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  Issue No 88 Official Organ of LaborNet 16 March 2001  

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News

Blood on the Beds at Sleep City


A horrendous accident has left a worker without four fingers and sparked anger about lax safety and the operation of aging equipment in the furniture trades.

Sixty-seven year old Aurileo Tupas had the fingers severed while working on a Giben Beam saw at the Sleep City Furniture Manufacturing Facory at Wetherill Park on Monday.

The worker, who was semi-retired, underwent emergency surgery after being forced to travel to hospital in a taxi when the employer refused to call an ambulance. Some digits have been re-attached, but at least one has been lost.

CFMEU furniture division secretary Brian Parker says the accident followed a stand-off between management and workers over the establishment of a safety committee for more than 12 months. While management has finally agreed to the committee, there has still been no meeting.

Parker says that CFMEU officials have raised concerns about the Giben Beam Saw and has told Sleep City management for the last two years that they were not safe.

The accident this week occurred on a saw that had no guarding or safety shutdown, while other machines in the factory were inoperable because water was leaking through the roof onto the floor.

CFMEU has called on WorkCover to conduct a full investigation into timber cutting machinery of an antiquated date.


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*   Issue 88 contents

In this issue
Features
*  Interview: Labor Law
Shadow Attorney General Robert McClelland outlines his plans for workers entitlements, legal aid and a Bill of Rights
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*  Unions: Poetic Justice
The ACTU kicked off its 2001 Living Wage campaign this week with a new shock tactic: poetry.
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*  Technology: Big Brother�s Legacy
Organisations with restrictive staff email polices risk locking themselves in the Industrial Age by treating their staff as units to be monitored.
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*  Corporate: Scumbags Exposed
On the eve of the inaugural Corporate Scumbags Tour, we look at the worst of the worst from the Top End of Town.
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*  International: Playing Away
Pat Ranald looks at a proposal to hold Australian companies to basic standards when they invest in developing countries.
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*  Environment: Nuclear Titanics
The Maritime Union has joined Greenpeace in a campaign to stop our seas becoming a nuclear highway.
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*  History: Out of the Bog
Neale Towart looks at the life of big Jim Larkin, one of the heroes of an Irish trade union movement that continues to thrive.
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*  Politics: Westie�s Macquarie Street Alert
The Workers MLC, Ian West, provides the first in a series of regular rundowns on the upcoming Parliamentary session
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*  Review: The Next American Century?
How will the United States maintain its global power in an era when the very notion of the nation-state is under challenge?
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*  Satire: Dollar Crashes Through Psychological 0.00c Barrier
The bedevilled Australian dollar dropped below the crucial 0.00c barrier losing its battle to avoid the humiliation of being worth less than the commemorative Bradman coins distributed by the Sunday Telegraph last weekend.
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News
»  Directors Face Criminal Charges Over Super Scam
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»  Call Centre Code Picks Up Speed
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»  Staff Demand Action as Jobless Number Grows
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»  Lifeguards to Down Togs Over Sweaty Speedo Scam
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»  Hotel Workers Refuse to Raise Sweat
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»  Blood on the Beds at Sleep City
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»  Paint Lock-Out Claims First Victim
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»  Casino Workers Seek Full Metal Jacket
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»  Leichhardt Council Endangers the Public
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»  Casual Teachers Break Through
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»  Tide Turns on Award-Stripping
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»  Workers Demand Seat on Racing Board
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»  Shangri-La Faces D-Day
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»  Fiji PM Appointment Illegal
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»  Activists Notebook
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Columns
»  The Soapbox
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»  The Locker Room
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»  Trades Hall
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»  Tool Shed
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Letters to the editor
»  Blokey Culture
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»  Carr's Indulgence
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»  Postcard from Delhi
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