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July 2006   
F E A T U R E S

Interview: The Month Of Living Dangerously
When the mobs took over the streets of Dili it was the people of East Timor that bore the brunt. Elisabeth Lino de Araujo from Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA was there to witness what happened.

Unions: Staying Mum
Penrith mums, Linda Everingham and Jo Jacobson, are at the heart of a grassroots campaign to boot Jackie Kelly, out of federal parliament. Jim Marr caught up with one half of the sister act.

Economics: Precious Metals
There's a lot of spin around AWAs in the mining industry, but Tony Maher argues all that glitters is not gold.

Industrial: The Cold 100
The Iemma Government has come up with 100 reasons why WorkChoices is a dud, with 100 examples of ripped off workers

History: The Vinegar Hill Mob
This month's Blacktown Rally was not the first time workers had stood up for their rights in the region, writes Andrew Moore.

Legal: Free Agents
Is an independent contractor a small businessperson or a worker? The answer depends upon whether the contractor is genuinely �independent� or not, writes Even Jones.

Politics: Under The Influence
Bob Gould thinks Sonny Bill Williams is a hunk; he reveals all in a left wing view of The Bulletin�s 100 most influential Australians, questioning the relevance of some, and adding a few of his own.

International: How Swede It Was
Geoff Dow pays tribute to the passing of Rudolf Meidner, one of the architects of the Swedish model of capitalism.

Review: Keating's Men Slam Dance on Howard
These punk rockers are out to KO WorkChoices. Nathan Brown joins the fray.

C O L U M N S

The Soapbox
Work Choice: US Military Style
John Howard has learnt a few lessons on workers rights from his Texan buddy, writes Rowan Cahill.

Politics
Westie Wing
As Pru Goward slams into the glass ceiling of the NSW Liberal Party, Ian West considers how women are faring under the Howard-Costello Government.

The Locker Room
A World Away
Phil Doyle is pleased that a display of subtle beauty and athletic grace has been overtaken by some good old-fashioned mindless violence

E D I T O R I A L

The Power of Ones
Lorissa Sevens is no shrinking violet; she had mown down attackers for her nation playing defence for the Matildas. But even this sort of toughness means nothing in the face of WorkChoices.

N E W S

 Jihad Johnny Targets Perth

 Rio Sets Up Own Goal

 Telstra Fails to Snag Protest

 AWAs Bucket Queenslanders

 Kev Gives Aussies the Finger

 Movie Blue: Win-Win for Critics

 Wage Cut Scam Legal

 Hardie Boss Takes 60 Percent Rise

 The Stack Goes On

 Boss Opens Door For Thieves

 Hendy Banks on Mass Amnesia

 Eisteddfod Win: Your Rock At Work

 Airline Crashes Into Paypackets

 Canucks Can BHP

 Activist's What's On!

L E T T E R S
 Oz Hails Sun King
WHAT YOU CAN DO
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Economics

Precious Metals


There's a lot of spin around AWAs in the mining industry, but Tony Maher argues all that glitters is not gold.

The big business critics of Kim Beazley speak with great certainty about the adverse economic impact of any decision to abolish AWAs. Employer advocates stridently assert the productivity benefits of individual contracts. AWAs are credited with providing industries such as mining with a crucial edge; the difference between old and inefficient work practices and world class performance. Within this narrative Kim Beazley stands as a man condemned; the weak populist who would throttle the golden goose of individual contracts in order to appease the selfish interests of his union paymasters.

This reads as a good coherent argument, until one examines closely some of the underlying assumptions. In fact, the alleged shining beacon of individual contracts - the metal mining industry - can't find enough people to endure its harsh working conditions, and provides no significant evidence that individual employment relationships have an edge over collective arrangements in terms of productivity.

Let me explain.

The mining industry in Australia is comprised of a number of sub-sectors, including coal, iron ore, gold, silver, lead and zinc and so on. However, the mining industry is generally divided into two main parts, being coal mining and non-coal (or metalliferous) mining. In terms of financial size, coal mining is the colossus - export earnings of over $25 billion in 2005-06 dwarf the earnings of $14 billion from iron ore - the next largest. Indeed, Australia is the dominant global exporter of coal. It is one of very few industries in which we are the world leader.

So the first point is simple. No commentator can talk sensibly about the performance or characteristics of the mining industry without taking into account the performance and characteristics of coal mining.

In terms of productivity growth, the performance of the mining industry as a whole over the last 10 to 15 years has been good, with average annual productivity increases of 4.7% for the years 1985 to 2003. Indeed, the main employer lobby group for the non-coal sector, the Australian Mines and Metals Association, has frequently cited these figures to justify its position in support of individual contracts as the non-coal sector has had a very high take up rate of AWAs in comparison to other industries.

However, the general mining productivity figures have been good partly because they rely on coal mining. The available statistics for coal mining show that in the 10 years to 2003 productivity growth exceeded 90%.

Point two therefore, is that productivity in the mining industry has been good, and coal-mining has been a major component of that improvement. Common sense would therefore dictate that whatever the formula for success has been in coal mining, it should be preserved and even emulated.

This is where the facts become rather inconvenient for the AWA cheer squad. That is, when one examines the characteristics of coal mining in comparison with the other mining sectors there is one feature that stands out. The coal mining industry is full of members of my union and is largely regulated by collective agreements. The coal mining industry is characterised by an estimated 85% union membership density. In addition, almost every pit has a collective agreement negotiated between the union and mine operators that include Business Council notables BHP-Billiton, Rio Tinto and Xstrata.

The coal-mining sector demonstrates that collective agreements are no hindrance to productivity. On the contrary, it could be argued that the employee production bonuses that are negotiated collectively by the union and which have formed part of the firmament of industrial relations in the industry for decades, is the real spur to strong productivity performance.

The real point is that the take up of AWAs in the mining sector is not motivated by productivity, but by the desire of large mining companies to exercise control over their workers free from the troublesome interference of trade unions. The talk of productivity and gain-sharing; of "direct" relationships and empowerment is simply that.

Wages in the AWA-dominated metal mining sector are lower than in the unionised coal sector. They are considerably lower - around three quarters of what coal miners get paid. And to get that poorer pay packet metal miners have to work longer hours - often fourteen 12 hour shifts in a row, and an average working week of well over 50 hours.

What Peter Hendy and Kevin Andews will not tell you is that practically all individual contracts in the mining industry are not negotiated, but are presented to new employees on a take or leave it basis. You will also not hear about the crisis in labour turn-over in the non-coal sector as skilled and experienced workers vote with their feet against anti-social job rosters and excessive hours.

I guess this is what is meant by the term "staying on message". Unfortunately, for the "WorkChoices" cheer squad, Kim Beazley's verdict on Australian Workplace Agreements reflects the practical experience of thousands of ordinary workers.

Tony Maher is National President CFMEU Mining and Energy Union


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