
Issue No 45		10 March 2000

News

Cash Bonus for Bilingual Workers

Council workers who use community languages as part of their work could receive a $13 per week bonus if a case in the NSW Industrial Relations Commission is successful.

The Municipal Employees' Union is making the application to recognise the value bilingual workers bring to their organisations.

MEU legal officers Ben Kruse says that while the payment was not large it was an important symbol on the value of a diverse workforce.

"We've got a lot of librarians, customer service operators and council workers who use community language skills regularly in employment, but local government salary system doesn't reqard these skills," Kruse says..

Under State government regulations all Councils must have social plans in operation that require Councils to target service delivery to groups from Non English Speaking Backgrounds.

"This should be a catalyst for all councils to look at the skills existing staff have to improve their services," Kruse says.

The case is scheduled to open before Justice Monica Schmidt on Monday and will run for four days.

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  Issue 45 contents

Interview: Working Women
Nareen Young talks about how services are being delivered to our most vulnerable workers - and what unions need to do to make them their own.

Unions: Into the New Frontier
IT professionals are part of the new workforce that unions need to win over - and while they are often contractors, they're workers too.

History: Handling The Ladies
1943 - women were filling the gap in the workforce left by the diggers abroad and Australian managers needed some advice on how to deal with these strange creatures.

Technology: Building The Hypermacho Man
In a stinging critque of the �Wired� culture, Melanie Stewart Miller argues digital cultural is creating a new super-Man.

International: The Long March Home
Trade union women round the world used International Women�s Day to launch the World March of Women Against Poverty and Violence.

Satire: Kerosene Dilution Racket
The nursing home industry has been rocked by a new scandal with the revelation that some unscrupulous proprietors have been diluting their patients� kerosene baths with illicit liquids.

Review: Power and the Back Bar
In an upcoming book, Julia Gillard argues the ALP retains a male culture that is fast losing step with contemporary society.

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» Revealed: Secret State Transit Corporatisation Plans

» Women Demand Better Pay from Faye

» Telstra, Banks Whack Rural Australia

» Casuals Inquiry Still On Union Agenda

» Shaw, Sams Pay Tribute to John Whelan

» Teachers� Website Mysteriously Blocked

» Cash Bonus for Bilingual Workers

» Women Demand Better Pay from Faye

» Shareholders Push Global Action

» Fair Wear Conquers Schools

» TWU Calls on Workers to Steer Clear of Woolworths

» Push to Strike Out Parrish Directors