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| Issue No 28 |  |
27 August 1999 |
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NewsWhich Bank Harasses Sick Workers?
Commonwealth Back workers are being asked to comment on the health of sick colleagues as management struggles to stem an explosion in workplace illnesses caused by work overload.
The Finance Sector Union claims the high levels of sicknesses - ranging from stress to cancers - are a result of overwork, lack of relieving staff and ever increasing workloads. But instead of dealing with the core issues, bank management are using tactics of fear and intimation to prevent workers taking sick leave. Branch president Peter Presdee says while staff levels are at crisis point, some supervisors within the bank are being threatened with a reduced performance bonus if workers take more than five days per year sick leave. "Some staff report being pressured into returning to work before they're well enough, of constantly being called at home by their manager for an update on their condition, or asked to provide a doctor's certificate for every day they are absent," Presdee says.. "Privacy is also a concern, in some cases staff have been asked to comment in detail on a colleague's illness," he says. And things are only getting worse. The Commonwealth Bank has earmarked another 500 branches for closure, meaning another 3000-4000 jobs will be lost. The FU is planning a community campaign to "put people first in banking" and have been conducting focus groups of members on the issue. For more details see this week's Pierswatch.
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   Interview: Talking TurkeyA full transcript of an important interview with the Minister for Workplace Relations, the Hon Peter Reith. Politics: What Reith told the ILOWorkers Online has recevied a transcript of roving statesman Peter Reith's talk to the ILO in Geneva. This one's not satire. Unions: What the Workers SaidActor Di Smith was one of nine ordinary workers who addressed this week's rally. Here's what she had to say. International: Cancelling the DebtSign this Jubilee 2000 email petition now and tell the world's most powerful leaders to cancel the unpayable debts of the world's poorest countries by the year 2000. Environment: Greens, CFMEU call for Action on Ceiling DustResidents and workers, associated with houses damaged in the freak hail storm that hit Sydney earlier this year, may have been exposed to harmful levels of toxic materials found in the ceiling dust of the damaged buildings History: Eveleigh Railway Workshops celebration Former workers and their families from the historic Eveleigh Railway Workshops in inner-Sydney are holding a picnic reunion and folk music festival on the site this Sunday. Republic: Does the Republic Need a President?It seems inevitable that Australia will eventually become a republic but do we need a president? Satire: Liberals May Need to Sell of More of Telstra'We're running low in key marginals,� says Alston Review: A Kind of ViolenceExtracts from Yosi Berger's new book, telling the real stories behind workpalce safety.
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