
Issue No 35		15 October 1999

News

Reith to Legalise Gay and Lesbian Discrimination

By Jason Gibson - ASU Victorian Private Sector Branch Organiser

GLAM, Gay and Lesbian union members, is taking the message out to the Victoria gay and lesbian community that the Second Wave will make it legal for bosses to discriminate against gays and lesbians in the workplace.

GLAM in conjunction with Trades Hall and the Flight Attendants Association has placed ads in the gay and lesbian press to tell people that if the boss finds out you're queer, you could be in trouble.

They can sack you in the first 6 months of your job, if you're a casual or if you work for a company with fewer than 16 employees and you will have no appeal to the Industrial Relations Commission or the Equal Opportunity Commission and your workmates will be banned from taking industrial action to support you.

This is unfair and an outrage in a first world country such as Australia. It is already hard enough for organisers to get access into workplaces but this will make it almost impossible to get in and investigate acts of discrimination.

Furthermore the legislation will allow the boss to legally pay one worker less than other people doing exactly the same job; again allowing legal discrimination against gays and lesbians.

These so called 'reforms' will turn back the clock for all workers, but especially gays and lesbians and other groups traditionally discriminated against.

GLAM plans further actions to get the word out.

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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