   |
||
| Issue No 59 |  |
23 June 2000 |
|
|
|
NewsFrustration Boils Over Olympics Blowout
The Carr Government was today condemned for patching up the Olympic budget while allowing sores in the community sector to fester, as thousands of community workers took unprecedented.
Workers in non-government social and community services took part in a statewide Day of Action today, rallying outside NSW Parliament and in regional centers to support of funding for a new Social and Community Services (SACS) Award. More than 600 of them rallied in Sydney, with other protests in Wollongong, the Blue Mountains, Gosford and Newcastle, Dubbo, Moruya and Armidale They want the government to agree to fund their organizations to enable them to deliver a pay rise that they say is long overdue. Because employers in the sector are largely government-funded, they are reliant on this before they can offer a pay rise. Speakers at the Sydney rally were critical of the Carr government's ongoing refusal to increase funding, while throwing millions at the growing Sydney 2000 shortfall. Australian Services Union services division state secretary Allison Peters says - as a union official - she's saddened by the priorities of the Labor Government. "One hundred and forty million dollars would more than adequately pay for decent pay and conditions for these workers, who will continue to work hard for the community long after September passes," Peters says. "The government has been well aware of our award claim for over two years, but are still not prepared to commit to funding whatever the Industrial Relations Commission decided is a fair outcome having heard the arguments from both side." The Community Sector covers non-profit community services for the aged, homeless, people with disabilities, young people, women and families in need. Agencies include Neighbourhood Centres, Group Homes and other services for people with a disability; Community Legal Centres; Family Support Services; Women's Refuges; Youth Centres and Refuges and Hostels for the Homeless. Most services rely entirely on government funding in order to operate. Support for Campaign Against TAFE Cuts The New South Wales Labor Council is supporting the Teachers Federation in its campaign to reverse a 10 per cent cut to the TAFE budget and job cuts and to safe-guard the quality of TAFE education. The NSW State Budget for 2000-2001 imposes severe cuts on TAFE, there is a reduction of $133M (10.5%) in real terms. These cuts are expected to lead to a loss of 730 full-time jobs. Student enrolments are expected to rise dramatically for this year by 171,000. While these 171,000 additional enrolments represent only a 0.6% increase in equivalent full-time student numbers. The additional work caused by these enrolments will create massive problems for administrative staff in TAFE colleges.
"Over the last two Budgets, the teaching staff have been reduced by approximately 15% while equivalent full-time student numbers have increased by 2.6 per cent. "The Carr Labor Government is expecting fewer teachers to cope an increased number of students%," Teachers Federation representative Phil Bradley says.
"This means that the quality of education will suffer as class sizes increase and direct student-to-teacher contact is reduced," Bradley says. "Such an attack on New South Wales TAFE, the premier Vocational Education and Training provider in Australia cannot be tolerated. It is completely unworthy of a State Labor Government and will damage Kim Beazley's "knowledge nation" policy objective. "The Labor Council will be asking Unions affected by the TAFE cuts to prepare for the possibility of joint action in the near future. "Those most affected by the Budget cuts are working-class families. As such cuts invariably fall most heavily in second-chance education areas as literacy, numeracy and English to speakers of other languages, disabilities and other access elective programs. TAFE (Release)
|
   Interview: Holding the LineDiwan Shankar, Assistant National Secretary of the Fiji TUC, is in Australia to consolidate support for his members and plead for ongoing bans. Technology: D-Day for VC?NSW Labor Council secretary Michael Costa explains the motivations behind the new Get on Board computer-internet venture. Legal: Knock, Knock - Who's There?When the nine year old son of CFMEU construction division state secretary Andrew Ferguson recently responded to a Saturday door knock, it was neither a friend nor a Jehovah's Witness. Unions: Are You a Good Listener ?Mark Hearn goes inside the Energy Australia call centre to find a workplace where there is a code for evrything - even trips to the toilet. International: Union Observers Barred from Zimbabwe PollFive observers from the Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu) and 19 other South Africans aligned to Zimbabwe's Catholic Commission for Peace and Justice are among 233 observers barred by the Zimbabwean government from monitoring the parliamentary elections. History: Community, Class, and Comparison Despite its occasional romantic tendencies, new labour scholarship is mapping collective action within working class communities. Satire: Rural Poor Return to LaborThrilled by the great new branding, the new Country Labor party has caused scenes of great rejoicing in the country. Review: The Wicked Webs We WeaveLaborNet web-meastro Paul Howes trawls the web for some hot sites for all you political junkies.
Notice Board View entire latest issue
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
![[ Home ]](/images/nv_home.gif){kind=small} ![[ Notice Board ]](/images/nv_board.gif){kind=small} ![[ Search ]](/images/nv_search.gif){kind=small} ![[ Previous Issues ]](/images/nv_previous.gif){kind=small} ![[ Latest Issue ]](/images/nv_latest.gif){kind=small} |
|
|
|
|
© 1999-2000 Labor Council of NSW LaborNET is a resource for the labour movement provided by the Labor Council of NSW URL: http://workers.labor.net.au/59/news8_sacs.htmlLast Modified: 15 Nov 2005 [ Privacy Statement | Disclaimer | Credits ] LaborNET is proudly created, designed and programmed by Social Change Online for the Labor Council of NSW |
|
![[Workers Online]](/images/logo_small.gif){kind=logo}
![[Social Change Online]](/images/sco_logo.gif){kind=logo}