Thursday, March 23, 2006

Fleas Bite Back

Bushies who refused to share digs with rats, feral cats and sewage are being hunted by city lawyers bankrolled by the Howard Government.

Corporate law firm, Freehills, has been contracted to track down blue collar workers who objected to “fleapit” conditions and prosecute them in court.

Workplace Relations Minister, Kevin Andrews, has endorsed the campaign to secure up to $1.5 million in fines against AMWU members who struck to improve Outback living conditions.

A spokesman for the Minister endorsed the prosecutions and promised similar actions "would be pursued across the country".

The cases, alleging breaches of the federal Workplace Relations Act, stem from action by around 70 people, last year, over inhabitable living conditions at Moranbah, central Queensland.

AMWU members stopped work for three days but returned, after securing improvements, to complete maintenance on a dragline for a nearby coal mine.

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