Perth: Asian workers to get half union rate

Builder Gerry Hanssen has admitted he wants to import Asian workers and will pay them less than half the amount earned by locals on union deals in a deliberate attempt to undermine the construction union.

Mr Hanssen, who is on a recruitment drive overseas, accused the union of inflating costs across the industry by extorting unreasonable wages amid the labour shortage.

Hanssen Industries has government approval for 53 Chinese and Filipino guest workers and Mr Hanssen is in Beijing seeking to double the quota and speed up the process.

"I am undoing what the union has been fighting for 30 years . . . by bringing in the no-ticket, no-start rule they made this industry an exclusive club and I'm undoing this club," Mr Hanssen said.

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White House: Protest greets Howard

"It's wonderful to be here with our dear friends the Howards," said Mr Bush, adding that the trees would be a symbol of enduring friendship between the Australian and American people.

"I can't thank you enough, John, for your strong support for the liberty agenda and the deep desire for the world to be a peaceful place. I really enjoy working with you for the common good."

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Anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan and Hollywood actress Susan Sarandon have urged Prime Minister John Howard to pull Australian troops out of Iraq.

Sheehan, whose son was killed while serving with US troops in Iraq, will visit Australia next week (May 22) for a series of anti-war rallies.

She said Howard had been a fool to follow US President George Bush into war.

"I think that George Bush is a fool and anybody who aligns with George Bush right now, especially with his administration crumbling from this corruption, I think they should distance themselves and quit supporting my country in committing crimes against humanity."

Maritime Workers: International day of action

Solidarity protests in support of 600 exploited workers employed at Blue Diamond in California, USA, will get under way around the world tomorrow, with MUA members in Sydney and Melbourne converging on Australian importer, Scalzo Pty Ltd.

Blue Diamond, is the world's biggest almond processor, exporting 70 per cent of its goods to 10 countries in Europe, Asia and Australia. But it pays the majority of its workers a miserly $11/hour, has been found guilty of 28 labour law violations.

Workers at its Sacramento plant are members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union.

"We've got a close working relationship with the ILWU," said MUA National Secretary Paddy Crumlin. "US longshore workers forced the Colombus Canada ship to turn back during the Patrick dispute in 1998,when we let them know it was loaded by non-union labour. We haven't forgotten."

The day of world solidarity is timed to coincide with the ILWU's national congress in Vancouver, Canada, where Mr Crumlin is guest speaker.

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Beaconsfield rescue: Beaconsfield

Beaconsfield

A song by Colin Buchanan©2006 Universal Music (Aust.)

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Way down south in Beaconsfield
Late on Anzac Day
A thousand metres down below
A hundred tons gave way
Fourteen miners scrambled clear
But there were 17 went down
Fallen rock and twisted steel
Three men down in Beaconsfield
Three men down in Beaconsfield

Well Larry didn't make it out
They found him two days in
Still no sign of Todd and Brant
Things were looking grim
Come late on Sunday afternoon
Hope was all but dead
When voices in the dark revealed
Two alive in Beaconsfield
There's two alive in Beaconsfield

There were tears of joy, they're safe and strong
A miracle from God
Across the town, across the world
Spread word of Brant and Todd
They chatted to their rescuers
Just metres from their cage
Can you send us down a counter meal
From the Club Hotel in Beaconsfield
From the miner's pub in Beaconsfield

That Tassie rock is hard as nails
But the folks are tougher still
Their family were praying
And their mates were on the drill
And freedom clawed its way on
Through the darkness and the dread
They kept their shoulders to the wheel
They breed 'em tough in Beaconsfield
Breed 'em tough in Beaconsfield

And who'll forget that moment
When the lads we feared were dead
Stepped out onto the surface
Todd Russell and Brant Webb
And they held their loved ones tightly
And moved their tags to "Safe"
And every miner's face revealed
They are the gold of Beaconsfield
They are the gold of Beaconsfield
And they walked free from Beaconsfield

Visit Colin Buchanan's website at http://www.colinbuchanan.com.au/a/93.html

Beaconsfield rescue: The Two-Star Hotel

The Two-Star Hotel

A song by Geoff Francis & Peter Hicks©Geoff Francis & Peter Hicks 2006

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"Dark as the dungeon" they sing in the song,
Where the miners alone know what really goes on,
On that day the earth shook and the mighty rocks fell,
One brave man was taken, two trapped there in hell.

Above ground the families (they) wait and they wait,
In fear and in hope for some news of their fate,
The five longest days and nights ever passed by,
Till a voice shouted out, "Todd and Brant they're alive!"

For day after day, they kept calm and stayed cool
With jokes and bold laughter, oft playing the fool
Two bravest of miners in that holiest of hell
Union men bunkered Ð in the "Two Star Hotel"

Their rescuers ne'er faltered by day and by night,
Their own lives they risked with just one goal in sight,
The rocks that they fought were the hardest on earth,
All as one put their comrades before their own worth.

There was no room to move, trapped down there in their cage,
Where each day that passed it seemed more like an age,
Then an air hole gave food, a few comforts as well,
Country songs and Foo Fighters rang out in their cell,

There's no flat screen TV there or in-house video,
And there's no satin sheets in that pit down below,
But you never could buy what they had in that cell,
That's the guts and mateship of the " Two Star Hotel"

Seemed the Earth was determined to not let them go,
But these Tasmanian men had a few tricks to show,
The rescuers held firm, would not yield from their task,
And each one he gave more than could ever be asked.

At the end of two weeks they stepped out and walked tall,
With a wave they clocked off, into lovin' arms to fall,
And to pay their respects to their comrade who fell,
So rejoice for the tenants of the "Two Star Hotel",
Yes rejoice for the heroes of the "Two Star Hotel"

You can buy Two Star Hotel - fundraiser CD single for A$15 all profits to Miners Appeal at http://www.islandwebs.com.au/orders/phicks_cds.htm

Visit the Peter Hicks website at http://home.austarnet.com.au/glazfolk/