In brief
Joel campaign, 25 years behind bars for industrial manslaughter, Asbestos carnage, robot fever, crane rate soars, Howard's way
Joel Campaign
SYDNEY: Ferries on Sydney Harbour joined city buses and trains
in a minute's silence on October 22 in honour of 16 year old Joel Exner and
the many thousands of Australian workers who die each year due to employer negligence.
"We support the CFMEU in their fight to get rogue operators
responsible for work deaths put behind bars," said deputy MUA branch secretary
Glen Wood. "The death of young Joel is not just a tragedy, it's a crime."
Joel was only three days into his new job as a roof plmber
at Australand in Western Sydney on Wednesday October 15, when he fell 15 metres
to his death. His employer provided no safety harness for Joel or his workmates.
This is despite the union and safety committee repeatedly calling for the harnesses
to be provided.
His death sparked a mass rally at State Parliament in October
as part of a NSW Labour Council backed campaign for industrial manslaughter
legislation.
25 years Behind Bars
CANBERRA:Meanwhile the Australian Capital Territory became
the first Australian jurisdiction to enact industrial manslaughter legislation.
Employers found guilty of recklessly or negligently causing
the death of a worker could be imprisoned for 25 years and be fined up to $5
million. Fines for individuals are $250,000.
ACT industrial relations minister Katy Gallagher said the legislation
sent strong signals to workers and employers and her office had been inundated
with industry attempting to get its workplaces up to scratch.
Asbestos Carnage
Asbestos awareness week in November highlighted a commemoration
service for the nearly 30,000 Australian workers who have died from mesotheliomas,
asbestosis and asbestos cancers. Another 60,000 are expected to die this century
- as many as those Australian who died in World War I. "Asbestos exposure in
now the single biggest cause of occupational cancer in Australia, said ACTU
Assistant Secretary Richard Marles.
Robot Fever
BRISBANE Patrick announced they would push ahead with its plans
to automate its Brisbane terminal, despite one of its robot straddles going
haywire and crashing through a fence in October. The prototype Autostrads follow
job orders from the main terminal operating system, but pick up and drop off
by themselves. But Patrick CEO Chris Corrigan said that the trend did not threaten
jobs with workers upskilling from traditional wharf work on to a computer-oriented
career. Meanwhile Patrick Corp announced a $152.3 million after tax profit for
the year - a 48 .7 per cent increase on last year,
Crane Rate Soars
The five port national crane rate productivity increased to
16.1 containers per hour in the first quarter, according to the latest Waterline
report released by the Bureau of Transport and Regional Economics. While the
government had been boasting productivity improvements are due to its aggressive
waterfront reform strategy of 1998, a report by the Productivity Commission
earlier this year also attributed improved productivity to technology improvements
on the waterfront, (including new cranes and container handling equipment) and
improved management and planning software systems.
Howard's Way
CANBERRA: Shadow IR minister Craig Emerson has alerted unions
of some of the key changes to the Government's proposed new IR legislation,
including exemptions from unfair dismissal laws for casuals, severe restrictions
on lawful industrial action which could act as a potential double dissolution
trigger.
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