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Issue No. 322 01 September 2006  
E D I T O R I A L

Justice, Applied Liberally
To think, Phillip Ruddock used to be a liberal.

F E A T U R E S

Interview: Australia�s Most Wanted
The ACCC is the latest state agency to turn its guns on the construction union. National official, Dave Noonan, discusses the implications.

Industrial: The Fox and the Contractor
With new laws looming for �independent contractors�, Foxtel subbies have had the carpet pulled from under their feet, writes Nathan Brown.

Unions: Industrial Wasteland
A group of inner-Sydney veterans appear to be working to strip their families of retirement incomes. Jim Marr records their desperation.

International: Two Bob's Worth
German and British workers are participating in business decisions while WorkChoices locks Australians out of the conversation, writes Anthony Forsyth.

Economics: National Interest
John Howard claimed that interest rates would always be lower under a Coalition government than under Labor, Neale Towart crunchess the numbers.

Environment: The Real Dinosaur
Economic ignorance remains at the top and the critics are oblivious says Sol Power

History: Only In Spain?
The experiences of self management during the Civil War have been the one positive factor to come from that tragic event, and the Mondragon Cooperative Corporation thrives today.

Review: Clerk Off
Nathan Brown draws solace from some fellow social misfits.

N E W S

 Boss Gives Dad the Finger

 Amber's Law Pulps WorkChoices

 Westfield Flogs Good Deal

 Building Workers Spooked

 Bankers to Train Assassins

 Astroboy Blasts Off

 First Global Deal Docks in Germany

 Bans Stop the Press

 Deportation for Pay-To-Work Tradesman

 Telstra in Bush Bloodbath

 Boss Punts Assaulted Teen

 Ballots Stuffed By WorkChoices

 Howard in a Spin

 Extras � The Waterfront.

 Activist's What's On!

C O L U M N S

Legends
Westie Wing
MLC Ian West ventures beyond Macquarie St and into the desert of the eco rats.

The Soapbox
Testing Times
Former RLPA secretary and Newcastle Knights prop, Tony Butterfield, fires up over dawn raids.

Obituary
Dare to Win
The union movement has lost an inspirational leader of working men and women, writes Jeana Vithoulkas

Fiction
Tommy's Apprentice
Chapter Two - Tommy�s Tale.

L E T T E R S
 Please Don�t Go
WHAT YOU CAN DO
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News

Bankers to Train Assassins


Finance sector workers whose jobs have been sent to India are being offered cash inducements not to look elsewhere until they have trained up workers who have under-cut them.

Bankers Trust, the Westpac investment arm, has told 77 Adelaide based staff in the retail administration processes area their jobs will go to lower cost Indian labour.
 

Finance Sector Union national secretary, Paul Schroder, says the BT workers who had been offered the cash to train their replacements were placed in a difficult position, with the incentive payment an 'insidious device'.

The announcement came as Westpac employees at the Concord Services area in Sydney protested the potential loss of 480 jobs to off-shoring.

Rallying this week, the Concord workers have endorsed a campaign to pressure the bank, which is reviewing the Transactions and Unsecured Lending Operations (TULO).

The unit handles sensitive information including dishonoured cheques, deceased estates, subpoenas, electronic payrolls and some electronic and internet banking operations.

Mr Shroder has accused Westpac of entering a race to the bottom on labour costs that shows scant regard for loyal Australian employees or for the long term future of the Australian finance sector."

"It's not about genuine investment in India, it's not about passing savings to customers (since when have banks passed savings to their customers), it's not about Australia not having enough skills - it's just about reducing costs by exploiting cheaper labour markets," Shroder says

"We know the public wants Australian companies, especially Australian banks who are given a license to print money by our government, to invest in Australian jobs and skills.

"We know that Australian companies don't want their personal financial details sent offshore, and we know that the Australian public wants their government to act on these matters now."

"The danger for Westpac and others going down the same track is they will ruin their reputations with employees, customers and other stakeholders. Not to mention the damage they will do to the Australian finance industry."

BT also announced further outsourcing of its Sydney based IT functions resulting in 40 more jobs lost.


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