
Issue No 98		01 June 2001

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Council Workers Brace for Border Skirmish

Plans to merge the Albury and Wodonga City Councils have sparked concerns about which state's industrial relations system should apply to the workforce.

The problem, raised by the Municipal Employees Union, is that the NSW system offers stronger protection and conditions than the Victorian system - gutted as it was by the Kennett Government in the nineties.

This raises the prospect that workers in Albury could lose hard-won benefits if the merger proceeds under the Victorian - or federal - IR systems.

The MEU's Brian Harris says there are also questions about workers compensation legislation, child protection regulations and environmental health and safety issues.

The Labor Council has backed a call by the MEU that "no employees at Albury City Council or Wodonga Rural Municipal Council should suffer any loss to rates of pay or conditions of employment or access to their current Industrial Relations Tribunals (in the case of NSW) as a result of the merger of the Council services.

It's also stated that any merger "should not remove jobs or reduce regional employment opportunities in the two Councils."

The MEU views the merger as an important precedent, with similar cross-border discussion underway between Mildura (SA) and Wentworth (NSW) and Tweed (NSW) and Coolongatta (Qld) also on the drawing board.

Premier Endorsement for Maternity Leave

Meanwhile, Premier Bob Carr has given his personal support for council workers pushing to gain paid maternity leave rights.

The workers staged a spirited protest outside the Shires Association conference in Sydney this week. Rural councils are refusing to recognise the principle, despite recent agreement by city councils.

The MEU argues that local government workers deserve the same employment conditions as state and federal public services - who are entitled to 15 weeks paid maternity leave.

On his way in to address the conference, the Premier stopped to address the workers and told them it was "the right issue" to be campaigning around.

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  Issue 98 contents

Interview: Balancing the Books
Opposition Finance spokesman Lindsay Tanner on bringing a Labor agenda to managing the nationï¿½s finances.

Compo: Undampened Spirits
Despite atrocious weather, building workers took to the streets this work over the carnage in their workplace. Mark Hebblewhite was there.

Unions: Giving Blood
Local government workers are mounting a campaign to have leave to give blood donations recognised in their award.

Women: A Checklist for Women Voters
With a mountain of demands on Australian working women, the biggest question could well be which is the biggest?

History: May Day Meditation
May Day has been and gone, but we thought Peter Linebaughï¿½s take on its meaning was worth reading on all the other days too.

International: The Weeks of Living Dangerously
The now almost inevitable fall of Indonesiaï¿½s President Abdurrahman Wahid could have drastic consequences for the increasingly militant working class movement in that country.

Economics: No More Mr Nice Guy
In his new book, Steven Keen outlines why the public needs to know that economics is intellectually unsound.

Satire: NZ to be Disbanded
Following the successful disbanding of the armed forces the Prime Minister of New Zealand, Helen Clark, has unveiled a new bold plan to total disband the entire nation.

Review: Action in the House
Workers Onlineï¿½s Big Brother Addict argues the time has come for the contestantï¿½s to take some industrial action.

» Twenty Grand ï¿½ The Cost of a Life in 2001

» Compo Protest Virtually Ignored

» Workers Tell Jodie: It's a Bit Rich

» Disbelief at Dubai in the Sky

» Wage Rise For Two Million Workers

» Casuals Win Parental Leave Rights

» Egan Budget Welcomed ï¿½ But Social Audit Still on Agenda

» Bad Rosters ï¿½Like Being Drunkï¿½

» Nurses Act on Ward Rage

» Council Workers Brace for Border Skirmish

» Meatworkers Win in Federal Court

» Hotel Bosses Linked to Tobacco Industry

» Workers Demand Treaty With Indigenous Australia

» Activists Notebook

» The Soapbox

» The Locker Room

» Trades Hall

» Tool Shed

» Pop and Politics - Where's Billy??

» Satire is not Serious

» Toasting May Day

» WorkCover - Questions for NRMA

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