E D I T O R I A L

Call Security
There's a bloke, a pollster, prowling the country with a tale for the centre-left about messages and constituencies.

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

Hendification Blurs WorkChoices ll

Visa Rorts Minister Urged to Quit

Organiser On Front Line

Fire Brigade Chokes on Tests

Union Backs Man of Steel

$3 Billion Dollar Chalkies

Lib Pans Telstra Job Cuts

James Hardie Joins AWA Crusade

Job Network Unravels

Andrews Discovers Irony

Big Business Bashes Bush

Howard Pinches Pay

Tilers Spark Korean Protest

Activists 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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Howard Pinches Pay

The meeting, held in the workers' lunchtime, went longer than anticipated and Austral Bricks responded by docking the union members four hours' pay, in accordance with the Federal Government's new industrial relations legislation.

CFMEU national secretary Martin Kingham presented workers with cheques at the Craigieburn plant.

"They went out at about midday and came back about one," says Stephen Roach from the Brick Tile and Pottery Division of the CFMEU. "Because the company didn't like what Kingham had to say about them using a contractor who uses foreign labour on the construction site, they've decided to sock the blokes four hours pay through the government's Act.

Roach explained that the CFMEU used money from a hardship fund to ensure the workers were not out of pocket.

"When companies abuse this legislation, even though we don't support it, we are not going to sit back and allow them to rob their workers and set themselves up as judge jury and executioner."

The workers held a stopwork meeting earlier this month after the brick manufacturer awarded a contract to build a new kiln to French company Ceric.

Ceric is using 11 workers from the Czech Republic, employed through the Hungarian consultancy company, Fornax.

CFMEU workers at the site held a meeting to discuss concerns that the Czech workers were being misused, when security guards brought in by Ceric stopped communication between Austral employees and the imported labourers.

"The Australian workers at Austral bricks wanted to know what pay and conditions these poor blokes have and why have they been employed when local businesses who employ Australian workers also tendered for the contract," says Kingham.

Mr Kingham said it was outrageous the Austral workers had been punished for the meeting because of Prime Minister John Howard's Work Choices legislation.

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