
Issue No 88		16 March 2001

LaborNET	Ask Neale	Tool of the Week

News

Activists Notebook

Support for NZ workers, a Latin festival, action for the ABC and Aceh, musos getting organised and a protest against James Hardie. It's all in the notebook.

Alstom Workers In New Zealand Ask For Our Support

Bridge Communication Workers in New Zealand are seeking help regarding the takeover by Alstom Network services New Zealand. The workers over there claim to be currently earning better pay and conditions than what is being offered in their new employment agreement from Alstom New Zealand. Alstom are offering these new agreements because they are currently in the process of a takeover of Bridge Communications and don't want to pay the workers their current employment agreement.

The French communication workers union and the CWA in America are also backing the NZ workers.

More details of the Australian campaign next week. In the meantime, messages of support can be sent to: mailto:[email protected]

Asbestos Protest

The CFMEU, AMWU and MUA and the Asbestos Diseases Foundation are targeting James Hardie Industries on Wednesday March 21.

We need your support...

James Hardie Industries has decided to set aside $293 million to establish a bogus Medical Research and Compensation Foundation. The company allegedly intends to use this foundation for victims of asbestos related diseases. The CFMEU is concerned that there will not be sufficient moneys in the Foundation to meet future asbestos claims. The victims of asbestos diseases and their families would be denied compensation. There are expected to be 13,000 cases of mesothelioma and 40,000 cases of asbestos related lung

cancer by the year 2020.

Assemble at 11:30am at 6 Hunt Street Sydney and march on James Hardie

Industries.

Musos get Moving

Finally... all Sydney cover bands and musicians are uniting for a meeting to address some of the industry's major concerns!

WHEN: Monday 26th March 2001

TIME: 7pm

WHERE: Trades Hall, 4 Goulburn Street, Sydney

1A George Hunt Room (basement)

For enquiries call (02) 9283 9555 or 0402 947 870

Solidarity with Aceh urgently needed.

Reports that the Indonesian parliament has decided to end talks with the movements in Aceh and West Papua campaigning for self-determination means that the struggles in those two provinces is set to escalate.

A leading Acehnese activist, Kautsar, who is a part of the civil democratic movement toured Sydney in January and made it clear his people are determined to create their own destiny no matter the obstacles.

He said that like East Timor before its referendum, Aceh is occupied by over 30,000 Indonesian troops. The people of Aceh are being forced to endure state repression, kidnapping, rapes, murders and torture. Since 1991, more

than 7000 Acehnese activists have been killed and many more have disappeared. Exact figures are unavailable due to the Indonesian government's refusal to allow humanitarian agencies to operate in Aceh.

The people of Aceh have made it clear what they want. In 1998 and 1999 there were strikes involving up to 90% of workers and a 2-million strong pro-referendum demonstration in November 1999. Aceh has a population of 4 million.

Aceh has its own unique culture and language and is abundantly rich in natural resources. However, all but 0.38% of its gas, cement and other natural resources go to the Indonesian government.

The Indonesian government tries to present the struggle for

self-determination in Aceh as a religious or ethnic conflict, but this is not the case. The Indonesian government has repeatedly offered Aceh the

right to establish Islamic but it has repeatedly been rejected.

Free Aceh! Referendum Now!

Public meeting and dinner

With the premiere of a new short film on Aceh

Action in Solidarity with Indonesia and East Timor (ASIET) together with the Sydney-based Aceh Australia Association (AAA) are hosting a dinner and public meeting on this topic on Saturday March 17, 7pm at Glebe Town Hall,

160 St John's Rd, Glebe.

The guest speakers are:

Shardia-(SIRA)Sentral Informasi Referendum Aceh. Shardia is a leading Acehnese activist and is touring Sydney for 2 weeks.

Mohammad Dahlan-Australian Acehnese Association(AAA);

Max Lane (Nationl Chairperson of ASIET)Max has recently returned from Indonesia after working on a soon to be released documentary with John Pilger.

Ed Aspinall who teaches at UNSW and has also just returned from Aceh.

A new short film on Aceh by Jill Hickson (directer of Indonesia in Revolt: Democracy or Death)will also be premiered.

Tickets ($12/8) can be obtained by ringing Pip Hinman on (02) 9690 1230 or email [email protected] to pre-book or for more information.

ABC Shareholders Meeting - Opera House 29 April 2001

FRIENDS OF THE ABC HAS CALLED A SHAREHOLDERS' MEETING ABOUT THE FUTURE OF OUR AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION

Date: SUN. 29th April 200l

Time: 11 AM-1 PM

Venue: SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE STEPS AND FORECOURT

TELL YOUR FRIENDS. MEETING ON RAIN OR SHINE.

Latin Festival

Come to the Latin Festival for El Salvador: Sunday 18 March, 10am to

10pm, plenty of South and Central American FOOD (main attraction as far as

I'm concerned), artists, traditional dances and, yes, a number of Latin

bands - FAIRFIELD SHOWGROUND, Smithfield Rd, Prairiewood

WANTED: Leaders in community-based learning organizations

Are you:

* full of energy to promote learning in your community?

* currently focused on local, regional or state provision and seeking exposure to the national arena?

* confident about the potential of adult learning to change lives and communities?

If so, why not apply to be on the second community learning leaders program?

Adult Learning Australia (ALA) is seeking applicants to participate in this second program to develop a network of Community Learning Leaders. The program will be delivered by ALA in association with the UTS Centre for Popular Education, and experienced adult learning practitioners.

Timeline

26 March: Applications close

9 April: Selected participants will be sent pre-residential materials

and advice.

25-28 April: Residential held in Ballarat, Victoria.

View entire issue - print all of the articles!

Issue 88 contents

Interview: Labor Law
Shadow Attorney General Robert McClelland outlines his plans for workers entitlements, legal aid and a Bill of Rights

Unions: Poetic Justice
The ACTU kicked off its 2001 Living Wage campaign this week with a new shock tactic: poetry.

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.

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.

International: Playing Away
Pat Ranald looks at a proposal to hold Australian companies to basic standards when they invest in developing countries.

Environment: Nuclear Titanics
The Maritime Union has joined Greenpeace in a campaign to stop our seas becoming a nuclear highway.

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.

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

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?

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.

» Directors Face Criminal Charges Over Super Scam

» Call Centre Code Picks Up Speed

» Staff Demand Action as Jobless Number Grows

» Lifeguards to Down Togs Over Sweaty Speedo Scam

» Hotel Workers Refuse to Raise Sweat

» Blood on the Beds at Sleep City

» Paint Lock-Out Claims First Victim

» Casino Workers Seek Full Metal Jacket

» Leichhardt Council Endangers the Public

» Casual Teachers Break Through

» Tide Turns on Award-Stripping

» Workers Demand Seat on Racing Board

» Shangri-La Faces D-Day

» Fiji PM Appointment Illegal

» Activists Notebook