Jonathan Singer

  • Mass campaign needed to stop Reith's 'second wave'

    Protests called by the ACTU against Reith's "second wave" of anti-union laws ("A Bill to amend the Workplace Relations Act" — WRA) have begun, with rallies in Perth on August 10, Adelaide on August 11 and Melbourne on August

  • Unionism on the ropes? A brief history

    In 1969, hundreds of thousands of Australian workers struck in opposition to the penal sanctions in laws against unions taking industrial action and in defence of Clarrie O'Shea, a union official fined and jailed under these

  • AMWU makes good start on protecting workers' entitlements

    The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union has announced it will establish an industry-wide trust fund to pay workers' sick leave, annual leave, long service leave, severance pay and other accruable entitlements. The AMWU is also

  • Stop Peter Reith, union basher

    After Patrick Stevedores sacked its work force (all members of the Maritime Union of Australia — MUA) in April 1998 to try to force the union out and cut jobs, Australian workers began industrial action that was not ordinary.

  • WRA amendments aim to weaken unions

    Legal industrial action by workers will be virtually impossible if proposed amendments to the federal Workplace Relations Act (WRA) are passed, according to the ACTU. The measures are being presented by federal industrial

  • The ruling class rates our unions

    The ruling class rates our unionsWhat makes a good union? According to the Australian, the Association of Professional Engineers, Scientists and Managers (APESMA) and the Shop Distributive and Allied Employees' Association

  • Ripping off workers' entitlements

    Ripping off workers' entitlementsMore than 400 coalminer members of the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union, led by 45 of the 125 miners sacked from the Oakdale colliery, rallied outside Parliament House in

  • Public universities defence group launched

    Public universities defence group launchedMELBOURNE — Carlton's Readings Bookshop featured a forum on academic freedom on June 16, when about 120 people gathered to launch the Association for the Public University. The

  • New push on health care privatisation

    New push on health care privatisation"Even though the federal government sticks to the line that Medicare is safe, what is happening is the privatisation of the health system. The push is on for everyone to pay for their

  • WA forest campaign goes national

    WA forest campaign goes nationalFollowing the signing of the Western Australian regional forest agreement (RFA) on May 4, Bunnings hardware stores in Melbourne have been targeted by environmentalists. Actions at the shops,

  • ALP sees family as social prop

    Federal ALP "policy development" and "rethinking" on welfare shows that the party intends to defend and extend the policy it carried out before the Coalition government was elected in 1996. In a speech to the Evatt Foundation on

  • Unionists respond to Reith's second wave threat

    On May 20, federal industrial relations minister Peter Reith announced that "pattern bargaining" between unions and employers, in which unions negotiate a single wages and working conditions structure for an industry, will be