Coercive building industry law passes lower house By Susan Price The House of Representatives narrowly passed changes on February 16 to the undemocratic building industry laws that target building workers. The Building and Construction Industry Improvement Amendment (Transition to Fair Work) Bill, which will replace the Building Industry Improvement Act, was narrowly adopted by a [...]
MR on China
Monthly Review on China http://monthlyreview.org/2012/02/01/february-2012-volume-63-number-9
Leach on TL elections
TIMOR-LESTE goes to the polls again on 17 March to elect a new president for a five-year term. While the president’s role is largely symbolic, and government is formed at the parliamentary elections in June, the election is important in several respects. First, it will set in place part of the leadership that will take [...]
Anderson on Timorese elections
Timorese elections: ‘big man’ culture v. ‘mauberism’ by Tim Anderson This year’s (2012) elections in Timor Leste will not just be about a clash of parties or personalities, but also a confrontation between two important themes: ‘mauberism’ and ‘big man’ culture. Fretilin’s better known ‘mauberism’ is an assertion of indigenous identity which stresses cultural pride [...]
Bans for the barrier reef
In light of the current alarm about dredging and dumping in the Reef, it is worth recalling how it was saved by union action which is now illegal under the Fair Work Act. This interesting extract from Humphrey McQueen’s new book reminds us how important trade unions have been in protecting Qld coastline and the [...]
TL Presidential election
Presidential candidate and founding father Francisco Xavier do Amaral dies http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/world/east-timor-founding-father-francisco-xavier-do-amaral-dies/story-e6frf7lf-1226291215845 Dennis Shoesmith in an ALP publication looks at T-L’s political parties. http://www.alp.org.au:6020/CMSPages/GetFile.aspx?nodeguid=db25b77b-6314-4351-b5c7-05c1a9500145 “Is Small Beautiful? Multiparty Politics and Democratic Consolidation in Timor-Leste” by Dennis Shoesmith read here http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1943-0787.2011.01318.x/full Election Comment from Indonesia http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2012/03/06/waiting-top-two-among-13-timor-leste-election.html Damien Kinsbury warns Presidential candidates that the President is only ceremonial. [...]
Jeff ACTU resigns
Statement from ACTU Secretary Jeff Lawrence I have decided not to re-nominate for the position of Secretary at the ACTU Congress in May. I will turn 60 during the Congress, and have been assessing my future after five years in this role. Over the next few years, Australian unions will face a number of challenges [...]
China better wages
Chinese Workers Demanding Better Wages, Conditions, Real Union Protections March 4, 2012 The first signs of real trade unions and factory strikes may signal the end of China’s low cost, low human rights advantage. Two weeks ago, Foxconn Technology, an electronic giant, announced it would increase its workers’ salaries by as much as 25%. The [...]
China and neo-liberalism
China and neo-liberalism http://media.lclark.edu/content/hart-landsberg/2012/03/02/china-and-neoliberalism/
News from LabourStart
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- Germany: IG Metall get highest pay rise in 20 years
- Australia: BHP's aim is to break the power of unions
- Canada: UFCW App Locates Unionized Stores
- Mexico: Worker rights defender kidnapped, beaten and threatened with death in Puebla
- Turkey: Support for Arrested KESK Women
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