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For Queen and Country
There�s nothing like a Commonwealth Games � and one on home turf to boot � to get one thinking about Australia�s relationship with Britain and the monarch who still reigns over us.
Interview: Organising In Cyberspace
Workers Online speaks to the ACTU's Union Organiser of the Year, Greg Harvey from the RTBU, who has been using cutting edge ways to communicate with a blue-collar workforce spread across five states.
Industrial: How Low Is Low
Neale Towart looks at the much hyped link between minimum wages and employment
Industrial: Cloak and Dagger
The Howard Govwernment has begun rolling out workshops to inform employers on how to use WorkChoices. Sean Ambrose sneaked through the doors for Workers Online.
Unions: Bad Medicine
Nathan Brown reports on how Australia Post�s dodgy Faculty Nominated Doctor system is leaving sick workers feeling worse.
History: Right Turn, Clyde
Bob Gould believes news of Clyde Cameron�s demise may be premature
Economics: Long Division
Kenneth Davidson looks at a successful political strategy
International: Union Proud
A University of California librarian calls for union labels to increase worker visibility
Politics: Howard�s Sick Joke
Phil Doyle looks at an attack on one of the great achievements of the union movement
Indigenous: The year of living dangerously
That mob in parliament house seems to be hopelessly out of touch with Indigenous Australia. So much so, that Graham Ring wonders if the House on the Hill is becoming a �cultural museum�.
Review: Lights, Camera, Strike!
Mandrake the Electrician has been down to the video store over the summer and rounded up the Top Ten Union Movies of all time.
Culture: News Front
If the owners are selling off papers, perhaps the unions should buy them says Mark Dobbie.
 Fleas Bite Back
Visa Boss Restrained
Howard's Holiday Secrets
Picket Buster Carpeted
No Ticket No Start For Asbestos
On The Road Again
WorkChoices Goes Mental
United Cuts Hit Turbulence
Bad News for Bullies
Vegie Contracts Poisonous
Mac Attack
Work Choices Canned
Work Pressure Kills: Judge
Activist's What's On!
The Soapbox
Australian Fascism
Rowan Cahill critiques Gerard Henderson�s unique take on history
Parliament
Westie Wing
Will Westie's Wings be clipped, or will the Hills Angels repent and deliver? The Locker Room
The Heart Of The Matter
Phil Doyle rolls up the red carpet and celebrates the death of an old foe
Revelations of St John
Save Frost
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Vic Trades Hall Council
IT Workers Alliance
Bosswatch
Unions on LaborNET
Evatt Foundation
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News
Work Choices Canned
A major Northern Territory employer has brushed Work Choices to rush a multi-union agreement, covering 500 workers, before the Industrial Relations Commission.
Alcan Alumium joined several unions in seeking registration of a three-year document that provides annual five percent wage increases and rolls over all existing conditions.
"It (Alcan) enabled us to get the document in front of the Commission the day after we finished negotiating," AMWU Territory organiser, Jamie Robertson, reported. "A lot of families will have their living standards protected for another three years.
"Alcan wasn't interested in playing politics, it just wanted to get on with the job."
The Alcan attitude contrasts with that of some employers who are holding out on negotiations in the hopes of using new laws to cut wages or claw back conditions.
Large companies, including Qantas, have indicated they will use severe restrictions on workers' rights to slash overtime and other conditions.
At least one Melbourne company has flagged its intention to rip hundreds of dollars out of weekly pay packets.
The federal government is still drafting regulations that will underpin the new regime but it is expected to become effective within the next four weeks.
Robertson pointed out that the Gove EBA hadn't been due to expire until the end of the year.
He called the development "very encouraging".
"People in the Territory are very concerned about Work Choices. This is a sign that with good will, and a bit of vision, it doesn't have to mean conflict," Robertson said.
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Issue 299 contents
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