Heinemann - Bad To Worse

How bad is this Heinemann mob, you ask? If it isn't enough that they withhold a week's pay from ETU members, who lawfully refused to add voluntary overtime to their work, now they're off the full bench of the AIRC to an effort to end our protected action. This is a company with such a bad management culture it belongs in Dickensian England.

Rather than pay workers the wages that are legally theirs, Heinemann will put the money taken from our members into the pockets of the legal company, Freehills. Despite the AIRC ruling in the ETU's favour the company continues to shirk its obligations. If ever a dirty rotten mob deserves to get done over, it's Heinemann. We should be asking the PM John Howard whether he reckons this is a company that subscribes to Australian values. A growing number of people are sick and tired of these rich transnationals ripping the heart out of our communities. Coming on top of the allegation, in the Australian newspaper, that one of Heinemann's sales managers has connections to a Neo-Nazi group, it adds one more piece in the jigsaw puzzle of Howard's WorkChoices Australia . It's a piece of legislation we must destroy.

You can support our Heinemann comrades by dropping in on the protest outside the factory, at 821 Springvale Road , Mulgrave and by donating to the strike fund. Call the ETU on 8341 5555 or drop in at the Carlton Office - 516-520 Swanston Street .

On 30 November the union movement takes its Your Rights at Work campaign to Australia 's most famous arena, the MCG. The ETU can't stress enough how important it is for all members to bring as many friends and fellow workers to the MCG as possible to show the Howard government we mean business.

The gates at the MCG will open at 7.00 am. Entry is free and the event, which is sponsored by the ACTU - www.rightsatwork.com.au - and the VTHC, will be telecast around Australia via the Sky Channel network.

Not even those workers who voted for John Howard at the last election could deny the impact of his vicious IR laws. The push towards AWAs that strip workers of penalty rates and destroy a host of other hard fought benefits is in full swing. Only a concerted campaign by all of us will stop Howard in his tracks. One hundred thousand people at the MCG will serve as a powerful warning that we mean business. Already Workplace Minister Kevin Andrews is trying to distance himself from Telstra's attempt to import cheap labour for its call centres.

Not surprisingly, the Coalition is losing this battle at the polls. To rub salt into the Coaltion's political wounds we must make 30 November one of the biggest days in union and worker history. See you there.

Lineworkers Wanted

Recent reports from Energy Utilities industry organisations have confirmed a critical shortage of appropriately skilled lineworkers throughout Australia over the next 10 years.

In Victoria this impact will affect the industry by 2010.

The ETU Southern States Branch has been actively campaigning at industry and government levels for increased lineworker apprenticeships for many years and have had some successful outcomes. For over 15 years Victorian lineworker apprenticeship intakes were either zero or in single digit figures. Following industry campaigns by the ETU intakes are now in excess of 90 per annum.

However, more has to be done, as even with the current intake continuing Victorian Electricity Industry demands will not be met.

Together with other industry stakeholders the ETU has initiated an adult transition-training program for Victorian licensed electricians to become qualified electrical lineworkers, with appropriate Recognised Prior Learning (RPL) of previous electrical skills.

This ETU Expression of Interest is to gauge how many licenced electricians might be interested in a career change within the electricity industry to be trained in an ETU endorsed training program as a qualified lineworker.

Please provide your contact telephone, fax and email details to Electrical Elect ron ic Industry Training Ltd. (EEIT) for further contact:

TELEPHONE: 03 9326 9377

FACSIMILE: 03 9326 4705

EMAIL: eeit@bigpond.com

The Wheels On The Bus

Our own Brent Matthews - organiser on delegation - will be joining The Your Rights at Work country cavalcade when it leaves Melbourne on 9 October, with a first stop in Warragul. From here it travels through Korumburra, Wonthaggi, Leongatha, Yarram, Sale and a host of other towns in Gippsland. On 3 November the bus will reach Wodonga. A range of campaign activities are planned - street stalls, BBQs, meetings, letter boxing etc - as the bus makes its way across Victoria. On 21 October the bus will be in Geelong for the Geelong Show.

In a snapshot, the cavalcade itinerary looks like this:

Oct 9-13 Gippsland

Oct 16-21 Ballarat/South West/Geelong

Oct 23-28 Bendigo/Swan Hill/Mildura/Shepparton

Oct 30-Nov 3 Benalla/Wangaratta/Myrtleford/Wodonga

More details on where and when are available by emailing ldarmanin@vthc.org.au

Or going to the VTHC website at:

http://www.vthc.org.au/index.cfm?viewmode=eNews&section=10&category=38

The Little History of Australian Unionism

One of the reasons a good number of Australians don't know their own history is the failure of publishers to publish good, readable histories in a form and price that makes them accessible to Australian workers.

The Vulgar Press, a small independent Australian company, dedicated to the publication of working-class and other radical forms of writing, has decided to do something about it. In late October, Vulgar Press will be launching Sean Scalmer's The Little History of Australian Unionism, a compact, complete and up-to-date story of the development of Australian unions over the past 200 years.

With the support of 14 Australian unions, including major sponsorship by the ETU and CFMEU, the book is aimed at both unionised and yet-to-be-unionised workers, old and young. Scalmer's incisive account provides a history of trade unions that is clear, accurate and engaging. He records their achievements, explains how they were won, and provides an invaluable context for the urgent defense of the union movement.

Priced at $9.95, and printed in pocket-sized format, the book is an affordable and portable lesson in the history of a movement that is vital to the future of a decent and compassionate Australian society.

Sean Scalmer's - The Little History of Australian Unionism- sells for $9.95 and is a must present for under the Christmas Tree. That's why the ETU offered its support to Vulgar Press in the production of the book, which will be launched by ACTU president Sharan Burrow at the ACTU Congress on 24 October 2006.

For more information go to http://www.vulgar.com.au/scalmerqs.html

The Whitehorse Spring Festival will be held on Saturday 8 October between 10.00 am and 4.00 pm, on the grounds of the Whitehorse Council Civic Centre at 379-397 Whitehorse Road , Nunawading. There'll be an information stall to promote the Deakin YR@W campaign and educate the community on the issues. This is a major event in the Whitehorse community with 20,000 local residents expected to attend and is a great opportunity to connect with the local community.

There'll be balloons, showbags, lots of YR@W goodies and a petition signed by residents asking Liberal MP Phil Barresi to debate his support for this anti-worker legislation. We need volunteers to staff the booth and help set up and take down the information display.

If you have a couple of hours to volunteer, either in the morning or the afternoon, please contact the Deakin - Your Rights At Work Co-ordinator - Linda Cargill, on 0409 778 892. The shifts will be of a 2-hour duration, starting at 9.00 am. Just let me know what time would suit you best. It will be a very pleasant and worthwhile use of a couple of hours!

If you don't have the time to volunteer, why not bring the family along, visit our stall and support the Your Rights At Work campaign in Deakin

Yours in solidarity

Mike Symon

Political Officer

ETU Southern States Branch

Phone 0400 411 410

Fax     9326 3099

email    mike@etu.asn.au

It's no bad thing that Ken Loach's award winning film The Wind That Shakes The Barley has conservative commentators frothing at the mouth and accusing the director of attacking the invasion of Iraq . Although even some so-called progressive commentators raised their eyebrows - I react against the British being depicted so unbelievably brutally, said the Movie Show's Margaret Pomeranz -it is an unembellished piece of history. Pomeranz obviously hasn't read much Irish history. The Black and Tans did murder local people and did it regularly. So too did they torch homes and villages, including the city of Cork .

As we are learning from the invasion of Iraq , invading armies do cross the line into barbarism. Like the prisoners in Guantanamo Bay the Irish Volunteers were not protected by the Geneva Convention or given the rights of a prisoner of war. Many were hanged, shot or tortured. There is simply no denying the ruthlessness of the British army in Ireland during the war. And of course they were the invaders. Despite the Irish people electing a Sinn Fein government committed to an independent Ireland at the 1918 election, the British government refused to accept the will of the people.

The ETU has six double passes to the film. The first six people to ring the ETU and name the British Prime Minister of the time (1920/21) will receive double passes to the film.

Contact Phil Cleary on 0400 982 292

Over the past five years workers in the construction industry, driven by the ETU and the Plumbers, have thrown their weight behind Bandanna Day, which this year takes place on Friday 27 October. Shop steward Rick Conduit is co-ordinating the fundraising around Bandanna Day, which raises money for teenagers with cancer. 'We've supported this project for years. Lots of kids who benefit from this project have visited our building sites over the years and it's uplifting to see kids, condemned with an illness, strive to overcome it,' says Rick.

Bandannas, pens, and special, limited edition 21 st birthday badges are on sale at worksites, with all proceeds going to the charity. The money enables kids to go on holidays - Uluru (Ayers Rock) was one destination a couple of years ago - and is used to assist families while the children are being treated.

For more information contact Rick Conduit, on 045 849 460, or CanTeen Bandanna Day Co-ordinator Keegan Bone, on 9329 52 88 or 0413 871 612 or go to the website www.canteen.org.au

ETU Part-Time Position

A new permanent part time position has been created within the Finance department of the ETU. Internal and external applications for the position are invited.  Interested applicants should submit their applications to Ron Brentnall - Finance Manager - with confidential resume by no later than 6 pm Friday 6 October. To receive a job description please email Ron on ronbrentnall@etu.asn.au

Ron Brentnall

Finance Manager

Electrical Trades Union

Tel: 03 8341 5555

Fax: 03 8341 5565

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