
Issue No 24		30 July 1999

News

Youth Worker Death Prompts Safety Fears

The fatal stabbing of a worker at a juvenile detention centre has sparked statewide action by colleagues concerned that budget cuts are placing lives at risk.

TAFE assistant teacher Scott Bremner, 33, was stabbed last week during a cooking class at the Yasmar Detention Centre at Haberfield.

Workers at centres around the state this week refused to accept transfers of new inmates in an effort to push the government into accepting the need to revisit funding cuts announced in the recent state budget.

Six million dollars was cut from the department of Juvenile Justice in this year's budget - with funding pruned from training, capital works and recurrent spending. While there were no explicit staff cuts, the Public Service Association believes funding is so tight, that this will inevitably flow.

At press time PSA president Maurie O'Sullivan was locked in talks with Juvenile Justice Director General Ken Buttram after a late night sitting of the NSW Industrial Relations Commission before president Lance Wright secured a lifting of the work bans.

O'Sullivan says the death has fed into concerns that have been rising for some time. "There is genuine fear and distrust from our people within juvenile justice," he says.

"The ball's in their court, we have done everything to exercise our duty of care - if they can't improve then situation you can ask people to put their lives at risk.

"I don't want to hear about budget problems, lives are at stake. Every government department is paying the price for Olympics being at Homebush, but they shouldn't be paying with workers' lives".

Cuts Mean Russian Roulette for Gamblers

Meanwhile, PSA members of the Department of Gaming and Racing have placed ban on work within the Star City Casino and Clubs and Hotels around the state.

With an explosion in gambling, the Carr Government has slashed spending to the Department that polices the industry by 15.9 per cent, with 173 jobs from the Department's compliance area earmarked to go.

While the notion of cutting scrutiny of gambling, a major source of state revenue, may appeal to the bean-counters, the PSA believes it is essential to maintain proper controls to regulate the industry.

The bans, which the PSA says are necessary given the decreasing capacity to match a rising workload include: no probity checks on new Star City staff, no processing of applications for liquor licences and no work on the Sydney 2000 Olympics special projects designed to minimise social disorder at Olympic venues and events.

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Issue 24 contents

Interview: The Man in the Hot Seat
WorkCover general manger John Grayson cut his teeth in the trade union movement. Now he�s trying to save the state�s workers compensation scheme.

Unions: Turning Up The Heat: Bush Fire Officers Seek Award Justice
"We want an award for the job that we do, not the job other people want us to do". Donald Bushby, and his fellow Fire Control Officers, know what they want. It's simple: an award for FCO's and deputy FCO's, an award that recognises who they are, the job they do, the pressures they have to live with.

International: The Virtual Labour Congress
International trade unions are launching an online debate on Labour in the 21th century.

Legal: The Source of the Issue
Recent legal developments place the spotlight on the outsourcing of government activities.

Review: The Split that Changed a Nation
A new book looks at the Cold War ALP split that redefined politics in this country.

Labour Review: What's New at the Information Centre
Read the latest issue of Labour Review, Labor Council's resource for unionists.

Satire: Man Takes Home Pay - More Pokies Needed
The NSW government has expressed concern following the release of a second report by the Productivity Commission which shows that a majority of employed people still spend their pay on luxury items such as food and clothing for their family.

» Sixty Cents A Week to Protect Entitlements

» Workers Comp � The Rorts Have to Stop

» Steggles Roasted Over Family-Busting Policies

» Youth Worker Death Prompts Safety Fears

» Rail Security Guards Miss Danger Spots

» New South Coast Labor Body Seeks Recognition

» Howard Ministers, Employment Advocate in the Dock

» Management Vandals Take to Sydney Water

» Boston Fiddles While Teachers Burn

» Lundy to Star in Workers Online Net Night

» STOP PRESS - Firefighters Seek End To Safety Apartheid