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 →
Stand Up for the Burrup
When recently in Perth we attended an afternoon with FARA Friends of Australian Rock Art.
This was the day before Labor Carpenter, who had supported Woodside and failed to protect this unique national heritage listed site, lost government. Now with the Liberal government FARA continues to campaign to save the Burrup/Murujuga. Contact Conservation Council fara.perth@gmail.com .
www.standupfortheburrup.com
McQueen on ‘How to lose a trillion’ and ‘McValue’
How to lose a trillion. (2 October)
When the radio news reported that the New York Stock market had “lost” a trillion dollars, my eyes glazed over.
A trillion is what Douglas Hofstader calls a Very Big Number, meaning that we have no way of coping with so many zeros after the one ($1,000,000,000,000). Those Arabic symbols [...]
ACTU on the economic crisis and unions a debate where to now.
On 1 October, I first attended ACTU Sharan Burrow’s address at the National Press Club. I was anticipating some further union criticism of DPM Gillard on her IR reforms, but Sharan did not do this despite anguish amongst unions. She refused to name it WorkChoices Lite when quizzed…wait for the details she said.
At 6pm [...]
Humphrey McQueen on the capitalist crisis
Freelance left labour historian Humphrey McQueen as guest comments on the capitalist crisis: exploitation the basis, it’s not socialism and all capitalists are parasites.
Exploitation leads to over-consumption
Even if $US700bn cauterises the collapse of the sub-prime mortgage market, it will not touch the core of the crisis.
The root cause is the exploitation of wage-labour by [...]
Capitalist financial crisis September 2008
Financial crisis: working families need protection
IR and labour law policy issues in other posts commenting on the Labor governmen cannot but be connected to the capitalist crisis dramatically unfolding with bank and business crashes daily. It is on-going and impacting on working families.
This is clear reading the weekend’s press, following Stephen Long daily on the [...]
Forward with Fairness? Initial comment on Julia Gillard’s speech.
Critical comments on DPM and Minister for Workplace Relations Julia Gillard’s Forward with Fairness policy speech are widespread.
Union activists in Your Rights at Work campaign, acknowledged as pivotal in defeating Howard because of his workplace regime, are bitterly disappointed in DPM Julia Gillard’s address to the National Press Club on Labor’s proposed IR system Fair [...]
No rights on site for building and construction workers
The ACTU’s TV ads and campaign argues there is no fair play with Australian building and construction workers having less rights at work than other workers. Unions and voters want the repeal of the Building and Construction Act 2005 and the ABCC before 2010.
The back-ground. On average, 50 construction workers are killed each year [...]
World day for decent work October 7th 2008
October 7th is the world day of decent work which is a joint campaign supported by UNI Global Union and led by the International Trade Union Confederation, the Global Progressive Forum, Social Alert and Solidar which aims to:
* Build awareness of Decent Work amongst citizens, decision makers and key institutions;
[...]
Works Councils Way Ahead
With Australian workers under the Howard regime not having any legal ability for workplace democracy rights, you would have thought Minister julia Gillard would be ensuring these basic rights at work. But not so. This is a book review I wrote in 2002 on the then Works Councils debate. Workplace democracy is worth reviving.
WORKS COUNCILS [...]
News from LabourStart- Australia : Meatworker union allies with animal welfare groups to fight live exports
- Australia : Julia Gillard backs landmark pay equity claim for 200,000 community sector workers
- Australia : Dozens of wine bottling jobs go
- Australia : Truckies battling on safety
- Australia : Rudd faces Senate strife on maternity leave
