Labor’s new industrial relations policy, Forward with Fairness, includes a commitment to abolish AWAs in favour of collective agreements. The policy is very good: Collective enterprise agreement making and democracy will be the heart of Labor’s industrial relations system. Collective bargaining allows balanced, cooperative arrangements that foster improved productivity across a business and provide the [...]
This is a guest post by Chris White. He hass worked for the AWU and LHMU, and is a former Secretary of the UTLC of SA. He is now a Canberra based labour law researcher. He is an ALP member. Union history includes that of struggle to protect striking workers from unjust penal powers. Workers [...]
Put this in your diary: the ABC’s new drama, Bastard Boys, will screen in two parts at 8:30pm on Sunday, 13 May and Monday, 14 May. The show tells the story of the War on the Waterfront, in which the Howard Government ganged up with a stevedoring company to try to smash the Maritime Workers [...]
Last week we heard about the Priceline decision, which upheld the right of a company to sack its workers to cut costs. It didn’t take long for other companies to cotton on to that strategy. Workers at Vopak Terminals in Sydney have been trying to negotiate a collective agreement. Vopak has been refusing to negotiate, [...]
A rumour is circulating that IR minister Kevin Andrews is about to get the sack. Business groups are unhappy that Andrews has failed to convince workers that lower wages and job insecurity are good for them. As Kevin Rudd says: Mr Howard’s message on industrial relations remains the same, which is an unfair outcome for [...]
If you visit the employment law page of Connor Hunter Law Firm, here’s what you see: The terms of employment are equally important to employer and employee alike. Striking the balance to be fair to both parties can be difficult. We can help employers and employees negotiate a fair and reasonable employment contract. That sounds [...]
TWU members in Sydney struck for two hours this morning, due to concerns about threats that were allegedly made to their delegates. The first incident occurred on 19 July: Three drivers at the Westbus depot at Bonnyrigg — all union delegates — and a union official claim the manager told them during a meeting on [...]
The Exclusive Brethren is a secretive Christian organisation that attracts a great deal of controversy over its involvement in politics. Although its members are forbidden from voting, the group spends enormous amounts of money running advertisements smearing left-wing political parties — and the families of left-wing politicians. Their support for conservative politicians has paid off, [...]
If further confirmation of The Australian‘s anti-worker bias was needed, it is amply provided by Thursday’s editorial. After presenting recent jobs figures as the product of WorkChoices — experts disagree — it goes on to deny that workers have a right to take industrial action: The industrial dispute involving Melbourne company Heinemann Electric represents the [...]
Tuesday’s rallies in support of CFMEU and AMWU members were a great success — well over 1000 supporters attended the early-morning rally in Perth, with 500 in Sydney, 300 in Adelaide, 200 in Melbourne, and hundreds more in regional centres. In court, about a hundred workers and their union representatives packed the public gallery, and [...]
