This edition contains a summary of blog items published by Greg McLean in the previous calendar month. Items cover the areas of local government, energy and water, rail and public transport, international news including trade agreements, privatisation and general public sector matters
The articles all relate to the blog of Greg McLean, ASU Assistant National Secretary
Workplace rights to be strengthened for women
Unions urge PC inquiry to give more rights at work to casuals and women
The ACTU calls for workplace rights to be strengthened for women and millions of Australians in casual and insecure work in its submission to the Productivity Commission inquiry into workplace relations. Australian Unions also call for the minimum wage and penalty rates to be protected as well as greater rights for workers to bargain collectively, including labour hire and temporary workers. Australia’s workplace system is based on fairness, equality, protection of the vulnerable and rewards for hard work. This is a system Australians have demonstrated they want and support. Instead of trying to destroy these foundations as the employer lobby is calling for and as the Coalition Government tried to do with WorkChoices. The Productivity Commission should build on these fundamental principles to ensure workers’ rights are protected and that there is a role for policy intervention to ensure all Australians are paid fairly for their efforts.
Tagged in: Unions
APHEDA Newsletter
APHEDA - Solidarity News Letter
Vanuatu Appeal, Support the 2015 Raffle, Vietnam building the campaign to Ban Asbestos, Domestic Workers organising in Timor, Gazans are ‘exhausted, frustrated and angry, Burmese Labor Solidarity Organisation student goes to university. Burma: Garment factories workers at Shwepythar industrial zone strike over living wage. Ending Violence against Women and Children News In Brief Cuts to Australian Aid The Australian Council for International Development (ACFID) has released its submission to the Federal Government ahead of the May budget, calling for promises on aid to be kept.
Tagged in: Human Rights Unions
News from PSI
International trade union news from PSI March 2015
Why Public-Private Partnerships don't work. This report by Public Services International Research Unit (PSIRU) assesses the PPPs experience in several countries and concludes that PPPs are an expensive and inefficient way of financing infrastructure and services. Download the report Watch the video presentation by PSI Deputy General Secretary David Boys Read PSI General Secretary Rosa Pavanelli's comment in the Guardian. Union pressure makes UN back out of Uber collaboration at the recent meeting of UNCSW59 in New York, Global Unions stood against a UN proposed partnership with Uber. The UN came back on its decision, declaring that the UN will not collaborate on jobs with Uber.
Tagged in: Quality Public Services Unions Water
ILO Important Standards for OHS
Regulation by private enterprise indulges the private sector and obstructs public responsibility
The International Labour Organization has set important standards in the field of occupational health and safety, notably the Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 1981 (No. 155) and Occupational Health Services Convention, 1985 (No. 161), but it has yet to provide practical guidance on the management of occupational health and safety in the workplace. In the absence of a standard under public international law for the management of occupational health and safety in the workplace, the International Standards Organisation, a private independent, non-governmental membership organization composed of the national standards bodies of 163 countries has stepped into the breach. ISO is not an inter-governmental organ, nor part of the UN system, but has general consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). On its website, ISO states: ISO International Standards ensure that products and services are safe, reliable and of good quality.
http://www.world-psi.org/en/regulation-private-enterprise-indulges-private-sector-and-obstructs-public-responsibility
Tagged in: Occupational Health & Safety United Nations
Workplace rights to be strengthened for women
Public Forum The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP): What’s being done in our name? Thursday, April 16 12.30pm-2.00pm, Jubilee Room NSW Parliament House Macquarie Street, Sydney Secret TPP negotiations between Australia, the US, Japan and nine other Pacific Rim countries are continuring into late May. Recent leaked documents confirm proposals which could result in higher medicine prices, more internet copyright restrictions, less ability to regulate imported food and special rights for foreign companies to sue governments over changes in our laws and policies, including health, environment and other policies. A Senate Inquiry is investigating the secrecy of the TPP and other trade agreement processes Speakers: Dr Patricia Ranald, Australian Fair Trade and Investment Network: The TPP: secrecy, democracy and investor rights to sue governments Jon Edwards, Doctors without Borders (MSF) on the TPP and medicines (TBC) Professor Kimberlee Weatherall, University of Sydney
Tagged in: Trade Agreements
Commitment to make Child Care more affordable
Government Must Keep Child Care Affordability Promise
Labor has called on the Liberal Government to honour its commitment to make child care more affordable, after new figures released today show many parents would face higher out-of-pocket costs under the Productivity Commission’s proposed changes to the child care system. When Tony Abbott announced his Productivity Commission review he promised: “We will make child care more accessible and more affordable for Australian parents” [19 November 2012] However, figures released by The Parenthood show the model as it was proposed would leave many families in Sydney and Melbourne worse off, because there would be no assistance at all for families once child care fees exceed the currently recommended ‘benchmark price’. This comes on top of figures recently released by the Department of Social Services showing that for every income group, out of pocket child care costs are higher under the Liberals than at any time since Labor was elected and increased.
Tagged in: Child Care Local Government
AFTINET Bulletin March 2015
TPP strong campaign pushes deadline out to late May 2015 Senate Inquiry Into the trade agreement process: hearings in April and report in June Save the date: TPP Forum 12.30 pm, April 16, NSW Parliament House PACER-Plus deadline now 2016 RCEP threats on medicines, ISDS TPP strong campaign pushes deadline out to late May 2015 The secret Trans –Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations between Australia, the US, Japan and nine other Pacific Rim countries are continuing in 2015, but community campaigns in TPP countries are having an impact. TPP negotiators meeting at the end of January failed yet again to reach agreement on key issues like stronger monopoly rights on medicines, copyright restrictions on the Internet and rights of foreign investors to sue governments over domestic regulation. Negotiators met again in January and March but failed to reach agreement.
Tagged in: Trade Agreements
ACTU calling for a $27 Increase in the Minimum Wage
$27 pay rise and 10 per cent super for minimum wage workers - Australian Council of Trade Unions
The ACTU is calling for a $27 increase in the minimum wage to $667.90 per week or $17.58 per hour. The ACTU’s submission to the Fair Work Commission’s Annual Wage Review shows minimum wages are at a record low of 43.4% of average weekly full time earnings and that inequality in Australia will grow even further without a $27 pay rise for the lowest paid workers. Australia had the biggest drop in the minimum wage as a percentage of the average wage of any OECD country between 2003 and 2013. If this trend continues, Australia’s minimum wage will be on par with the United States by 2037 and our society will have an entrenched underclass of working poor. In addition to a $27 per week increase to the minimum wage, the ACTU is also asking for compulsory superannuation to be increased by 0.5 per cent to 10 per cent for minimum.
Tagged in: Unions
Women in Energy
Women in the Energy Industries Conference 2015
Women in the Energy Industries Conference: Now just two weeks left to register for Women in the Energy Industries Conference 2015, and the conference schedule is now available below: Women in the Energy Industries Conference 2015 Schedule Energy Space Events is hosting E-Oz Energy Skills Australia’s third annual Women in the Energy Industries Conference in Melbourne on the 23rd and 24th of April 2015. The conference will build on the success of last year, drawing together industry stakeholders and equity experts to consider methods for increasing female participation in the energy sector trades and reigniting the conversation about promoting non-traditional roles to women.
Tagged in: Energy Local Government Public Transport Water
Early Childhood Opinion
If you bring the topic of child care up with any parent chances are you will be met with a knowing expression – quite often a grimace. Without a doubt, finding, choosing, understanding, and trusting our child care system can be one of the most daunting tasks a parent will face. Time and time again I hear from parents stories of dealing with the emotional dilemma which comes with returning to work, whilst struggling to find child care solutions. The reality is, affordable, accessible child care is not only in the interests of families, but in Australia’s economic interests. We want parents, especially women, to feel empowered to return to work and it is important that child care enables them to do this. In his State of the Nation address in January, President Obama recalled a powerful story of the value of child care.
Tagged in: Child Care
Separation of RISSB and ARA Organisational Review
The Legal Separation of RISSB and ARA Organisational Review
Following on from the review undertaken by the Transition Team (appointed by the ARA Board) a decision was taken earlier this year to separate Rail Industry Safety and Standards Board (RISSB) from the ARA and to create a new independent RISSB, with a new Board, to build on the work achieved to date. On the 17 March 2015 Directors from the RISSB Board resigned and a new Board was subsequently appointed, adopting a new constitution, and setting the final legal separation date for 1 July 2015. New RISSB Interim Board Tony Drake, Independent Chair Phillip Johns, UGL Robert Groves, Sydney Trains Tim Kuypers, Asciano Tim Ryan, Australian Rail Track Corporation This change will strengthen the commitment of the rail industry to enhance the safety of rail operations in Australia.
Tagged in: Public Transport
International Reports shows Privatisation doesn’t work
International report shows privatisation doesn’t work
Shared services between the public and private sector, "Public Private Partnerships" (PPPs), or leasing or selling public services or assets to the private sector. These are all different names for privatisation in Australia. Under the title of PPPs, a new international report released today adds to the steadily growing pile of research showing that whatever the name, privatisation does not deliver for the community. The ASU has been campaigning against privatisation in its many guises for many years, including commissioning research to encourage governments to make better decisions with the public good at the heart of them. More recently, research has been able to examine extensive patterns of privatisation over long periods of time, thus adding to the weight of evidence against moving public services and assets into private hands. The new report from Public Services International (PSI) released today, "Why Public-Private-Partnerships don't work.”
http://www.asu.asn.au/news/categories/publicsector/150318-international-report-privatisation-doesnt-work
Tagged in: Energy Local Government Privatisation Public Transport Water
Rail’s Key Election Platforms
Rail releases its key platforms for NSW election
The rail industry is intensifying its campaigning on issues of critical importance to the rail sector through the release of its ‘Rail’s Key Election Platforms’ manifesto, which identifies seven key platforms for all political parties to consider in the lead up to the New South Wales election. Chief Executive Officer of the Australasian Railway Association (ARA), Bryan Nye OAM, said he is pleased to see rail feature strongly on the election agendas of all parties, but stressed the importance of ensuring that these promises, key projects and policies come to fruition. “The continued investment in rail infrastructure and services in New South Wales, in particular Sydney, is of critical importance if we are to meet the growing freight task and population growth forecasted for the state,” said Mr Nye.
TPP Secret Negotiations
Sydney Rally against the TPP Friday March 13
The TPP secret negotiations between Australia, the US, Japan and nine other countries are still dragging on. The US is driving the agenda on behalf of its pharmaceutical, media, tobacco and other industries. The danger is that our government will agree to shameful deals for higher medicine prices and allow foreign companies to sue governments over health, environment and workers’ rights. But our campaign is growing and is having an impact. See the GetUp video, the front page story on TPP dangers to health in the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and the Canberra Times and the contaminated berries story in the Guardian on how the TPP could prevent government regulation of imported food. TPP negotiators are meeting secretly again on March 13, in the US. Say no to shameful deals and call for the release of the TPP text before it is signed!
Tagged in: Trade Agreements
Out of pocket Child Care costs have increased
The importance of putting out-of-pocket costs at the centre of any future child care package has been reinforced by new data showing that out-of-pocket child care costs have increased across all income groups, and that child care costs under the Abbott Government are higher than at any time since Labor was elected and increased the Child Care Rebate to 50 per cent. Transcripts from Senate Estimates, published today, highlight the importance of having all the information on the table so that the discussion about the Government’s future child care package is informed and transparent: Senator Lines: If I look at the figure for $75,000, $95,000, $115,000, $135,000 and $150,000 the March 2013 table compared to the March 2014 table isn't it telling me that out-of-pocket costs for all income groups have gone up? DSS Official: Yes. This comes on the back of new modelling released by Australia’s largest early education provider.
Tagged in: Child Care Local Government
National Day of Action
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=930982223667068
Intergenerational Report
Today’s Intergenerational Report lays out, in black and white, exactly how bad the Liberal Government’s priorities are when it comes to education and training. It exposes how devalued education and training is by this government when the Treasurer thinks it doesn’t have a role in boosting Australia’s productivity, contradicting advice from the world’s largest economic body. The OECD identified investment in education as one of Australia’s top three priority areas for boosting productivity. Instead, the Government’s proposed policies would see Australia’s investment in education and training cut by 1 per cent of GDP by 2054-55, or $46 billion according to the Intergenerational Report. The Report lays out the damage which will be done as a result of Christopher Pyne abandoning the Gonski unity ticket, cutting much-needed funding to school students who need it most by tying future Commonwealth contributions to the Consumer Price Index.
Tagged in: Energy Local Government Public Transport State/Federal Government Services Water
Unions will Target 32 Key Marginal Seats
Unions target key marginal seats in new election campaign - advice from ACTU
Unions will target 32 key marginal seats between now and the next federal election to defeat the Coalition Government, the ACTU said. ACTU secretary Dave Oliver said it is part of a broad campaign strategy that kicks off with a National Day of Action on Wednesday 4 March. “Not only will the message be loud and clear it will be sustained before, during and after the next federal election,” said Mr Oliver. “The ACTU will hire more than 20 new staff as marginal seat coordinators to run campaign activities in the nominated seats. “This is not just about an election strategy it’s about unions having campaigning capacity irrespective of who is in government at a state and federal level. “It’s about having the ability to campaign on specific issues through a network of activists in marginal seats.
Tagged in: Unions
PSI Latest Bulletin
International trade union news from PSI February 2015 "Hands off our right to strike!" PSI affiliates around the world join forces to protect their right to strike. Right to strike reaffirmed at ILO Shortly after the Global Day of action, and after more than two years of conflict, the right to strike was re-affirmed at the International Labour Organization on 25 February. More Public services are essential for economic growth Economic models that promote labour flexibility and privatisations are destined to fail. This was PSI’s main message to the high-level meetings between the Global Union Federations, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, on 11 February in Washington.
Tagged in: Child Care Energy Local Government State/Federal Government Services Water
Senate voted down the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Amendment Bill
Senate rejects Abbott Government attacks on workers
The Abbott Government’s brazenly ideological attacks on workers suffered a humiliating setback today when the Senate voted down the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Amendment Bill. ACTU President Ged Kearney thanked cross bench Senators Lambie, Lazarus, Muir and Wang as well as Labor and the Greens for supporting workers around the country by standing up for their rights at work. Ms Kearney also paid tribute to the thousands of union members and activists around Australia who have participated in the campaign against the Bill. “Without ordinary working people telling their stories to MPs and Senators, this result would not have been possible I’m proud that they stood up to the bullies in the Abbott Government and won a great victory,” Ms Kearney said. “At the last election, Australian workers did not vote for cuts to their rights at work.
Tagged in: Human Rights