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Issue No. 283 30 September 2005  
E D I T O R I A L

Revenge of the Footy Dads
The release of the second wave of ACTU TV advertising last weekend continues to take the debate around industrial relations into the broader community � and specifically the nation�s footy grounds.

F E A T U R E S

Interview: Polar Eclipse
Academic David McKnight challenges some sacred cows in his new book "Beyond Left and Right".

Industrial: Wrong Turn
Radical labour reform is on the horizon but some workers, like Sydney bus driver Yvonne Carson, have seen it all before, writes Jim Marr.

Unions: Star Support
It wasn't just families who backed workers' rights at The Last Weekend, but a bunch of musicians who set the tone, writes Chrissy Layton.

Workplace: Checked Out
Glenda Kwek asks you to consider the plight of the retail worker, and shares some of her experiences

Economics: Sold Out
The Future Fund and industrial relations reform are favourite projects of the PM and the Treasurer. Both are speculations on the future and the only guarantee with them is that you will be worse off, writes Neale Towart.

Politics: Green Banned
The impact of new building industry laws won�t be confined to one industry, writes CFMEU national secretary John Sutton.

History: Potted History
Lithgow is a place with a proud history as a union town. The origins of broader community solidarity lie in the early industrial development of the town and the development of unions. The Lithgow Pottery dispute of 1890 was a key event.

International: Curtain Call
The curtains have opened for East Timor�s young theatre performers, thanks to a Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA project.

Review: Little Fish
At last! An Aussie film with substance, suspense and a serious dose of reality, writes Lucy Muirhead

Poetry: Slug A Worker
In a shock development, the Federal Treasurer, Peter Costello, gave a ringing endorsement to the poetry pages of Workers Online, writes resident bard David Peetz.

N E W S

 Brazilians Score at Rocky

 PM Discounts Fair Go

 Centrelink Crashes Internet

 On Yer Bikes

 Road Toll Off The Rails

 Part-Timers in Bank Heist

 It�s Eight Against Eight

 OEA Says Plaque You

 Kez and Rupe Tighten Grip

 Feds Get Blank Cheque

 Rev Kev Absolves Killers

 Turning Business Upside Down

 Stink Over CountryLink Shrink

 Nurses Brush Sick Offer

 Men Make Permanent Choice

 Activist's What's On!

C O L U M N S

The Soapbox
Families First
New Senator Stephen Fielding turned a few heads with his Maiden Speech to Parliament.

The Locker Room
The New World Order
Phil Doyle declares himself unavailable for the fifth and deciding test.

Parliament
The Westie Wing
Our favourite MP, Ian West, reports from the NSW Government's Safety Summit

Postcard
On The Bus
A bright orange bus travelling the state has become the focus of the campaign against federal IR changes. Nathan Brown was on board.

L E T T E R S
 Four Cornered Rat
 Hrowad�s Meixd Msesgaes
 Caveat Emptor
 Shop Front
 Petrol Price of War
 Unionist Slain
 Last Long Weekend
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News

Part-Timers in Bank Heist


Corporate part-timers at the Reserve Bank pocketed pay hikes of up to 60 percent, just days after their organisation held enterprise agreement staff to four percent movements.

Five of the Bank's six non-executive directors, tasked with attending 11 meetings a year, will trouser between $50,000 and $60,000, for their efforts, up from $30,000 to 40,000 previously.

Non-executive directors of the Reserve Bank, concerned with wage pressures and interest rates, include leading business identities.

Amongst their number are shopping centre magnate, Frank Lowy, Telstra boss Donald McGauchie and Business Council of Australia chief, Hugh Morgan, a key backer of federal government's campaign to hold down wages.

The Australian Financial Review quoted one director as saying the Reserve Bank earn was such an insignificant sum he wasn't even sure how much the fee was.

The increases, authorised by federal government's Remuneration Tribunal, came two days after the Reserve Bank held 311 agreement-covered worked to four percent annual rises - in line with settlements for ANZ, CBA and Westpac workers but below the 4.5 percent agreed for NAB staff.

Most of the Reserve Bank's 800 staff are on individual contracts but the enterprise agreement is important to them because it establishes most of their conditions.

The agreement struck with the FSU gives fathers returning from paternity leave the right to 12 months of part-time work, and allows new mums to spread their 14 weeks of maternity leave over 28 weeks.

The deal also retains the ability of the AIRC to resolve disputes and improves annual holiday provisions.

Reserve Bank governor, Ian Macfarlane, told a parliamentary inquiry, last month, the organisation would monitor wages and other inflationary pressures to ensure inflation did not threaten the Bank's 2-3 percent target band.


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