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 →
Solidarity South Korean workers
1700 Workers of Ssangyong in Korea have been in strike to defend their Jobs beginning in the 28th of may. The plant is occupied by workers and their families. On 27th of June, 3000 armed strikebreakers, supported by water guns and helicopters, tried to break the resistance. After more than 24 hours, the company withdrew [...]
Read more →Pay freeze
Pay freeze for low paid workers is unfair and discriminatory, say unions 8 July 2009 A pay freeze for workers reliant on minimum award wages is unfair and discriminatory, say unions. The decision to freeze award minimum wages will leave more than 1.3 million Australians worse off in real terms. The average award worker will [...]
Read more →Economics for everyone
Jim Stanford, the national economist for the Canadian Auto Workers Union is to tour Sydney, melbourne and Adelaide. Jim is renowned in North America as an outstanding public speaker, columnist and author who challenges the “facts”, logic, and implications of mainstream neoliberal and pro capitalist economics. His recent book, Economics for Everyone : A Short [...]
Read more →Finance inquiry
Australia Needs a Comprehensive Financial System Inquiry by economists Joshua Gans, Nicholas Gruen, Christopher Joye, Stephen King, John Quiggin and Sam Wylie Ever since the severe market failures in Australia’s securitisation industry were identified in 2008, we have been concerned that these problems were partly attributable to more fundamental flaws in Australia’s ageing regulatory architecture [...]
Read more →Not all fair
The DPMs ‘spin’ that WorkChoices is dead is today overplayed, as is the beginning of the FairWork Act. See my posts. Below is the ACTU Congress decision about what still has to be achieved. ‘Congress notes the provisions of the Fair WorkAct which do not comply with the ACTU’s expectations for fair industrial laws. Congress [...]
Read more →General Motors
Lessons from the Humbling of General Motors by Sam Gindin Of all 20th century industries, it was the auto sector that best captured the sway of capitalism and the rise of American dominance. Theassembly line showed off capitalism’s remarkable productive potential and the automobile flaunted capitalism’s consumerist possibilities. At mid-century, with Europe and Japan emerging [...]
Read more →Turnbull
Unions accuse Turnbull of hypocrisy Dave Noonan – National Secretary CFMEU Construction unions have slammed a decision by Malcolm Turnbull to block moves aimed at restraining abuse of the coercive powers of the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC) today. Earlier today the Coalition voted to disallow a Ministerial direction to give construction workers some [...]
Read more →Ute
Here in Canberra parliamentary cretinism on ute-gate is out of this world. Rather than some political discourse on strategies to protect working families during a worsening world recession and an environmental crisis, MPs are consumed with Turnbull’s mis-guided focus on such a trivial issue as the ute and backfire. As a political junkie, I know [...]
Read more →Construction Stasi
Australia’s ‘Construction Stasi’ by Humphrey McQueen Dare Australia’s Labor government gaol Adelaide builders’ labourer, Ark Tribe? Tribe’s crime is that he refuses to attend a secret hearing of the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC). His failure to appear renders him liable to six months in prison or a fine of $22,000. Similar penalties apply [...]
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