E D I T O R I A L

The Power of Ones
Lorissa Sevens is no shrinking violet; she had mown down attackers for her nation playing defence for the Matildas. But even this sort of toughness means nothing in the face of WorkChoices.

F E A T U R E S

Interview: The Month Of Living Dangerously
When the mobs took over the streets of Dili it was the people of East Timor that bore the brunt. Elisabeth Lino de Araujo from Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA was there to witness what happened.

Unions: Staying Mum
Penrith mums, Linda Everingham and Jo Jacobson, are at the heart of a grassroots campaign to boot Jackie Kelly, out of federal parliament. Jim Marr caught up with one half of the sister act.

Economics: Precious Metals
There's a lot of spin around AWAs in the mining industry, but Tony Maher argues all that glitters is not gold.

Industrial: The Cold 100
The Iemma Government has come up with 100 reasons why WorkChoices is a dud, with 100 examples of ripped off workers

History: The Vinegar Hill Mob
This month's Blacktown Rally was not the first time workers had stood up for their rights in the region, writes Andrew Moore.

Legal: Free Agents
Is an independent contractor a small businessperson or a worker? The answer depends upon whether the contractor is genuinely ‘independent’ or not, writes Even Jones.

Politics: Under The Influence
Bob Gould thinks Sonny Bill Williams is a hunk; he reveals all in a left wing view of The Bulletin’s 100 most influential Australians, questioning the relevance of some, and adding a few of his own.

International: How Swede It Was
Geoff Dow pays tribute to the passing of Rudolf Meidner, one of the architects of the Swedish model of capitalism.

Review: Keating's Men Slam Dance on Howard
These punk rockers are out to KO WorkChoices. Nathan Brown joins the fray.

N E W S

Jihad Johnny Targets Perth

Rio Sets Up Own Goal

Telstra Fails to Snag Protest

AWAs Bucket Queenslanders

Kev Gives Aussies the Finger

Movie Blue: Win-Win for Critics

Wage Cut Scam Legal

Hardie Boss Takes 60 Percent Rise

The Stack Goes On

Boss Opens Door For Thieves

Hendy Banks on Mass Amnesia

Eisteddfod Win: Your Rock At Work

Airline Crashes Into Paypackets

Canucks Can BHP

Activist's What's On!

C O L U M N S

The Soapbox
Work Choice: US Military Style
John Howard has learnt a few lessons on workers rights from his Texan buddy, writes Rowan Cahill.

Politics
Westie Wing
As Pru Goward slams into the glass ceiling of the NSW Liberal Party, Ian West considers how women are faring under the Howard-Costello Government.

The Locker Room
A World Away
Phil Doyle is pleased that a display of subtle beauty and athletic grace has been overtaken by some good old-fashioned mindless violence

L E T T E R S

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Canucks Can BHP

Public Service Alliance of Canada members at the Ekati diamond mine in Yellowknife voted to ratify a tentative agreement, ending a strike that began April 7 and securing the mine's first union contract.

"Ekati workers voted 66% in favour of the one-year contract that contains a full grievance procedure to provide wage increases, protect workers from arbitrary and unfair treatment, a signing benefit, more vacation days and other improvements," said Jean-François Des Lauriers, PSAC Executive Vice-President-North.

"This has been a tough strike but our members are going back to work with significant improvements in their workplace as a result of their determination," Des Lauriers said. "And we will be back at the bargaining table on our members' behalf next year."

Todd Parsons, President of the Union of Northern Workers component of PSAC, which represents Diamond Workers UNW Local X3050, said the vote results indicate it was a difficult decision for members to go back to work.

"Ekati workers clearly had hoped to achieve more in this round of bargaining but facing a mulitnational employer who makes $7.5 billion in annual profits and just getting a first contract with the terms and conditions we won is quite an accomplishment," Parsons said. "Our union is now in place and we can build on this success in the next round of negotiations."

Parsons said PSAC's Dirty Diamonds campaign urging an international boycott of Ekati-produced AuriasTM and CanadaMarkTM diamonds is now over and the union will instead encourage consumers to buy union-produced diamonds.

The tentative agreement announced June 23 was reached with the assistance and direction of the Canada Industrial Relations Board.

Ekati is Canada's first diamond mine. It produces 6 per cent of the world's diamond supply by value or 4 per cent by weight and yields 3 to 5 million carats annually. It is located 300 km northeast of Yellowknife and 200 km south of the Arctic Circle.

The victory was facilitated by a world-wide campaign on LabourStart which generated 2,245 messages of protest to the employer.

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Last Modified: 07 Jul 2006