
Issue No 54		19 May 2000

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News

Carr Moves on Casuals

The NSW Government has moved to put casual workers and contractors on an equal footing to traditional employees in a major advance for workers in the new economy.

Under the changes, casual workers who have been in the same job for two years, will be able to take parental leave; while the Industrial Relations Commission will have the power to deem independent contractors as employees.

The government has also committed itself to an inquiry into labour hire and has moved to protect workers with family responsibilities by widening the scope of anti-discrimination laws.

The Carr Government's second term package of reforms, announced to the Labor Council by NSW Industrial Relations Minister Jeff Shaw, also includes improved rights of access for union officials and the first steps towards email privacy at work.

NSW Labor Council secretary Michael Costa has welcomed the reforms and says they will lead to a civilizing of the workplace.

"The Carr Government has introduced a range of measures to give people in new forms of employment the same protection as employees`," Costa says.

"This will not only deliver justice to these workers, but take away some of the incentives that have led to the casualisation of the workplace."

But he said unions would continue to argue for other proposals that the government has not embraced, including the right to levy a service fee on non-union members who receive union-negotiated pay rises.

LHMU Liquor Division secretary Sue McGrath says the package would be of great benefit to her members, many of whom are casual women workers employed in hotels and clubs.

In one instance, a major club in the eastern suburbs told a casual worker with five years experience who sought time off to give birth were told they would forfeit their long service entitlements.

"This is a terrific result for women casuals," McGrath says.

   Click here for a copy of Jeff Shaw's speech to the NSW Labor Council last night

  View entire issue - print all of the articles!

  Issue 54 contents

Interview: South of the Border
Victorian Trades Hall chief Leigh Hubbard on life under Bracks, militant unionism and why more people march in Melbourne.

Politics: Jeff Shaw's Second Wave
The full text of the NSW Industrial Relations Minister's speech to Labor Council announcing the Carr Government's IR reform agenda.

Unions: Reith's Laws: Just Say NO
The ACTU has called on Labor and the Democrats to reject Workplace Relations Minister Peter Reith's anti-industry bargaining Workplace Relations 2000 Bill out right.

History: A Breed Of Their Own
Labour historian Greg Patmore explains what makes his fraternity tick - and why they're still going strong and making history.

International: Sony's Asian Showdown
The Japanese electronic giant Sony is threatening to shutdown production facilities in Indonesia - where a prolonged strike has cost it US$200milliom - and move to next door Malaysia where electronic workers are banned from forming a union.

Human Rights: Good Guys, Bad Guys
Everywhere we look -in our newspapers, on the television, in reports by business leaders, academics and politicians - advocacy of human rights seems to be on a collision course with governmental and business interests.

Review: New Workers, New Challenges
A new wave of thought is arguing that working life is changing - but this doesn't necessarily deal unions out the action.

Satire: Rain Man Withdraws Endorsement of Qantas
After the third major safety incident in the space of a year, Qantas has lost the confidence of the most famous public supporter of its once unblemished safety record, the autistic star of Rain Man, Raymond.

» Carr Moves on Casuals

» Democrats Wavering on Reith Bill

» Exit Visas for Child Care Workers

» GST Pay Claims to Target Allowances

» Tide Turns On Competitive Tendering

» Joy Takes Message To The World

» Mines Out as Rio Tinto Torps Talks

» Political Economy for Activists, 2000

» Unions March for Reconciliation

» STOP PRESS: AK-47s used in coup against union-aligned Fiji Labour Government