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International working women’s day

By on March 8, 2009 in Social justice, Workers Rights

IWD is a 100-year old holiday celebrated in different ways in our different countries. LabourStart news on yesterday’s international working women’s day. http://www.labourstart.org/women/ Also bread and roses http://www.fortunecity.com/tinpan/parton/2/breadrose.html BREAD AND ROSES (Lyrics: James Oppenheim; Music: Martha Coleman or Caroline Kohlsaat) (1910s) http://www.alia.org.au/~jcram/bread_and_roses.html WE FIGHT FOR BREAD AND ROSES Jennifer Cram address to Western Australian Local [...]

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US unions campaign

By on March 6, 2009 in US politics, Workers Rights

The US labour movement is in campaign mode to attack corporate interests lobbying against the new Employee Free Choice Act promoted by the unions and President Obama. Corporate America says they cannot afford in this crisis to have new workers’ rights. Unions press the opposite – new workers’ rights are central to improving the economy [...]

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On Michael Lebowitz

By on March 6, 2009 in Capitalist Financial Crisis

McQueen on Michael Lebowitz and ‘A dialectically materialist critic of political economy.’ Yea! Michael Lebowitz is coming to a conference near us. At Easter, this Canadian Marxist will address the DSP’s Sydney conference, ‘World at a Crossroads: Fighting for Socialism in the 21st Century’. Boo! The Conference organisers have not programmed Lebowitz to lead a [...]

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China fears riots

By on March 1, 2009 in China

China fears riots will spread as boom goes sour Millions of retrenched workers in the global economic crisis hitting China’s growth left the cities to return to their rural family homes. Beijing hopes the newly jobless will stay there – to prevent a fresh wave of unrest in the cities. Here is a description of [...]

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Tariq Ali on Gaza

By on February 25, 2009 in Social justice

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 [...]

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Firefighters concerns with FWB details

By on February 25, 2009 in Labour Law

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 Standard [...]

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Paid maternity leave campaign

By on February 25, 2009 in Social justice, Workers Rights

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 [...]

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Eight theses on the capitalist crisis

By on February 25, 2009 in Capitalist Financial Crisis

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 [...]

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Jobs go in TCF

By on February 25, 2009 in Capitalist Financial Crisis, Social justice

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 workers affected [...]

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