
Issue No 51		28 April 2000

LaborNET	Ask Neale	Tool of the Week

News

No Joy for Southern Picket

Tensions surrounding a long-running lock-out at a Moss Vale engineering works have escalated, with police being accused of roughhouse tactics in clearing a picket.

The allegations surround the treatment of about a dozen students supporting the 63 workers who have been locked out of Joy Engineering for a month.

When Joy management attempted to move a truck across the picket line, about 16 police officers moved on the students, throwing them against fences and roughing them up, local labour historian Rowan Cahill told Workers Online.

The police, who are believed to have come from out of the area, acted in stark contrast to local police who had been cooperative with the protestors, members of 'Concerned Citizens."

The group was formed after Joy served injunctions against trade unions representing the workers banning them from picketing including the AMWU, AWU and CEPU.

Cahill says trouble at the Moss Vale operation started late last year when new managers with a background in non-union shops moved in.

This culminated in the partial shutdown of the operations, with workers in the engineering division locked out until July. Other sections of the company are still operating.

Unions are building support around the workers, with increased activity expected next week.

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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