
Issue No 35		15 October 1999

News

Reith’s Second Wave Smokescreen

The ACTU has accused Workplace Relations Minister Peter Reith of trying to divert attention from the Senate hearings on his second wave by releasing a paper calling for radical changes to trade union administration.

Reith this week released a Discussion Paper calling for changes to provisions governing registration and administration of trade unions that will make it easier for employer-sponsored organisation to take on the guise of genuine trade unions.

It would also allow a single union member to apply for disamalgamation of a union and give non-financial members a vote in the ballot.

"This is obviously aimed at fracturing unions in order to weaken them," ACTU president Jennie George says.

And she says while unions support financial accountability for unions they should not be framed in a way that prevents unions operating effectively.

But George says the main significance of the paper is the timing of its release - to overshadow the long line of critics of Australians have seen through Reith's manipulative tactics many times before and will not be fooled again.

"Why isn't Mr Reith addressing the real issues that concern working people - job security, the growth of casual jobs,. work overload, long and unreasonable hours and unpaid overtime.

Sydney hearings later this month

Meanwhile, the NSW Labor Council is coordinating protest actions outside the Sydney Senate hearings into the Second Wave.

On Friday 22 October retired unionists will conduct a ceremonial handover of hard won conditions to student outside the hearing at the Gazebo Hotel, Elizabeth Bay at midday.

And women's groups will make their protect at the impact of the laws on female pay and conditions outside State Library at 11am on Tuesday October 26.

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  Issue 35 contents

Interview: Strategic Responses
NSW Police Association president Mark Burgess has worked in the coal mines and the waterfront - now he’s the public face of NSW police

Republic: Negative Campaigning
If the Republic fails, one of the main complaints which should be leveled against the ARM is its refusal to play dirty.

Unions: Interpreter smooths the way for Kosovar Refugees
“The people really appreciate what Australia has done for them but they still want to go home," said Ariana Biba, a HREA member who has been worked recently as an interpreter assisting newly arrived refugees from Kosovo.

Education: Count Yorga's Evil Plot
NTEU president Carolyn Allport looks at Kemp's brazen attack on univestities and warns the battle is not won yet.

Safety: Death in the Snowy
Beyond the engineering achievements of the Snowy Mountains Scheme, there is the tragic story of those workers killed or seriously injured in the construction of the project.

International: Why Is the WTO So Anti-Labour?
Driving the cost of labour down appears to be the main priority of the World Trade Organisation

History: The Importance of Tradition
Historical documents bring us into closer contact with the past and its concerns as this 1945 extract from the NSW Nurses Association journal, The Lamp, shows.

Review: McLibel - The Mice That Roared
This documentary is the classic tale of the little guys against the system, a battle for the right to dissent.

Satire: Government Privatises Numbers
Prime Minister John Howard released a new policy on numerals yesterday, to bring them in in line with the Liberal Party's plan to privatise “Pretty much everything before we lose office.”

» Telstra Workers Turn Reith on his Head

» Revenge of the Working Sick

» McPickets To Hit Centennial Park

» AFL-CIO Computer Deal Keeps Union in Control

» Four Pillars Behind Westpac Cuts

» Labor MPs Asked to Stand Up and Be Counted

» Reith’s Second Wave Smokescreen

» Reith to Legalise Gay and Lesbian Discrimination

» Denham or Lace - Libs to Ravage Public Sector

» The Big Australian Swiftie - $19 Mill Entitlements at Risk

» Real Sweatshops: Ice Cubes To Cool Down

» Xanana Endorses APHEDA

» Tales from the Gender Battlefield

» It’s Time! Republic Goes Funky

» STOP PRESS: Combet Elected ACTU Secretary Unopposed