Bass Strait dispute continues
MELBOURNE — Despite Esso's peace overtures to Bass Strait oil rig workers, agreeing to re-implement pre-dispute conditions and standards and even to pay an outstanding 8% pay rise, P&O remains adamant that the night cooks it sacked before the recent dispute over wages and conditions will not be re-hired.In response to P&O's hard-nosed attitude, mass meetings of rig workers — and more recently delegates' meetings — have resolved that there will be no return to work until all cooks and cleaners are reinstated.
Mt Isa workers petition ACTU on coverage row
BRISBANE — In response to a 1000 signature petition presented to it by a delegation of Mt Isa Mines' workers, the ACTU congress voted to call for the repeal of Section 118 of the Industrial Relations Reform Act.The petition urges the ACTU to oppose a Queensland IRC decision to cut the number of unions at MIM from five to two, forcing most of them to join the Australian Workers Union.
If successful, the repeal of Section 118 would remove the powers of the federal Industrial Relations Commission and the courts to decide union coverage rights.
Queensland ACTU secretary John Thompson said that Section 118 was an obnoxious piece of legislation. "If it was repealed at the federal level we'd expect [the corresponding state] Section 45 to be repealed by the state government in Queensland."
Women and Labour Conference
SYDNEY — Over 700 women attended the 5th Women and Labour Conference held at Macquarie University on September 29-31. The last Women and Labour Conference was held in 1984.The conference program included more than 100 workshops and seminar presentations on a wide range of issues relating to women's position in society, feminist theory and the women's liberation movement.
A full report on the conference will be printed in the next issue of GLW.