I'm in the Union

Pictured with Narelle are Dennis Stulic (Patricks), Leonie Wilson (P&O), a comrade from the teachersı union, Gisela Konow (seafarer) and Kaz Leavy, Jnt MUA National Womenıs Liaison Officer.

Narelle Selfe, casual wharfie, MUA delegate and Geraldton port and state committee member, was proud to join the MUA's 1,000-strong contingent at the Perth rally against Howard's IR laws on June 29.

"It was great. Really inspirational," she said. "How we got so many

(25,000) in such a small city, I'll never know. I got right into it and lost my voice by the end of the day!" .

Narelle has worked on the Geraldton wharves and been a member of the union for 12 years and is concerned about what the future holds.

"I'm very scared about the changes ahead. I think it's going to make it a lot harder for a lot more people. I'm worried for everybody, especially my children's future. If Howard gets his way they're going to be working for a lot less than I am now."

Under the new IR regime things are going to get worse, especially for women.

A recent Australian Bureau of Statistics report found that women working full time average only 92 per cent of what men earned, or $2 less an hour.

What's more the report found that the gender pay gap was better in Australia than most OECD countries because of our centralised wage fixing system. Now that's about to be axed and women are more likely to be forced onto individual contracts as they leave and re-enter the workforce more often than men. Dr Chris Briggs, a research fellow at the University of Sydney's Australian Centre for Industrial Relations Research and Training has found the gap between men's and women's earnings is wider among those on individual contracts than in the unionised workforce by around $152 a week.