In a letter to the Labor Council of NSW, Ramos Horta says the support to date has been both practical and appreciated.
But he asks the union movement to "initiate suitable industrial action, such as refusing to service Garuda aircraft".
The ACTU this week endorsed a "campaign for peace" including industrial action, consumer boycotts and lobbying efforts to bring the situation under control. A similar resolution has been endorsed by the NSW Labor Council.
The Sydney community protests are being led by the CFMEU Construction division, which is providing significant resources and logistical support, backed by the Labor Council of NSW.
Meanwhile, many trade unions have already announced action against Indonesian Government and related business interests, including:
* the Maritime Union has imposed bans on all Indonesian ships and Indonesian cargo and will block a shipment of around 80,000 tonnoes of wheat due to be exported next week.
* printing workers are refusing to handle paper products made in Indonesia
* community actions today forced the rescheduling of flights by Garuda Airlines in both Sydney and Melbourne airports.
* postal and telecommunication workers have placed bans on comminations, including fault repairs, to the Indonesian Consulate, other official buildings and Garuda Airlines.
* garbage workers - with the backing of Randwick Council - are refusing to pick up rubbish from the Indonesian Consulate.
* the Australian Workers Union says refinery operators will indefinitely refuse to process Indonesian crude oil.
* the Community and Public Serctor Union has called on the ABC and the Howard government to reopen Radio Australia via the Cox Peninusla short wave transmitter to broadcast information of the crisis into South East Asia.
* the Textile, Clothting and Footwear Union has called for all government departments - including SOCOG - to suspend production contracts with Indonesia (see separate story).
* the Transport Workers Union has banned the airport loading of all Indonesian freight.
* the Australian Nurses Federation has placed members on standby to respond to the looming humanitarian crisis.
* other unionists are voicing their concern directly with the United Nations, the Howard Government and the Indonesian Government.
Consumer Boycott
Individual workers are asked to back a consumer boycott of Indonesian products called by the ACTU. A fill list of firms and products can be found at http://www.freetimor.com
They are also being asked to boycott Indonesian tourist destinations including Bali.
Internationally, the International Transport Workers Federation has called on its 500 affiliates worldwide to follow the example of the MUA and "organise appropriate protest action against Indonesian commercial interests including air and sea traffic coming from or bound for Indonesian ports and airports."
And Britain's peak union body, the Trade Union congree, will consider the issues at its general congress in Blckpool this week.
A Not So Great Australian
But Australian opposition has been marred by Qantas who have threatened staff who take part in any action against the Indonesian airline Garuda.
In a circular to staff dated September 7, Richard Davies, Manager Freight Terminal Melbourne warns staff who refuse to handle or delay the handling of Garuda Freight that there actions are:
- not approved by the Company.
- will result in no payments for the time that they engage in disruptive action.
- and could attract prosecution under the Workplace Relations Act and the Trade Practices Act.
Meanwhile, the union representing Garuda workers has appealed to other unionists to maintain their safety during any protests.
Australian Services Union state secretary Michael Want says his members had been at the forefront of the demonstrations against Indonesia's occupation of East Timor, but called on the protests to remain peaceful.
Protest Actions
Every Night - 7.30pm Pax Christi Mass at vigil outside UN office - 43 York St Sydney - contact CFMEU organiser Gary McCarthy 0412 733 486
* Saturday 11th September: A major protest rally will be held on Saturday, September 11 at 11am in Hyde Park, Sydney; 7.30pm - Fretilin/CNRT fundraiser, Fraser Park Portugese Community & Social Club, Marrickville/Sydenham
* Sunday 12th September: Indonesian Embassy - Contact: Gary McCarthy 0412 733486 CFMEU Organiser
* Tuesday 14th September: 12 pm - Uni NSW Rally - Library Lawn Upper Campus Contact: Peter Slezak, 9385 2422; 1pm -
* Tuesday 14th September - TO BE CONFRIMED - Jose Ramos Horta
* Tuesday 6pm - Campaign planning meeting - Level 4, 361 Kent Street CFMEU
* Wednesday 15th September - 5pm - Town Hall Square Emergency rally and march on UN office to show solidarity with hunger strikers.
* Wednesday 6:30PM (after the rally) fundraising dinner for CNRT (National Council for Timorese Resistance) CFMEU offices, Kent Street, City. Great food, drink, music, traditional Timorese dancing, poetry from Dennis Kevans - all welcome.
Thursday 16th September - 6pm Ecumenical Service St Mary's Cathedral
- 7pm Transport Club - International Socialist meeting - "Timor - Union bans or UN".
Friday 17th September - 8pm Rose, Shamrock & Thistle Hotel (3 Weeds), Evans St Rozelle - Solidarity Choir - Kavisha Mazella - part proceeds to Timor
Saturday 18th September - 11am - Major Rally and march beginning at Hyde Park North * immediately following rally - fundraiser for CNRT (National Council for Timorese Resistance) CFMEU building 361 Kent St. Great food, drink, music...
- 8pm - Dave Steel fundraiser - Rose, Shamrock & Thistle Hotel, Evans St Rozelle.
- 5.30 pm start for 6pm - special screening of the acclaimed film "Punitive Damage" (about the Dili massacre) at Chauvel Cinema, Paddington Town Hall - All proceeds to Community Aid Abroad's Emergency Fund for East Timor.
Monday 20th September - 6.30am Free buses leave CNRT office - 30 Scott St Liverpool for demonstration in Canberra outside Parliament House & Indonesian Embassy. Contact CNRT office 9822 8225.
- 7pm East Timorese Volunteers meeting - Annandale Hotel
Tuesday 21st September
- 6pm Amnesty International Vigil - First Fleet Park - Circular Quay.
Thursday 30th September - 6pm "Timor Nia Klamas" (Soul of Timor) art exhibition. New Guinea Gallery 8th floor Dymocks Building 428 George St City - ph 9232 4737
Volunteers are urgently needed to staff the office at the CFMEU building and distribute leaflets. If you can spare a few hours please give a hand. It would be much appreciated
The support organisation, Australia East Timor Association has suggested the following actions:
- Chinese Consulate 9698 7929 - ring and complain about stalling at Security Council.
- Japanese Consulate 9231 3455 - ring and complain about their support for Indonesian Army as peace-keeping force
Any Time Action
Phone or fax John Howard - insist Australia support a UN sponsored peace keeping force be sent into East Timor to restore order: Canberra phone 02 6277 7700 or Fax 02 6273 4100 Sydney phone 02 9251 5711 or Fax 02 9251 5454
Telstra Workers to Pray for Peace
Telstra workers will take part in a special prayer service this week, reading the following prayer written for the CPSU by Archbishop Belo.
Staff will stop for a minute's prayer on Tuesday.
God Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth, Pillar of Justice and of Peace -
We the members of the CPSU, Ask that you intercede on behalf of the People of East Timor.
Shower your blessings, On the families, the young and the people of East Timor
Protect this martyr people; Heal their troubled land, And grant them peace
So that your Kingdom of Love; of Justice And of Harmony, May Reign in East Timor
HT Lee, a media officer with the CFMEU Construction Division and regular Workers Online reporter and Liam Phelan, a freelance journalist and MEAA activist, were part of the human shield who had refused to flee East Timor during the week.
But Lee has told Workers Online all the remining journalists were today told they had to agree to return to Darwin or be expelled from the compound.
They had been prepared to stay as part of the skeleton force, to provide refuge for the Timorese who had taken refuge there as militias raized the city.
"The people of Timor have been betrayed by the international community once again," Lee said from Darwin.
"As we were moving out of Dili we could see buildings being burned to the ground - over 70 per cent of the city is now burnt.
"It's just unnecessary mass destruction, we could see militia roaming around with weapons, totally unchecked by the military."
Lee says while they were given guarantees that those in the compound would be given safe passage to Dare, near the FALNTIL base, there were grave concerns for the people of East Timor as a whole.
"There is a grave shortage of water and medical supplies," he says. "Unless supplies can be shipped in there will be serious problems in terms of starvation and outbreak of diseases."
Earlier in the week, UN staff and journalists told UN Mission Chief Ian Martin that they would not be evacuated on Thursday as a final withdrawal was being planned. A 24-hour delay in the withdrawal was extended when supplies arrived on Thursday.
HT Lee told Workers Online how Indonesian soldiers had forced him and other journalists from a Dili Hotel to the compound earlier this week. "We were marched to the UN compound," he said.
Describing the situation in Dili as "a sheer rein of terror" Lee says the feeling within the compound is that only a UN-sanctioned international peace-keeping force could restore order.
"There is no civil war occurring in East Timor," he says, "the violence is being created by the army."
This story will be updated during the week by HT Lee
Transport Workers Union state secretary Tony Sheldon has warned that while he is outraged by what is occurring in East Timor, targeting Indonesia could be counter-productive
The TWU, which covers refuellers, caterers and baggage handlers at all airports has placed national bans on all Indonesian air freight but will not prevent passengers travelling on the Indonesian airline, Garuda.
Sheldon says it's a very complex political situation and Australian need to act, not just with their hearts but their heads.
"We must be careful that the union movement in Australia does not play into the hands of the Indonesian military in their bid to gain further control and power in Indonesia," Sheldon says..
"The military is clearly using Timor as part of a power play to gain control of the Indonesian Government.
Sheldon has called on the Australian Government to reopen the Radio Australia Network into Asia - immediately reversing its naive decision to close it down - and recommence broadcasts into Asia about the crisis in Timor.
"This would be a practical way of giving people in Timor and throughout Indonesia and Asia news and information as to the extent of the atrocities," he says
"Our contacts in Indonesia tell us there is more news about the Australian bans than about the atrocities that are occurring."
It's part of a broader call from the Textile Clothing and Footwear Union on all State and federal Government instrumentalities having products made in Indonesia to cease production immediately.
TCFU industrial officer Igor Nossar told Labor Council that Australian instrumentalities had to take a lead in placing commercial pressure on Indonesia to end the violence in East Timor.
Nossar says there is a clear "moral choice" to be made - whether to carry on business as usual or make a stand against Indonesia.
Labor Council secretary Michael Costa says the call to suspend production is not linked to the ongoing campaign to pressure SOCOG to ensure that Games uniforms made offshore comply with basic labour standards.
Unions are concerned that they have not received adequate information about the arrangements for production of Games uniforms in Fiji, Malaysia and Indonesia.
The Labor Council has asked SOCOG to call a meeting of the implementation committee overseeing the Licensed Goods Code of Conduct.
Speaking to the Workers Online Sydney forum on "Organising in a Virtual World" this week, Lee urged unions to start looking at ways of making their web-sites more secure.
As unions develop their ability to run global campaigns, companies will adapt union-busting techniques to the new medium - such as viruses and virtual paint bombs to disable their opponents.
"How many unions are taking measures to prevent their sites from being cracked and destroyed? Not many," he said.
He also warned of the need to develop encryption for emails so that information shared by unionists is not readily available to management. "We're talking about simply placing your mail in an envelope", Lee said.
Net Not the Net Answer
Of course, the threat of hacking won't be great until unions develop the Net into a more effective tool. Lee spent the bulk of his address outlining how some unions are taking the first steps to making that happen.
But he warned the Internet was no salvation to a movement in serious, perhaps, terminal decline, merely a new tool for reinventing the core union functions of educating, organising and agitating..
Lee showcased the potential in each of these areas by working examples:
- UK unions are running on-line education courses, where employers have agreed to give workers time off to study. Lee describes it as a true partnership between unions, employers and academics.
- Workers at Microsoft are being organised over the Net, with the union site not only providing a forum for workers to discuss issues, but also offering training in skills that will help them secure better work.
- ABC's lock-out of Disney workers was fought in cyberspace, when activists started posting protest notices on the ABC web-page's recipe section and posting photos of strike-breakers on the union site.
ACTU Computer Deal "Moot Point"
As for Internet access Lee says the debate raging over the ACTU-Vizard computer plan was probably a "moot point", because very few unionists would sign up to the offer.
He says he had brokered a deal involving free computers and Internet access for the Communication Workers Union. Despite widespread publicity of the deal to the union's 260,000 members, just 900 took up the offer.
Lee believes universal access to the Net is inevitable, with several US and UK companies offering free access.
The big challenge is how the Net is used and Lee says its up to unions to keep developing their presence to make the most of the technology. Lee's own site, LabourStart is to begin a 24 hour news feed for other union sites.
And new programs like Gooey, which allows people hitting on the same web-site to talk to each other, will already offer unions the chance to conduct discussions with groups of workers.
While in Australia Lee also gave workshops in South Australia, Newcastle, Sydney and Melbourne on harnessing the latest advances on the Web.
Eric Lee's Visit was Sponsored by Adult Learners Week -
Communications union branch secretary Jim Metcher says he's been advised the decision has been made by the International Olympic Committee after a foreign carrier successfully bid against Australia Post for the contract.
Metcher has asked Australia Post for clarification of the situation, warning that the union would disrupt mail service during the Games period if it emerged that the jobs would not go to Australian workers.
"Our members have already formed the view that if they cannot provide a mail delivery service to the Olympics site, then no other International Postal Service provider should either," Metcher says.
Metcher says it appears laws making Australia Post the only carrier for small letters will be suspended during the games to allow the international carrier to operate.
"This is a national disgrace," Metcher says. "It's an Olympic site - not a sacred site - the same rules should apply."
Funeral Union state secretary Aiden Nye says the stress from long hours and staff cuts in the industry are becoming so great that safety problems are beginning to emerge.
Already, relatives of deceased are being asked to carry coffins at funerals in breach of health and safety laws - because there are not enough paid staff at funerals.
"Most of the workers are dead on their feet," Nye says. "And that can lead to all sorts of dangers for both the workers and the public."
The union along with Labor Council safety watchdog Mary Yaager and the WorkCover Authority have inspected one of the bigger workplaces - Services Corporations Australia - and found a range of hazards including:
- workers exposed to deadly chemicals such as formaldehyde which is used in embalming in rooms.
- dangers of lifting, transporting and carrying deceased individuals.
- stress associated with removing bodies from horrific accidents, suicide and murder scenes such as the Strathfield massacre; with a total absence of counselling for workers.
The WorkCover Authority will be producing a report with recommendations on how the industry can be improved.
by Paul True
A rank and file union activist for many years, Wal contracted the incurable disease mesothelioma, from having worked with asbestos in the 1950s and 60s. He sued a number of companies, winning a large compensation payment.
In gratitude for the help of the CFMEU, Wal made a donation of $30,000. A Depression-era kid, Wal knew very clearly the need for unions, and was greatly concerned at the attempts of the Howard/Reith regime to crush the union movement.
His bequest is being used to produce a series of historical booklets for young building workers. On top of funding the project, and despite his terrible illness, Wal participated in the research for as long as he was able.
Sadly Wal did not live to see the fruits of what he'd set in train. But his inspiring legacy will continue to help in the education of building workers for generations to come.
Transport Workers Union state secretary Tony Sheldon and Australian Workers Union official Colin Bosworth met with the mine's receivers, Price Waterhouse Coopers, this week.
One hundred and fifty workers were thrown out of work 18 months ago owed $6.5 million in unpaid entitlements.
But when officials met receivers this week, they indicated that they would be prepared to underwrite the debt - and that some of the money could be in the workers' hands within two months.
Shame File for Entitlements
Sheldon has called on the Labor Council to establish a Shame File to name employers that refuse to meet their legal obligations to pay workers their entitlements.
Unions would invite workers to ring in the names of bosses who have failed to pay entitlements - particularly where they have later set up new business operations.
This would be housed on Labor Net and publicised through Workers Online, becoming a reference point for employees wanting to make sure their boss was clean.
To maximise the benefits of the Shame File, Sheldon wants Labor Council to establish an organising protocol to help activate unions around the issue of worker entitlements.
The decision, a classic union-busting tactic, is the latest in a series of actions to undermine conditions and discourage union membership within the company.
The communication workers union has called on the thousands of individuals who took out shares in the initial float or are planning to invest in the current second tranche to use their shareholder rights to bring the company to account.
"John Howard tells us that he's turned Australia into a nation of shareholders," CEPU organiser Tanya Barber says.
"Here's a chance for some of those shareholders to exert their rights, rather than just sitting around and waiting for next year's dividends."
Barber says shareholders can influence Telstra policy by placing resolutions at the Annual General Meeting or calling for a Special General Meeting to discuss the issue.
Backing the union, the Labor Council has passed a resolution calling "on Telstra shareholders, to demand that Telstra management, through its Board of Directors, cease its ongoing campaign of discriminatory attacks against employees who wish to uphold their legal right to freedom of association, Telstra shareholders should demand that Telstra treat all payroll deductions in a fair and reasonable manner."
Justice Shane Marshall this week gave Employment Advocate, Jonathon Hamburger, 21 days to provide him with a copy of the letter - rejecting arguments that it was confidential.
Marshall told the court that the allegations raised against Mr Hamburger were serious and "analogous to a proceeding in which a corruption claim is made against a senior police officer."
The CFMEU alleges that Reith and his agents threatened to withhold $50 million in federal funding for the project unless an agreement - negotiated by developed Multiplex and seven other unions - was not changed,
The union argues this amounts to a breach of the Workplace Relations Act, the trade Practices Act , as well as a conspiracy to injure the union by unlawful means.
CFMEU national John Sutton says the decision was a big boost for the union case. "We think we have him on toast," Sutton says.
"The letter must say something pretty useful to our case or they wouldn't be trying to do so much to keep it secret."
But the Labor Council has warned this won't stop individual workers bargaining for higher wages in what will be a boon night for the state's employers.
This week's Cabinet meeting dogged the issue - stating they would consider a half day, while giving opponents time to campaign against the Labor Council claim. That now appears to be a fait accompli after the Terror wrote an editorial describing the half-day as
Labor Council secretary Michael Costa says the half-day is welcome but still short of the full-day granted by the Blair Government in Britain.
But he put employers on notice that where there was a demand for staff in areas like hospitality they can expect to face a higher premium.
Mixed Responses from Scrooge Ministers
Three Carr government ministers quoted in the press as opposing a New Years Eve have given varied responses to whether they were properly quoted.
Bob Debus says he was misquoted in the report. He says he told a reporter that he'd be working on the day because he's responsible for the Millennium Bug, but he'd made comment about the public holiday.
Richard Face's spokesman says he didn't support a full day but a half day was OK (Thanks Dick!). Kim Yeadon's office failed to clarify the issue.
by Leon Parissi
Earlier that morning at Sydney Institute of Technology joint union pickets were held. We had leaflets to hand out and we challenged people who crossed the picket line explaining what was going on and encouraging them to join us.
When it was time to move on to the nearby rally we gathered together and marched as a contingent through the campus with our SIT Workplace Group banner flying, our voices in full cry and emotions high from a picket well maintained.
We had managed to convince a few people to join the strike (as we found out later) and others were persuaded not to staff service points even though they worked that day. A sign of our success was that very few people crossed the picket line that morning.
Another indicator of our success was that the canteen was closed all day. As we made our way to Wentworth other strikers joined in and we handed out leaflets along the
way.
At the rally we heard speeches from union leaders about the job cuts, management's appalling handling of the matter and the joint unions' fight in meetings with management and in the Industrial Commission.
Then the motion was put to deplore the cuts and call for the Carr government to restore funding with a rider that if funding is not restored by 10 September then another strike is to be held on 22 September.
After the Wentworth Park rally we marched back to SIT where we blocked Mary Ann Street and more speeches were made. The members from the 'soon to closed' Seaforth College urged us to join a further rally at the Head Office of the Department and in between time a picket of the SIT Ultimo library was called.
The Library was to be closed because of the strike but management forced its opening using unwilling casual labor and a few strike breakers. The library picket decided to become active and we marched through the library yelling our slogans and urging others to join us as we handed out leaflets explaining what the strike was about and advertising the SIT Action Group meeting. After we got that off our collective chest we felt a lot better and retired to lunch and then on to the last picket of the day at Head Office.
Not so many made it to Bridge Street so all we could manage was a small delegation to see some of the Department of Education and Training top brass and delivered a protest at the imminent closure of the Seaforth College.
The day was well spent in open defiance of the arrogant masters of the Department and the State Government. A good opening shot in a determined campaign to save at least 630 jobs in TAFE and 2,500 in public service jobs overall.
The proposal to cut Clubs like South Sydney and North Sydney is a disgrace. All this is designed to do is serve the commercial interest of News Ltd.
There is no consideration for public interest or the legion of fans who support these clubs.This is a corporate takeover of a working class game.
What fools the ARL leadership are in agreeing to this proposal.This is further high-lighted by the latest funding debacle which further endangers the existing ARL Clubs. What competent management would lose a $15 million in such a hand fisted manner
Mark Pearce
Union Member and South Sydney Supporter
CAPITALISM: You have two cows. You sell one and buy a bull.
INTERNET CAPITALISM: Although you don't actually HAVE any cows, if someone invests in your company there is a distinct possibility that you might develop unlimited access to cows for anyone who actually knows what a cow looks like or does.
However, the real question is how much money can be made through making lots of people believe that lots of other people really do want access to cows simply because they will now be referred to as "interactive" cows.
"Milk on-line" has a whole new meaning, as does "share farming".
By the way, please remove those great big four-legged black and white things that keep chewing the plastic shrubs and shitting on the floor - they are getting in the way of the virtual cows.
ANON
I have read "Workers Online" , from its inception .
Initially, I thought it was just another venture, by the intellectual derelicts , who when vigilance is slack , or the watchmen have gone to sleep , sneak into the storehouse of the Trade Union movement to nibble at its reserves , through utilizing the now scarce resources of this once strong and vigorous defender of the common man.
No! I was proven wrong, every second or third edition there is a rough diamond hiding, just waiting to be picked up and polished.
Unfortunately, none have seen these tiny glints of treasure, and this applies more so to the Vizard deal on computers, or any deal done with private enterprise on computers, in particular as to the content of the disseminated information.
I find myself in complete agreement with your editorial on this issue, to explain it in simple terms, the hardware is the equivalent of the oyster shell , and the information that can be actually pushed to those hungry for it , is the Pearl. To enter into an agreement in haste would be the same as throwing away the Oyster flesh , and the Pearl, then retaining a useless and plentiful shell.
If the A.C.T.U. under its new leadership insists on shortchanging members, then the N.S.W. Labor Council, should grasp the nettle and reach out to other organizations for a better deal, one in which the Labor Council would have the ultimate say in the content and design of the services provided by an Internet Service Provider/Hardware Provider..
Again, I must congratulate you on your editorial, which shows great foresight, something sadly lacking in today's Trade Union employees/Officials.
Tom Collins
Dear Peter,
Unlike many of my more sceptical woman friends, I am convinced that you really didn't mean to exclude all your non-male readers with this little gem in your editorial dated September 3:
'Would an entrepreneur who has invested significant money into the web, be prepared to allow a dissenting and independent voice to be broadcast on his site? Or would we be shut out of the ACTU's home base in cyberspace?'
'His site?' Tssk tsssk. On behalf of all the female entrepreneurs out here in Online Land who heaved a weary, collective sigh when they read your editorial, I would like to say desist at once. Because, unlike me, most take a lot of convincing that the old female-male barriers within Australian unionism are breaking down. A good start would be to drop the male default.
Let's slip quietly into the 1990s with our language, shall we? Before we find the 90s have passed us by.
In unity,
Brenda Finlayson
Why hasn't WO published the speech made by Belinda Nichols (I think that was her name) at the 24/8/99 rally? If you've published a speech made by a SDA delegate shouldn't you balance that with one made by a LHMU member.
I was quite upset that the 'youf' were being represented by someone from the SDA (not that I mind Claire, we were on the same polling booth for the Federal election). Quite seriously, I don't feel I'm represented by a union which has done relatively little over the past 20 years to end youth wages.
I was intensely proud of my fellow LHMU member when she described the organisation of her workforce to the crowd- I felt "That's the future of unionism- not the cheap fridges, low wages and textbook loans which come with working in retail."
Please publish it soon.
Luke Whitington
ED Reply: Luke, there is no conspiracy! We have been running one of the speeches each week. Before the SDA member, we ran the speech by MEAA member Di Smith. See this week's Unions section for the LHMU's contribution.
I an concerned about the current situation in East Timor. What concerns me most is the apparent inactivity by trade unionists in states other then Victoria.
We along with our comrades overseas should do everything in our power to assist the East Timorese through boycotts and industrial action.The sooner the killing stops,the better.
Do what you can today comrades and stop the slaughter.We in Victoria are doing something but we may as well be pissing in the wind unless we get the support from other unionists both here and overseas.
John Maciulis
Dear Mr Downer,
I'm only 13 years old, but it doesn;t take an Einstein to realize that East Timor is in desperate need of help.
My mother is an East timorese and my father is an Indonesian norn Chinese;l being raised in East timor and Indonesia they both agree that the Indonesian police and army force are corrupt.
Perhaps it would be better if East Timor and Indoensia were killing each other but this is not the case. It isn;t a war, it is unfair massacre because only one side is killing.
I watch the enws and from the facts that I see, half the Indonesian army that is supposed to be helping and keeping the peace in east Timor are actually the militias who are running around and massacring the innocent people. This is like ltteing cats defend mice, because we know that the cats will eat the mice alive.
Although I was born in Australia, my mother has told me dreadful tales about mysterious murders and disappeatances by these 'protectors'. This isn't a very nice letter but this topic isn't either.
Please send the peace-keeping forces into East timor as soon as possible.
Yours Sincerely,
Sally Soei
by Peter Lewis
What's the latest you've heard from your contacts in East Timor?
There's no communications inside East Timor at the moment, but I believe that communication lines have been reconnected. So we can't be sure. The situation in West Timor from the last information I got - which was earlier this week -is that there are people being gathered into concentration camps; women are divided from the men and a lot of the East Timorese men are being forced to go back into East Timor in army uniforms to fight against the FALINTIL forces. If they refuse to do so, their wives and children are held at ransom.
How are you getting your information?
There are some people who have escaped the concentration camps and are now in Bail and Jakarta.
How have they got out?
They managed to get out by paying Indonesian soldiers.
As far as you're aware, are there still Independence supporters within East Timor?
Dili is basically empty. The mountains of East Timor are fully occupied by refugees who have gone there requesting the protection of FALINTIL forces.
What are you asking the Australian Government to do?
All I'm asking is for John Howard and the international community to stop this jargon of 'diplomacy' and do the real stuff. We need people inside East Timor - not tomorrow, but today.
Do you understand the concerns that this would be akin to declaring war on Indonesia?
I can understand, but then I can not understand. Indonesia in 1975 illegally invaded East Timor. Since 1975 to this present moment has never been recognised by the United Nations as the 27th province of Indonesia. Portugal is the rightful administrator of East Timor. And now if the Australian Government or the United Nations needs to ask permission to go into Indonesia then it contradicts the whole issue of the resolution of the United Nations.
How do you see the situation playing out over the next seven days?
I think Indonesia is now having problems within its own political arena. I think this presents a grave problem inside Indonesia, but also for Australia and the East Timorese. because there is not political stability inside Indonesia. And given it is bound to fall into military hands you will have the same regime that Suharto had pre-1975.
Do the remaining pro-Independence supporters within Timor have any fire-power?
Quite frankly, we are out-numbered. The reason we have been maintaining our fight against the Indonesians for all these years is because we have had the support of the East Timorese people. people in Dili, in Bacau, in residential and rural areas. Now you have a different picture. These people are being removed from their homes, so those supporters are no longer there. FALINTIL has another problem - they have to worry about the large numbers of local people who have gone into the mountains seeking their protection.
So do you see any hope of Timorese independence or is it just a case of saving lives now?
I see there is still a prospect if the United Nations and the international community live up to the promisees they have given to the East Timorese community. We actually voted to choose our destiny, the options given by the Indonesian Government were to accept autonomy or reject autonomy. Overwhelmingly, we rejected the autonomy package- just 21 per cent were in favour of autonomy. That means it's clear that from 1975 to the present time the East Timorese are still very disgusted with the way Indonesians have treated us and that we want to be an independent state.
I am 20 years old and I am a casual Room attendant at the Hyde Park Plaza Hotel.
I have worked there regularly for nearly 18 months. I average over 30 hours work per week. I rely on this work to be able to pay my rent and support myself.
Earlier this year the company that runs our hotel, Mirvac, tried to get us to vote for a non-union agreement which reduced our conditions. Organisers from the hotel union helped us organise a no vote, and we successfully defeated this attack.
Many of us chose to join the union at this time.
But Mirvac did not give up.
They called all of the housekeeping department together and told us that they were going to contract out our department.
We were told that we would all be offered jobs with the new company, but that we would have to sign an individual contract with the new company to get these jobs. We had a meeting with our union organisers, and came up with a list of questions. We had many questions, about our wages, our hours of work, changes to how we work, and what would happen if we didn't sign the contracts.
We all decided to stick together and refuse to sign anything.
We all met in the lunch room, and refused to got to work until our managers met with us and our union organisers and answered our questions. The company then said that they would postpone the contracting out, and that they would negotiate with us as a unionised workforce.
They didn't.
As we went about our work, managers from Mirvac and the contracting company approached us while we were working by ourselves in guest rooms. They told us that we had to sign the contracts by a certain date.
They threatened to sack us if we didn't. We were told that others had already signed We all needed our jobs to survive. A lot of us were really scared and very upset.
Luckily, we had talked about how these thing s might happen with our union organisers before, and had agreed not to sign anything until we had decided as a group.
The pressure and stress became so bad that many workers were getting sick, and most of us were scared to be alone at work, and feeling very intimidated by our bosses. We had another meeting, and decided that our best choice was to go on strike.
We did so, with every single member of our department striking, and everyone came down to a picket line in front of the hotel. We got great support from other hotel and casino union members, our families and friends, and other people from a lot of different unions.
We were successful.
Management changed their mind about contracting out, and we all kept our jobs without signing anything.
Since this time it has not always been easy. We have had to have other meetings with management after they tried to cut some of our hours, and increase our workloads.
While we have been successful, it has not been easy.
It was very hard in the beginning before all of us were union members. We knew the hotel didn't want us to be in the union, and were worried about being picked on if they found out we had joined, or were interested in the union.
It was hard for us, and we had to put up with fear and intimidation.
From what I understand of Peter Reith's new laws, if they had been around then, it would not have just been hard for us to stand up for our rights, it would have been nearly impossible.
Certainly nobody would have been brave enough to be the one to invite union organisers to visit the hotel. And even if they had, no-one would have been stupid enough to be seen going to talk to them in a special room.
And if we had to have a secret ballot and a waiting time before going on strike, I think it would have made it very hard for us to put up with all the waiting and all the pressure that our managers would have put on us.
In hotels like ours, the last thing we need is to be protected from union officials. We already have the right to choose whether we are part of the union or not. I think that if Reith is successful, we will never get the chance to make that choice freely.
Instead we will have a different choice: to choose to put up with whatever our boss does, no matter how bad or how unfair; or to choose not to have a job.
A fair country would not pass these laws.
Belinda gave this speech to the Second Wave Rally in Sydney on August 24
In 45 seconds the earthquake in Turkey killed tens of thousands and destroyed the lives of millions.
Many in Turkey believe it is now time to bring to justice those responsible for this murder. Justice? Murder? How can people be talking in these terms about what was a natural disaster?
The earthquake was natural - its results were entirely man made.
As one Turk told the British weekly, Socialist Worker: "I live in an area of Istanbul, the largest city in Turkey, where the houses and flats are well built. When the earthquake hit, the only thing that happened was ornaments fell off our shelves. The poorest district in Istanbul, Avclar, is devastated."
The well off survived. The poor died. How can this be so? The answer lies in the bribery and corruption which is endemic in Turkey. And the fact that the Government devotes its resources to a war against the Kurds rather than safe housing.
Buildings can be built to survive earthquakes. Ahmet Mete is the head of the Earthquake Research Centre at Bosphorus University. He said, "Earthquakes don't kill. Buildings kill."
Turkey's construction regulations are strict enough for buildings which comply with them to survive earthquakes. So why did people die?
The Architects Chamber of Turkey says over half of all buildings in Turkey violate the building regulations. As a consequence they tend to collapse in an earthquake, killing people.
"We know how to build earthquake resistant houses," says Oktay Ekinci, the chairman of the Architects Chamber. "Yet Turkey is full of Kacak buildings." Kacak means buildings that do not comply with building regulations.
Building inspectors and politicians, when paid enough, turn a blind eye to inadequate materials and overbuilding.
Most Kacak buildings are in poor areas. The poor cannot afford safe housing. So the market, and corrupt politicians and builders, supply what these people can afford. That means shoddy buildings which fail to meet earthquake proof standards.
The consequence of this? Most of the deaths from the earthquake were in poor areas.
According to the Turkish Earthquake Centre all it would take to make every home in Turkey safe from earthquakes is one year's arms expenditure.
Turkey spends a quarter of its entire budget - about $10 billion annually - on arms. Most of this goes on a futile genocidal war against the Kurds.
If the Government's priority had been on safe housing rather than attempted genocide, most of those who died in the earthquake would be alive today. Scientists had been warning for two years of the likelihood of a large earthquake. The Government ignored the warnings. Instead they continued to pour money into the Army.
Turkey has 800,000 troops under arms - the biggest in Europe. Yet the Army was useless in dealing with the aftermath of the earthquake.
Well known British journalist Robert Fisk had this to say about the Turkish army. "They could 'cleanse' Kurdish towns around Diyarkabir, but they couldn't produce a single earthquake rescue unit around Istanbul. They could not even set up soup kitchens for Turkish civilians 24 hours after the earthquake. While neighbours shrieked for help to rescue loved ones in Aydin, hundreds of soldiers sat in their army trucks in a stationary convoy inside the town. They were not armed with picks and shovels and earth moving equipment, but with automatic rifles. How many more victims might have been rescued if the quarter million strong army fighting the Kurds in south east Turkey had been deployed to the devastated north west of their country?"
No earthquake rescue brigade, not even a single sniffer dog team. This was an army funded to kill Kurds, by a Government deliberately ignoring scientists' warnings.
The response of the West has been criminal. NATO could mobilise massive resources and waste billions on a war against Serbia.
Britain's New Labour initially offered $700,000. This from the same Government that spent ten times that amount each day in bombing the Balkans.
Australia has provided just $1.5m in aid.
The US sent a top general to discuss, not how to help those surviving, but how to ensure America could continue to use Turkey's bases against Iraq.
In Turkey there is grief. But there is also anger.
The day after the earthquake Hurriyet, Turkey's main liberal paper, ran the headline "Murderers" to describe the corrupt building companies and the politicians they have bribed.
The last word belongs to an ordinary Turk. Ercan Gunus lives in Adapazari. It was wrecked by the earthquake.
"The corrupt politicians who take bribes to allow these builders to make these wretched projects are guilty for all the deaths," he told journalists.
"Why did they let them go up? I hope they rot in hell."
John is a Canberra-based writer
by Michael Purvis
I enjoyed reading Peter Moss's article "Off with her head" in Workers Online, where he exhorts sports fans to sacrifice all for the republic. Anyone who can include the Sydney Kings, the Chicago Bulls and the republic in the one article isn't doing too bad.
But isn't backing a "yes" vote in the November 6 republic referendum a bit like kicking for touch after the first tackle? The game has only just begun. If the no vote does get up, which seems increasingly likely, what then? Is that the end of the republic? I wouldn't bet on it. Chances are we'll just go into extra time. The republican push will continue and in the washup after the vote it will become clear that Howard pulled a swifty and gave us a shonky question, aided and abetted by Peter Reith running interference .
For those who urge a 'yes' vote, what's the hurry? This might be the best chance we've ever had for a republic but what kind of republic?. As any negotiator will tell you, never look over eager to make a deal. Just look at the mess the Democrats gave us with the GST. They were so keen to get a seat at the big table they gave away too much. And now newly elected senator Aden Ridgeway has taken a similar tack with the apology to Aborigines, roundly condemned by Aboriginal spokespeople with sharper political instincts like Pat Dodson and Peter Yu. Too keen to get something - anything - he just couldn't help himself. Do we want this kind of outcome with with the republic?
Why vote 'yes' for a republic with a president when the powers of the president haven't been spelled out yet. More importantly, do we want to create this new office of president when we haven't addressed the key issue still hanging over our heads from 1975: the power of the Senate to reject a money Bill? It was the Senate's refusal to even consider passing the Budget that created the conditions where Sir John Kerr could sack the Whitlam Government. The power of an upper house to block a money Bill was abolished in Britain in 1911 and if Federation had taken place in 1912 instead of 1901 the chances are we would have taken a lead from the British and denied the Senate this crucial power.
While the November 6 referendum is not intended to address the issue of the Senate's power, voting 'yes' could mean we end up with a president with similar powers to Sir John Kerr and who, in circumstances similar to 1975, may want to use it. As I said in my last article what if in our bright, shiny, new republic President Reith and Prime Minister Beazley don't get on?
Michael Purvis is a Sydney lawyer
by Jim Nolan
CEPU v Stellar Call Centres
The issue of award terms and conditions being applied to outsourced activities has arisen yet again with an important decision of the Federal Court by Justice Wilcox in CPSU and Ors and CEPU v Stellar Call Centres Pty. Limited. [Stellar] [Federal Court of Australia N676 of 1999 3 September 1999] This issue has been the subject of important recent litigation as a result of government decisions to "outsource" or contract out a variety of functions. [See earlier article [reference]
This decision dealt with the issue of the transmission of respondency of a number of awards and agreements binding upon Telstra to Stellar to which Telstra had outsourced certain of its activities. The decision of the Court was that Stellar was in fact a transmittee of the respondency of the relevant awards. It was declared by the Court that in relation to employees of Stellar who are engaged on work required to be done by it in the performance of any contract with Telstra that it was obliged to apply the Telstra awards and agreements.
The interesting issue involved in this decision was the nature of the work which had been outsourced to Stellar and the manner in which it was to be performed. Justice Wilcox noted that the applications raised an issue that was not just important to the parties involved but might have ramifications for others as well. That was whether the awards and certified agreements which bound Telstra in respect of Telstra's employees who take customer calls at the Telstra operated call centres, also applied to Stellar where it had been contracted to operate a call centre at which its employees also took Telstra customer calls.
The answer to the question, as the Judge pointed out, depended upon whether it could properly be said that the company that contracted to operate the outsourced call centres was a successor, assignee or transmitee of that part of Telstra's business within the meaning of s.149(1)(d) and/or s.170MB(1) of the Workplace Relations Act 1996. S.149(1)(d) relates to the transmission of awards and s.170MB(1) to the transmission of certified agreements.
Stellar was incorporated in May 1998 as a joint venture between Telstra and an American company Excell Asia/Pacific Pty. Limited. A seconded Telstra employee served as its chief executive officer. Stellar was involved in call centre operations, not just for Telstra, but for other organisations and in addition to this, provided a range of services including call centre outsourcing, staffing and management and consulting and training for a range of corporations.
Telstra operated a nationwide customer inquiries number, 132200, to deal with all customer inquiries regarding billing and the availability of connection and services and new products. It was a single point of entry for all Telstra services except for service difficulties and faults. Until the end of 1998 all calls to this number were taken and dealt with by Telstra employees located at Telstra operated centres. In 1998 Telstra employed some 12,000 people at 100 such centres. In late 1998 Telstra decided to branch out and become a tele-marketing services supplier and for that purpose established the joint venture operation.
Stellar was set up to allow it to compete with other call centre providers, not just for Telstra but also for non-Telstra work. The non-Telstra contracts were primarily ones for short term tele-marketing services. The most significant contract which Stellar held was that for the provision of a call-back centre under a contract with Telstra.
Telstra wanted to have another organisation deal with the 1300 calls particularly at busy times. The arrangement with Stellar was that Stellar would provide services to Telstra including full outsourcing for what was described as the �regional overflow� of 132200 call traffic.
In December 1998 Stellar commenced taking Telstra customer calls and then later that month new premises, owned by Stellar, opened at Robina near the Gold Coast at which premises there were 150 work spaces for personnel taking customer calls.
The services to be provided included the operation of the call centre at Robina in accordance with Telstra's policies and procedures. This included a requirement that the Stellar Call Centre appears, from the customers' perspective, to have the "look and feel" of a Telstra sales centre. The call centre was intended to function as a "seamless" part of the network of Telstra sales service centres. The infrastructure at the call centre in connection with the provision of the Telstra services was required to be physically and electronically isolated from any infrastructure used for the purposes of providing services to anyone else.
Stellar described its operations as part of a �virtual single call centre� because the whole of the National Telstra network was designed to operate as "virtual single centre". Calls would be routed to the next available operator regardless of his/her physical location. So, consistent with that scheme, a Telstra customer who made an inquiry using the 132200 number would not be aware whether his/her inquiry was handled by a Telstra employee of an employee of Stellar located at Robina.
There was no agreement that Stellar would offer employment to current or former employees of Telstra. Some 181 employees and 11 managers were recruited to work at Robina. Of this number, only 8 of the employees came directly from the employment of Telstra and only 1 of the managers had previously worked for Telstra at sometime prior to commencing with Stellar.
Against this background, the critical question then was - was it possible to say that Stellar's activities had really amounted to taking over a part of the business of Telstra? Justice Wilcox found for the unions and in that connection, applied the decision of the Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia in the North Western Health Care Network Case [3rd July 1999, unreported 1999 FCA 897]. He applied the test approved in that Full Court decision, namely, was there a substantial identity of the work performed as between the new employer and the old employer? Justice Wilcox found that there was. He said that once attention is paid to the matter of substantial identity of the work as distinct from the nature of any technical or legal transaction between the old and new employer its apparent that an outsourcing arrangement may fall within the transmission provisions of the Act.
Contrary to what was suggested that nothing was in fact transferred by Telstra to Stellar, Justice Wilcox said that while there was no assignment of assets, Stellar was appointed by Telstra as its agent to provide part of the service that Telstra offers to its customers. Stellar performs work that otherwise would be done by Telstra itself. His Honour pointed out that contact with customers is a critical part of Telstra's business. The effect of the arrangement between Telstra and Stellar is that Stellar has taken on part of the burden of customer contact. In relation to that part of the burden transferred to it, Stellar is the "successor" of Telstra.
His Honour also emphasised that it was not necessary for the relevant sections of the Act to operate in respect of a part of a business only where that part of the business was itself a viable, stand alone business. He said that this suggestion placed an unwarranted limitation on the words of the Act.
In an interesting observation his Honour went on to say that there was, in any event, something artificial about the concept of a free standing commercially viable part of a business. He said everything depends on the way the business structures its accounts. Perhaps this is an observation drawn from His Honour�s experience as the presiding judge in the MUA/Patricks full court decision!
In any event, there was little doubt that in a real sense, the Robina Call Centre is a commercially viable free standing business.
His Honour also dealt with the issue of the other non Telstra - business undertaken by Stellar. He said that much emphasis was placed in the case on the proposal that Stellar aspired to get other contracts apart from those with Telstra. At the time of the hearing it had succeeded in this to a minor degree. These non-Telstra contracts related to tele-marketing activities. That is to say employees making outward calls rather than receiving inward calls. His Honour pointed out that in the earlier decision of the High Court in the ATOF Case (1990) 171 CLR 216 the High Court stated that other activities are not relevant to the issue provided that there is a substantial identity of the services between the old employer and the new employer. It is immaterial that the new employer also engages in other activity or even mainly engages in other activity.
In the light of his findings on transmission, Justice Wilcox made a declaration and injunction supporting the CPSU's rights of entry to Stellar�s premises.
To the extent that the Stellar Case assists in determining circumstances in which transmission operates I think it may be concluded that Stellar now makes an emphatic statement that where there is a substantial identity of the functions transferred the award respondency will follow. That will mean, it seems to me, that where there is a discrete and substantial function transferred and undertaken by the new employer, transmission will occur. Whilst the test applied was the test applied by the Full Court in the earlier Northwestern Area Health Service Case, this decision underscores the fact that the test applies even where no staff are transferred as a result of the outsourcing arrangements.
by The Chaser
The decision to change the Olympic track and field program created further chaos today when it was revealed that certain events will have to change venue to accommodate the new schedule.
People who have pre-purchased tickets may now see events substantially different from those they ordered tickets for.
"I ordered tickets for Stadium Australia hoping to see the 400m finals, yesterday they changed it to the Javelin and today they relocated the High Diving there," said one disappointed fan.
Several of Australia's Javelin throwers are also annoyed by the move. "I just can't get enough run up on the diving board," said one javelin champion.
Cathy Freeman has also expressed concern about the number of times she has to come up for air in the new 400m venue.
Residents of Bondi are also said to be concerned by the relocation of the 100m sprint to the Bondi Beach Volleyball stadium. SOCOG has so far ignored local residents claims that this may ruin the pristine untrampled wilderness of Bondi beach.
SOCOG is however investigating claims that the relocation may ruin any chance of runners breaking any world records.
The inevitable backlash from ticket purchasers has been ignored by SOCOG. A SOCOG press release pointed out that "The possibility of major changes in the ticketing was made clear to all purchasers.
It was very clearly set out in the watermark on page 30 of the ordering form. Once it was translated back to English, everyone was made aware of this possible rescheduling and transferring of events."
Not all spectators are against the changes. "I hate the way that you usually only get to see a few metres of the marathon. Now that its in the boxing ring every moment will be accessible to the whole crowd," said one thrilled Sydney sider.
Meanwhile there are concerns that International Olympic Committee President Juan Antonio Samaranch may be pushing further changes of location.
"If we hold the Syd-e-ney Olympics in Beijing there is still a chance that I may get the Nobel Peace prize," said Samaranch from the IOC headquarters.
Running a software company, Douglas Hall (Craig Bierko), and Hannon Fuller (Armin Mueller-Stahl) are on the cutting edge; they've build a network of supercomputers and running software that re-creates a totally compelling 1937 Los Angeles. When Fuller is murdered, Hall must enter the program to uncover the mystery of his mentor's death.
As Hall explores this pocket universe he finds the units, programmed by sequences of 0's and 1's, behaved very much as independent, conscious entities. He starts to question the artificiality of this cybernetic world. Hall finds that his former employer, Fuller has been secretly entering this virtual sphere. He's has been playing out his fantasies here. Fuller lead's a playboy lifestyle of nightclubs and prostitutes believing that his behaviour is a harmless fantasy.
It is on this point that the moral dimensions of virtual reality are introduced. With these types of technologies emerging, we must confront the question, is it possible to indulge a darker side of our personality in a virtual world without having to face the consequences of our actions? Do the players in a virtual world have a feelings and aspirations the same as our own? Does the universe have a more fundamental symmetry that imposes accountabilities upon us that we have not foreseen?
The film apples the "man in the street test" if it looks, sounds, feels like reality - then it probably is - at least to our own perceptions. Although we believe our fantasies are harmless because we do not involve others, we still carry with us our virtual memories and experiences as much as we do "real" world experiences - we allow these experiences to shape us as people. Can we the be so sure that by allowing a darker side of us to grow, even in a computer generated reality, that we are free from responsibility for our actions?
As the movie unfolds, Hall uncovers the secret Fuller had stumbled upon and is forced to question the absoluteness of his own reality. By the end of the film we are left wondering whether there is any ultimate reality.
The film is relevant because in the foreseeable future, human technology will make it possible for us to create worlds of our own. Old philosophical debates can be revisited with these new possibilities in mind. The film doesn't answer all our questions but suggests that perhaps old maxims still apply, there is no absolute reality but that which we create ourselves - the difference with virtual reality is that we can do so, literally.
Outsourcing
Economic and Labour Relations Review presents a symposium on outsourcing.
John Benson reviews existing research and evaluates the effects of outsourcing on firm performance and employee commitment, based on four manufacturing companies.
Mark Wooden examines the extent of outsourcing using data from the 1990 and 1995 AWIRS studies. Outsourcing has spread across all industries, rather than simply expanding in areas where it has historically been commonplace.
John Burgess and Duncan McDonald look at public sector outsourcing and its impact on industrial relations in the public sector. There is strong evidence to suggest that it has contributed to the worsening of employment conditions and the reduction of wages.
Kuru Pancharatnam critiques the theory of contestable markets, the notion that is used to give intellectual legitimacy to competitive tendering and contracting out.
Else Underhill gets down to tin-tacks and looks at the 1997 strike by labour hire workers in the manufacturing maintenance sector in Victoria, which lasted for seven weeks. Unions have maintained membership levels and collective agreements in this sector.
(Economic and Labour Relations Review; vol. 10, no. 1, June 1999)
The Contours of Restructuring and Downsizing in Australia
Peter Dawkins, Craig Littler, Ma. Rebecca Valenzuela and Ben Jensen present a report commissioned by the Myer Foundation
� on the extent of downsizing
� the motivations of businesses who undertake downsizing
� do they really achieve their stated objectives
� the effect on the well-being of employees who remain
� effect on the labour market prospects of those who leave
� effect on the general community within which firms operate
(Published by the Melbourne Institute of Economic and Social Research, 1999)
Coles and Casuals: not a bargain for anyone
Coles has embarked a programme to achieve a more permanent workforce. Coles say that a number of factors, not the least of which is the very significant staff turnover costs that come with hiring and training casuals, has lead to the strategy. Joe de Bruyn, from the SDA, puts the turnover/recruitment cost at about $2,000.oo on each occasion. "So if you can reduce your turnover by 5,000 people a year that's a saving of $10million to the business".
(Workplace Change; issue no. 40, July 1999)
Pregnant and Productive
The Report of the National Pregnancy and Work Inquiry has been released and demonstrates the need for pregnancy issues to be examined in further detail.
A major recommendation is that women should be able to seek punitive damages from employers for unlawful discrimination. Other recommendations and findings include
� pregnancy provisions of Australian Workplace Agreements should be placed under public scrutiny
� the relevant federal government departments should provide parties with information about anti-discrimination laws
� these bodies lack the expertise to assess deals with discriminatory consequences
� male dominated bargaining groups bargain away measures which benefit women
� unpaid maternity leave should be extended to casual workers employed for more than 12 months
� discrimination measures should be extended to cover breast feeding
� award simplification has removed OHS pregnancy protections from allowable matters
� part-timers and casuals are especially vulnerable under flexibility provisions such as spread of hours
� education of all on pregnancy bias is essential
� good policy does not necessarily mean good practice by employers
Full report is available at http://www.hreoc.gov.au/sex_discimination/workplace/s7_3_7.html
(Discrimination Alert; issue 94, August 31 1999)
Long Service Leave Flexibility
A discussion paper on more flexible approaches to granting and taking long service leave, prepared by the Dept of Employment, Workplace Relations and Small Business and the W.A. Dept of Productivity and Labour Relations, has been released by the Workplace relations Ministers' Council.
Only about one quarter of all employees actually stay in a job long enough to qualify.
Suggestions for greater flexibility include
� cashing out leave, either when employees become eligible or by paying a part of the leave as remuneration on an ongoing basis (perhaps after a qualifying period)
� allowing parties to negotiate the timing, method and form in which leave is taken (backed by a regulatory structure)
� combinations of taking part of the leave and cashing out the rest
� work and family provisions to be included.
(Managing Leave and Holidays Update; newsletter 63, 20 August 1999; http://www.dewrsb.gov.au> and http://www.doplar.wa.gov.au
IR Academia Online
The Association of Industrial Relations Academics of Australia and New Zealand (AIRAANZ) has a useful web site for those in search of scholarly analyses of industrial relations developments in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific region. The annual conference papers are available at this site and can be printed in PDF format (button for PDF helpfully provided. No search button but abstracts of papers are provided and its easy to scroll through. There is also an unmoderated discussion group on Pacific region IR issues.
http://www.mngt.waikato.ac.nz/depts/sml/airaanz/airaanz.htm
by Tony Sheldon
It is the camaraderie, the sense of community, and the willingness to help your neighbour in a time of need that defines what it means to be an Australian. No where is the essence of Australia best illustrated in the capacity of rural Australian communities to survive all manner of natural disasters.
In recent times, however, the people of regional Australia have been neglected. Pursing alternative policies and agendas' the Federal Government has forgotten about those it is supposed to represent. The hard working people of rural and regional Australia are most being effected by this Government's failure to perform.
Instead of focusing on delivering to the people most at need the Government seems to be blindly seeking to transform Australian society into something like the low wage, corporate driven, highly divisive and fragmented society of the United States. In terms of industrial relations policy Mr Peter Reith's second wave of changes proposes to introduce laws stripping away the fundamental rights and protection of working people that American and previous British governments' have already introduced.
If successfully implemented the Government's agenda will fundamentally alter the Australian social, political and industrial landscape. It will change irrevocably what it means to be an Australian.
Most critically, it is the hard working people of rural and regional Australia who will be most effected by these transformations. It is these people and their importance to Australia's economy, history and culture that the present government is trying to get the rest of us to forget.
Autralia's Forgotten People
Across Australia these transformations are already well under way. In New South Wales business and employment growth, investment and infrastructure development are becoming increasingly condensed within the greater Sydney metropolitan area.
Increasingly the families of rural and regional Australia are being left behind.
Over the past ten years the household incomes for workers and families in rural areas have fallen, on average, more than 10% behind comparable incomes of families living in greater metropolitan Sydney.
For the Wagga Wagga and Murrumbridgee areas alone the figures are staggering.
In 1996 the average weekly income for households in the Wagga Wagga and Murrumbridgee area fell 33% behind the equivalent rate for the Sydney metropolitan area. Over the same period the average weekly personal income for individuals in the Murrumbridgee area fell 22% below the equivalent rate for individual incomes in Sydney.
Unemployment figures over the same period reflect a similar disparity. The employment rate for the greater Sydney area is currently at an all time low of 5.7%. For the Hunter region unemployment is at 10%. For Newcastle, 10.3% and for the Illawarra 9.1%. In Wagga Wagga and the Murrumbridgee areas while the figure for men is 6.2%, for working women the unemployment is currently at 9%.
This is just no good enough. There is no legitimate reason why the people and families living in rural and regional Australia deserve anything less than those living in metropolitan Sydney. Rural people work just as hard as their city counterparts.
In fact like all Australian people, in recent years they are working longer and harder than ever before. In the last 20 years the proportion of Australian's working over 40 hours a week has doubled from 19% to 32% of the workforce. Overwhelmingly the majority of these hours are worked in the agriculture, mining and transport industries.
In the interstate and long distance sectors of the transport industry for example drivers are regularly being forced to work in excess of 100 hours per week. Often these hours are worked continually. In one case, recently brought to my attention a driver spent over 78 hours straight behind the wheel.
The only reason long distance truck drivers and the people and families of rural Australia have fallen behind their counterparts in metropolitan Sydney is because the Federal Government continues to neglect their interests. The current Government sees no place for ordinary hard working people and their families in their vision of Australia for the 21st century.
In addition to failing to do anything to address the imbalance in wages and conditions between rural and metropolitan Australia, the Government continues to fail to provide rural workers with adequate training and career opportunities, as a means of rebuilding the area and encouraging young people to stay at home.
Compounding the declining income differential's of rural Australian's, the government is doing nothing to prevent the tide of backpackers and tourists stealing Australian jobs. Despite rural unemployment rates the Howard Government has increased the cap on the Working Holiday Visa Program for 1997-98 to 55,000. This is increase of 40% since 1994-95 when the figure was just 33,000.
Similarly, the Government refuses to enforce Better Rates and Better Safety for transport workers in the interstate and long distance sector. Rather than agree to introduce and enforce uniform safety standards which will save the lives of truck drivers and all Australian road users, the Government is forcing the industry to be more competitive by introducing national competition standards.
These consistent failings of the Government to respond to the needs and interests of ordinary hard working Australian's cannot be better illustrated by the Minister for Workplace Relations, Mr Peter, Reith's, refusal to immediately act to protect the legal entitlements of Australian workers.
It was only after the public outrage over the disgraceful treatment of the Oakdale miners that the government finally agreed to act to secure their legal entitlements. Now, however, after agreeing to the see the miner's entitlements paid from their superannuation fund it appears Peter Reith is trying to squib on the Government's commitment to introduce legislation to protect the entitlements of all workers. The Government's proposal to tie the legislation to the second wave of industrial relations changes is nothing more than a mean spirited political attempt to stick the knife deeper into Australian workers.
The job and financial security of rural workers and their families are far more insecure than those of their counterparts in the city, and still the government refuses to act. The Woodlawn miners are stilled owed some $6.5 million. Just this week I've learnt of a trucking company on the Central Coast owing their employee's over $200,000 in outstanding annual leave, long service leave, and redundancy pay. This has got the stop.
The Federal Government must be made to listen to the voice of the people of Australia it was elected to represent and immediately introduce legislation to protect the legal entitlements of Australia's workers.
In forcing the government to see sense the Oakdale miners have demonstrated to all of us that if we are prepared to force the issue and mobilise community support then they may well be prepared to listen.
Fortunately, this means that the Government's transformation of Australian society is not yet complete. For those of us who are prepared to stand up and make ourselves heard this means we still have a voice in choosing to shape the Australia we live in the in 21st Century.
The Government's fixation with adopting American and British examples can in no way be allowed to diminish the importance of hard working people to Australia's economy and society.
The American's and the British know nothing of what it really means to live in a community striving for common goals where everyone is looking out for everyone else.
The difference in what it really means to be an Australian, when compared to the British or American cannot be better illustrated by a true story about the survival rate of Australian soldiers in Japanese Prisoner of War camps I've often heard Michael Crosby of TUTA tell.
Researching the mortality rates of prisoners', academics discovered that in comparison to British and American's the mortality rates of Australian prisoners was remarkably low. Seeking to explain this anomaly the researchers discovered the determining factor was how the soldiers from each country organised and responded to their situation as a group.
The American's it was revealed set up a market economy trading in rice. The result, American soldiers competed with each other over the barter and exchange of goods. The British maintained a traditional class system. The Officers' formed a select group monopolising the scarce resources and leaving everyone else to fend for themselves.
In comparison, the Australian soldiers set up a cooperative. All the soldiers in the camp pooled their resources and supplies and each soldier was then allocated supplies on the basis of their individual needs. In this way the Australian soldiers made sure no one was left behind. By helping each other individual Australian soldiers were helping themselves. Which is why, the researchers concluded, more Australian POW's made it out of Japanese camps than British or Americans.
It is these characteristics of community and camaraderie, that form a central feature of what it means to be an Australian, and despite the Government's best efforts, what it should mean to be an Australian well into the next century.
As the backbone of the Australian community and Australian values, ensuring the sustainable future of the workers and families in rural and regional Australia is the key to securing this objective. This is why the People of Rural Australia Deserve a Pay Rise.
We can no longer afford to let the Government continue to neglect the needs and interests of rural Australian's. The imbalance in living standards and weekly and household incomes between rural and metropolitan Australia must be addressed.
The Government cannot avoid this issue for any longer.
As the Oakdale miners have demonstrated the key to success is to be prepared to support the issue and to mobilise community support. To this end, as part of our new organising campaign to have 30,000 rank and file organisers across NSW in the next 12 months, the Transport Workers Union has established a Rural Organising Committee.
We are committed to ensure the hard working people and families of rural and regional Australia receive the justice, pay equity and protection of their entitlements that they deserve. We are also want to see the people and families of rural Australia continuing to play a critical role in defining Australia's economy and society.
To secure our success we need your help.
Anyone interested in participating in the Organising Committee should contact the TWU on (02) 9912 0700.
Address By Tony Sheldon. State Secretary of the Transport Workers Union of Australia, NSW Branch
Wagga Wagga, Saturday 28th August, 1999
by Peter Moss
What was the highlight of your Test career?
There were a couple. One was the first Test in Sri Lanka in 1992 when Australia came back from a record first innings deficit to win. That set up the first series win on the sub-continent for 32 years.
The other was the tied Test in Madras in 1986. An Australian spinner, Ray Bright, was the hero. He collapsed from the heat but returned because his team needed him. He took seven wickets in the match.
Have you heard racially based comments on the field?
Now we're seeing change where racial comments are not cool. That reflects the changing face of society and it's a good thing.
Do you prefer playing Test or One Day cricket?
For me, One Day cricket is not a real test of the man. It's very structured and manufactured. Australia set the pattern for winning one day games but Sri Lanka's dynamic openers have changed the direction again. Test cricket is a test of the man and his character. What you see is what you get.
Do you think cricket is losing popularity to other sports?
Cricket is our only true national sport. The nation stands behind our team when it's playing an Ashes series. No other team and no other sport is embraced like that
The Australian Cricketers Association was formed a couple of years ago. How did that come about?
We had a master/ slave relationship with the Australian Cricket Board before the Association was formed. For instance, you had to get permission from your State Association before you could even talk to another State about playing for them. No other workplace places those restrictions on how you ply your trade.
Guys like Tim May, Mark Taylor, Ian Healy, Steve Waugh and Shane Warne laid the foundations for future generations of players to have a bigger say in how the game is run.
Players like Mark Taylor and Shane Warne are doing OK. Why did they get involved in starting a players' association?
These guys care about their buddies. They took a pay cut in real terms so that other players could get a better deal.
Did the Australian Cricket Board get a shock when they had to negotiate with the players?
They were used to dominating and having 100% mastery. Nobody likes to give that kind of power away.
What does the Association want to do for players?
We've already won a guaranteed share of cricket revenue for players. But cricketers still get a smaller piece of the pie than other professional team sports in Australia. Cricketers also need job and education opportunities, they need health insurance. We are working to improve pay, conditions and opportunities.
Now that you're 39 years old, are you still playing cricket?
I play for Eastern Suburbs in Sydney after I do my MMM radio show on Saturday mornings. My work for Advanced Hair, Wizard, At The Wicket and the Variety Club keeps me busy. But my first priority is my wife and three kids
These are some of the big questions that will be raised at a social wellbeing conference to be held in Sydney later this month, in the push for a social audit. The conference, the result of a partnership between the Labor Council of NSW, the NSW Council of Social Service and the Ethnic Communities' Council of NSW, aims to bring together people from across the social spectrum to get closer to answering some of the questions which deal with our quality of life.
Keynote speaker Dr Clive Hamilton, executive director of the Australia Institute, will have just returned from a UN conference in Copenhagen and will discuss papers there talking about measuring social progress and regress. He will also discuss a paper commissioned by the Institute, and released last week, analysing public perceptions of quality of life in Australia.
Dr Hamilton will be followed by a panel of speakers, including Human Rights Commissioner Chris Sidoti, NSW Reconciliation Council Chairperson Linda Burney, Senior Lecturer in Humanities & Social Science at UTS, Eva Cox, and public policy consultant and former Treasury chief Percy Allan.
After the panellists point out where they think we can be headed, Labor Council secretary Michael Costa, NCOSS director Gary Moore and ECC chairperson Paul Nicolau will deliver a joint plan of action.
The conference, which is free and runs from 9am to 1pm on Thursday, 30 September, is to be held at the Masonic Centre in Goulburn Street, Sydney. Ring Deirdre Mahoney on 02-9286 1631 to register by 24 September.
Not the FALINTIL resistance, not the Indonesian Resistance, but Resistance - the ones in the smelly T-shirts who sell the socialist newspapers in the city.
Ignoring the United Nations, the Indonesians, the militias, the Pentagon and the Howard Government's hamfisted attempts to win international brownie points, Piers decided that the most important issue of the week was the operations of the teeny-boppers of Australian politics.
While Timorese are being macheted to death, Piers waxes lyrical about the evils of "the truly loony socialist youth agitprop organiser" for encouraging kids to wag school to attend political protests.
Instead, Piers thinks they should be kept at school to read his columns about the evils of Labor Governments and how Paul Keating is solely responsible for every trial and tribulation that confronts us.
The first point is that he is so sickeningly opportunistic. He approaches the Timor crisis as just another opportunity to score political points. While most of us are moved by what is happening, Piers just wants to throw his own bombs,
In a quite bizarre statement, Piers claims that : "it is an absolute nonsense to suggest that street demonstrations ... are a necessary part of learning at first hand something of participatory democracy."
If not political activity, what? Accepting the lessons taught by the authorities? Relying on reports from the media? Maybe even, studying a paper like Piers', whose proprietor is now so desperate to invest in China that he justifies that nation's repression of Tibet, an occupation with uncanny similarities with the conflict on our doorsteps.
Don't get us wrong. Resistance are a fringe political grouping for good reason. Their positions are didactic and often downright whacky. But they do engage with young people very effectively and provide an entry point for many into progressive politics. Indeed, half of the Labor Council officers - the secretary including - are graduates of these types of organisation.
Given the choice between the ferals or Akermanites, we'd take the ferals any day. At least they have the soul, compassion and commitment to make a stand for what they believe in. Whereas Piers just lays back and pontificates.
Piers is right - there's nothing like an international crisis for groups to bring out their own political agendas. It's just a pity that Piers' are so narrow.
© 1999-2000 Labor Council of NSW LaborNET is a resource for the labour movement provided by the Labor Council of NSW URL: http://workers.labor.net.au/30/print_index.htmlLast Modified: 15 Nov 2005 [ Privacy Statement | Disclaimer | Credits ] LaborNET is proudly created, designed and programmed by Social Change Online for the Labor Council of NSW |