
Issue No 58		16 June 2000

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News

Miners Hit the Streets Over Death Threats

By Paddy Gorman

Hundreds of coal mineworkers descended on Sydney this morning for a march on Australian Industrial Relations Commission over a decision they fear will costs lives.

The members of the CFMEU were protesting against the freezing of their Award wages and the Commission's recent decision to give employers the right to force miners to work 10-hour shifts and apply for compulsory 12-hour shifts.

In an industry where an underground coal mineworker has a 1-in-28 chance of being killed during his or her working life, through this decision the AIRC is literally dicing with death.

In discarding the health and safety concerns of the workers, the Full Bench of the Commission, headed by its President Geoff Giudice, claimed that the compulsory shifts were needed to "reduce labour costs and boost productivity".

The Commission's 'justification' is contradicted by the most recent survey conducted and released by coal industry employers. It shows that wages ("labour costs") rose by 1.2% while productivity per employee rose by a staggering 18.4%.

It now seems that the employers want much more than miners' sweat, they want our blood too, and disgracefully the Commission has agreed to sign, seal and deliver mineworkers to them.

The Commission's decision to freeze the coal mining Award until other Awards catch up with it, could mean that some miners will have to wait up to 10-years for an wage increase

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  Issue 58 contents

Interview: After the Gold Rush
NSW building union leader Andrew Ferguson on life after the Olympics and why Che Guevara is his political hero.

Unions: MUA Women's Policy Back on Course
A hard hitting report by the Maritime Union's women's delegate Sue Gajdos prompts the union to, once again, promote its female members.

Politics: Raising the Rafters
Opposition leader Kim Beazley delivered a stirring address to last weekend's NSW ALP State Conference. Here's every word of it.

History: Time and Tide
Greg Patmore surveys the themes of Working Lives in Regional Australia in this introduction to the latest issue of 'Labour History'

International: Fair in the Land of the Free
More than 20,000 immigrant workers, union members and community and religious leaders packed a Los Angeles Sports Arena on June 10 in support of immigrant workers' rights.

Environment: Life's a Beach
Workers are invited to join an environmental campaign to protect the coastal communities and coastline from exploitation by multinationals.

Satire: More Pacific Coups Forecast
The popular holiday resort of Great Keppel Island is bracing itself for a bloody coup, following the rash of rebel uprisings in other parts of the Pacific.

Review: At the Barricades
Denis Evans' photo essay on the Patrick dispute captures the camaraderie on the Melbourne picket lines - solidarity that, like solder, welded workers and their communities together into a human barricade.

Crackdown on Fiji Workers Intensifies
Building Industry Braces for Post-Games Slump
Call Centre Battle Hots Up
More Sackings Spark Entitlements Showdown
Carr Establishes Labor Hire Inquiry
High Court Puts Workers At Reith's Mercy
Miners Hit the Streets Over Death Threats
Unions Urged to Reignite Republic Debate
Tips Rip-Off Sparks Hotel Picket
Community Workers to Lay Siege to Parliament
Water Workers Accept 14% Pay Rise
Counselling for Workplace Accidents
Korean Food Festival is Union Business
Che Helps Doctors Save Lives
Maude Barlow Public Lecture - Sydney June 27