tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-108861782008-07-02T15:56:46.027+10:00Blue Mountains Union NewsBlue Mountains Unions Councilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05592343058650515412noreply@blogger.comBlogger1012125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10886178.post-41115076190493931702008-07-02T15:55:00.001+10:002008-07-02T15:56:46.093+10:00Noel Washington and the ABCCFor as long as he can remember, he has always hated bullies. And because of that he has always spoken out or stood up against those with power who intimidate or harass people. He has done it, even at the risk of losing his job. In 1990, as an organiser with the former Federated Ironworkers Union, he couldn’t stomach a leadership that sold workers short by doing deals that that were of no benefit Blue Mountains Unions Councilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05592343058650515412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10886178.post-64410012441832722132008-07-02T15:47:00.003+10:002008-07-02T15:53:20.834+10:00457 visor workers: employer prosecutedAMWU
Jun 26, 2008
The employer of two Chinese 457 visa workers who were forced to work with broken hands on unsafe equipment is being prosecuted by WorkCover.
The two workers had sustained injuries while working and were forced back to work while their hands were in plaster, despite directions from their doctor not to do so.
The cases of Zi Hong Fu and Cheng Cai received public attention afterBlue Mountains Unions Councilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05592343058650515412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10886178.post-56349985661068862052008-06-24T20:41:00.004+10:002008-06-24T20:45:25.584+10:00Stop the sell-off: International supportMonday 23 June was World Public Services Day and the International Public Sector union, PSI, has announced its support for New South Wales unions fighting the Iemma Government’s plans to sell the public power generators.
The Asia-Pacific Chair of Public Services International (PSI), David Carey, told Unions NSW and the PSA of New South Wales that the International Union supported the unions Blue Mountains Unions Councilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05592343058650515412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10886178.post-87124221912490442982008-06-23T22:03:00.006+10:002008-06-23T22:17:38.003+10:00Union Mosaic: Justice in Zimbabwe!
Wellington Chibebe and Lovemore Matombo are Zimbabwean union leaders going to trial on 23 June. This photo, organised by the TUC, is a mosaic of thousands of photos of trade unionists from around the world who are expressing their solidarity. The mosaic will appear on banners and placards at demos around the world as the trial starts.
moreBlue Mountains Unions Councilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05592343058650515412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10886178.post-36728076448125738312008-06-23T12:51:00.001+10:002008-06-23T12:51:43.866+10:00ACTU ad: Collective bargainingBlue Mountains Unions Councilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05592343058650515412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10886178.post-953207737322389852008-06-23T08:43:00.001+10:002008-06-23T08:44:53.602+10:00Pete Seeger: The Power of Song
A highlight of the Sydney Film Festival this year was Pete Seeger: The Power of Song a documentary directed by Jim Brown. This clip comes from PBS via YouTube.Blue Mountains Unions Councilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05592343058650515412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10886178.post-27615465871711499942008-06-21T12:37:00.003+10:002008-06-21T12:50:28.067+10:00Howard buried Work Choices dataThe Howard government deliberately suppressed masses of data on the ill effects of its Work Choices legislation, Workplace Relations Minister Julia Gillard says.
Ms Gillard said the former government attempted to shoot the messenger when it attacked Sydney's Workplace Research Centre ahead of last November's federal poll.
Former industrial relations minister Joe Hockey and other senior Blue Mountains Unions Councilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05592343058650515412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10886178.post-1645029382288567422008-06-16T23:36:00.000+10:002008-06-17T16:39:29.842+10:00Workers get new employment standardsThe Labor Government's new National Employment Standards (NES) announced today are an important step towards plugging the gaps in workers' rights and entitlements that have been left by Work Choices say unions. The new standards will ensure that all Australian workers have a guaranteed set of minimum employment conditions that are non-negotiable. In conjunction with modern, flexible awards, Blue Mountains Unions Councilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05592343058650515412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10886178.post-11425418002022496822008-06-16T20:48:00.001+10:002008-06-16T20:53:20.514+10:00MUA: The Hungry Mile DedicationBlue Mountains Unions Councilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05592343058650515412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10886178.post-43479880318500746962008-06-16T15:37:00.001+10:002008-06-16T15:42:09.483+10:00NSW Power Sell-off delayed!The legislation to sell our power assets has been delayed again, giving us another chance to let our parliamentarians know how we feel about electricity privitisation. Blue Mountains local member, Phil Koperberg, has been quoted in a couple of media articles saying both that he will vote against the sale and that he has not yet decided. What is clear is that he is relaying our concerns and Blue Mountains Unions Councilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05592343058650515412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10886178.post-39260842676188926762008-06-15T17:59:00.000+10:002008-06-17T16:41:17.888+10:00Refugee Week: A Place to Call HomeREFUGEE WEEK 2008 - June 15-21
The theme for Refugee Week in Australia is "A Place to Call Home". For World Refugee Day in 2008, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is globally promoting the theme of "refugee protection", whether that’s shelter or fair treatment or the right to seek asylum - particularly as the world this year prepares to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Blue Mountains Unions Councilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05592343058650515412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10886178.post-84058911165013075932008-06-15T15:45:00.002+10:002008-06-15T15:48:21.729+10:00Wages: Government accepts 4.2% to keep upMPs have received an allowance increase of 4.2 per cent from the Parliamentary Remuneration Tribunal to keep in line with inflation.
Unions New South Wales secretary John Robertson says that if the Government acknowledges that MPs need inflationary increases, why not give them to teachers, nurses and firefighters.
"Everybody has a reason to be angry, particularly those that are currently going Blue Mountains Unions Councilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05592343058650515412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10886178.post-48339516198564590682008-06-13T16:29:00.000+10:002008-06-13T16:32:11.934+10:00Fairest pay deal! Harper pockets 53%A decision by the Remuneration Tribunal to give public office holders a 4.3% pay rise from 1 July 2008 sets the benchmark for what low paid working Australians should at least expect from the forthcoming Fair Pay Commission minimum wage case decision says the ACTU.
The latest decision of the Remuneration Tribunal will add more than $5,000 a year to the pay packet of Professor Ian Harper, the Blue Mountains Unions Councilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05592343058650515412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10886178.post-53974636304501959222008-06-13T16:16:00.005+10:002008-06-13T16:27:19.662+10:00US Supreme Court backs "laws and constitution"The United States Supreme Court on Thursday (12 June 2008) delivered its third consecutive rebuff to the Bush administrations handling of the detainees at Guantánamo Bay, ruling 5 to 4 that the prisoners there have a constitutional right to go to federal court to challenge their continued detention.
The court declared unconstitutional a provision of the Military Commissions Act of 2006 that, at Blue Mountains Unions Councilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05592343058650515412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10886178.post-69822747952981218212008-06-10T22:34:00.005+10:002008-06-10T22:40:56.512+10:00Tom Uren backs Rudd ban the bomb planTom Uren, a Labor minister in the 1970s and long-time anti-nuclear campaigner, says he hopes disarmament can happen despite scepticism about the Prime Minister's plan.
"I think there's concerns by major nations around the world that something should be done about proliferation and not only that, but the question of disarmament.
"Whilst there's nuclear weapons in this world, there's always that Blue Mountains Unions Councilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05592343058650515412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10886178.post-69713810288831980752008-06-09T22:31:00.002+10:002008-06-09T22:33:52.123+10:00Industrial Relations: where to now?The defeat of workchoices delivered the union movement a stunning victory at the last election.
So what’s the future for Australian workers in 2008 and beyond?
To debate the question and provide some answers, BMUC invited two major figures in the labour movement – ACTU President Sharan Burrow and NSW senator elect Doug Cameron to address a politics in the pub at Katoomba’s Family Hotel on Blue Mountains Unions Councilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05592343058650515412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10886178.post-51258884123355571942008-06-09T21:11:00.003+10:002008-06-09T22:34:44.773+10:00Rudd lays wreath for Hiroshima victims Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has used his visit to the Japanese city of Hiroshima to lay a wreath to the victims of the atomic bomb which was dropped on the city in 1945.
Mr Rudd is the first Australian prime minister to visit Hiroshima's Peace Park and Memorial.
Accompanied by the city mayor, he laid a wreath and then toured the park's museum, which graphically demonstrates the impact of the Blue Mountains Unions Councilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05592343058650515412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10886178.post-61444566506416859542008-06-07T18:27:00.001+10:002008-06-07T18:29:57.364+10:00Peter Garrett: Courts wrong place for art debateFederal Arts Minister Peter Garrett says a decision not to proceed with charges against photographer Bill Henson is the right one.
Twenty of the artist's photographs were seized from Sydney's Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery last month after complaints from the public.
Charges against Henson and the gallery were dropped yesterday, after the New South Wales Director of Public Prosecutions told police thereBlue Mountains Unions Councilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05592343058650515412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10886178.post-2403365496165561292008-06-07T18:17:00.005+10:002008-06-07T18:25:17.909+10:00Power sale opposition reaches ParliamentBlue Mountains MP, Phil Koperberg, warned the Premier, Morris Iemma, that there is a growing list of Labor MPs prepared to cross the floor in the lower house to defeat the Government's planned sale of electricity assets.
If the Opposition were to oppose the bill, joined by independent MPs and six of seven Labor MPs understood to be prepared to cross the floor on the sale, it would be defeated.
Blue Mountains Unions Councilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05592343058650515412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10886178.post-24283389055433921122008-06-03T09:53:00.000+10:002008-06-05T14:55:08.527+10:00Unions warn: Budget must not cut PS payFrontline services will suffer if today's State Budget delivers a cut in take-home pay to the state's 330,000 public sector workers including police, fire-fighters, teachers and nurses, Premier Morris Iemma has been warned.
Unions NSW Secretary John Robertson today said that if the NSW Budget persisted with last year's ceiling of 2.5 per cent wage rises, the government would face a staffing Blue Mountains Unions Councilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05592343058650515412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10886178.post-12532692483110854142008-06-01T21:47:00.002+10:002008-06-01T21:57:00.835+10:00Troops pull out of IraqNASSIRIYA, Iraq (Reuters)
About 500 Australian combat troops pulled out of their base in southern Iraq on Sunday, fulfilling an election promise by Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to bring the soldiers home this year.
A British military spokesman in the southern city of Basra said the pullout from Talil base in Nassiriya was under way, but a spokesman for the governor of Dhi Qar province Blue Mountains Unions Councilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05592343058650515412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10886178.post-65584134130818187062008-05-28T17:22:00.000+10:002008-05-30T17:24:59.663+10:00Gunns loses ANZ backingSydney Morning Herald
May 28, 2008
THE $2 billion Tasmanian pulp mill has lost its key financial backer, the ANZ bank, finance industry sources confirmed yesterday, but the Environment Minister, Peter Garrett, has not been briefed by the developer, Gunns.
"He hasn't been formally advised nor would he need to be," a spokesman for Mr Garrett said yesterday. "The financing of the mill is a matter Blue Mountains Unions Councilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05592343058650515412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10886178.post-16369814282692886292008-05-25T11:34:00.002+10:002008-05-25T15:48:51.132+10:00ACTU: Time to deliverLifelong Liberals, swinging voters, Labor supporters, Greens - this time six months ago we all united around the need to get rid of WorkChoices.
Today the ACTU is launching a new ad to remind politicians from all parties what the nation said loud and clear at the ballot box: our rights at work are worth fighting for.
Just because the Howard Government was defeated at the last election doesn'tBlue Mountains Unions Councilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05592343058650515412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10886178.post-3552062587588177802008-05-23T16:11:00.003+10:002008-05-23T16:17:56.967+10:00Cluster Bomb PetitionFrom GetUp:
As one of the very last acts of the Howard Government, Brendan Nelson bought $14 million worth of cluster bombs - weapons that contain mini-bombs, some of which remain unexploded on the ground for years awaiting innocent civilians. It's the first time Australia has bought such a weapon, and one we would hope the new Government would categorically reject. But right now, as the Blue Mountains Unions Councilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05592343058650515412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10886178.post-25800144265790091292008-05-21T21:36:00.002+10:002008-05-21T21:42:57.290+10:00NSW Teachers strike: 22 MayTeachers across NSW will take 24 hours of industrial action as a result of major changes by the state government to the school staffing system and the qualification requirements for TAFE teachers.
Teachers will be holding rallies and meetings across the state. The Sydney rally will be held at:
11am at Farrer Place outside the Department of Education and Training building and Governor Macquarie Blue Mountains Unions Councilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05592343058650515412noreply@blogger.com