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| Issue No 71 |  |
15 September 2000 |
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| Issue No 71 | |
15 September 2000 |
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The postal workers are looking for a $400 allowance for the games. This is identical to the allowance won by Telstra workers and by employees of Visionstream, a cabling and communications company. It is less than that being paid to a large number of NSW public sector workers.
Management have offered a measly $165 to a tiny number of workers - 450 - in Sydney, Homebush and Bondi.
The CEPU believes 7000 postal workers in the Sydney Metropolitan area will be affected by the increased workloads and inconvenience of the games. At the 1996 Atlanta games there was a 20 per cent increase in mail volume and a 10 per cent increase in post customers in the metropolitan area.
'Our members will have to change how they process, transport and deliver mail for the next three weeks. They also have to change their way of getting to work which will involve extra hours above the call of duty,' says the CEPU's Jim Metcher.
'We have been talking to management about the allowance since April. They gave us every impression they would pay the allowance but were just waiting to see what other public sector workers would be getting.'
Australia Post served notices issued by the IR Commission individually on their 13,000 NSW employees on the morning of the rally to prevent them taking action outside the Westin Hotel.
'The Westin Hotel in Sydney has rooms costing over $700 per night, before GST. While Australia Post Corporate Executives are happy to spend this kind of money on themselves and their corporate mates they deny postal workers one or two dollars an hour extra to work in unusually hectic and congested conditions,' says Jim Metcher.
by HT Lee
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Surrounded by dozens of children wearing CFMEU 'We built the Olympics' t-shirts at the Fairfield leg of the torch relay, Mario said: 'I am proud to be union.'
Mario was the site delegate at Stadium Australia for over two years.
During his time as a delegate there Mario helped raised $66,000 for Westmead Childrens Hospital and $10,000 for Red Nose day.
Mario, who spoke no English when he first arrived from Uruguay 28 years ago at age 15, has been working in the building industry for the past 23 years.
Mario is also a keen sportsperson and has a long association with indoor soccer.
He represented NSW and Australia in over 30s indoor soccer. He also coaches the under 16s indoor soccer team and still regularly plays outdoor soccer and charity matches.
CFMEU coordinator Brian Parker was there to witness his long time friend and workmate Mario raise the torch.
'We built the Olympics and it is good to see the workers being given recognition,' Brian said.
'I am honoured to have been chosen to carry the torch on behalf of the workers who helped build the Olympics,' an elated and happy Mario said after the run.
by Paul Howes
Unions 2000 is an alliance of the Labor Council of NSW, the Liquor, Hospitality & Miscellaneous Workers Union (LHMU), the Australian Workers Union (AWU), Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance (MEAA) and the Shop, Distributive & Allied Employees Association (SDA).
These unions over the last two years have negotiated a special award for the games which gives Olympic workers, on average, pay 15% above normal award conditions. As well they receive free transport, free meals and an attendance bonus of $1.50 for every hour worked.
The cooperation between the unions didn't stop with the award negotiations. They also decided to join together for the period of the Olympics in their move to unionise the games. The results speak for themselves. In Sydney Olympic Park alone there is now over 10,000 Unions 2000 members along with over 30 very hard working organisers.
This makes Sydney 2000 unique in Olympics history as the first ever unionised Olympics.
Unions 2000 has moved it's office from Sussex Street to Olympic Park and the disputes are already rolling in whether it be Security Guards not being paid or 15 year old vendors being ripped off Unions 2000 has been on the site ready to step in.
As of tonight union officials will be on-site 24 hours a day and organisers are prepared for the next few weeks which no doubt will be very trying but never the less rewarding.
by Peter Lewis
The passport, to be launched in Australia soon, would mean workers taking up foreign contracts could seek advice and assistance from participating trade unions in any foreign country.
The passport, issued by the Geneva-based UNI, is a response to the growing mobility of in the IT industry with jobs shortages in the USA and Europe, where there are more than 1.5 million mobile workers.
'Business to business e-commerce is set to increase ten fold by 2004,`Gerd Rohde, who heads the professional and managerial department at the UNI said.
With the pace of mergers and growing globalisation, companies increasingly look at their IT requirements across whole continents and want staff to move where the projects need them.
One major IT company has already begun talk about a single European contract for mobile staff - a prospect that comes closer with the single currency in 2002:
UNI's passport will effectively pass workers from one union to another when they relocate, giving them support over their contracts, advice on living problems and help in familiarising them in their new countries.
The passport is likely to be available in Australia by summer. Participating Australian unions include APESMA, the ASU, the FSU, the CPSU and the CEPU.
Greater Dandenong Council had contracted out its Home and Community Care services to a private provider, Silver Circle.
The Federal Court decision complements and expands on the ASU's previous successful result in pursuing Silver Circle under the Transmission of Business provisions of the Workplace Relations Act. Silver Circle is now paying Local Government Carers under ASU Industrial Agreements.
'I understand that this is the first successful class actions for employees who have had their work illegally outsourced. The Federal Court has found it is illegal for employers to use outsourcing to remove employment conditions in an Award and/or an Enterprise Bargaining Agreement,' ASU Branch Secretary, Darrell Cochrane says.
'The Court decision confirms what the ASU has said all along; competitive tendering should only be about the quality and level of services provided, not about breaking down workers wages and conditions of employment. The drive for greater efficiencies cannot be at the expense of the law and workers entitlements,' Mr Cochrane said.
'Our Dandenong Homecare members, all of whom are women working part-time, are to be congratulated. By sticking together and retaining their union membership, the ASU was able to pursue separate successful class actions against Dandenong Council and Silver Circle.'
'The outcome has seen their entitlements return and may also result in their reinstatement as Council employees. It highlights the importance of workers being union members. Individual non-union members would not be able to achieve such outcomes.'
The CFMEU's Rick Fowler says he was impressed by the coalition of unions, greens, students, NGOs, church groups and others from Sydney, Adelaide and Melbourne involved in the variety of activities.
'I was excited by the sheer number of protesters, the vast spread of age groups and cultural diversity and the total commitment to peaceful protesting by the overwhelming majority of people gathered,' he said.
Rick Fowler says it is these alliances which have led to success in the current Rio Tinto campaign and in the recent past the MUA dispute.
'These alliances must be the basis of future campaigns that will be waged against companies and Governments that do not respect workers rights and human rights,' he says.
He says within these alliances there are differences but also common points of view.
'We hear and see, via the media, of enormous protests world wide against all the injustices that the free trade agenda is bringing to workers and communities around the world. I believe that our message is, ever so slowly, being heard in these types of forums and at Government level.'
Fowler says a low point of the protests was the use of force by police on Tuesday.
'The police overwhelming outnumbered the protesters at that time of the morning and could have used other traditional methods of clearing away protesters.'
Victorian Trades Hall Secretary Leigh Hubbard also voiced his concerns about the policing of the conference.
'While we organised our own protest and have a different way of expressing concern about the negative consequences of globalisation, trade unions support the right of all Victorians to protest without fear of violence," Mr Hubbard said.
'We would not tolerate this kind of police behaviour on a picket line and we don't condone it during this controversial event.'
The annual survey by the Brussels-based International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) details violations of trade union rights in 113 countries during 1999.
It says that nearly 3000 people were arrested, more then 1,500 were injured, beaten or tortured and at least 5,800 were harassed because of their legitimate trade union activities. Another 700 trade unionists received death threats.
'This year's report gives an opportunity to denounce the prevailing hypocrisy which sees government officials parading at international gatherings, ostensibly promoting basic workers' rights, while those who actually defend those fundamental rights at home are being harassed, attacked, threatened, sidelined or silenced sometimes for ever,' said Bill Jordan, general secretary of the ICFTU.
Abuses compiled in the survey range from murder to subtle legislative arrangements that make trade union activities increasingly look like a daunting obstacle race.
Some 12,000 workers were unfairly dismissed or refused reinstatement, sometimes with the complicity of the government, because they were active members of a trade union. At least 140 strikes or demonstrations were repressed by governments, sometimes with the support of the employers using strike breakers, while 80 of the 113 countries mentioned in the survey restrict the right to strike altogether.
'Ruthless repression in Latin America, attacks and interference in Asia, arrests and imprisonment in Africa, severe restrictions and non-payment of wage in Eastern Europe and a growing trend to 'union busting' activities in industrialised countries are key findings of this year's report, according to Bill Jordan.
The Latin American continent remains the most dangerous place in the world for trade unionists. 90 trade unionists lost their lives, twice as many as any other continent, and about 70% of those arrested world-wide for carrying out trade union activities
were from Latin America. Forming a trade union within an enterprise is virtually impossible in many Latin American countries.
According to experts in the field of industrial deafness, the current methods of hearing protection such as ear muffs and plugs are about as effective as filters on cigarettes.
The only way to protect workers is to reduce the noise levels they say.
These experts say there is new evidence that may lead the way for call centre workers to obtain workers' compensation.
Acoustic Engineer and Consultant, David Eden, says there is evidence available to support workers who have developed hearing damage from headsets.
David has provided expert advice on noise levels and safe systems of work to solicitors representing industrial deafness cases in the District Court. Three of the cases involved Telecom workers and 'shrieks' from headsets.
"One 'shriek' can cause instantaneous deafness," he says.
"There were a $100 million dollars worth of claims for hearing loss last year - and this is on the increase. Clearly the regulations are not protecting workers.'
"There have been only two prosecutions against employers who breach noise laws and this was between 1979 and 1997. "
The Labor Council's watchdog, Mary Yaager, says WorkCover Authority has to get tough and mount a campaign to ensure employers do something about noise at work.
Prevention is the only answer as there is no cure she says.
Mary will also be calling on the government to introduce a code of practice for the call centre industry. She will request that within this code, there is a requirement to provide headsets that will not cause damage to hearing.
by Scott Connolly
But after a week of delays and continued disruptions the Bus 2000 Olympic Fleet's provision of transport services to the Sydney Olympic Games is beginning to improve.
Discussions involving the drivers, Bus 2000 and the Olympic Roads and Traffic Authority have led to improved .working conditions and accommodation for drivers and better rostering arrangements.
A new set of rosters has been introduced, drivers are being provided with one hot and one cold meal a day, and an additional team of 13 drivers liaison officers are continuing to investigate alternative arrangements for drivers accommodation.
In addition drivers rostered on the difficult routes in the CBD and to the Media depot will be receiving an extra $4 per hour and all drivers will be paid at ordinary time if they have to wait for a shuttle bus or are travelling more than one hour.
To ensure drivers also have the opportunity to enjoy the site and spectacle of the games the TWU has secured a commitment from ORTA and Bus 2000 that large TV screens and ice cream vans will be stationed at the major depots.
Welcoming these developments TWU State Secretary Tony Sheldon told Workers Online, "Things are definitely improving and these announcements certainly go some way to allaying drivers concerns, ultimately, however now it is really up to Bus 2000 to deliver on its commitment to make the provision of games transport services a success."
by Mark Morey
The riot at Woomera Detention Centre was the second major incident involving refugees this year. The Minister for Immigration, Phillip Ruddock, suggests one of the reasons for the riot could be that a number of detainees had their refugee applications rejected, a view rejected by the Asylum Seekers Centre.
An ongoing criticism of detention centres has been the conditions under which detainees are expected to live. Sylvia Winton, Coordinator of Asylum Seekers Centre says that in a vast majority of cases the treatment of individuals is, at best, "appalling". She is aware of cases at Woomera, where detainees in need of medical assistance are not permitted access to these services. Other issues include detainees being provided with hot water in summer and cold water in winter and the exercise yards are home to snakes and scorpions.
From her work with refugees, Ms Winton believes frustration due to "people not being told the truth" is one of the biggest issues confronting detainees. In one case, the refugees were told they will be released soon, but then there was no eventual release date. This went on for 8 months. This type of situation generates insecurity and fear as a result of being locked up in a prison and told that you will be getting out soon, yet never being released. In other cases, people who have escaped persecution in Iraq were not provided with any opportunity or resources to communicate with family in order to tell them they were safe or to inquire about family safety. Ms Winton believes it is unreasonable to ask anyone, especially people who have escaped persecution, "to stay sane and patient under these conditions".
For refugees who dare to question the conditions or the system, there is little recourse and often the threat of punishment. The Asylum Seekers Centre in NSW, has been involved in a case where detention centre management publicly stated their preparedness to listen and address complaints within the centre. However, a written statement form an individual within this particular centre revealed when the Manager was approached with a complaint the individual was told "if you don't like it here you can be sent to Silverwater Goal". Such issues according to Ms Winton, reveal the lack of openness and transparency in the system. In Woomera, people receive no visitors or phone calls, and they are unable to contact anyone, even their families".
The Government's handling, and the media's reporting of issues such as Woomera, portray refugees as "illegals and aliens" when all they have done is "come to the Australian border and say that they want the help and protection of the Australian Government says Sylvia Winton. This masks the suffering of these people and the reason why many fled to Australia she says. Ms Winton believe the Government and media fail to report that "ninety percent of these people are deserving and do gain refugee status...Once you have spoken to a number of these people about their experiences and the torture they have suffered you can understand why they have fled their countries".
Minister Ruddock's recent comments about many refuges being "economic refugees" or "uninvited refugees" are seen as disingenuous by organisations such as the Asylum Seekers Centre because they belie the severity of the situations facing many refugees that does not allow them to be patient and wait orderly to be processed. Ms Winton believes the aim of the Minister's comments are to play people off against each other, and against "what could be considered a set of almost fictitious but illegal people" who are portrayed as continually trying to illegally enter Australia. Ms Winton went on to say that "there will always be cheats in any system whether it is tax or immigration, but in this case the cheats are the minority. [In fact], the majority of illegal immigrants are British and New Zealanders who overstay their visas".
According to organisations such as the Asylum Seekers Centre, there is an urgent need to review and reform the processing procedures that have seen so many refugees going to the Australian courts to appeal decisions. Ms Winton believes there is a need for better "decision making at the early stages of processing claims". In most cases applicants are refused refugee status without an interview being conducted. "If all detainees received an interview this would keep a majority of cases out of the courts". Perhaps more caseworkers with legal skills at the initial assessment stages to assist in reducing the number of people seeking judicial appeals. In addition, the need for applicants to detail recent traumatic experiences is made more difficult and complicated by having to complete the forms in English. Ms Winton believes allowing people to apply for refugee status in their own languages, as is the case in Italy, would also assist in speeding up the process and reduce the court appeals as a result of inaccurate assessments.
Woomera is just one of the many detention centres in Australia where people have fled countries where they and their families suffer persecution because of their cultural, political or religious beliefs. The Asylum Seekers Centre believes it is time to review the way in which Australia deals with its refugees. Specifically there is a need to review the way people are assessed and processed, the conditions under which they are detained, the transparency of the system and the accountability of those managing the system.
The ICFTU said that the election of Mya Than, Burma's permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva, as Chairperson of the UN General Assembly's First Committee (of Disarmament and International Security) sends a message to the world that despite the condemnation by UN bodies, including the UN Commission on Human Rights and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) because of its violations of international human rights standards, Burma has received the UN's official blessing.
"We find it extraordinary that while on the one hand a number of UN bodies adopt strongly-worded resolutions condemning Burma's military junta's human rights record, on the other the organisation agrees to the election of the same regime's senior official as chairman to another section of the UN.
After strong condemnation of Burma's military regime at the International Labour Conference in June, the ILO governing body is expected to adopt a series of measures this November towards Burma, including calling on all relevant UN agencies "to reconsider, within their terms of reference... and, if appropriate, to cease as soon as possible any activity that could have the effect of directly or indirectly abetting the practice of forced or compulsory labour".
The election of the Burmese representative in the same week that the Burmese military government has been condemned internationally for its continual harassment of The National League for Democracy, and its leader Aung San Suu Kyi is all the more bizarre, said the ICFTU.
Meanwhile ...
The International Transport Workers' Federation and MUA port officials in Darwin successfully rescued four Burmese crew stranded on board two cattle boats, last week. The crew had not been paid four months and were made to work on shore while the boats lay in the mud at a private berth in Darwin. The seafarers were threatened with being taken to the local police station if they complained about conditions.
'Accommodation on board was appalling,' said ITF Australia co-ordinator Trevor Charles. 'The seafarers were packed into stuffy cabins in the stifling tropical heat with no airconditioning. They were fed a meagre ration of chicken wings and rice which they had to share between themselves and seven Indonesian seafarers. They were forced to work on local building sites.'
A local member of Burmese community contacted the ITF Australia. which then launched a rescue mission. The Burmese have now received $20,000 in back pay and compensation..
'The crew know how the Burmese junta treat seafarers seeking outside help," said Mr Coombs. "They fear returning to their homeland. It is not just democracy leaders that are imprisoned and tortured in Burma, but workers and unionists. The Australian Government is just not doing enough. But the union movement is closely monitoring the situation.'
I took last Thursday off work - so sick I began to read a Readers Digest from March 1986. It contained a jingoistic article, "What's behind the name", on Australian business successes. There was everything from Vegimite to the modern tennis ball. A little over a decade later, and only one of the inventions or innovative businesses praisd by Readers Digest remained in Australian hands.
Every Australian should be conerned at the impact of globalisation and our overall economic direction, and not just because our dollar is now virtually worthless.
Last year, I wrote to the Treasurer pointing out a conflict of interest in relation to an appointee to the New Tax System Advisory Board. In a civil legal action, it became clear that one appointee had participated in a tax avoidance scheme that deprived the Commonwealth of millions of dollars needed for hospitals, roads and schools. The scheme used was promoted by murdered lawyer, Max Green. The inquest into his death revealled that, in addition to promoting tax schemes to the rich, Green was involved in criminal money laundering, drug dealing and illegal arms sales. No business associate of Green's would be a fit and proper person to advise the Treasurer on taxation policy. Or has Australia become a Banana Republic for more reasons than just is underperforming currency?
I did not get a considered reply from the Treasurer, not even an acknowledgement. The letter, it seems, was simply binned.
Every Australian will need to decide for themselves whether the police acted responsibly in beating protestors who were determined to shut down the World Economic Forum. After all, everyone has the right to meet and organise, whether they are billionaires or Nike workers.
But in making this judgement, please do so on the basis of the alternatives were really available to protestors. At least with the current arrogant Treasurer, one of these alternative was not to write and express a view on economic policy and expect that that view would be taken seriously. Violence cannot be justified just because a politician did not answer a letter. But when the basic democratic right of every citizen to write to a Member of Parliament can no longer be taken for granted, some people will take direct action.
The broader labour movement, including the established political parties of the Left, need to communicate with young people and assure them that their concerns will always be heard.
Noel Baxendale
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The ALP has combined the portfolios of Industry, Technology and Innovation. Why is that, and what are the challenges that would face you as a minister in that portfolio?
Obviously the critical thing for Australia is to take advantage of the emerging challenges in the so-called new economy; that we are not only developing the skills of our workers at every level, but also taking advantage of research and development to produce new products and services. So bringing Industry, Technology and Innovation together allows us to look at all elements of the problem that we confront: from what is required in schools, universities, TAFEs and other re-training organisations and in industry itself to modernise and upgrade processes as well as taking our share of the emerging opportunities in bio-technology, information technology and so on.
So it gives me an opportunity to work with my colleagues to try and jointly - and we will all work together on this - to pull together what is required to stimulate a culture of innovation as it has been called by some.
Do you think governments are powerless before the forces of globalisation?
Well no I don't. I think that globalisation is a fact, and governments need to work with the understanding of what forces exist in societies as a result of it. Some of those forces create benefits. Some, clearly, cause difficulties. Governments are not powerless in the face of these changes. It is an ideological position to suggest that.
I think what a lot of people talk about as the consequences of globalisation, are actually policy failure by governments. Governments are able, for instance, to improve educational opportunities and ensure that taxation benefits those who have lower incomes. In other words, that we have a progressive taxation system, and so on.
What role do you see for Government in providing infrastructure?
Very important. One of the things that we have seen just recently is a steady decline in the provision of infrastructure in Australia and both government and the private sector's figures suggest that we at the moment are facing significant problems with capital investment. So government is important in that field. It is also important of course in investing in the less visible infrastructure - that is the skills of the population. That is strictly my area of interest.
But if we don't have the infrastructure in areas like communications for instance, and transport, the skills won't be able to be used as effectively as they should be. So they go side by side. Investing in the nation means investing in infrastructure; investing in skills; investing in knowledge. And at the moment we have got a pretty patchy record. We are riding off a lot of the changes that were made in the 80s and early 90s and we are now facing skills shortages, and as I say, a decline in capital investment, which will, in future put us further behind than we are already in participation in the new economy.
How important is your portfolio do you think in promoting greater equality in society?
Very considerable because it is by participating in changes - innovation if you like - and making sure that they are distributing wealth equally, that our society can become what it is capable of, that is a wealthy society which respects the talents and interests of all of its citizens and doesn't simply allow, if you like, random market forces to dictate the way we operate. So by producing new wealth, by developing means to ensure that it is spread fairly in the community,
We don't want a low skill/low wage economy. We want a high skill/high wage economy where the jobs are secure; where people aren't working excessively long hours which destroy family life; and where people can actually participate fully in the society and not just in the workplace.
What role do you see for unions in reversing that trend of growing inequality?
They are critical. There is a lot of evidence to show that in those workplaces and areas of employment where unions are most active and effective, that is where the gaps, if you like, between high and low income earners are lowest. They are very successful indeed in ensuring that people get a fair share that protects conditions. They ensure that workers get a share of the profits and the wealth that is being generated in the community. And it is very clear, that where unions for various reasons - often historical - are not active - wages are lower or working conditions are poorer. And the consequences for individuals and families are more disastrous. As a woman I am particularly concerned about that because it is often women who are in that position.
You have been critical lately of the level of union influence in the ALP. Why is that?
No. I haven't been critical of the level of union influence in the ALP. I am very pleased that we have a strong connection with the unions historically. I would want to see union involvement continue, and indeed strengthen. But it should be on the basis in my view of the principle that we hold dear in every other area of our activity, and that is one vote one value. I think a lot of people, including in the union movement are really not entirely comfortable with the view that people can become members of the Labor Party without necessarily even realising that they are, through affiliation, and then exercise a disproportionate influence on the outcome. Disproportionate only in the sense of it not being one vote one value. I think if we signed up our individual union members and members of the ALP with their full knowledge and participation, we would actually get a much more lively ALP, and I suspect the people signed up would give it their full commitment, rather than just the occasional, if you like, connection through an affiliated vote.
At the moment there is a real cultural change going on in the union movement, towards more grass roots involvement and more member focus. If that transformation ends up being thorough, how that will affect the relationship between the unions and the ALP?
Well, as I say, I would hope that what happens is that people who are becoming more active in the grass roots of the union movement and the unions that are most successful in cultivating new young members, will also see the ALP - as they have in the past, as the political party most likely to share their values and implement many of the recommendations and policies.
So I want to see that relationship strengthen, by direct involvement rather than indirect involvement. I think it is more likely if you have committed yourself to an organisation, whether it is a union or the ALP, that you will feel deeply about its future. That you will throw your energy behind it, and the result will be better for both the unions and the ALP. So I think to the extent that the unions are reforming and regenerating new members that will also benefit the Labor Party, but only to the extent that we reach out and develop policies that are relevant to workers and consistent with the challenges that they understand that they face.
But it is probable that there is going to be a different kind of union movement isn't there, and that it is going to have to be a different relationship between the ALP and the leadership of that union movement?
Well, I think that is right, and I think in many respects that is what I am pointing to. That if we don't recognise the fact that we don't have these monolithic organisations that rely on, if you like, a fairly extensive discipline of their members to achieve an outcome, then Labor Party's membership will get thinner and thinner and we won't be drawing on the most talented people in the labour movement as a whole.
What progress do you see been made in reducing the gender gap in Australian politics?
It has actually been very substantial. At the last election for the first time more women than men voted for the ALP and they did so on the basis of issues like commitment to education, health, and a general appreciation that government services made the difference to the quality of people's lives and standards of living. Women, for instance, were more likely to oppose the GST and were more critical of the Government's tax package because it redistributed wealth from the lower and middle-income earners to those who were already pretty well off. In other words, it was the reverse of what you would expect a government to do.
The other good thing that has happened is that through Emily's List, particularly, we have insisted on getting more women pre-selected. 35% in winnable seats by 2002, and I believe we will meet that. And we now have some superb younger women in the parliament as a result of changing the rules of the Party. Some of the safest seats are now held by women. Places like Sydney with Tanya Plibersek, for instance. We have a handful of women that are now in seats that even if our electoral fortunes were to turn around completely, would still be safe and they could still build a career.
You have had a very hard time in politics in recent years. How much would you attribute that to being a woman?
It is very hard to say. Obviously as a woman in politics you tend to stick out, even today. In the past when we were talking about one woman in Cabinet at a time, in the Federal Parliament particularly, you were a very visible target, and I suspect that that has more to do with it than being a woman per se.
On the other hand, having said that, there have been moments when the quality of the attack has been defined by my being a woman. It is very hard for me to judge, because I have always been in the middle of that firestorm. But plenty of others who have made observations about the way the attack has been conducted and the issues that have been raised being at least partly the result of my being a woman.
What insights have you picked up about the political process from those experiences?
One of the things I think is very clear is that the wider community gets extremely fed up with politicians throwing mud at one another. The personality politics. The conditions in the parliament that are essentially designed just to put down your opponent. They want to see us engaged in a debate about the issues and they want to see us working to improve their lot in life. We are, after all, paid by taxpayers to produce results for them. Not to indulge ourselves in whatever petty fights that might perhaps attract some people.
So the feedback I am getting is: We are sick and tired of - not just people throwing mud at you - but people generally in the parliament wasting our money and our time, when they should be engaged in more serious work.
And how do you feel about being back in the Shadow Cabinet?
I am very pleased to have been given the opportunity. A lot of people supported me through what was a very difficult time, so in a sense I feel a responsibility too to repay the very considerable generosity that I have been shown. And having spent a couple of years on the back bench, I have also had a chance to sit back and have a good look at some of the things that we do; some of the policies that we might develop. So I feel as if I can work very closely with my colleagues to develop some really good policy for Australia in the next ten or fifteen years.
What do you think you will inherit from the present government?
One of the serious problems at the moment if you take the innovation area to start with, is that business research and development funding has declined very dramatically and showing no signs of returning, despite the government exhorting the private sector to do better. The reality is that this government changed the tax policies, and it has had an immediate and predictable effect of reducing business research and development spending.
At the level of universities and TAFEs a lot of funding has been taken out of science, engineering and technology training, and that is starting to produce skills shortages. And of course, the decline in investment in capital infrastructure, both public and private, so there is a real deficiency for us to make up in those three areas alone.
by Neale Towart
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'Trade Union Olympics': money and drug free games
Sports days were regularly run by union committees in all parts of Australia. In Western Australia, the goldfields areas were union strongholds, and the Collie area, for example, had an Eight-Hour Demonstration Sports Day from 1903. These sports days were a feature until the 1960s. The days began as expressions of union solidarity but gradually took on a broader community focus.
The eastern goldfields Eight Hours Sports in 1911 illustrated this. It featured children's fixtures, track and field athletics, bicycle racing, wrestling, an axeman's carnival, goat races, 'kicking the football' competition, national dancing and a merry-go-round. In 1913 a fire brigades competition was added, in 1914 a first-aid display and in 1915 a scouts relay race. Some of these events related directly to work skills; for instance, woodline workers usually competed in the log chop. But by and large the labour movement was organising a local community sports carnival and inviting the Caledonian Society, Athletic League, Fire Brigade, WA League of Wheelmen, State School Athletics Association and other relevant sporting association to provide their expertise for specific competitions. (from Organise!: a visual record of the labour movement in Western Australia by Lenore Layman and Julian Goddard; published by the Trades and Labour Council of W.A., 1988)
The Sydney Eight-Hour Day and Labour Demonstration Committee Annual Report reported on the fun of its sports day of 1930, held at the "Agricultural Ground". In Sydney in the midst of the Great Depression, the day had "ideal weather conditions", and "was the largest and most comprehensive ever organised by the committee. For five and a half hours the arena was occupied by motor-cycle races, events for all branches of athletics, events for members of Unions and their families, and numerous competitions and contests for school children. Outside the arena wood-chopping contests, side-shows and exhibitions provided an added attraction for the entertainment of patrons."
Since it was 1930 and unemployment was at record high levels, attendances were low, to the disappointment of organisers. The principle event, the Eight-Hour Cup, was won by W.H. Cooper, East Sydney A.A.C., after a keen contest.
As with the Olympics this year, the organisers were concerned about size and costs. "Compared with last year the sports showed an appreciable reduction in costs, despite the increase in the number of events, and this was most gratifying to all concerned. The fact, however, of such a huge programme being necessary received serious and careful consideration, and while it is generally recognised that a smaller or less varied programme on an arena such as the Agricultural Ground would not be satisfactory from spectacular point of view the Committee consider that some change is desirable."
The Committee also conducted its annual Night Carnival, it being at the Sydney Sports Ground. "Fireworks, athletics and massed displays by school children provided a most interesting and attractive programme. But, as was to be expected, in view of the serious financial state of many in the industrial section of the community, the attendance did not reach the number which it has been our pleasure to record in past years.
A special feature of the Carnival, which caused much interest, was the Unions' Championship Tug-of-War Competition, in which seven teams were entered. The event was won by the Liquor Trade Employee' team after an extraordinarily exciting contest. The Solomon Shield was handed to the winners in scenes of much jubilation by the Tramway Employee's team, which had already held it for four years. The Tramway Employees' team won the shield outright in 1928, and, with fine sporting spirit, re-donated it for competition in 1929, in which they were again successful. The team congratulated the winners, and promised a keen contest for the recovery of the laurels of victors on the next occasion."
The Union "Torch Relay"
The street procession was an annual feature of union community events too. The processions were a direct continuation of the marches that took place to demand an eight-hour day. The processions became a way for the unions to highlight aspects of work, with unions developing banners for the parades and sometimes having demonstrations of the work they did. In Kalgoorlie the AWU regularly had a float with shearing going on whilst it went down the street.
As the event grew older and further away from the battle for the eight-hour day, the community feel grew. In Collie, for example, in 1959 the Women's Fitness Club took part, and in 1960 the Horse and Pony Club and the Judo Club put on displays, and the Collie Industrial Co-operative Society displayed a "power mower turning jungle into grass."
The Sydney event in 1930 was "as usual responsible for a large gathering along the route. The displays, which were of a purely political nature, were not as numerous as could be expected. But those which were entered for the various competitions provided the judges with an arduous and unenviable task." Some of the winners were:
by Sharan Burrow
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Let me begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land we stand on today, the Kulin nation, and thank them for their custodianship.
I value the opportunity to address you today. I am not of your community and I recognise that many of you may find fault with my critique. But I urge you to put aside your company or government hats for a few minutes and consider your broader responsibilities as some of the most powerful citizens in the world.
The 21st century can continue to serve up increasingly divided societies or we can take concerted decisions to ensure that economies serve communities. This means putting people at the heart of balanced social and economic futures.
Let me state up front that unions are committed to economic growth. We understand that this is the most effective means of overcoming poverty and unemployment. Likewise we understand the role of technology in driving both growth and structural adjustment.
The 20th century has been characterised by unprecedented progress in science and technology and giant improvements in living standards.
However, these areas of achievement have unfortunately, in global terms, left out far too many people.
With all the wealth in the world we still have;
More than 800,000 Australian children live in poverty and of the 100,000 added to this list since 1995 a quarter of them are children of working families.
The emergence of a class of working poor in Australia is a shocking indictment of a corporate culture that denies working people a fair share.
To give you a sense of just how our egalitarian dreams have been shattered, 48% of gross weekly income in Australia is taken home by the wealthiest 20% of Australians while the poorest 20% take home just 3.8%.
You need to understand the growing sense of powerlessness and alienation felt by Australians who know the reality of bank, school and hospital closures in their communities. Who know of family or friends made redundant through downsizing or privatization. Who are part of the 60,000 manufacturing workers who have lost their jobs in the last two years. Who face increasing hours of unpaid overtime as companies reduce staff. Who face the reality that governments are withdrawing from funding guarantees for health and education.
Australia is an educated nation - people know that these experiences are due to the financial markets demanding government surplus or massive corporate profits and cost competitive bottom lines.
We call this corporate or market led globalisation and all too much of the evidence suggests we are in danger of engaging in 'a race to the bottom' where efficiency and profit matter more than a fair share for working people.
Despite corporate and government argument the post-economic crisis experience for working people in Asia is even more insecure. With major instability in Indonesia, slow growth in Japan, huge debt and education and infrastructure deficiencies throughout the region, the divided society pattern is stark.
There is the added complexity of millions of people for whom subsistence lifestyles have been destroyed by global trade. Structural adjustment policies of the World Bank have largely failed and poverty has increased again since 1997. IMF reforms have guaranteed that the region will be increasingly volatile in the face of currency speculation and/or corporate relocation in the chase for cheap labour and/or low tax arrangements.
It needs to be remembered that outside of some large Japanese companies, Asia is not the home of global corporations, rather Asia is seen as the profit bowl.
Globalisation has much potential and it could be the answer to many of the world's seemingly intractable problems. This would require strong democratic foundations based on a political will to ensure equity and justice.
Yet Governments have been shown to be weak in the face of global problems:
In 1990 world leaders made a great promise to the world's children of basic education for all. They have failed.
The G8 promised to reduce debt for the poorest of nations. But with little progress the recent meeting in Japan played with the fantasy of ending the digital divide when the vast majority of the world's people have no access the most basic of technology. A noble notion but what about first priorities like food and health and education.
Kyoto offered us the promise of environmental stability. But the outcomes are largely a compromise with countries like Australia securing the right to increase gas emissions while the polar caps melt.
There is an AIDS epidemic in many countries in Asia and Africa. Yet the dispute mechanism of the WTO protects the profit interests of the big pharmaceutical companies and prohibits desperate people from the assistance of cheaply manufactured generic drugs.
Democracy is fragile. While tomorrow you debate the question 'Can capitalism and accumulation of wealth stand alongside democracy and the egalitarian ideal' - the deposed Prime Minister of Fiji calls for help and nations stand by with little political will to act.
In the face of corporate globalisation where companies like Microsoft, General Electric and Cisco Systems are larger economic entities that the entire stock markets of Australia and many other OECD countries, democracy and corporate regulation must also go global.
The corporate community understands the need for rules. Indeed, they argue for regulation to protect intellectual property, physical property rights and contract law. So why do they oppose global regulation to protect people and the environment?
Why do otherwise law-abiding citizens, when put in charge of companies or governments, repulse the idea that trade agreements should ensure basic human rights, labour rights, social projections and environmental standards are protected? What is so frightening about a formal NGO presence at the WTO, or for that matter, the World Bank or the IMF?
Economic democracy is a viable aspiration and one in which good corporate citizens should share. If companies continue to carve up the world and unchecked capital speculation makes the security of communities increasingly volatile, then the tide of protest against globalisation in its current form will grow.
But there is another way.
The Australian Democrats have a Bill in Australia's Parliament - Corporate Code of Conduct Bill 2000 - which aims to regulate the activities of Australian companies overseas in the areas of human rights, environment, labour and occupational health and safety.
This is a good step forward. What shareholders of Australian companies would want their money to be used in the employment of child labour, the exploitation of working people or the destruction of the environment? But it can't and won't stop with a debate in Australia. There is increasing evidence of not just an emerging worldwide civil society protest but also a growing shareholder consciousness and concern about how their funds are being invested. There is a growing consumer demand for ethical investment.
Unfortunately voluntary codes of conduct are not working. The alternate report - The Other Face OF Globalisation - released by the ACTU last Friday portrays the human rights and environment abuses of just a few of the WEF member companies here this week.
We need, and will continue to campaign for, a fairer set of global rules.
Organised labour cannot understand why the concept of fair trade enrages those who profess to be decent corporate citizens. By fair trade we mean trade carried out in a manner that benefits civil society and delivers progress for all countries in terms of;
We would invite you to join with us in a call for international reform that would set a global floor of benchmarks for corporate citizenship. We would urge you to take responsibility for meeting these standards and that ensure people, and their natural and cultural heritage, are treated with dignity and respect.
The world's people deserve better. I know that you have proposed philanthropic initiatives and, where genuine, these are to be commended. But why not also support a small tax on currency transactions such that we could provide democratic global solutions to debt, education, health and infrastructure.
A community forum was held on Sunday and the participants from the churches, from aid agencies, from green groups and the unions asked me to convey the priority initiatives they believe will build a more socially equitable, environmentally and culturally tolerant vision of global development.
They include:
Globalisation can be shaped to ensure that people matter and that all economies are strengthened. Your community, the WEF, can play a significant part in this. But it requires reform of international institutions such that the voice of, and the solutions posed by, unions and civil society are heeded.
Sharan Burrow, President, Australian Council of Trade Unions delivered this address to the World Economic Forum on September 12, 2000 in Melbourne.
by Peter Lewis
It seems the New Economy is throwing up a lot of opportunities for workers, but the opportunities are not always where the workers are. Is that your experience ?
What we are currently observing is a major skills shortage of, in particular, skilled IT professionals in a number of countries - virtually all European countries and the United States as well. One of the solutions pushed by government and employers is that they want to relax immigration laws and end restrictions for IT professionals in order to attract people, mainly from India, but also from central and eastern Europe.
What issues does that raise for the international union movement?
First of all we have had a certain degree of labour mobility. in this sense it is nothing new. What is new is that in European countries in particular we have some quite high unemployment levels. We have an IT industry where there is practically nobody beyond 45, there have hardly been any women employed. We think that the changing of immigration restrictions is not the solution to the problem. The solution in the US as well as Europe should be training and education, particularly training for women and adaption for older employees and to bring the unemployed into the labour market.
There's obviously one set of issues for the developed world. What are the issues for countris like India and Eastern Europe. - is there, for instance a brain drain occurring to the richer, wealthier nations ?
This may be a problem, but at the moment India and Eastern Europe have educated more IT professionals than they currently need. the Indian software and services industry is growing at a tremendous rate, but in India there is the highest population of IT professionals in the world - only matched by the United States. Its become common for Indian IT professionals to work abroad. There is certainly a problem in the medium term, but I don't think its an immediate problem in India. It may be the case in other countries, there are growing markets for IT services and electronic business in latin America and the Middle East and parts of Africa. If the movement was coming from these places it would be much more of a problem.
We can to a certain extent as an international labour movement try and benefit from this movement. UNI has recently launched a passport program aimed directly at migrant professionals and managers to link them up with unions in the country they are working in. Unions can issue these passports to members working abroad as a tool in organising. Wherever they go, they know where to call on for information and advice. In some countries this will go as far as legal support. So this shows how global labour movements can open opportunities for the union movement.
We hear a lot about the need for global labour standards to address the push in work to the developing world on the grounds of lower wages. Is this also a factor in the IT sector ?
Definitely. there are a broad range of different tasks in the ITR sector. Many of the tasks are close to routine work, simple programs, new software technology like the Object Reenter Technology which can be carried out virtually anywhere. This is what major companies do. A lot of companies outsource their programming work into developing countries. The global division of labour is growing on a global scale. Data entry in the Carribean, while the medium-skilled work is given to India and Eastern Europe. That division is driven by cost advantages.
If we are seeing a collapsing of boundaries in IT where does a union movement in a country like Australia have a constructive role to play in this debate?
Australia is definitely on the receiving end - the IT labour market is tight, although the position is probably not as pronounced as in the United States. They are giving away a lot of projects that do not directly need customer relations. This is something that the skills shortage has created - a division between things that need to be done with the customer and those that can be outsourced, such as data entry and programing. In this respect while Australia is a long way away it is part of the global economy.
Can you make a value judgement about whether this phenomenon is a `good' thing that a country like America is driving a technology that is a creating a huge demand for labour ?
I don't think there's one answer. On the one hand the development of the Global Information Society or the Knowledge Economy has a positive potential. But as always is the case, the unleashing of market forces does not deliver the social benefits. Without the trade union movement trying to get a firm hand on defining labour standards and on organising the workforce it is probably a case where the trade benefits some without delivering social advantages to all. For example, the United Nations recently launched a project where they tried to bring business, social partners and NGOs together in order to unfold the positive potential of information technology in developing countries. This is a clear recognition that market forces can't do it alone, they can't deliver the positive potential of information technology.
So what are the keys to maximising the benfits of this change ?
First of all, there must be a recognition that trade unions have to play an important role in this context. They have to take care of employees, deliver services and benefits to members to help them get along in the New Economy. Secondly, they have to play a role in the broader picture, curbing market forces - taming capitalism. Thirdly, we have to ensure that labour standards apply - not just basic labour standards, the potential of the New Economy is such that people should be participating in the enormous gains of the new economy, through profit-sharing, employee participation and share ownership for workers so they have an active stake as it develops.
by Jim Nolan, Barrister, Denman Chambers, Sydney
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Random drug testing does not measure impairment - merely the existence of traces of previous drug use. In the case of a 'recreational drug' like marijuana, an employee who may have been exposed to the drug at a weekend party could test positive on Monday yet show no other signs of impairment. On the other hand, an employee who has worked repeated twelve hour shifts may display tangible signs of impairment from fatigue, yet this is not recorded by random drug testing.
In the course of the dispute South Blackwater Coal stood down CFMEU members who declined to submit to the random test. CFMEU members took industrial action in response. In a decision which was scathing of the company's actions, Commissioner Bacon of the AIRC in Brisbane found South Blackwater Coal had breached the certified agreement by unilaterally introducing the random drug testing scheme without following the steps in the disputes settlement clause.
Blackwater Coal still directed employees to take the test and were met with a blanket refusal. It maintained its position that the direction was lawful and reasonable. Employees were stood down and the matter returned to the Commission. A marathon session resulted in a truce with drug testing likely to be an interim measure pending the introduction of proper fatigue testing. In the meantime the CFMEU will prosecute the company for the unpaid wages during the stand down.
This is just the latest example of numerous disputes which have broken out surrounding random drug testing.
Although employees and their unions have acknowledged the need to keep under constant review measures to ensure worker safety, they have bridled at the privacy-intrusive nature of random drug testing. Testing means that employees are compelled to provide a urine sample on demand under the threat of discipline and dismissal.
Many have regarded the embrace by employers of random drug testing as a 'quick fix' which ignores more significant worker safety issues. A union website in the US has pithily crystallised the double standard which many see as being involved in the fashion for drug testing:
'Under the guise of concern for their employees safety and health, a large percentage of employers are now demanding the right to conduct some sort of drug and alcohol testing. To most workers this smacks of hypocrisy. The same employers who routinely demand mandatory overtime or wage cuts or expect the workforce to handle highly toxic substances suddenly are professing concern for workers. Most employers see drug and alcohol testing as just another hammer to hold over the heads of the employees. '[www.ranknfile-ue.org]
Employees and unions have questioned why random drug testing has assumed such priority in an industrial climate where increasing demands have been placed upon workers to work twelve hour shifts. Evidence suggests that it is fatigue and not impairment through drug and alcohol abuse which leads to the majority of accidents.
The issue of random drug testing of employees came squarely before an Australian industrial tribunal for the first time back in 1998. (BHP Iron Ore Pty Ltd v Construction, Mining, Energy, Timberyards Sawmills and Woodworkers Union of Australia Western Australian Branch)
In late 1997, a programme of random drug testing was proposed by BHP in its iron ore activities in the Pilbara in the north west of Western Australia. The proposed programme followed upon extensive discussion with unions and employees but met with the strident opposition of one of the significant unions at the site, the CFMEU. In the absence of consensus, BHP submitted its programme to the Western Australian Industrial Relations Commission [WAIRC] for its approval.
Random drug testing was the controversial component of the scheme. This was summarised succinctly by the WAIRC as follows:
The most controversial aspect of the Programme is that part which involves testing for drugs. In essence, the Programme requires that an employee, as a condition of employment, submit to random testing of a sample of the employee's urine. If such a test proves positive the employee concerned, on the first occasion, is liable to be sent home on paid special leave; on a second occasion within a period of two years, is liable to be sent home on unpaid special leave; and on the third occasion within the same period, further employment of the employee with the Company will be the subject of discussions.
The penalty for a positive test is relatively benign in that three positive tests within a two year period are necessary before dismissal is considered.
It is also worth noting that BHP was prepared to depart from the Australian Standard in its own drug testing programme. It prescribed a level of cannaboid metabolites (i.e. marijuana) necessary to record a positive test result at twice the level recommended in the Australian standard. This departure was plainly directed to address the privacy concerns expressed by workers and their unions. Concerns were raised about the exposure via drug testing of occasional or 'social' marihuana users. Traces of marihuana use remained in the users body for extended periods. Accordingly there was a real chance that a casual user who experimented with marihuana at say, a weekend party, could return a positive test the following Monday morning yet there would be no chance that the person would be impaired.
BHP argued that the programme was necessary to enable it to satisfy its obligations under the Mines Safety and Inspection Act 1994 and regulations and to enable it to satisfy its common law duty to provide its employees with a safe workplace. The Mines Safety and Inspection Regulations 1995 prohibit anyone from being in or on a mine while the person is adversely affected by intoxicating liquor or drugs. They entitle a mine manager or supervisor to direct any employee reporting for duty who, in their opinion, is adversely affected by intoxicating liquor or drugs to leave the mine immediately (Regulation 4.7).
It was conceded that the proposed drug tests were not a test of impairment, but it argued that the 'cut off' levels of drugs allowed under the programme before a positive result is returned are at such levels that a positive result is a good indicator of there being a real risk of impairment. This was a critical feature of the programme as it raised substantially the levels for a positive test result for marihuana. This was in excess of the Australian Standard and blunted the attack that occasional, casual marihuana use might be detected and used against the employee.
BHP also acknowledged the privacy concerns raised by the CFMEU and pointed to strict security measures designed to avoid publication of any test result and any other information given as part of the programme, including information regarding prescription drugs.
In addition to evidence from BHP management and union delegates, the WAIRC heard expert evidence from the company and the union.
After a comprehensive discussion of the issues, the Full Bench ruled that the proposed drug testing programme was reasonable in the circumstances, given the high degree of consensus reached at the workplace (apart from the CFMEU) and the safeguards against capricious utilisation of a positive result. Most important, was the acknowledgment of BHP's commitment to review its policy where new developments promised less intrusive testing methods.
Those new technologies are now more available than was the case when the Full bench decision was given. New fatigue monitoring systems now provide a real threat to the widespread acceptance and implementation of random drug testing. These systems have two major features in common. First, they measure actual impairment rather than the existence of drug metabolites in the system. Secondly, they measure impairment by less intrusive means.
The workers at South Blackwater raised these testing systems as being infinitely preferable to the random drug testing. They are currently being used in other coal mines in Queensland and their effectiveness will be monitored by the CFMEU.
There are two impairment monitoring systems now being utilised by Australian employers in preference to random drug testing The 'OSPAT' system and Fit 2000.
OSPAT utilises a computer with a track ball which requires workers to undertake a simple exercise before commencing their shift. A series of exercises undertaken when the system is first installed establishes a 'base line' against which a worker's reaction times are measured.
Similarly, Fit 2000 measures a worker's reactions against a 'base line' by measuring the flicker of the worker's eyes.
Neither system involves the taking of body samples on a random basis. Workers are only required to undertake drug tests if they fail the reaction tests. These tests are true measures of impairment produced by fatigue as well as impairment due to drug and alcohol use.
These impairment measurement systems are competitors in the market place and as such, claims about their effectiveness must be viewed with due circumspection. Nothing in this article should be taken as an endorsement of either system.
It may be expected however that if the claims of the superiority of these non intrusive systems are proven, employees and their unions will press strongly for the replacement of random drug testing by impairment testing.
It may be that the very rapidity of developments in technology which has produced the present threats to privacy will in time, throw up real solutions to the issue of the privacy intrusion involved in random drug testing.
In the meantime, the South Blackwater CFMEU members will continue to press their claims for impairment testing in preference to random drug testing.
[Jim Nolan appeared as counsel for the CFMEU in the South Blackwater dispute]
by Peter Zangari
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Mer de Noms was released a few months ago on the EMI Label, and represents a new project for TOOL lead singer Maynard Keenan. For those of you who are familiar with TOOL a big hit of theirs was 'Sober' which featured in the Hottest 100 of 1993. Despite this TOOL's own brand of progressive metal never really hit the bigtime in Australia, which doesn't necessarily do justice to their talent.
One of the main features of this type of music is the de-tuned bass and electric guitars (or dropped D tuning for those music buffs), which give an extra heavy sound. Some of the bands that have used this tuning successfully include Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and Deep Purple. In recent times though, the explosion in the Seattle grunge scene brought the attention to the use of de-tuned guitars. To tell you the truth, I think the music world has moved on from the simplistic chords of Nirvana and Soundgarden and the grunge scene has been obliterated. But like most other things, and especially music, it re-invents itself.
Opening with a killer riff is the Album's first single, The Hollow. This track has been receiving quite some airplay recently, especially on JJJ. It's a peculiar blend of melodic riffs and off beat drumming that gets you from the start but Keenan's brooding vocals is what keeps this track and album once step ahead of the rest. Other standout tracks include Orestes, 3 Libras and Thinking of You. Not all of the tracks are as heavy as the first single which indicates a strong songwriting depth. Like many other bands these days, a Perfect Circle has used a huge string section to complement its full sound and this can be best heard on 3 Libras.
I've been a fan of this style of music for a while, though I don't get a chance to appreciate it as much anymore by going to any gigs or concerts. I know that I'll be reversing that trend as soon as this band makes it to these shores.
In the same category, some other CD's worth checking out:
Helmet: Meantime
Pantera: Cowboys from Hell
Anything by the Mark of Cain (from Adelaide)
Tool: Opiate
by The Chaser
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SYDNEY, Thursday: Editors of Australia's newspaper have contacted Games organisers and demanded that something interesting happen. The editors, who have all changed their papers to accommodate on average 300 pages of Olympic coverage a day, say that they are struggling to maintain interest in the pre-games week.
"Most of the athletes are just training and there is a limit to how many interesting stories you can print about athletes being pleased to be here and about tourists liking Sydney," said the editor of the Daily Telegraph newspaper. "At this point we think that the limit may be somewhere in the vicinity of 4,000 articles in a month."
Around Australia even the least sporting people are praying for the start of the Games. The desire for competition and results has been fuelled by a realisation that athletes, whilst interesting when competing, are incredibly boring when being asked what they had for breakfast and whether they like their accommodation.
"Most athletes have had too much media training and don't say anything interesting," said one unnamed editor. "When Ian Thorpe was asked whether he would feel bad if he didn't get a Gold medal he answered with some crap about having personal goals and only being after a personal best. What a load of shit. If he finishes fourth but gets a personal best I bet he won't be punching the air and waving to the crowd."
Even the thrill of the highly successful Torch Relay is unable to keep some readers interested.
"A couple of readers have cottoned on to the fact that we are just writing the same story and just changing the names of the runners and suburbs each day," said another unnamed editor. "We are going to have to come up with another angle to replace the whole torch-cures-every-ill-in-society one we've been using so far."
by Peter Lewis
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It started with the fishermen who trawl the English channel, but it spread like wildfire. Farmers, bus drivers, truckies, taxis, emergency services, anyone who relies on fuel to perform their work joined forces to protest the spiralling costs of keeping their vehicles on the road. In the cities, but also the small towns and villages that make up France, ordinary workers have taken a stand, joining forces to blockade petrol stations and local markets, paralysing everyday life.
Within a week petrol stations across France were running dry as the blockades preventing fuel deliveries began to bite. By the time the French Government - whose high taxation rates have compounded rising oil prices to push fuel into the luxury goods category - buckled to pressure, the action was breaking out in Britain and Belguim and beyond. Now the issue is dominating global talks with governments pressuring the OPEC nations while being forced to reexamine their own revenue raising policies. Fears are growing that prolonged disruptions will lead to an economic slowdown across Europe. If ever a local issue has had global repurcussions, this is it.
The surprising thing about the oil blockades emanated from a country with a formal unionisation rate of less than 10 per cent. France's union movement is Balkanised - three separate confederations and a phalanx of small unions alligned to noone. The French union movement's strength lies in its political influence, it still has formal positions in the state's social welfare structures. That influence can be seen, for instance, in the cut in working hours that the Socialist government has phased in over the past two years. But in terms of membership, the movement is in a sorry, almost terminal, state.
But despite the formal membership levels there is a culture of activism that means people are prepared to take direct action. Some would trace it as far back as the revolution, in France the concept of taking to the streets is an action held with near reverence. You can see it when confronted by one of the blockades, as I was outside Riberac, in the south-east. People are frustrated at being held up, but there's also a respect for those taking part in the action.
And while they may not have the backing of the big confederations, the workers play smart. Cars are allowed through every twenty minutes, so while people are delayed in their daily activities they are not thwarted. In that time, the protestors hand out information and explain their greivances, ensuring those effected understand why. while British blockades have split the labour movement, with TUC chief John Monks being forced to condemn the action, the French workers have walked away united and victorious.
Trying to understand this success raises some interesting issues for a country like Australia, which still equates numerical membership levels with industrial strength. For starters, the activity outside the official structures means it is more difficult for authorities to control a dispute, it's almost a case of how mad are these people?And when you look into the eyes of an angry French farmer that's a tough question to answer. And without formal union ties, laws like Reith's secondary boycott laws would be totally useless - that boycotts are real but the action is so spontaneous it would be impossible to track the source.
My theory is that it also comes down to broader aspects of the French culture. This is a country where workers still stop for a two hour lunch in all but the capital cities. Its an integral part of life and culture. Indeed, you can imagine the truck drivers and farmers whinging together over bread and cheese in one of the little cafes that are often the only commerical outlet in a town. What appears to be spontaneous is also a product of a lifestyle that gives people time to talk.
If this is the case, some of the answers to recreating an acitivist workforce in Australia may lie in understanding our own culture. Some unions are already doing this by doing their organising in pubs outside working hours, or through community meetings. But more needs to be done in understanding the lives of members and making unions part of that, rather than expecting workers to adapt to union culture. I mean, would the French have mobilised if they had been forced to attend endless committee meetings to get the action approved ?
by Anna Cunningham
Apart from being the suburb with the most beautiful people per square kilometre in the world, the village is overflowing with sights and sounds of the craziness of Sydney 2000.
Working in the Olympic News Service, whose office is above the Athlete's Village Gym, I am far from immune to the excitement of Homebush Bay. A stroll through the Village on a normal day might include some sightings of the stars or a visit from a member of the celebrity motivational team. Whatever's happening, every shift in the Village brings a bus load of Olympic surprises that won't be found anywhere else.
The athletes are certainly the main focus of attention. They're the focus of the staff's attention, and even the attention of one another. Thanks to a shortage Olympic buses, every ride through the village wouldn't be complete without being packed tightly into a small compartment full of sporting superstars. Yesterday on the way to the station Pat Rafter joined the hoards in bus 43. But it wasn't the staff or Australians whose admiration for their tennis star turned heads, but a bunch of American Volleyball girls who, tongue-tied, approached their tennis hero for autographs and a smile.
But if you really want to see the athletes, the best places to be are in the main dining hall or at the gym. Hundreds of square metres of exercise equipment or buffet dining facilities present onlookers with a vantage point of the athletes doing what they do best: burning and replenishing fuel. At dinner on Monday Kieran Perkins and Michael Klim were the main attraction for a group of female police officers, who wanted to know the details of every kilojoule that went into their mouths. Meanwhile, a contingent of security guards were very eager to settle their debate on whether the female gymnasts ate at all, or if they were just walked through the hall to capture the scents of the menu. It's fortunate that the athlete and staff dining areas are separated by a line of recycling bins, because if they weren't, there would be a lot of famished competitors who never got a chance to eat, but did sign a lot of autographs and posed for many photos.
Come night time, the gym becomes a virtual fish bowl for curious onlookers. From the Village Plaza, everyone from Goran Ivanisevic to the Norwegian Handballers can be seen on the rowing or stepping machines preparing themselves for the pursuit of gold.
But if athletes don't take your fancy, then SOCOG provide staff with another entertaining diversion to their working day, in the form of a daily celebrity motivational visitor. Everyone from Peter Phelps, to Ernie Dingo and Evonne Goolagong-Cawley have done the rounds, offering autographed photos and words of encouragement to the busy Olympic working bees. They've really thought of everything to keep us amused.
It's such a shame that this mini United Nations will only last for a month. Whether it's the Brazilian Men's Football team adding to the atmosphere in the International Zone with a guitar-led singalong, or a wayward golf buggy-driving NOC official trying to work out the correct direction for traffic by means of trial and error, the people in the Olympic Village are all adding their own dose of colour and personality to the Olympic melting pot.
Anna Cunningham is a PR Assistant at Lodestar Communications.
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Work Versus Life: Union Strategies Reconsidered
Belinda Probert, Peter Ewer and Kim Whiting
Two research projects have investigated the 'work/life' dilemmas facing teachers and finance sector workers in Australia. The studies used large scale survey data and focus group discussions. Despite the wide range of flexible working provisions in enterprise agreements and company policies in these industries, balancing work and family responsibilities is becoming more difficult. Work intensification and growing pressure to work longer hours are a feature in both sectors. These pressures have eroded the benefits of even those forms of work specifically designed to deal with the work/life issue, that is permanent part time work and job sharing.
The strategic challenge for unions is then to address the attacks on the flexibility options they have developed and negotiated, and the options are made more difficult due to unfriendly federal legislation.
(Labour & Industry; vol. 11, no. 1, August 2000)
Agency is Employer of "Temps"
The Victorian Court of Appeal has found that an employment Agency was subject to payroll tax for wages paid to "temporaries" engaged to provide services to its clients. Drake Personnel contended that the temps it provided to clients were neither its common law employees or its deemed employees under sec. 3C of the Payroll Tax Act 1971 (Vic).
The Court found that the temps were employees of Drake according to ordinary concepts. Drake took responsibility for tax instalment deductions, WorkCover premiums, superannuation guarantee charge and payroll tax in respect of the temps. The Court said that whatever the reason for Drake undertaking these obligations, its doing so was consistent with the temps being employees. The Court also found that the mere fact that Drake was responsible for paying the temps for the work done was also consistent with their being its employees.
(Commissioner of State Revenue (Vic) v Drake Personnel Ltd & Ors, VSCA 122, 30 June 2000)
(Employment Law Update; newsletter 158, 28 August 2000)
Individual Contracts, Choice and Duress
Kristin van Barnveld
Can an employer offer a person a job conditional upon him or her accepting an Australian Workplace Agreement (AWA)? Similarly, can an employer effectively force its existing employees to sign an AWA, by offering more attractive pay and conditions to those who do?
The decision in the Schanka case indicates that employers can offer employment conditional on the acceptance of an AWA. The comments from the bench show that employers have to be careful about the circumstances in which this occurs. If there is a transfer of business involved also, the Court may take a broader view of duress. Should the offer of an AWA occur in a depressed labour market, where the potential employee's choice is unreasonably constrained, such as in the Electrix and Burine Port Corporation cases, the Court has indicated that it will consider all the facts, and outcomes are not certain.
The 1995 Weipa case and the Cranbourne RSL case raised the issue of introducing AWAs to existing employees. The Court will not allow discrimination against employees for refusing to sign AWAs.
(Employment Law Bulletin; issue 13, August 2000)
AWAs: MUA and Burnie Port Corporation P/L
AWAs were considered appropriate and necessary by the Corporation when the EBA expired. Some employees accepted the AWAs. The corporation decided to fill two vacancies and the workers were to be employed under AWAs.
Six applicants were interviewed, all of whom were members of the MUA. All were told they would need to work under an AWA. One of the unsuccessful applicants, Mr Rolls, when told he would need to work under an AWA, responded that he was not happy with the prospect of being on different terms and conditions from the rest of the employees at the port and that he thought that management was putting stress on people to sign AWAs. At this point the interview was terminated.
The corporation challenged the jurisdiction of the Court to entertain a claim by the union for injunctive relief under div. 7 of Pt V1D of the Workplace Relations Act, claiming that no person, other than a party to an AWA, has a sufficient interest in the observance of Pt VID to attract standing to seek an injunction to compel that observance.
Justice Ryan rejected the argument. He also said that he considered that union members, presumptively subject to duress, have an interest in enlisting the support of the union to further their interests and protect them against being coerced to enter into disadvantageous AWAs.
Justice Ryan found that there had been a contravention of s. 298K(1) saying:
"It is clear that the corporation was concerned to render the EBA inapplicable to port operatives and cold storage operators in order to bring the wages and working conditions of the Corporation's employees at competitor ports.
Further he said "the inference is irresistible that refusal to employ those who would not agree to that condition was actuated substantially, if not wholly, by a concern to exclude the appointees from the benefits of the EBA. Evidence from the Corporation has not persuaded me that Mr Rolls was excluded from consideration solely on merit without regard to his foreshadowed refusal to enter into an AWA."
Maritime Union of Australia v Burnie Port Corporation P/L
(Industrial Relations and Management Letter; vol. 17, no. 8, September 2000)
Workplace Change and Employment Relations Reform in Australia: Prospects for a New Social Partnership?
Russell D. Lansbury
Reform of industrial relations has been a major part of the political economic debate over the past 20 years. Enterprise bargaining developed under the Hawke-Keating governments, with the Howard government seeking to further individualise the industrial relations area with the introduction of AWAs.
Responses by employers to recent moves have varied. Some have attempted to exclude unions in areas where strong union representation has long been the norm (the waterfront and the mining industries being the leading examples). Other employers have taken the co-operative route. The greenfield Colgate Palmolive plant at Labrador on the Gold Coast is a good example of the co-operative approach. Despite a history of poor industrial relations at their old Sydney plant, Colgate did not seek to introduce AWAs in the Labrador plant but preferred to deal directly with the unions to negotiate change.
(The Drawing Board: An Australian Review of Public Affairs; vol. 1, no. 1 July 2000)
Australia in the Dock: The ILO's Decision on the Waterfront Dispute
Jill Murray
A good review of the ILO decision (full text of which is on the web at http://www.ilo.org case no. 1963 (Australia) 320th report of the Committee on Freedom of Association, March 2000). The review is divided into sections on anti-union discrimination and collusion, government involvement in the training of strikebreakers, economic limitations on the right to strike, international solidarity action, individual agreements, and the use of corporate restructuring to avoid worker rights.
Murray concludes that the Committee provides a partial answer to the question of how justice can bloom in the face of corporate subversion. A rigorous legislative program committed to the full upholding of Australia's international responsibilities in the field of labour rights is needed a a starting point.
(Australian Journal of Labour Law; vol. 13, no. 2, August 2000)
Not so the deficit daleks. Johns has bussed in 80 Australia Post executives to enjoy the opulence of the Westin Hotel in Sydney's CBD with choice seats at the Olympics thrown in. All paid for by the Olympic Allowance of the organisation's 7000 metropolitan workers.
During the Atlanta games there was a ten per cent increase in postal volume - surprise, surprise!- and a ten per cent increase in customers for the whole Metropolitan area. A significant increase in workload that is expected to be repeated in Sydney
You could argue that Johns is getting into the Olympic spirit here. We all know the Olympics is about snouts in the trough. But even cold hearted corporates like Telstra and mega incompetents like State Rail management have done the right thing by their staff during the games. They and the whole NSW public service affected for the next two weeks will get some compo for what will obviously very taxing working moments.
The Head Scrooge's mean spiritedness looks even worse as Australia Post is expected to post a record profit in the vicinity of $400 million this year.
The only reason Australia Post is where we are today is because cooperation of workers. It leads corporate productivity statistics in Australia. Stamp prices have been frozen since 1992 at 45c, but Australia Post has still been able to maintain the high level of profits due to the productivity increases of the workforce.
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