Workers Online : Issue No. 65, 04 August 2000


Issue No 65		04 August 2000

LaborNET	Ask Neale	Tool of the Week

Features
Interview: Hobart Perspective
Having held senior positions in both wings of the labour movement, Martin Ferguson went to Hobart with more perspective than most. He shares a bit of it with Workers Online.

Politics: Love-in In a Cold Climate
In our exclusive campaign diary we bring you the sights, sounds and smells of the ALP's Hobart conference.

Unions: Passion Plays
Canadian union campaigner Sharon Costello outlines how British Columbia nurses are using the arts to activate their membership base.

International: Spanish Telecom Builds Employee Portal
The prospect of on-line access for unions to company employees was outlined to Union Network International by the head of Spanish Telecommunications giant. Telefonica.

History: Husky Girls and the Female Psyche
When women entered the workforce during World War Two their male supervisors were given these simple tips to get the most out of them.

Satire: Communism Vindicated by Successful Collective Meeting
Tonight's meeting of the Marxism-Leninism Now Collective demonstrated the continuing relevance and ultimate success of communist principles, according to the Collective's Secretary, George Addison, 44.

Review: Following the Money
A new book looks at the role the bosses have played in the changing industrial relations framework.

Husky Girls

Notice Board
- Check out the latest events

Latest Issue

View entire latest issue
- print all of the articles!

Previous Issues

Subject index

Search all issues

Workers Online - 2nd place Labourstart website of the year

News

Wired Conference

Chaudhry, Burrow Discuss Strengthening Unions' Stand
The ACTU is prepared to introduce tough trade bans and seek the imposition of economic sanctions against Fiji unless there is clear evidence of a move towards the restoration of constitutional rule.
[ Full Story » ]

Shopping Centres' 'Pay to Work' Plan
Retail workers are bucking up over 'pay to work' plans by some of Sydney's biggest shopping centres which would see them charged to park their care during working hours.
[ Full Story » ]

Labor's IR Platform: Winding Back Reith
The ALP has linked its industrial relations policy with retraining and social welfare in a bid to develop new strategies to address growing workplace insecurity.
[ Full Story » ]

Redback clerks buck casual trend
Clerks in South Australia - members of the ASU - have won a significant victory for casual workers by winning the right to become permanent employees if they have been in regular and systematic employment for 12 months.
[ Full Story » ]

No Joy in Ministerial Mind Slip
Acute memory loss seems to have selectively wiped the collective memory of Workplace Relations Minister Peter Reith and his office.
[ Full Story » ]

Parlt House Cleaners' Fight Gets Dirty
Cleaners employed to clean Parliament House in Canberra returned to work at midnight on Thursday - after a 48 hour strike against Limro Cleaning Services, their employer.
[ Full Story » ]

Rural Safety Lapses' Massive Cost
The cost of workplace fatalities and injuries in the rural sector is enormous, a whopping $1.25 billion dollars per year, according to the Australian Workers Union.
[ Full Story » ]

5000 Students Back the Hands that Feed Them
Students and workers at the University of New South Wales are joining forces to prevent the University from privatizing and outsourcing their food and beverage outlets.
[ Full Story » ]

Mobile Phones Health Warning
Workers will be warned to use mobile phones only as a last resort under a new safety policy being drafted by the communications workers union.
[ Full Story » ]

Bank Staff Fight Fruitpicking Future
The Finance Sector Union is calling on the Government to conduct a Public Interest Impact Assessment to ensure customers, communities and jobs are considered in any decision about finance industry mergers.
[ Full Story » ]

No Science in CSIRO Sell-Down
Thousands of CSIRO staff are gearing up for a major tussle with the Howard government over its plans outsource the organisation's information technology infrastructure.
[ Full Story » ]

Hotel Workers Target Big Chains
Hotel workers throughout Australia have resolved to build on recent campaign successes and target the major hotel chains on common issues.
[ Full Story » ]

Wheels of Justice Slow as Reporters Walk
Justice slowed in the District Court and the Supreme Court of NSW yesterday as Court Reporters dropped pens and dictaphones to protest inaction by the Attorney-General's Department over staff numbers.
[ Full Story » ]

Free Political Economy Classes for Activists
Sydney Uni is continuing its political economy for activists series.
[ Full Story » ]

APHEDA plans Asian and Middle Eastern tours
APHEDA-Union Aid Abroad has announced its international study tours for next year.
[ Full Story » ]

In defence of coffee

Rail commuter warns pollies

We want a bigger slice of pie

Latham should watch the Footy Show

Editor bagged

In Good Hands

It's been a week where Labor's national leadership has set the party on course to capturing the vacant ground as the progressive political force for the 21st Century.

The Hobart Conference may have been knocked off the front page by Howard's attack on Lesbian mums, but the substance of the Beazley platform is spiced with initiatives that show Labor is starting to grasp the opportunities of network technologies.

From the online education gateway to electronic medical records, the Labor platform embraces these opportunities in a very practical way. It is far more reassuring than glib pronouncements of the benefits of change.

Of course, there are still skeptics, such as those who backed the Fair Trade resolution. They too should feel satisfied with their work for they have placed the onus on Labor to argue the case for global engagement and show how the benefits can be more fairly shared.

All in all, Hobart leaves the Party in good shape as the federal election looms. And it keeps the trade union movement at the forefront of the debates of substance.

As for Workers Online, this is the last week I'll be editing the paper for three months. In a desperate bid to avoid the Olympics I'm clearing town for Europe.

It won't all be holiday, while away I'll be calling on some of the big international trade union bodies and seeing how they're dealing with the challenges of this changing world of work. I'll be sending through a steady stream of postcards.

In my absence, Workers Online will be in the capable hands of Noel Hester, one of the movement's true Internet pioneers and the guy who came up with the idea of Workers Online in a pub one night. Keep the stories and feedback coming in and I'll see you all for Christmas.

Peter Lewis
Editor