Unions, Labour Hire and Fair Work – What Next?

Unions NSW has organised a seminar on the changing nature of labour hire, how it is likely to evolve under the FairWork Act and the potential industrial and organising opportunities available to unions.

• WHEN: Thursday, 7 October 2010
• TIME : 9:30 – 12:00 noon (A light lunch will follow)
• WHERE: Unions NSW Auditorium

Ground Floor, Trades Hall,

4 Goulburn Street, Sydney

(Entry via 377 Sussex Street)

A light lunch will be served after the completion of the seminar.

Keynote speakers include:

• Elsa Underhill from the Faculty of Business and Law at Deakin University who has written extensively about labour hire and temporary employees as well as completing her doctorate on the occupational health and safety implications of labour hire employment.
• John Buchanan, Director of the Workplace Research Centre based at Sydney University who will be presenting on the WRC’s recent research examining the possibilities of an ethical approach to labour hire through group skills training cooperatives.
• Luis Izzo a Senior Associate in Clayton Utz’s Workplace Relations, Employment & Safety Group who will be addressing the industrial future of labour hire under the FairWork Act.

If you are interested in attending please email Rose at: rdocwra@unionsnsw.org.au for catering purposes.

Should you have any questions or wish to discuss this matter further do not hesitate to contact Neale Towart at Unions NSW on (02) 9881 5999.

AMWU: Local Solar Panel Makers

Australian solar panel makers are calling for industry protection to slow down a flood of cheap panels being manufactured in China, as the NSW government reviews its solar tariff scheme.

The scheme fuelled a massive boost in rooftop panel installation when it was announced in January. Over 30,000 households signed up to receive 60 cents per kilowatt hour of electricity they fed back into the power grid - or four times the market rate.

The tariff was suspended by the state government after it surpassed its 50-megawatt capacity in August, well ahead of schedule, though people who had already signed up are guaranteed future payments.

But the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU) is urging a two-tier system. Households installing panels made in Australia should receive the 60 cents rate and those putting in cheaper, imported panels should receive 50 cents, it says.

"A lot of the research and the product development happens in Australia but because there haven't been sufficient price signals here, most of the manufacturing has ended up overseas," said the union's state secretary, Tim Ayres.

"We have got a chance to get in at the start of a major new growth industry, and we have the smarts to make it work if the government signals that it will support local manufacturers.''

The union will also campaign to have the scheme broadened to cover commercial and industrial users of solar power.

"Then you also have to look at schools - they are open only during the day and they could get major benefits from the tariff," Mr Ayres said.

ACTU: National Paid Parental Leave

01 October, 2010 | ACTU Media Release

Today marks an important milestone on the path to delivering a national paid parental leave scheme next year.

It is the first day that expectant parents can make an application to the Family Assistance Office for coverage from the paid parental leave scheme, which begins on 1 January.

ACTU President Ged Kearney said Australia will soon be joining the rest of the developed world in having a universal paid parental leave scheme for all new families.

The Government scheme provides all parents of babies born after 1 January, 2011, with payment of $10,258.20 for 18 weeks leave.

Unions also welcome the Government’s proposal to make available paid secondary carers (or paternity) leave from July 2012.

Ms Kearney said the new national standard would be great for families and new borns and help the economy by encouraging a higher participation by women in the prime of their working lives.

"The national paid parental leave scheme is long overdue," Ms Kearney said.

"It has been a source of much international embarrassment that in a country as wealthy as Australia, two-thirds of women who have a baby currently get no paid parental leave.

"Parents have been forced to make a choice between have a child and paying the bills.

"It is thanks to a 30 year campaign by unions and community groups that the Labor Government’s 18 week scheme is now just around the corner after a 30 year campaign by unions and community groups.

I would encourage all expectant parents who are awaiting a birth after 1 January to get their applications in now to take advantage of the new scheme."

AMWU: Local Defence Jobs

Union representatives and workers from Sydney and Newcastle met with Defence Department Officials in Canberra on Wednesday, to discuss the importance of awarding upcoming defence maintenance contracts to local firms.

AMWU National Secretary, Dave Oliver, told defence officials that a broader range of factors than simply cost should be taken into consideration when deciding where to carry out defence contract work.

Hundreds of workers rallied in Sydney and Newcastle last week warning that awarding the maintenance contract on the HMAS Success to an overseas firm would cost the Federal Government more than it saves, and could result in the loss of hundreds of jobs.

"The contract for the HMAS Success alone would sustain up to 400 jobs and prevent layoffs between now and when much larger contracts are due next year," Dave Oliver said.

"It would mean ongoing work for a skilled workforce, including the training of apprentices, instead of layoffs and reduced capability in the industry."

Delegates from Sydney's Garden Island and the Carrington Dockyards in Newcastle also attended the meetings with representatives of APESMA and the NUW.

Dave Oliver said that it was important that the experience of workers was taken into account in the process.

"Defence work is highly specialised," Brian Hague said. "Regular work is vital to keeping up skills and our ability to carry out this work in Australia."

The Defence Materiel Organisation is expected to make its recommendation on the HMAS Success contract within the next few weeks.

It is then up to the Minister, Jason Clare, to make a final decision.

The AMWU has also called for Mr Clare to take a broader view on the job and skill retention factors.

The Four Trillion Dollar War

Top US economists predicted that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will land US taxpayers with a whopping $900 billion healthcare bill.

A study by Joseph Stiglitz and Linda Blimes estimated the cost of providing veterans with lifetime medical care and disability payments at up to $934bn depending on the length and intensity of the ongoing conflicts.

That is almost a third higher than both estimated in their 2008 book The Three Trillion Dollar War.

It claimed that direct US military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan - which did not not factor in the long-term costs of care for wounded veterans - already exceeded the cost of the Vietnam and Korean wars.

Around 600,000 of the more than 2.1 million combatants deployed since 2001 received treatment by the Department of Veterans Affairs, they revealed.