
Issue No 9		16 April 1999

News

Un-Reconstructed Unionists on Study Tour

A high-level delegation of union leaders will this week embark on a three-week international study tour to see how other nations are dealing with recruitment, union services and information technology.

But ACTU assistant secretary Greg Combet is keen to distinguish the trip from the big think treks of the 80s which gave rise to the Australia Reconstructed report which shaped the ACTU's amalgamations agenda.

Combet says the aim of this trip, which will take in London, Dublin, Brussels, Toronto (where it will coincide with the Canadian Labor Congress) and Washington, is to learn from what the good unions abroad do well.

He likens it more to the mission that came back from north America in the early 90s recommending the ACTU's successful Organising Works program.

"You won't see another Australia Reconstructed, don't expect glossy books or tomes of analysis, it will have a more practical focus," he says.

"We'll be seeing how unions in North America and Europe are dealing with the less hostile political environment they are now operating in."

One item Combet is keen to look into further is the provisions for paid education leave that have been secured by several Canadian unions, financed through collective bargaining agreements.

Members of the delegation are: Combet, ACTU research officer Marion Gaynor, NUW general secretary Greg Sword, LHMU national secretary Jeff Lawrence, Australian Education Union national president Sharan Burrow, AMWU national secretary Doug Cameron and SDA national secretary Joe de Bruyn.

Combet has promised Workers Online a full report of the trip on his return.

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  Issue 9 contents

Interview: Ms Plibersek Goes To Canberra
The new MP for Sydney talks about her new job, new ideas and why she won�t be writing a book about them.

Unions: More Jobs, Better Pay?
Peter Reith shears the Pastoral Industry Award, making a mockery of his election rhetoric.

History: Work and Community
This is the story of a little corrugated iron factory. In a lane. In Rozelle.

Review: Tailing Out
When BHP left Newcastle steelworks, it also left a rich working culture. A ground-breaking project is now honouring what has been lost.

International: ILO Warns Danger Evolving With Technology
The ILO estimates over 1 million work-related fatalities each year -- and the danger spots are changing.

Labour Review: What's New at the Information Centre
View the latest issue of Labour Review, Labor Council's fortnightly IR newsletter for unions.

» Public Speaks: We Are Not Monsters!

» Qantas to Dump Aussie Accents

» Carr�s Faction Call Music to Costa�s Ears

» But Thumbs Down to Small Business Labor...

» Blow for Reith's Anti-Unionism

» Un-Reconstructed Unionists on Study Tour

» Unionists to Celebrate May Day

» Tanner to Bragg with Billy