Issue No 65 | 04 August 2000 | |
NewsNo Science in CSIRO Sell-DownBy Dermot Browne
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.
CSIRO staff, and others in the research community, are alarmed at the government's reckless outsourcing plan. They believing it will compromise Australia's capacity for desperately needed scientific research, putting Australia dangerously behind other countries, economically and ecologically. Sandy Ross, Secretary of the CSIRO Staff Association, says, 'More than at any time in the organisation's 74 year history, our research is dependent on sophisticated computer systems. Many have been modified especially for particular research projects. They do sophisticated real-time analysis during fieldwork and feed data into super computers for analysis. This is not the sort of work that can be easily picked up by an outside contractor.' CSIRO staff are holding meetings this week to plan a range of industrial and community campaigning activities. Sandy says there is no reason for the government to pursue this direction, other than its own ideological belief. "In spite of a growing body of evidence that shows the outsourcing of public sector work rarely delivers real savings or better service, the Howard government appears determined to crash on blindly. What is at stake here is Australia's ability to keep pace with the rest of the world in terms of scientific research. To jeopardise this vital work for the sake of some unproven 'private good / public bad' mantra is foolhardy in the extreme." "In fact," says Sandy, "outsourcing would actually lead to a massive increases in costs."
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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.
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