About chriswhite

Chris White now lives in Darwin, Northern Territory. He is secretary of APHEDA NT. He is a Honorary Senior Research Fellow at The Northern Institute Charles Darwin University +61889467169 chris.white2@cdu.edu.au He lived in Canberra from 2005 researching labour law and industrial relations and worked for the union ASMOF and then the NTEU ACT. He tutored in Politics for two years at the ANU Politics and International Relations. He has been criticising WorkChoices, specifically the labour law supressing the right to strike, the repression of building and construction workers, and reporting on the new China labour laws . He writes on social justice challenges. He links into international solidarity for workers and the disadvantaged. He worked for the SA unions for 27 years. First as an Industrial Officer for the Australian Workers Union SA branch. Then he was for 10 years Research Officer/Industrial Advocate for the LHMU, then the Miscellaneous Workers Union SA branch. In 1985 he was elected Assistant Secretary of the United Trades and Labor Council of SA and then in 1998 elected Secretary until 2001. He was on the ACTU executive for 15 years. He represented unions on SA Industrial Relations and Occupational Health and Safety and Workers' Compensation and Rehabilitation Commisions and social justice and employment committees. From 1998 to 2002 he was a Director and Trustee of SA Statewide Superannuation Trust and United Superannuation Pty Ltd. He was active in Socially Responsible Investment decisions. For 10 years he was on the board of the SA Working Womens Centre. For 15 years he was Chair of the Junction Theatre Company. For 6 years he was Ministerial Arts Board member on the State Theatre Company. He was awarded a Centenary Medal Commonwealth Honour for contributions to unions and the community. From 2003-2005 he was a Board member SA Housing Trust Board In 2002 he was on the Offenders Aid and Rehabilitation Services (OARS): prison rehabilitation and restorative justice. For 30 years he was active in the SA East Timor Association and now Patron. Since 1974 he has been a member of the ALP and with SA unions organising in state and federal election campaigns. He has been active in the ACTU Your Rights at Work Worth Fighting For campaign. He was a Post Graduate Research PhD scholar 2003-2006 School of Law, Flinders University researching 'The right to strike', but for personal reasons did not complete his thesis. He was a radical student activist, editor of ON DIT and Secretary of the Student's Union. He completed a Law degree LLB and Arts (Honours Politics) in 1972. He then worked for a year as a law tutor at the University of Adelaide Law School before his career with the unions. He is an advocate and consultant on workforce and social justice issues. contact chrisdwhite@bigpond.com
Author Archive | chriswhite

ACTU Congress day one: a.

Readers will have seen earlier posts on the ACTU Youth policy conference the day before Congress that adopted the youth policies and my contribution to the VTHC fringe event on the right to strike, strikes and workers’ control. On today’s ACTU opening, with about 1,000 delegates from every industry and occupation in Australia the ACTU [...]

Read full story Comments { 0 }

ACTU Youth Congress

I am attending the ACTU Congress this week as an observer and doing some reports for radio 3CR. Before the ACTU Congress on this Monday is the Youth conference. In the draft policy: “Unions have a responsibility to represent, grow and organise the next generation of workers and union members. Unions need to actively focus [...]

Read full story Comments { 0 }

Chomsky

A Rebellious World or a New Dark Age? On the History of the US Economy in Decline by Noam Chomsky The Occupy movement has been an extremely exciting development. Unprecedented, in fact. There’s never been anything like it that I can think of. If the bonds and associations it has established can be sustained through [...]

Read full story Comments { 0 }

Millionaires tax

Time for a ‘millionaires’ tax’ to ensure the wealthiest Australians pay their fair share Reforms to make the wealthiest Australians pay their fair share of tax must be stepped up, including the introduction of a new “millionaires’ tax”. At next week’s ACTU Congress, unions will discuss proposals to shift the tax burden off the shoulders [...]

Read full story Comments { 0 }

Troublemakers

In the US Labor Notes Conference Troublemakers unionists organise in their thousands. “You can get depressed hearing all the stories of low-wage and immigrant workers,” Ahmad said. But at Labor Notes, “the energy is amazing.” Vision sharpens, and all of a sudden the movement that can stand up against the odds comes into view. http://labornotes.org/2012/05/troublemakers-union-gathers-stronger-ever [...]

Read full story Comments { 0 }

Strike debates

The right to strike, strikes and workers’ control at the ACTU Congress 2012 by Chris White. Unionists need to organise for the right to strike, for the effective strike and for workers’ control. 1. Unions’ right to strike campaign is to repeal all Fair Work Act penal powers and for a ‘firewall’ protection for workers [...]

Read full story Comments { 0 }

ACTU job protection debate

Australian Jobs Protection to be discussed at ACTU Congress Australians believe everyone should pay their fair share. Everyone should contribute. Everyone is entitled to a fair go. How can it be that: Some of our richest Australians, like billionaire Clive Palmer, did not pay tax in his main private company last financial year. BRW lists [...]

Read full story Comments { 0 }

Behind unemployment figure

← The myths that abound in Federal Budget Papers Australian labour market – converting unemployment into hidden unemployment by Bill Mitchell Today’s release by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) of the Labour Force data for April 2012 reveals a weak labour market with the employment gains being confined to part-time work and workers dropping [...]

Read full story Comments { 0 }

Jobs and the right to strike

ACTU CONGRESS 2012 Sydney See http://www.actucongress.org.au/site/ ACTU CONGRESS Fringe Event Public meeting AUSTRALIAN JOBS AND THE RIGHT TO STRIKE Discussion and Drinks: Mark Lennon, Ged Kearney, Brian Boyd, Dean Mighell, Len Cooper & more… Time: 5.15pm – 6.15pm Date: Monday 14 May 2012 Where: Unions NSW Atrium, Trades Hall

Read full story Comments { 0 }