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Issue No. 320 | 18 August 2006 |
Fixing the WorkChoices Mess
Interview: A Life And Death Matter Unions: Fighting Back Industrial: What Cowra Means Environment: Scrambling for Energy Security Politics: Page Turner Economics: The State of Labour International: Workers Blood For Oil History: Liberty in Spain Review: Go Roys, Make A Noise
Which Bank Tossed Out of Court
The Locker Room Fiction Politics
Labor Council of NSW |
News Sack Boss a Loser
That was the excuse offered by Australian Provincial Newspapers print general manager, Garry Osborne, when he was tracked down by official, Danny Dougherty, last week. "This is an international communications company and it can't fulfill its responsibilities to sacked staff because it has lost a phone number," Dougherty said. "When I rang Osborne on his mobile he wanted to know why we were so agitated and said he couldn't alert us because he had lost our phone number." APN, a division of Tony O'Reilly's Dublin-based Independent News and Media, canned the jobs of 30 Ipswich printers and 60 part time inserters, last week. It will move printing of the city's Queensland Times newspaper to Sunshine Coast facilities and has indicated anyone who transfers will have to sign an AWA. Dougherty said the Queensland Times had printed in Ipswich since 1867 and to dump the operation, without warning or discussion, was an insult to loyal locals. "APN has taken millions of dollars out of Ipswich, in profits, but won't even talk about local jobs," he said. It will cease its Ipswich printing operation in December. Most of the 60 on-call inserters will receive no redundancy payments. Members of that section of the workforce, who have been with APN for five or more years, will get maximum payouts of $1000. Dougherty said ANP's failure to notify the union breached commitments given to Queensland staff. The AMWU has a hard copy of a company's power point presentation at which it undertakes to notify the union of job losses. APN is Australasia's largest operator of regional newspapers and radio stations. It also has interests in pay tv and digital media.
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