The Official Organ of LaborNET
click here to view the latest edition of Workers Online
The Official Organ of LaborNET
Free home delivery
Issue No. 327 06 October 2006  
E D I T O R I A L

The Road to Bangalore
A funny thing is happening as the major corporations plan their latest heist on the Australian public � the off shoring of an estimated two million white collar jobs to low cost countries like India.

F E A T U R E S

Interview: Cowboys and Indians
Finance Sector Union national secretary Paul Schroder is standing between the big banks and a bucket of money.

Industrial: Seven Deadly Sins
Chris Christodoulou gives seven reasons why WorkChoices is bad for business

Unions: The IT Factor
The future of Australian IT looks grim as big companies lead the rush to India and China, writes Jackie Woods.

Politics: Bargain Basement
Simple principles of democracy underpin the ACTU's collective bargaining proposal, insists ACTU Secrteary Greg Combet.

Environment: An Inconvenient Hoax
Al Gore may be warning of climate breakdown, but what hope the truth when he's up against such a well-oiled machine? asks Paul Sheridan

Corporate: Two Sides
Bilateral trade agreements are a good idea � just ask the US multinationals. The rest of us should strongly disagree says Pat Ranald

International: Unfair Dismissals
Nearly 10,000 workers were fired for their trade union activities in 2005, an annual trade union survey shows.

History: A Stitch in Time
Neale Towart takes some lessons from female textile workers while considering the case for recognition ballots.

Review: The Wind that Shakes the Barley
A film charting the turmoil of the Irish war for independence against British occupation during the 1920s might seem an odd choice for top honours at the Cannes Film Festival in 2006.

N E W S

 OWS Blesses Tassie Plunder

 Feds Knew About Wage Slashing

 Data Farmers' Bitter Harvest

 Umpire Delivers to Posties

 It's a Goal - Compass Out-Pointed

 Childcare Giant Goes Union

 Meat Head Jumps The Queue

 AWAs � Thanks a Million

 Vets� Fight On

 TB Threat From FoC Ship

 Hamberger in Cancer Blue

 AMWU Challenges Forced Deportation

 Let�s Dance � Andrews Get Hot

 Legal Centres Under Threat

 Activists Notebook

C O L U M N S

Parliament
The Westie Wing
Ian West takes a walk around the backyard with the Prime Minister�

The Soapbox
Rise Up
Hugo Chavez's explosive address to the United Nations

Culture
The Fear Factor
A new analysis of the history of fear takes us from the war on terror all the way to the modern workplace.

L E T T E R S
WHAT YOU CAN DO
About Workers Online
Latest Issue
Print Latest Issue
Previous Issues
Advanced Search

other LaborNET sites

Labor Council of NSW
Vic Trades Hall Council
IT Workers Alliance
Bosswatch
Unions on LaborNET
Evatt Foundation


Labor for Refugees

BossWatch



News

It's a Goal - Compass Out-Pointed


While another Dragons season was slowly disintegrating at the SFS, 63 catering staff were kicking a goal for hundreds of workmates.

They rolled a wage-cutting, condition-stripping contract lobbed up by international fast food conglomerate, Compass, by an overwhelming 50-13 scoreline.

Unions NSW assistant secretary, Mark Lennon, congratulated the casual SCG stadium staff on their stand.

"There is a lot of attention on the potential of AWAs to cut people's living standards, and rightly so," Lennon said. "But WorkChoices is full of instruments that give employers unprecedented powers.

"These contracts are another example.

"Despite hundreds of workers being disenfranchised, these people stood up to the company.

"The bottom line is Australian workers are savvy. They can smell a rat no matter how it is dressed up.'

All Leisure, the Compass division with the SCG and Footy Stadium contracts, agreed to negotiations with the LHMU Liquor Division over a new contract but then went ahead and put a unilateral contract in front of staff.

Its document would have stripped long service leave and overtime, reduced penalty rates and imposed a five-year wage freeze.

All Leisure sent it to a selected group of staff and demanded a ballot on their next working day, September 22.

After union objections, it extended the closing date to September 29.

Just 63 of All Leisure's 800 casual staff voted and Tara Moriarity, from the LHMU, says hundreds were never even informed of the ballot.

She said, Compass, traditionally, did not have the same union-busting, wage-cutting reputation as aggressive competitor Spotless.

"They told us other companies were doing this and they needed to compete," Moriarity said. "This is exactly what WorkChoices was designed to encourage.'

LHMU members will take their protest to this Wednesday's Australia-Bahrain soccer match at the Football Stadium. There will be a meeting before kick-off and the LHMU is asking fans to bring their own food as a gesture of solidarity.


------

*   View entire issue - print all of the articles!

*   Issue 327 contents



email workers to a friend printer-friendly version latest breaking news from labornet


Search All Issues | Latest Issue | Previous Issues | Print Latest Issue

© 1999-2002 Workers Online
Workers Online is a resource for the Labour movement
provided by the Labor Council of NSW
URL: http://workers.labor.net.au/327/news5_goal.html
Last Modified: 06 Oct 2006

Powered by APT Solutions
Labor Council of NSW Workers Online
LaborNET