The following media statement was released on November 25 by Tim Gooden, Secretary of Geelong Trades Hall Council.
鈥淭he decision of Adelaide magistrate David Whittle that Ark Tribe is innocent is a tremendous victory for Ark, his family and for working people across Australia鈥, Geelong Trades Hall Council Secretary, Tim Gooden said today.
Geelong Trades Hall congratulates Ark Tribe for his brave stand against unjust laws. The Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union (Ark鈥檚 union) has done a great job in the courts and ensuring Ark received all the legal help he needed.
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Workers with disabilities are speaking out against the Supported Wage System (SWS), which encourages employers to legally underpay workers with disabilities.
The federal government鈥檚 Job Access program markets SWS as a progressive innovation by burying it among more egalitarian policies such as funding workplace accessibility improvements.
The Job Access website said the SWS was 鈥渁 process that allows employers to pay less than the award wage by matching a person's productivity with a fair wage鈥.
Dear Melissa Parke, Federal ALP MP for Fremantle,
As blue collar workers, I and my partner have been involved with our unions over the past decade. In that time, I have seen our unions fight for safety, dignity and a better life for our family.
I welcome the "not guilty" verdict in the trial of Ark Tribe, but the fact that Mr Tribe was on trial at all is a disgrace. Laws that compel people answer questions in secret, do not guarantee people access to lawyers of their choice and involved other breaches of basic human rights should disgust you.
Unions NSW presented the "Better Services for a Better State" campaign in the Sutherland Shire at the Sutherland District Trade Union Club ("Tradies") on November 19. There was only a small crowd but there was fruitful discussion on the issues confronting the campaign.
In his opening presentation, Maritime Union of Australia Sydney branch secretary Paul McAleer explained how the battle to keep Sydney Ferries public had been won. McAleer said the MUA, and other unions representing workers on the ferries, had focused on building the broadest possible alliance against the sell-off.
If at first you don鈥檛 succeed, redefine success. This phrase has become the unofficial motto of this year鈥檚 United Nations climate conference in Cancun, Mexico.
A week out from Cancun, which runs over November 29 to December 10, there is little hope of meaningful progress. Yet key players have sought to throw a shroud of official optimism over the looming failure.
Few Western politicians want a repeat of last year鈥檚 Copenhagen climate conference. They consider it a public relations disaster.
The South Australian Labor government鈥檚 public service cuts were passed through parliament on November 8, ignoring sharp criticism from the Public Service Association (PSA) and widespread protests. Australian Council of Trade Unions president Ged Kearney described the cuts as a form of 鈥減olitical terrorism鈥, in an address to the PSA that day. She said public funding issues would become increasingly frequent across Australia as governments continue to adopt 鈥渘eoliberal, global agendas鈥.
The contrast is striking. As Australia鈥檚 state and federal governments continue their bloody-minded corporatisation and privatisation of our few remaining public assets, the revolutionary government of Venezuela is bringing important industries and sectors into public ownership and control.
Afghan feminist and anti-war activist Malalai Joya urged 400 people at the University of Technology Sydney to get the Australian government to pull the troops out of her country. The Afghan people were capable of winning against the fundamentalist warlords, but not while Western occupying troops rehabilitated the Taliban, she said.
On November 18, the federal House of Representatives passed a motion calling on members to gauge their constituents鈥 views on marriage equality. The motion passed 73-72, opposed by the Liberal-National Coalition and independent MP Bob Katter. In his November 12 speech introducing the motion, Greens MP Adam Bandt explained that while his motion would not repeal discriminatory marriage laws, it would force parliament to recognise changing community views on the issue. His speech is abridged below.
Ark Tribe鈥檚 battle with the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC) may end on November 24, at the Adelaide Magistrates Court when Tribe's verdict is scheduled to be announced.
This would end the two-year ordeal for Tribe and his family.
The 47-year-old rigger is facing six months鈥 jail for not attending an ABCC interrogation over an 鈥渦nauthorised鈥 safety meeting on a building site at Flinders University in August 2008.
麻豆传媒 Weekly spoke to some of the progressive candidates running in the November 27 Victorian state elections.
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Stephen Jolly
Stephen Jolly is the Socialist Party candidate for Richmond. He was elected to the City of Yarra council in 2004. He first came to prominence in the campaign to reopen Richmond Secondary College. He spoke to GLW鈥檚 Narendra Mohan Kimmalapati.
What is your platform for the election?
The crackdown by Moroccan occupation forces on the protest camp at Gdeim Izik on November 8 may have brought more attention to the plight of Western Sahara than was intended.
The 20,000-strong camp at Gdeim Izik, 15 km from the Western Saharan capital, El Aaiun, was established on October 9 to protest against the discrimination and oppression experienced by Saharawi people living under Moroccan occupation.
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