1.We Got the Power

In the last ETU Online we brought you the news of the mass meeting of 1000 power workers at the Collingwood Town Hall . Over the past two weeks the heat has been on with the Bracks government making some rather contradictory statements to the media. After the Industrial Relations Minister Rob Hulls blamed the Workplace Relations Act for the power problem, Steve Bracks bobbed up threatening all manner of retribution for workers. Undeterred, Dean Mighell told the government that if they used the Electricity Industry Act to suppress workers' rights there'd be serious repercussions.

It was left to Minister Theo Theophanous to sort out the impasse. On Friday 27 February he issued a statement that seemed to vindicate everything the ETU has been saying. Clause five read as follows:

Where work with live wires is necessary in order to restore supply after faults this will be carried out, however, where arrangements can be put in place so that lines can be switched off and power sources diverted this work will be done on a non live wire basis.

An acknowledgement by the Minister that work on live wires is a serious issue is a massive break through for the ETU. Sixty-seven percent of power workers surveyed by the ETU said there had been an increased demand to work on live low voltage overhead electrical work compared with 5-6 years ago. Equally, a noticeable issue with industry employees was the need for dedicated safety observers, especially by High Voltage Glove and Barrier Lineworkers and Extra High Voltage Lineworkers.

Whilst the ETU accepts that privatisation of the power industry appears to be here to stay the campaign to bring regulation to the industry and a proper safety culture is stronger than ever. So too is the issue of apprentices. The refusal of the power companies to employ apprentices is a national disgrace.

The struggle will go on.

2. Swearing By the Southern Cross

Dust off the tent and grab the panning dish because the ETU is heading for Ballarat for the 150 th anniversary of the Eureka Rebellion. For those international readers who aren't familiar with the Eureka Rebellion of 3 December 1854 in Ballarat the facts are as follows. Angry about being harassed by police on horseback and being asked to climb up mine shafts to present their license the miners held a number of mass meetings to express their displeasure. 'No Taxation without Representation' was a catch cry on 11 November 1854 at the Monster Meeting of miners on Bakery Hill.

The miners of course didn't have the vote at this time and Victoria was run by a clique of landowners and British officials.

It's history now that after getting no comfort from the Governor and the Administration the miners built a stockade as a symbol of their opposition. Early on Sunday morning 3 December the redcoats stormed the stocked killing approximately thirty miners and losing five of their own. The following link is worth a look: http://www.ballaratgenealogy.org.au/art/eureka.htm

The flag of the Southern Cross, as used by the miners, flies above the ETU building and the ETU has it inscribed on ETU letterhead and clothing. As with other unionists the ETU believes that the rebellion at Eureka bears many similarities to the struggles of unionists. Shop steward Ivan Balta is one ETU member who'll be camping in Ballarat on Thursday 2 December 2004 . Ivan, who as coincidence would have it, is located at what will be the world's tallest building, the Eureka Towers , in Melbourne , says Eureka is an inspiration to him

If you would like to be part of the celebration at Eureka please send an email and we'll let you know about what we have planned.

3. Teach Them a Lesson

On Wednesday teachers began a campaign of industrial action in support of their EBA. Not before time, says the ETU Online. If state schools are to survive in a society where governments continue to throw money at rich schools on and south of the Yarra we need to offer teachers a better deal.

Given the industrial action by Victorian teachers is in the news the ETU Online thought the following story from a correspondent in the land of the free might be appropriate:

At a private meeting with U.S. governors in the White House, George Bush's Secretary of Education, Rod Paige, called the National Education Association -- one of America's two national teacher unions, with 2.7 million members -- a 'terrorist organization'. The union has responded by saying that 'it is morally repugnant to equate those who teach America 's children with terrorists'. Obviously! But the really frightening part of the NEA response reads: This is the kind of rhetoric we have come to expect from this Administration whenever one challenges its worldview.

Remember that in the USA of 2004, when a cabinet member calls a group a terrorist organization', that's a highly explosive term. As they used to say in the Wild West, 'them's fightin' words'. Meanwhile, the spokesman for John Kerry, who recently won the unanimous support of the AFL-CIO in his bid for the presidency, said: Secretary Paige should apologize for his remarks calling the National Education Association a terrorist organization. These remarks are inappropriate, particularly at a time when our nation has experienced the devastation caused by terrorism'.

Inappropriate? Is that the strongest word a would-be president can think of?

Maybe it's just me, but I think we cannot accept that a cabinet member in the U.S. government can call a trade union a 'terrorist organization'. And a simple apology is hardly the appropriate response. The apology should come from President Bush, following an announcement that he has fired his Education Secretary. Not likely, right?

If you want to write to Ron Paige his email address is Rod.Paige@ed.gov

4. Hey Harry Potter, What About Quebecor Workers?

What do the latest Harry Potter title, Time magazine, and the Victoria 's Secret catalogue all have in common? They're all printed by the world's largest commercial printer, Quebecor World. The company has 39,000 employees at 160 plants in 17 countries. Its sales last year topped $6.3 billion.

"Quebecor World calls itself a world-class company," say union activists, "but it treats workers like second-class citizens. At many plants, the company is degrading working conditions by reducing overtime pay, raising health insurance costs, increasing workloads, and reducing staffing. When workers try to form unions to improve workplace conditions Quebecor World threatens them with job losses and plant closure." To learn more about the struggle for justice at Quebecor World -- and show your support - http://www.justiceatquebecor.org/index.shtml

5.Put These Days In the Diary

International Women's Day Rally
Saturday 6 March at 1 pm
State Library,  Swanston Street Melbourne
Information: 03 9639 8622

Refugee Hope March
March for Refugee rights - Melbourne Palm Sunday RallySunday 4 April at 1:30 pm
State Library, Swanston Street Melbourne
Information: 03 9659 3505

Stop the war on Iraq
Global day of Action
Saturday 20 March at 1 pm
State Library,  Swanston Street Melbourne nformation:   www.vicpeace.org - 03 9659 358

6. Age Old Double Speak

You'll struggle to find an article in the papers about the current EBA dispute with the Age newspaper. The facts are that the Age Newspaper has closed down almost all its printing at Spencer Street and as of 12 March the printing presses will be silent.

What's remarkable about the turn of events is that workers at Spencer Street signed an EBA that said there'd be no forced redundancies until March 2005. So how, you ask, can the Age close Spencer Street and tell 8 ETU members there are no jobs at the new plant in Tullamarine? Isn't an EBA a legal document? Don't the courts have a view about legal contracts?

hat this decision means is that a group of workers in, as they describe themselves, the 'older age bracket' will lose a full year's pay if the Age wins this dispute. Sure they'll receive the basic package of 4 weeks for every year, but that's not what they believed when they agreed to the EBA.

As one ETU member told the NEWS:  

'Several of us are upset with the company because we decided not to go to Tullamarine because we thought the company were genuine when they said Spencer Street would stay open. If I'd known they weren't serious about the promise I'd have taken a job at Tulla. I suppose it wasn't a total surprise given the way they ran the place. A manager would say one thing then another manger would say something different. They upper management didn't seem to know what it was doing.'

The ETU's Legal Officer Geoff Borenstein advised the ETU Online that the union has initiated proceedings in the Australian Industrial Relations Commission on the grounds that the termination of employment was illegitimate and unlawful. The ETU has sought orders to stop the Age from proceeding with the termination.

7. Footy Tipping

Bigger than Tony Lockett's last pair of footy shorts. More fun than a night at the pub with John Howard. Yes, you guessed it. The people's game is coming to your website. In 2004 you'll be able to test your wits against your footy mad union mates and that Essendon fanatic Dean 'Bomber' Mighell when the most sought after tipping competition fires up on the ETU Website.

The word is that even our most avid anti-football unionist, Alex 'I'd rather go fishing with a good book' McCallum is feverishly poring over the form guide. And the prize for the season's winner? Stay tuned for the launch of the ETU tipping competition and the new ETU website at the same address but with a new format

8. Next edition eTU online

Thanks for reading this issue of eTU online. You'll receive your next issue in April 5, 2004.