Beaconsfield mine: Coroner critical of bosses

The death of miner Larry Knight would have been significantly less likely had the Beaconsfield mine acted on "glaringly obvious" flaws in ground support and conducted an adequate risk assessment.

Coroner Rod Chandler was sharply critical of the mine for failing to conduct an adequate review of ground support following earlier rockfalls.

He concluded he could not "positively" find Knight's death in a rockfall on Anzac Day 2006 would have been avoided had the mine undertaken an adequate risk assessment following major rockfalls in October 2005.

Mr Chandler was also scathing of Tasmania's mine-safety watchdog, Workplace Standards Tasmania, which did not investigate the rockfalls in 2005.

Mr Knight's widow, Jacquie, was too upset to comment after the decision.

But his brother, Shane, expressed his disappointment, before vowing Larry's death would "not be in vain".

"I'll continue doing whatever I can," he said.

"I believe the actions of the mine were responsible for Larry's death.

"I believe Larry, Brant and Todd should never have been sent in to the 925m level, knowing the ground conditions to be as they were."

Full Coroner's summary

Wharfies ban socks and jocks gear shipment

By MUA news

Waterside workers will join truck drivers and rail workers in banning Bond's from shipping out millions of dollars in government subsidised machinery to China.

This week the iconic Australian label owned by Pacific Brands which manufactures underwear, army and work uniforms announced it was making 1800 Australian workers redundant and moving all manufacturing offshore. This is despite the company pocketing more than $17 million in government subsidies to stay in business in the past two years.

Unions tipped off that the factory gear was being shipped out and decided to take a stand. Together members of the Maritime Union of Australia (covering the wharves), the Transport Workers' Union (covering truck drivers) and the Rail Tram and Bus Union (covering Rail) are refusing to move the machinery from any Pacific Brands factory.

"Shameless Bonds executives give themselves a 170 per cent pay rise then cry poor and sack 2000 workers," said Paddy Crumlin. "The company has pocketed $17million in government subsidies over the past two years, now they want to run off with all the gear the Australia taxpayer helped them out with. We are just not going to stand by and let this happen. The Government subsidies should stay in Australia."

Contacts: Paddy Crumlin, Nat. Secretary 0418 379 660

Unions welcome new apprenticeship scheme

A new $145 million scheme to secure the jobs of apprentices and trainees will ensure young people have a pathway to a career and maintain Australia’s skills base during the economic downturn.

ACTU President Sharan Burrow said the scheme announced tonight by the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations is an important plank of a job compact with young Australians.

"At all times – but especially now with the economy slowing – it is important to ensure young people are involved in training and job placement programs," Ms Burrow said.

"Unfortunately, apprentices are often the first to be shown the door when a business falls on tough times.

"Having a program in place to assist apprentices complete their training is absolutely important because evidence shows that young people who stop their training partway through an apprenticeship rarely restart it."

Ms Burrow said to be fully effective, the Securing Apprenticeships scheme needed to be backed by a comprehensive national database to match out-of-trade apprentices with potential employers or training organisations.

She said the new preference in government-funded infrastructure projects to be given to businesses that had a commitment to training and apprenticeships was a positive example of how procurement policies could deliver good outcomes for Australian jobs.

ACTU

ACTU: Case for urgent changes to workplace laws

Australian workers need the urgent introduction of new industrial relations laws to protect them from the downside of a slowing economy, unions say.

The ACTU has warned the Senate inquiry into the Fair Work Bill that working Australians are already experiencing cuts to their hours of employment and downgrading of their conditions as businesses respond to the downturn.

“Workers need protection in good times and in bad,” ACTU President Sharan Burrow said. “The state of the economy only makes it more urgent that the Fair Work Bill is passed by the Senate.”

“Over the past decade under the Howard Government, we saw extreme deregulation of our industrial relations system that left workers more vulnerable than ever before.

“Working Australians remain highly exposed to rip-offs in this downturn because of WorkChoices.

“Under WorkChoices, businesses have had the freedom to sack people unfairly, to use individual contracts to slash wages and conditions such as redundancy pay, and to deny workers the right to collective bargaining and union representation.”

“The danger is that without new IR laws employers could use the economic crisis as an excuse to attack the wages and conditions of workers so they can preserve profits for shareholders and keep obscene executive salaries.

The centrepiece of the proposed laws will be collective bargaining.

Ms Burrow said collective bargaining would deliver improved flexibility and productivity by employers and employees working together to respond to changes in business and economic conditions.

“These laws will be good for the economy and good for workers,” Ms Burrow said.

The ACTU’s submission to the inquiry calls for the laws to be passed with several important amendments to restore workers’ rights and ensure the Rudd Government fully delivers its election promise to abolish WorkChoices.

The changes needed include removing limits on what workers and employers can bargain about and include in a workplace agreement. As is stands, the Bill would prevent workers from bargaining for better unfair dismissal protections and for improved access to advice and assistance from unions in their workplace.

Ms Burrow said the day of reckoning was fast approaching for the Coalition on whether it would support the new, fairer IR laws in the Senate, or retain WorkChoices.

“The Liberals and Nationals have already recklessly jeopardised the livelihoods of thousands of workers with their obstruction of the economic stimulus package,” Ms Burrow said.

“Failure to support the Fair Work Bill will confirm that the Coalition really does not care about working Australians and has not moved on from the Howard-Costello era.”

ACTU

Telstra workers call for end to WorkChoices

Workers will protest against the behaviour of major employers such as Telstra at the Senate Inquiry into the Rudd Labor Government's Fair Work Bill today (Monday, 16 February).

The unethical behaviour of Telstra management in denying the rights of its employees to union representation demonstrates why WorkChoices must be abolished urgently, workers and their unions will tell Senate Inquiry hearings this week.

The Community and Public Sector Union - one of the three unions representing workers employed by Telstra - will appear before a Senate Inquiry into the Fair Work Bill in Melbourne today (Monday).

The ACTU will appear at the Inquiry in Melbourne on Tuesday. Telstra management has refused to meet with unions to negotiate a collective agreement for employees since last July.

Workers at the telco have not had a pay rise since September 2007.

Members of the CPSU and the Communication, Electrical and Plumbing Union are now taking protected industrial action to pressure the company to respect the rights of its employees and come back to negotiations.

ACTU Secretary Jeff Lawrence said Telstra has been one of the most high-profile supporters of WorkChoices and continues to take every advantage of the remnants of the Howard Government's laws to undermine workers' rights.

"The company's submission to the Senate Inquiry is also pushing for changes to the Federal Government's IR proposals that would strengthen the power of employers and weaken the rights of employees to good faith collectively bargaining and union representation.

"Other employers, including in the large retail sector, are trying to use the last gasps of WorkChoices to lock retail workers into job contracts that would leave them out-of-pocket by more than $5500 a year.

"It is vital that Labor's new IR laws are amended to give Australian workers strong collective bargaining rights and are passed by Parliament as soon as possible," said Mr Lawrence.