Chris is a labour law researcher, specialising in China and the right to strike. He spent 27 years in the SA union movement. Chris now lives in Canberra. More →
Activism defeats Denialists
A lesson from Seattle for Copenhagen: Vigorous Activism Can Defeat the Denialists by Patrick Bond Preparations for the December 7-18 Copenhagen climate summit are going as expected, including a rare sighting of the African elites’ stiffened spines. That’s a great development (maybe decisive), more about that below. While activists help raise the temperature on the [...]
Read more →Rann: still against injured workers
In earlier posts, I condemned the Rann government’s cutting back of injured workers entitlements. It is always the so-called ‘tough’ approach to attack those vulnerable – here workers injured or with ill-health at work. As Rann heads into a March election, he again again turned his back on injured workers, those now suffering on less [...]
Read more →Two more deaths at work
TWO young Victorian workers have died in the past 24 hours. It is reported in the Age yesterday that “A 24-year-old Wangaratta man was hit by concrete as he cleaned out a concrete pump hose yesterday, and a 21-year-old plumber died in hospital on Monday night after receiving an electric shock while working at Stawell [...]
Read more →Balibo banned
INDONESIA BANS SCREENING OF THE FILM BALIBO The following statement was released by Andrew Alcock, the Information Officer of the Australia East Timor Friendship Association SA Inc last night: “It should come as no surprise to learn that Indonesian authorities are planning to ban the screening of the Australian film Balibo at the coming Jakarta [...]
Read more →Workers control
How Workers Run Argentina’s “Recuperated Workplaces” From Global Labor Strategies In a previous post, we described the process by which workers in 200 workplaces in Argentina occupied their workplaces and began running them themselves. In this post we will examine how the workplaces are actually run and how their workers are dealing with the managerial, [...]
Read more →Global Warming and Global Labor
Global Warming and Global Labor While world leaders play the “blame game” for their failure to negotiate a binding climate agreement in Copenhagen, trade unions from around the world, almost unnoticed, have forged their own common approach to climate protection. http://laborstrategies.blogs.com/global_labor_strategies/ Unions in different countries and industries inevitably have different interests. But remarkably they have [...]
Read more →Water action
Water Action Coalition at the Australian Civic Trust calls for a Public Inquiry with the Open Letter to South Australian Members Parliament House. The Water Action Coalition (WAC) is a diverse and broadly represented group of concerned South Australians that are calling on all members of the South Australian Parliament to support WAC’s call for [...]
Read more →Deaths at work
ACTU says: Tragic deaths of young workers must be stopped: call for urgent changes to Insulation Scheme The Federal Government should immediately halt the Ceiling Insulation Stimulus Scheme until there are major improvements to its safety, training and licensing standards, say unions. The tragic recent deaths of three young workers — two by electrocution and [...]
Read more →Greens
With its sharp right turn to Tony Abbott as leader, the coalition has left small-L liberal voters to back the Greens, sending a message to Canberra, Australian Greens Leader Bob Brown said today. “From human rights to social justice, including issues important to women, support for better funding for public health and education and protection [...]
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