Unions

A big stink over loo paper not only threatens to flush thousands of Aussie jobs down the can, but leave Kevin Rudd holding a steaming pile of, well, you get the picture.

In a precedent-setting decision that’s as “silly as a bum full of smarties”, to steal a line from Kenny, the government has allowed 20,000 tonnes of Chinese and Indonesian dunny paper to be dumped on the Australian market at prices up to 45 per cent cheaper than in their home countries; much of it under the Woolworths Select label.

But before you shout “you bloody bewdy” and pop out to Woolies for some bargain bog rolls, pause for a minute and contemplate just why any company would sell a mountain of goods at a loss.

Continue reading "The great stink over cut-price toilet paper" »

When I read Jamie Briggs’ most recent contribution to The Punch on industrial relations I wasn’t in the least bit surprised.

It was a predictable salvo in the hundred year war on industrial relations in this country. This war is the battle line between the two major political parties, driving the partisanship and iron discipline of our respective parties.

Labor has always believed that a fair go should apply, that workers need protection and that everybody deserves dignity at work. This belief is not driven by theories or politics but by more practical issues – of making sure a worker can live off their wages, that they have job security if they do a good job and that there’s an umpire to ensure fairness.

Continue reading "Workchoices architect needs some real life experience" »

In the mid 1990s the teachers credit union Satisfac came up with a kindly and seemingly innocent idea to celebrate the excellent work of its teacher members.

The credit union, which historically had served teachers but like many other institutions now has a wide customer base, decided that to recognise the role of the teaching profession in its own development it would establish an annual awards event called The Best Teacher Awards.

But when the awards were initially proposed the reaction from the teachers union was one of outrage and dismay. Satisfac was told in no uncertain terms to shelve the idea, with the union arguing it was the height of impertinence for a credit union – or anyone else for that matter – to declare that some teachers were better than others.

Continue reading "My School brawl exposes unions’ culture of mediocrity" »

While you are dining out or at the shops over the summer holidays, spare a few minutes to think about the young person serving you and how their rights at work have changed over the past two years.

Two years ago, that person was working under WorkChoices. Chances are they had no protection from unfair dismissal and little or no job security. It was possible they were employed on an Australian Workplace Agreement, which had stripped their minimum conditions to the bare basics.

Their employer could simply ignore them if they and their workmates wanted to join together to collectively bargain for better pay and conditions. And if they chose to join a union or even ask a union into their workplace, they ran the risk of harassment and discrimination from their boss.

Continue reading "Libs still hope the WorkChoices zombie can rise" »

The Communications Electrical and Plumbing Union say they’ve been trying to negotiate with Australia Post for months and have been left with no choice but to strike three days before Christmas.

Australia Post says they’ve been forced to bump up the numbers of their Christmas casuals to deal with the all the joy and good tidings landing in post boxes around the country. One man’s “Christmas casual” is another man’s “strike breaker”.

Talk about bad timing. Unions clearly go for the holiday season to maximise the impact of their actions. Last week in Sydney the bus drivers walked off the job. British Airways had to scramble to avert a 12 day strike. And now the posties have given themselves a bit of extra time to get the last minute shopping done.

Continue reading "Who’s the grinch, Australia Post or the union?" »

Bob Hawke - like most public figures - always likes to get his picture in the paper.

But there was one time when I beat him at his own game.

It was the annual cricket match between the ACTU XI and the Press XI in Port Melbourne in the mid-70s.

Continue reading "Yes I love Bob Hawke and long may he reign" »

Can anyone help me out? I’m looking for the fat bloke in braces who was meant to be running the country after Labor got elected.

Surely you’ve seen him, the Union Boss who was meant to be terrorising the nation’s taffeta dress shops. Maybe he is hiding in an ante-room off the PM’s office.

There’s nothing like a healthy dose of reality to blunt most political scare campaigns, but even by the Punch’s Scary Creatures Benchmark (PSCB*), the Liberals effort at the least election was up the with the best of them.

Continue reading "Still waiting for the invasion of the scary union overlords" »

In 1995, La Trobe University student publication Rabelais ran a feature entitled The Art of Shoplifting, which highlighted student poverty a decade before it became an election platform. Now it and student media publications around Australia are facing relative poverty themselves.

Since Voluntary Student Unionism was introduced by the then Liberal Australian Government in mid-2006, Australian student media have been starved of funds.

VSU was introduced with the aim of removing the obligation for tertiary students to pay for and be members of student unions. The Punch interviewed representatives from three student publications and the response was the same: VSU has curtailed the potential of student media to add to a vibrant university culture.

Continue reading "The death throes of student newspapers" »

Five years ago, Glen Viegas cut into a live wire as he worked on the construction of a shopping centre on the NSW Central Coast. That wire should have been disconnected. But it wasn’t. Glen was killed, and an hour and a half later, his wife Andreia had to pull back a white hospital sheet to identify her husband’s body.

Next time you see burly construction workers marching in a protest, consider stories like Andreia’s, and the fact that on average, one construction worker dies from work every week.

The experience of Andreia, and others like her, is what motivates trade unionists when we push for the best possible health and safety laws.

Continue reading "Unions turn on Gillard over worker safety" »

There’s been a lot of talk recently about so-called “green shoots” springing up in our ravaged economy.

Some commentators have grasped a recent bounce in the stock market, a few surprisingly strong profit results overseas, and a benign sense of business confidence as evidence that the economy is on the path to recovery.

Well, it is time for a reality check.

Continue reading "Why unions will remain the voice of workers in Labor" »

You will all be aware of current demands for Australian Government procurement policies to include a “buy Australian” bias. The Government does not support such proposals. We remain resolutely committed to a non-discriminatory purchasing policy.

Australia is a signatory to numerous international agreements that seriously inhibit our ability to use discriminatory procurement policies. We have been vocal in international forums warning against the serious threat any upsurge in protectionism poses to the world economy. If we introduce protectionist measures like discriminatory procurement policies we will invite retaliation from other countries. As a trading nation, Australia stands to lose a great deal in any global outbreak of protectionism.

The notion that there are big gains for Australian companies and workers to be won from discriminatory procurement policies is essentially a mirage. Research by my Department that I am releasing today shows that the possible benefits are very modest.

Continue reading "Buy Australian not worth the risk to our economy" »

Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner said yesterday on Meet the Press that the government choosing to buy Australian made products was like him doing his 15 year old daughter’s homework.

I’m not sure what he means by that, but it’s clear he hasn’t been doing his own homework when it comes to using the government’s stimulus packages to create the most jobs possible.

In fact, the government choosing to source products overseas is like getting the neighbour’s kids to come over and mow the lawn, and then wondering why your own kids are hitting you up for pocket money when you go to the shops.

Continue reading "Labor risks throwing away Australian jobs" »

During my childhood, 1957 and 1958 were “the two good years,” the were the only years my working class redneck family ever caught a real break. And that break came because of organized labor. After working as a farm hand, driving a hicktown taxi part time, and a dozen catch as catch can jobs, my father found himself owning a used semi-truck and hauling produce for a Teamster unionized trucking company called Blue Goose.

Daddy was making more money than he’d ever made in his life, about $4,000 a year. The median national household income at the time was $5,000, mostly thanks to America’s unions. After years of moving from one rented dump to another, we bought a modest home, ($8,000) and felt like we might at last be getting some traction in achieving the so-called “American Dream.”

Continue reading "Workers must seize back the golden age for themselves" »

So the ability for Union reps to get into state schools depends on them being invited in by the school principal- who, in most cases is going to be a paid up member of one of the most militant unions, the Teachers Federation. That should ensure access. There should be no place in education for propaganda!

Julia Gillard feigns a fight with Trade Unions at their annual conference but gives her blessing to the indoctrination of school students 14 years and up. Funny thing –those who are 17 years now will be voters in the next Federal and State elections and the Labor Party affiliated unions will be in the school with the imprimatur of officialdom drumming up support for themselves and Labor candidates.

To use a Ruddism ‘fair shake of the sauce bottle’ –I think the Liberals need equal access to at least balance the message.

Continue reading "Will the real Julia Gillard please stand up" »

The improbably named Ark Tribe is on the verge of creating the first real schism between the Rudd Government and the union movement.

The knockabout building worker is in court in Adelaide today facing charges of refusing to answer questions to the Australian Building and Construction Commission, a charge that carries a maximum penalty of six months jail.

If convicted, Tribe will become the first trade unionist to be jailed since the 1960s. when Clarrie O’Shea was locked up for refusing to disclose internal union documents, sparking a general strike.

Continue reading "Tribal war between Gillard and the union movement" »