
Issue No 51		28 April 2000

LaborNET	Ask Neale	Tool of the Week

Tool Shed

He's Ba-a-a-a-ck!! Reithy Returns

The man who threatens to make the Tool Shed his own personal holiday resort, Workplace Relations minister Peter Reith, is back in the place he calls home.

It hasn't been a great week for the human toltoy, starting with revelations of the manual provided to senior public servants teaching them how to lie and cheat in negotiations.

The story, front page in the Sydney Morning Herald, sent Reithy into a flurry of activity - ringing the reporter, his editor and anyone else with Fairfax shares demanding a retraction.

But the story wouldn't die - culminating in a heated showdown with reporters at a press conference where Reith tried, but failed, to characterise the story as old news.(see story in news pages).

The only thing going for Reith was that the fracas almost, but not quite, managed to overshadow his failure to honour his promise to secure workers entitlements when companies go into liquidation.

His inability to convince even conservative states of the merits of his model where taxpayers rather business would kick the can, means the Howard Government is now exposed to another national textile campaign the next time a firm closes its doors.

And all the while his Employment Advocate runs rampant across the call centre industry pushing pattern bargaining-style AWAs.

It's all getting so hard, he's even trying to outsource the very industrial relations functions he aims to subvert from other government departments.

One of the joys of watching a master puppeteer is seeing how all the strings can be manouvred without ever getting tangled.

But Reithy aint a master anything, and right now the strings are all mixed up.

So is our Deface a Face program - Hopefully we'll get it working by Monday!

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Issue 51 contents

Interview: Wrestling With Reith
CPSU national secretary Wendy Caird has faced the full force of Peter Reith's attack on the federal public sector. The good news is she's still fighting.

Unions: The Organiser
As the nature of working life changes fundamentally, union organisers like Sally are taking up the challenge and changing too.

Safety: Remembering the Fallen
NSW Industrial Relations Minister Jeff Shaw's keynote address to mark the International Day of Mourning for Deaths in the Workplace.

History: May Day Connections
May Day as a modern working class celebration and commemoration began from the 1886 events in Chicago where workers were demonstrating for an eight hour day. But the day already had special significance for working people before then.

Women: Swelling the Ranks
Jenny Wright wears the honour of being the nation's first pregnant wharfie modestly. But it's not all clear sailing for this trailblazer.

International: Dawn Raid to Arrest Korean Union Leaders
Riot police have broken into the office of the Daewoo Motors Workers Union in Pupyung, near Seoul, and taken union leaders into custody for the "crime" of leading a militant struggle to save the jobs of Korean auto workers.

Satire: Angry Star City Staff Strike it Unlucky
Gamblers panicked when they discovered they were locked out of the Casino when 1800 workers walked out.

Review: The World of Wobbly Window Cleaners
A new book 'Reshaping the Labour Market' shines the spotlight on the impact of labour market deregulation.

» Government to Outsource Staff Relations

» Dial-A-Contract Hits Call Centres

» Reith Loses Plot Over 'Bad Bargaining' Bible

» Prayer for the Fallen Marks International Day

» Entitlement Time-Bomb Still Ticking

» No Joy for Southern Picket

» Union Fighter Shapes Up For Casino Workers

» Stopped Clock Starts Ticking at Sydney Water

» Telstra Tangle Over 'Honest Rob'

» A Week of May Days

» Big Drum Up for East Timor!

» Pick a Pollie - the Truth Revealed