
Issue No 53		12 May 2000

LaborNET	Ask Neale	Tool of the Week

Letters to the Editor

Hate Mail

: I received the recent Workers Online, and immediately scoured it for the articles that would surely be there on the most important union issue in NSW today - the battle of the NSW teachers for a decent agreement.

Surely, after taking a media union-bashing not seen since the anti-wharfy hysteria of 1998, Workers Online would have articles, several of them, putting forward the reasons for the teacher's brave stand; why this battle is important for all workers; the lessons we can draw from the campaign; and perhaps looking at the way forward for victory to the teachers?

But nothing was there. Workers Online, the voice of working people, didn't seem to find it newsworthy. Hmmmm. When the media, the govt, big business, the NFF, all came together against the MUA, I'm sure Workers Online stood by the workers. Yet now the same forces are attacking the teachers, and WO does nothing? (Of course it won't stop at the teachers - next it will be the Public Servants who are lazy and overpaid, or the builders, or the.....).

So what's the difference this time? Well, the teachers are taking on the conservative NSW LABOR government....a government that the pro-ALP NSW Labor Council support (even if they do make little notes of condemnation now and then). Ahhh, I see. The Teachers are fighting for a better agreement than the poor trade-off that was sold by the NSW Labor Council to other NSW Public Sector unions. If WO backs the Teachers fight, the question would obviously be - why haven't other unions also fought for a better deal???? Kowtowing to the ALP government is not an attractive answer.

Instead of Workers Online living up to those it pretends to represent, we get an editorial describing the joys of worker's "insecurity"! Who said the Labor party was out of touch with working people!

Paul Benedek

Ed's Reply We rely on the support of affiliates in providing us with news on union campaigns. For whatever reason, the Teachers' haven;t been flooding us in recent weeks. Try as we may, we can't confjure up stories from thin air.

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Issue 53 contents

Interview: The Fruitful Shaw
After ten years in Parliament, NSW Industrial Relations Minister Jeff Shaw looks at some mountains still to be climbed.

Politics: Budget in Reply
Opposition Leader Kim Beazley replies to the Federal budget and paints Labor's alternative vision for the future.

Economics: Petition to Move a Mountain
A child born in Zambia or Tanzania or Bolivia owes more to international creditors than she or he will ever earn in a lifetime.

International: Solidarity in a Cold Climate
After an overnight bargaining marathon, Norway's unions have secured most of their main demands and have now ended their nationwide strike.

Health: Workers Health Centre Comes of Age
In 2001, the Workers Health Centre will celebrate its 25th anniversary, making it the longest running independent trade union based health and safety service in the country.

History: A Tribute to the Fallen
A Canadian tractor operator is seeking help to produce a book on monuments to people killed in the workplace.

Satire: Ralph Web Ring Busted
Following the dismissal of 27 Telstra employees last week for downloading hardcore pornography on their work computers, Ralph magazine sacked five employees yesterday for downloading positive images of women.

Review: Waterfront - Through the Reporters' Eyes
Fairfax journalists Helen Trinca and Anne Davies have skillfully transformed the waterfront war into the sort of thriller that any self-respecting Hollywood mogul would reject for being too wild to be true.

» Costello Backs National GST Pay Claim

» Conference Call: Support the NSW Way

» Games Rail Service in Limbo

» Shaw Moves on Email Protection

» Salami Reform: Reith Chops Up the Nasties

» Advocate in Trouble Over Rural Sackings

» Unionists take to Streets for May Day 2000

» Shareholders Rattle Rinto Tinto Cage

» Joy Dispute Widens With Midnight Run

» Employers Fail to Defy History

» Indonesian Labor Educator Reports to Local Unions

» Big Drum-Up This Wednesday