
Issue No 3		05 March 1999

News

Unions Win Virtual Access To The Workplace

By Peter Lewis

Public sector workers have secured the right to use the InterNet and e-mails for union-related activities, under a ground-breaking deal struck by the NSW Labor Council and the PSA.

The protocol covering electronic access rights for workers in the public service recognises mail to and from a worker relating to union activities as a valid usage.

It also accepts that union delegates should have the right to access internal computer infrastructure to assist in organising activities.

The deal comes on the eve of a major international trade union conference in Sydney which has InterNet access rights as a key agenda item.

The International Federation of Commercial, Clerical, Professional and Technical Employees (FIET) holds their world conference in Sydney from March 14; under the banner "People First -- FIET in the Global Economy". Workers Online will provide a comprehensive coverage of the conference.

Unions worldwide have been pushing to establish usage rights on employer computer networks for some time, arguing that the InterNet is a public asset which workers should have access for personal usage.

The deal with the NSW Labor government is believed to be one of the first of its type anywhere in the world.

Labor Council secretary Michael Costa said the protocol established a principle which will become increasingly important with the move to the Information Economy

"As workplaces become more atomised, it is important that unions have the ability to reach workers who may be working in increasingly isolated circumstances," Mr Costa said.

"Having established the principle in the public sector it is now our task to spread it into the private sector by raising the issue when we negotiate agreements."

In addition to the union rights, the protocol outlines a series of responsibilities workers with InterNet access undertake including:

- not using the equipment to transmit, communicate or access pornography or other offensive material

- no transmission of offensive messages

- principle use for business purposes; general usage most be appropriate -- "lawful, efficient, proper and ethical".

The Policy and Guidelines for the use by Staff of Employer Communication Devices may now be found on the Premier's Department site

   Want to know more? Contact Michael Gadiel

  View entire issue - print all of the articles!

  Issue 3 contents

Interview: How Organising Works
The ACTU�s Sarah Kaine is part of a new breed of union organiser who help workers stand up for themselves.

Unions: Big Boys Bank on Mergers
Mergers of the big banks are back on the agenda, and the Finance Sector Union is leading the community campaign against them.

History: Commemorating Our Dear Departed Equal Pay Activists
Two women who deserve special recognition and commemoration as part of our Women's Day celebrations are Eileen Powell and Edna Ryan, both of who played a crucial role in the struggle for equal pay.

Legal: New Judge Announces Zero Tolerance Of Pay Inequity In NSW
The NSW Industrial Relations Commission is training its sights on industrial raw-deals for women, and targeting the traditional under-valuation of women's work.

Review: Keep the Australia in Australian Television.
Local content quotas for Australian television are under threat from our Kiwi cousins.

Campaign Diary: Radical Conservatives Raise Their Own Bar
This Monday writs are issued for the state election, The phoney campaign ends and the real one begins; and the issue of stability, the need for it and the lack of it, is set to dominate the next four weeks.

» Unions Win Virtual Access To The Workplace

» Shaw To Snip At Gender Pay Gaps

» Living Wage - Round One To Unions

» Workers Fight Hotel Chain's Contracts Push

» No Picnic, No Pay

» The Modern Day Tales Of Robin Hood

» Nothing Casual About Woolies Drivers

» Unionists Flex Muscles for a Gay Time