years. While teachers were disappointed with the quantum, they did take heart from the Commission's findings of substantial changes to the way they per4form their work.
In its decisions the Commission accepted arguments that there had been "significant changes in the method of work of teachers".
These included:
- an over-crowded curriculum, including changes without adequate consultation
- a growing number of non-core teaching tasks, including those formerly carried out by the family
- the devolution of school management tasks to individual schools and individual teachers
- the increasing number of vocational courses teachers are required tot each and the increased trend to include children with disabilities in mainstream classes.
The IRC found that these increases in work value had not been recognised in their pay, remarking in the Catholic teachers decision that: "Teachers have been unable to establish their status as professionals in a manner which would enable them to exercise authority and influence in the way normally associated with a profession.
"In fact the status of teacher sin Australia is declining ... (and) to attract and retain high quality applicants it is important to enhance the status of the profession."
Despite these statements, teacher unions were disappointed with the final decision, the NSW Teachers Federation livid that Catholic counterparts received higher increases for senior teachers, a move they blame on the Carr Government's opposition to their claim.
Staff Specialists employed by NSW public hospitals are the latest group of workers to seek a pay rise based on the increased value of their work.
They will seek a comprehensive review of their salaries in the NSW Industrial Relations Commission, arguing the value of their work has increased dramatically over recent years.
The Australian Salaried Medical Officers Federation, representing staff specialists employed as emergency physicians, anaesthetists, radiologists, psychiatrists and others, will lodge the Special Case application later this month.
ASMOF Executive Director Peter Somerville says the staff specialists will ask the independent umpire to review their award salaries and possibly some other matters.
"These doctors are the backbone of the public hospital system who, because of their commitment, are being asked to do more with less to keep the system operating," Somerville says.
"They have to deal with the challenges of an aging population, a health system under increased stress and more and more paperwork and levels of accountability.
"At the same time, our members are finding it harder to get time to train young doctors - the next generation of specialists - and undertake research - two of the key incentives that attract staff specialists to work in public hospitals.
Somerville says pay and conditions have not been comprehensively reviewed since 1990.
"This is a timely opportunity for the NSW IRC to review the situation and ensure we have an award in place that is relevant to the modern public hospital system.
"It is essential that NSW public hospitals can keep attracting the best people to ensure excellent patient care, a continuing high standard of training for young doctors and cutting edge research to deal with increasingly complex health issues."
But officers fear RailCorps's proposal to reduce numbers at high risk stations such as Redfern and Central could worsen that situation.
Under the company's proposal, four-person patrols at high incident stations will be halved.
RailCorp is also proposing to cut the number of radios, currently supplied to all staff members, to one between every two officers.
Injured transit officer Michael Fusco, says is concerned about reducing the team sizes.
Fusco was left with permanent nerve damage in his leg after being pushed between a train and platform during an arrest last year.
"I think that raises issues around officer safety and also customer safety," he said.
Ahmed Jenzarli, who had his leg broken at Central Station last year, doesn't think staff numbers should be reduced.
Jenzarli left the force after being injured during a confrontation with two drunks at Merrylands.
He maintains the incident would not have occurred if there had been more staff on duty.
"I think it's dangerous to reduce numbers at dangerous stations, I mean Redfern is a joke," he said "An offender is more likely to arc up if there are two officers."
He says a member of the public could be knocked down or hurt in an incident, "During the exection of our duties we put our bodies on the line for passsenger safety."
"The proposal is dangerous on management's behalf because it could lead to more transit officers being injured," he said.
Dimitrios (Jimmy) Theodorelos, a 60-year-old electrical assistant from Nicholls in the ACT, was fatally injured following a fall on a construction site at the Brindabella Business Park at Canberra Airport.
Doctors turned off his life support system late on Saturday after he failed to regain consciousness.
Federal Police are conducting a joint investigation with ACT WorkCover into the fatality, the first workplace death since the introduction of Industrial Manslaughter legislation in the ACT.
The close-knit Canberra building community has been saddened by the loss of Mr Theodorelos, a veteran of the Snowy Mountains Scheme, and they have banded together to help his family.
"The community spirit shown by contractors in conjunction with the Electrical Trades Union has been fantastic," says Matt McCann, local organiser for the ETU, who said that "tens of thousands" is being raised for Mr Theodorelos' family through the building community.
"On the day of the accident we were contacted as it happened," says Glenn Parry, Assistant Secretary of the ACT branch of the CFMEU.
The union immediately dispatched a number of officials to the site, distributing copies of the union's new Trauma Booklet for workers.
The union also launched a counselling process with a psychologist attending the site on the following Monday, with further counselling offered to Mr Theodorelos' grieving workmates later in the week.
"We produced the trauma booklet because there was nothing you could get your hands on in this sort of situation," says Parry. "We found that there was a requirement for counselling following an accident 18 months ago."
Parry said that the booklet would also be useful for family members of workers caught up in the death of a workmate, explaining what they were going through and the signs of any stress related illness.
"This is one of those freaky accidents that highlights the inherent dangers of this industry," says Parry. "All the players in the industry must be more diligent about OH&S issues to stop these things happening."
Nurses Association secretary, Brett Holmes, issued the warning while welcoming Health Minister Morris Iemma's personal intervention in a stand-off that has held up their commissioning.
At issue, is the right of nurses to "fair and safe workloads", formally enshrined in last year's special wages case ruling by the Industrial Relations Commission.
Nurses, in dispute over excessive workloads, have failed to reach agreement with the Health Department on a tool that can effectively measure acceptable workloads.
NSW Nurses Association members had been preparing to take industrial action, including closing beds in understaffed areas, if the 962 additional beds had been forced through.
Iemma this week confirmed the beds would only be opened when they could be staffed "with enough nurses and clinicians with appropriate skiss to deliver quality care".
"As part of the Sustainable Access Plan 2004 the Health minister has committed to the design and implementation of an agreed workload management tool to ensure safe workloads in our public hospitals," Holmes said.
"The issues of patient safety and standards of clinical care are well and truly on the community's mind. There is no doubt the public hospital system needs more beds opened but it would be scandalous and dangerous to open another 962 beds without ensuring they are fully staffed with the right clinical skills mix."
Holmes accused the Health Department of "dragging its feet" on the issue of a workloads management tool and warned an urgent agreement would be required to ensure beds were available to meet the expected winter peak.
Despite that, the ACTU has welcomed the tone of an AIRC decision that creates a standard national redundancy regime across the Commonwealth.
The Commission rejected an employer proposal to have different redundancy schemes in different states commenting, "differentiation on a state basis will lead to more problems than it will solve."
The decision maintains the integrity of the Commission's determination in the recent landmark test case that created a single national safety net for the 200,000 Australians made redundant every year.
The safety net includes, Sixteen weeks pay for up to ten year's service, and an extension of redundancy pay to small business employees - but at a rate half that of their fellow workers in big business.
Small business employees will have their payouts capped at eight weeks rather than the "community standard" 16 weeks.
The Writer and Producer of hoWARd the a**e LicKEr, Darren Valentine, was prompted to script the "farcical comedy and in-ya-face political satire" as a reaction to the "confusing, spin-ridden political climate we currently live under".
In the absence of government funding the play's producers are seeking donors interested in contributing toward essential production costs associated with this "timely" production. Costs include venue hire, advertising, materials and equipment hire.
"We urgently need to secure further funds essential to achieving maximum impact," says Valentine. "Perfectly timed for the lead up to the Federal election, the main aim of this play is to create vigorous debate in the community about important current issues."
With some interest already being generated, hoWARd the a**eLIcKEr will undoubtedly attract and entertain large audiences and deliver provocative food for thought surrounding Government policy.
If you are interested in supporting hoWARd the a**e LicKEr , the producers can be contacted at [email protected]
The play will be performed at the Edge Theatre, Cnr King & Bray Streets, Newtown, with advance previews scheduled for the 4th and 5th of August, and opening night set down for Friday 6th August. The play will run until Sunday 29th Aug.
Alternative Voice
Workers Radio every Wednesday from 5pm on 88.5FM 2RRR.
Your Alternative News and Information Radio!
Featuring: Current Affairs - Union Campaigns - What's Happening in Politics - Events and Actions - Views and Breaking News - Music
Contact: Jagath 0419 404 997 Monica 0400 055 081 John 0418 839 026 Martin 0409 911 127
Is Australian Democracy Working for Women?
The Women's Electoral Lobby (WEL) are holding their national conference in Sydney on the 12th and 13th June. Sessions will cover
* legislation as a way to protect women's rights
* measuring the quality of women's lives
* creating a culture for work and family reform
* what women want
Speakers include Elain Thompson, Pru Goward, Reg Graycar, Eva Cox and Mary Crooks
To register and for further information contact WEL on 9212 4374 or logon to the website at www.wel.org.au
Popular Education Activism & Organising
Education is a key to developing activists and active members of organisations. The new activist educator is an organiser, teacher, consultant and theorist. What methods are being used today to equip activists to build social movements? Does activist education reflect a democratic agenda or is it largely instrumental? How do we know if educational practices are working? Are new theories of learning be utilised? This is the second of a three forum series looking at different education, organising and activist strategies being used by movements and organizations pursuing social justice and change agendas. Union activists, environmental campaigners, community advocates, educators and grassroots campaigners are participating in the forums. The forum will actively engage participants in discussing and analysing different experiences. Case Studies Date: Friday, 18 June 2004 Time: 9am - 1.30pm Location: Centre for Popular Education University of Technology, Sydney Jones St, Broadway (Old Fairfax Building) FEES - $30 for one forum; $50 for two forums For further details contact Lee Malone (02) 9514 3861, Daniel Ng (02) 9514 3843 or Tony Brown (02) 9514 3866 email: [email protected] For updates go the Centre for Popular Education website
Party Girls Chalk Up a Decade
Emily's List and ACTU Member Connect presents the 35% Celebration Show!
It has been 10 years since the ALP National Conference at which a rule change was introduced which required that by the year 2002 a minimum of 35% of ALP candidates for winnable seats would be women.
Emily's List invites you and your friends to this special show to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Affirmative Action rule and the success of our 152 women Labor MPs.
Saturday 19 June, 8.00pm
Merlyn Theatre
CUB Malthouse Theatre
112 Sturt Street, Southbank
Bar/Caf� facilities available
The evening will be hosted by MC Tracy Bartram and will feature:
Jenny Macklin, Federal Deputy Leader of the Opposition and MHR for Jaga Jaga
Julia Gillard, Federal Shadow Minister for Health and MHR for Lalor
Nicola Roxon, Federal Shadow Attorney General and Shadow Minister Assisting the Leader on the Status of Women, MHR for Gellibrand
Joan Kirner, Co-Convenor of Emily's List Australia
Sharan Burrow, ACTU President
Linda Burney, MP first Aboriginal woman elected to NSW Parliament
Candy Broad, Victorian State Minister for Local Government and Housing; and
Catherine King, MHR for Ballarat
Plus! Be entertained by an all-star line up:
Comedians - Dave Grant and Jodie J Hill
Musicians - Rebecca Barnard, Shane O'Mara and Kelli Howell
Tickets: $45 ($35 concession) including complimentary glass of wine
To register please click on the link below:
http://actu.labor.net.au/memberservices/news/1086851387_5112.html
hoWARd the arseLIcKEr
-Written by D.B.Valentine - Directed by Mark Cleary
-The Edge Theatre - Cnr King & Bray Sts Newtown
-Advance previews Wed 4th & Thurs 5th August.
-Opening Friday 6th Aug to Sunday 29th Aug.
-Time: 7.30pm (tbc)
-Bookings 9645 1611 or www.mca-tix.com
-More info go to: www.newtowntheatre.com.au click on "The Edge"
It's perverse, but Governments don't contract the best organisations to deliver community services - they pick the ones who've got the most dollars.
No account is taken of the organisations history or lack of expertise, yet they deliver services to very vulnerable people in disadvantaged communities.
The charities and for-profits win the contracts because they can raise money or are tax exempt.
But they have an ulterior motive like making money or getting converts to their religion.
It's a symptom of Federal and State governments shifting the cost of community services to local government, which is not properly resourced.
A case in point is the main organisation behind the new Redfern Community Centre, Hillsong.
They are a right wing christian group who the council has just contracted to provide work services, training in computers and classes on such things as parenting.
The local aboriginal community was not consulted at all.
They got the contract because they stumped up the $270,000 for the fitting out and running costs of the two level centre, located deep in The Block.
I know from talking to council officers this group have been trying to get a toehold in the community sector, but have only been able to manage employment services so far.
Hillsong teaches a brand of prosperity theology, and have an extreme proselytising philosophy - they try to save souls.
I don't trust them to deliver value neutral services in a non-discriminatory manner to people who sit outside their belief system such as gays or lesbians.
Simon Williams, Surry Hills Neighbourhood Centre
I work an average of 3 to 5 unpaid hours per week but am docked yet again for being sick as I've run out of sick pay. To arrange time off to attend an essential medical appointment for a potentially life threatening condition becomes a high skilled negotiation exercise of the level usually reserved for US/Iraqian relations.
Our admin woman works back every night but has to take a recreation day to catch up with a country friend. A work colleague leaves a key in her letterbox so her interstate relatives can get access to her flat upon arrival for their annual visit.
Another staff member who is not a morning person drags herself in for the stickler 9am start even though she works best later into the evening. Another staff member is forced to take a sickie to sort out their mother's urgent financial matter afraid of being refused a request for a couple of hours off. Forget being a mum, it just wouldn't work.
Yet across the house introduction of compulsory flexitime would solve all these dilemmas. The admin staff member would use acrued time, I can attend my medical appointments with ease, and the staff member with the relatives could be there to greet them without worry of potential burglary. The "not a morning person" staff member could work at their most productive times. The less healthy can draw on accrued hours to avoid losing pay and the mum's can juggle their family and kids. And if you've just lost it for the day you can give up, go early and tackle it another day when you are fresh. And with the staff member taking the whole day off to sort out mum's finances, the employer would have only lost 2 hours rather than a whole day's labour. And everyone would be happy.
It's so easy. Set a few ground rules including minimum staffing requirements for early morning and late afternoons and it works fine. Past studies have consistently shown that flexible working arrangements save big time on sick leave and have improved productivity. And it's easy to see why, no one has to skulk around and lie to get time off. Staff can choose to work at their most productive times and no one resents that only "special groups" get time off as it's accessible to all. Given that the workforce appears to be equally divided between the larks and the owls, staffing levels usually balance out.
And if it requires the occassional effort of getting in early or staying back late to fit in with a roster to keep staffing consistent not even the most committed owl or lark would mind making that occassional effort.
So why is it so hard for employers working with employees to give it a go? In a past job I've worked advising workers on workplace disputes. And some of the biggest were disputes over employers who simply would not be flexible over time.
So maybe it's time that we all got together, got our hands on some flexible proposals (the NSW industrial relations website springs to mind) and insist on flexibility.
With me I'm seeking a new job.
Maria
Remember when that Andrew Wilkie resigned from the Office of National Assessments, claiming that the government had "sexed up" the evidence for weapons of mass destruction. John Howard's propaganda machine told us that he was just a junior intelligence officer with no access to top secret material on Iraq. He was responsible for little more doing the photocopying, really.
Now the lad wants to write a book. The Atttorney-General has taken the extraordinary step of censoring the book before its publication.
Apparently the photocopy boy is now capable of exposing our deepest national secrets.
Just think of all that brainpower locked up in inventing the lastest government spin. If it could be harnessed to find a cure for cancer, we would have one before Christmas.
Noel Baxendell
ACT
Twenty years on, Peter Garrett could well be commentating the impact of Labor leader Mark Latham's desire to draft him into his election ensemble.
At issue is the age old argument about the merits of imposing a high profile candidate into an electorate regardless of the wishes of the rank and file members.
There is little doubt Peter Garrett is a glittering prize for Labor - a dynamic activist with a social conscience and a proven ability to build a bridge between politics and popular culture.
Some amongst the local rank and file of the Kingsford Smith electorate don't see it that way, arguing they have the right for a home-grown representative, several of whom have been spending their waking hours shoring up branch numbers in the expectation of Brereton's retirement.
The brewing shit fight puts the very nature of the ALP's branch structure under the spotlight.
Some, like a certain state Treasurer advocate the effective corporatisation of the ALP
basically a central 'brand' choosing the most marketable candidates, with the branches confined to the volunteer functions at election time.
And if this doesn't sustain the branches, a cost-benefit analysis would say you'd be better off just doing as the Liberals do and paying people to hand out on election day, rather than have to deal with all the dramas of a vibrant democratic party.
At the other extreme are those who argue, sometimes with a straight face, about the sanctity of rank and file preselection.
While stacking branches is undeniably a life skill requiring perseverance and the fostering of community ties, the question is whether this is the particular skill set for a political party putting itself forward as an alternate government
In the age of personality politics, the quality of a political party's candidates are just as important as its policies; and it is hard to argue that the ALP's structures always deliver the best outcome.
In other democracies, the USA for example, the leader can choose his front bench from the real world - but Australia has a popularly elected executive and getting yourself elected in Parliament is the requisite first step.
This can only be achieved in one of two ways; through the branches, or through the party's central structures, dominated by union representatives who, despite Simon Crean's best efforts, still have a stake in their party.
And it is here that the public reporting has missed an important point - while much has been made of Garrett's eleventh hour decision to join the Party, less comment has been made about the fact that only now has he decided to join a trade union - a requisite to party membership.
If Pete Garrett is to be a Labor MP, it is fair to expect him to be not just a card carrier, but a committed unionist.
If Garret is to win the support the labour movement, an important step will be to enter a dialogue with them us, get an understanding of the union renewal agenda, and maybe even contemplate how someone with his obvious talents can offer practical help to working people.
We look forward to that - there is no doubt we have a lot to learn from a man who has translated political issues into our cultural history and community consciousness.
If he does, it will be fair to say that the checks and balances in the current unwieldy party structures will prove to have been of some value and the budding member for Wedding Cake Island will surf onto the national stage with the blessing of the comrades.
Peter Lewis
Editor
Twenty years on, Peter Garrett could well be commentating the impact of Labor leader Mark Latham's desire to draft him into his election ensemble.
At issue is the age old argument about the merits of imposing a high profile candidate into an electorate regardless of the wishes of the rank and file members.
There is little doubt Peter Garrett is a glittering prize for Labor - a dynamic activist with a social conscience and a proven ability to build a bridge between politics and popular culture.
Some amongst the local rank and file of the Kingsford Smith electorate don't see it that way, arguing they have the right for a home-grown representative, several of whom have been spending their waking hours shoring up branch numbers in the expectation of Brereton's retirement.
The brewing shit fight puts the very nature of the ALP's branch structure under the spotlight.
Some, like a certain state Treasurer advocate the effective corporatisation of the ALP
basically a central 'brand' choosing the most marketable candidates, with the branches confined to the volunteer functions at election time.
And if this doesn't sustain the branches, a cost-benefit analysis would say you'd be better off just doing as the Liberals do and paying people to hand out on election day, rather than have to deal with all the dramas of a vibrant democratic party.
At the other extreme are those who argue, sometimes with a straight face, about the sanctity of rank and file preselection.
While stacking branches is undeniably a life skill requiring perseverance and the fostering of community ties, the question is whether this is the particular skill set for a political party putting itself forward as an alternate government
In the age of personality politics, the quality of a political party's candidates are just as important as its policies; and it is hard to argue that the ALP's structures always deliver the best outcome.
In other democracies, the USA for example, the leader can choose his front bench from the real world - but Australia has a popularly elected executive and getting yourself elected in Parliament is the requisite first step.
This can only be achieved in one of two ways; through the branches, or through the party's central structures, dominated by union representatives who, despite Simon Crean's best efforts, still have a stake in their party.
And it is here that the public reporting has missed an important point - while much has been made of Garrett's eleventh hour decision to join the Party, less comment has been made about the fact that only now has he decided to join a trade union - a requisite to party membership.
If Pete Garrett is to be a Labor MP, it is fair to expect him to be not just a card carrier, but a committed unionist.
If Garret is to win the support the labour movement, an important step will be to enter a dialogue with them us, get an understanding of the union renewal agenda, and maybe even contemplate how someone with his obvious talents can offer practical help to working people.
We look forward to that - there is no doubt we have a lot to learn from a man who has translated political issues into our cultural history and community consciousness.
If he does, it will be fair to say that the checks and balances in the current unwieldy party structures will prove to have been of some value and the budding member for Wedding Cake Island will surf onto the national stage with the blessing of the comrades.
Peter Lewis
Editor
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