industrial relations

Yesterday I attended a briefing by the CFMEU Mining and Energy division about their climate change campaign and policy. The union has recently joined with the environment movement to push for Australia to ratify the Kyoto protocol, increase Australia's minimum renewable energy target and introduce a greenhouse gas emission trading scheme. This campaign features an advertisement that is being used in the lead up to the federal election.

My colleague John Della Bosca's latest enews can be found here.

The Minister for Industrial Relations, John Della Bosca has a regular e newsletter on industrial relations in NSW. The latest edition can be found here.

This edition criticises the "fair pay" commissions paltry payrise for our lowest paid workers, tracks the failure of the "fairness test" and gives details about how the NSW government is making sure that young workers are getting a fair go.

Apparently having a Premier with small children who actually spends time with them is a bad thing.  Yesterday the Sunday Telegraph asked the question: if the Premier is home by 6pm to bath the kids does that mean that he is not working hard enough for the state?

For the dinosaurs of the Liberal Party - Greiner and Hewson - having failed relationships and kids you barely knew was a sacrifice that you have to make for leadership. For their sacrifice do we believe that they did a better job than Morris is doing - of course not.

Today I joined hundreds of women in Martin Place at a rally organised by Marie Claire magazine to demand that all Australian women get access to paid maternity leave. NSW Minister for Women Verity Firth gave an excellent speech about why paid maternity leave is so important. Here are some photos.

Yesterday the NSW Industrial Relations Commission (NSWIRC) brought down a decision that spells out what the legal standard is for ensuring that young people are treated fairly at work.

It is a victory for the NSW government and for NSW Unions who demonstrated that young people require fair treatment as workers and that Howard's Workchoices is having a detrimental impact on fairness in the workplace.

The Member for Vaucluse, Peter Debnam wants to be the Premier in NSW. He has so far indicated that he will do or say anything to achieve this. He has made over $26billion worth of unfunded promises. The only savings appear to be from teh cuttign of 29,000 public service jobs.

For more details check out his record.

John Della Bosca, the NSW Minister for Industrial Relations is getting into the electronic age with his e - newsletter Labourline. Labourline let's you know what the NSW Government is doing to protect workers.

For more info on what's happening for workers you can also check out UnionsNSW very successful Workers Online.

We should never forget the time of the Hungry Mile. The decision by the Premier to rename Hickson Road as the Hungry Mile is a great win for those who believe that to forget our past we fail our future. This is an excellent win for all who campaigned for the name change, especially the MUA.

Yesterday I joined the unions and the victims of James Hardie out the front of the Westin Hotel. We were protesting in front of the informaton session for Australian shareholders of the company.

The protesters were drawing attention yet again to the failure of James Hardie to provide compensation to the thousands of vicitms of asbestos. ADFA were requesting two simple things:

1. That the Board not increase payments and share options for Baord members until there is a legally binding guarantee on compensation to victims
2. That an appointment be made to the Hardies Board from among Hardie's victims.