Chris White Online

When I was in London in January, there was a large rally on Gaza. I have been meaning to post one of the speeches. Here are edited extracts of his speech. Tariq Ali: ‘Why the West wants to destroy Hamas’
Let us remember what colonisers and occupiers have done throughout the past 150 years. They divide [...]

The Firefighters’ Union Secretary Peter Marshall has been in the news about the Victorian bushfires and issues. He also is critical of details of the Fair Work bill. The Union’s Senate submission concerns Division 4 Part 2-2 which create the right to request flexible working arrangements and enshrine that right as a National Employment [...]

It’s time to deliver Paid Maternity Leave! ACTU campaign
http://www.actu.asn.au/

Working women, families and unions are sending a message to the ALP Government that we want to see a new national Paid Maternity Leave scheme in the 2009 Federal Budget.

It will be good for the economy, good for employers and good for families. Mums need [...]

From Global Finance to the Nationalization of the Banks:
Eight Theses on the Economic Crisis by Leo Panitch and Sam Gindin.
1. The current economic crisis has to be understood in terms of the
historical dynamics and contradictions of capitalist finance in the second
half of the 20th century. Even though the spheres of capitalist finance and production are [...]

On this blog are links to news reports of yesterday’s announcement by Pacific Brands of the loss of 1850 jobs through the closure of their clothing manufacturing in Australia that will affect the whole TCF Industry. The Textile Clothing and Footwear Union of Australia – www.tcfua.org.au – which represents the vast majority of [...]

UnionBook is a social networking platform for trade unionists around the world. From Eric Lee LabourStart
http://www.unionbook.org
If you already have an account on Facebook, MySpace, Bebo or any other social network, we’re not suggesting that this is a replacement. But we feel that UnionBook fills a void – a need for trade unionists to [...]

US unions are campaigning for the freedom to organise. I receive daily campaign updates from the AFL-CIO to lobby to support The Free Choice Bill. But there are no daily emails from Australian unions and the ACTU to pressure the DPM, the ALP caucus and the Senate to amend the Fair Work bill before the [...]

I have been reporting on this blog China’s new labour laws. Here is one report ‘China’s New Labor Law Falling By Wayside Amid Financial Crisis.’
(U.S. Daily Labor Report, http://www.bna.com/products/labor/dlr.htm)
BEIJING—China’s much-vaunted labor contract law is losing its teeth amid the global financial crisis, labor rights groups have reported, as local governments back away from enforcement to [...]

VTHC Victorian Trades Hall Council Senate submission criticises the Fair Work bill and calls for:
Amendments to supplement the penalty provisions of the Act which are enforced by the Court with a specific power for the Commission to make orders with respect to breaches of freedom of association; Include a fast track mechanism for [...]