
Issue No 40		19 November 1999

News

Pre-Fab Shelter Wins UN Support in East Timor

By HT Lee

The CFMEU has completed erecting the first of 14 multi-purpose shelters in Dili. The 30 by 12 meter pre-fabs were erected by 10 Australian construction workers with the help of local Timorese.

UN personnel inspecting the finished pre-fab were very impressed with it. The UN is now looking into providing similar shelters for East Timor.

The 14 multi-purpose pre-fabs are the CFMEU's and the building industry's contribution towards the reconstruction of East Timor. They will will be erected throughout East Timor in secured compounds and will provide temporary shelter for the East Timorese. Eventually the buildings will be handed over to the local people for use as community centres in the village/town they are built.

Each pre-fab has a main hall which can house up to 400 beds. There are also eight separate office spaces for use by aid agencies or as health clinics or for dispensing medical, clothing, food and other aid materials.

The pre-fabs were never intended to be used as administrative centres or accommodation for aid agencies and their foreign workers--this misunderstanding with the aid agency CARE is now being sorted out.

The CFMEU has a history of helping in reconstruction--Darwin after Cyclone Tracy, Ningan after the flood and the recent Sydney bush fire.

CFMEU Victorian State Secretary Martin Kingham who was in Dili with the pre-fab said: 'We will continue to work closely with the Timorese through the CNRT to complete erecting the remaining pre-fabs for the Timorese.'

Part of the aim of the project is to train the EastTimorese in the construction industry--working in a safe environment with proper wages and conditions.

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  Issue 40 contents

Interview: No Quick Fix
Online pioneer Marc Belanger explains why the Internet, on its own, will not save the union movement.

Unions: Organising With A Mission
Entries are beginning to trickle in for the Labor Council Organiser of the Year. With just two weeks to deadline, we look at the TWU's nominee.

History: Rhyme and Reason
Poems written by workers provide us with an insight into their experiences and also how they felt about their work and working conditions.

Health: The Food Police
Three times a day you take your life in your hands. How? When you sit down to eat a meal.

Politics: East Timor: Defeat or Victory for the Left?
John Passant's "Requiem for the Left" advances some rather extravagant charges regarding the left and East Timor.

International: Kiwi Unions Rebuild from Ground Up
After fifteen years as a right wing laboratory New Zealand is about to change tack. New NZCTU chief Paul Goulter outlines the challenge ahead.

Satire: Australian Democrats Revealed as Student Hoax
The Chaser has obtained an exclusive background report on the extraordinary story which reveals how and why Cheryl Kernot defected from the Democrats.

Review: The Best of the Best
Once again Channel Nine has out done itself with it�s new Ray Martin program �Simply the Best�.

Labour Review: What's New at the Information Centre
View the latest issue of Labour review, our resource for officials and students.

Deface a Face: 25,000 Teachers Can�t Be Wrong!
Angry teachers yesterday voted overwhelmingly for Education minister John Aquilina to take the mantle of this week�s face to deface.

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