Guardian Roundup, January 25, 2012 [En.]

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The following articles were published by The Guardian, newspaper of the Communist Party of Australia, in its issue of January 25, 2012. Reproduction of articles, together with acknowledgement if appropriate, is welcome.

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INDEX

1.   Make 2012 the year of struggle
2.   EDITORIAL – Words won’t replace need for struggle
3.   CPA campaign for Port Adelaide in full stride
4.   Gov’t rejects UNHCR refugees
5.   Australian Draft Bill on cluster bombs
6.   “The seafarers’ bill of rights”
7.   ABCC’s “action” too little, too late
8.   Retail cleaners walk the East Coast of Australia in one year
9.   ANF welcomes extra funding
10.   Film reviews – Albert Nobbs meets the Iron Lady
11.   Socialism is the future!
12.   CULTURE & LIFE – The rich get richer, and the world gets scarier

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01. Make 2012 the
year of struggle

Anna Pha

The year 2012 is shaping up to be a big one for the working class in Australia. Employer organisations are preparing an all out offensive to slash wages and rid their workplaces of trade unions. There is the threat of new regional wars and possibly a world war as the Obama administration embarks on a dangerous escalation of military interventions in pursuit of global domination.

The Durban climate change summit at the end of 2011 was sabotaged by US, Australian and other Western governments, all but killing off the Kyoto Protocol. There will be a battle around the proposed changes to the Australian Constitution and recognition of Indigenous Australians as the original owners of Australia and their rights. The government is still playing the race card in competition with Opposition leader Tony Abbott, showing no mercy in its inhumane treatment of asylum seekers.

The big car companies kicked it off with their annual ritual of demands for more handouts from the government or they’ll go offshore. The big banks and insurance companies wished their employees a Happy New Year with news of thousands more sackings.

The Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC) boss Leigh Johns plans to lift his offensive against workers and trade unions in the building industry. His first shot will be a whopping $600,000 damages claim against a building union. Instead of just fining trade unions and their members millions of dollars, Johns now has plans to also sue them for millions more with damage claims!

Stevedoring company POAGS also decided to give its workers at Fremantle and Bunbury a merry Christmas by locking them out for putting in place work bans due to safety concerns and as part of their 12-month campaign to get an Enterprise Agreement. POAGS is owned by Chris Corrigan’s Qube Logistics. It is the same Corrigan that set rottweilers and hooded goons onto wharfies in 1998 to remove them from their jobs and bring in Dubai-trained scabs with the assistance of the Howard government. DP World also locked out workers on the waterfront earlier this month.

Mining giant Rio Tinto is leading the charge for employers in the mining sector, fighting off union attempts to recruit members and negotiate enterprise agreements. Rio Tinto never lets up in its attempts to increase the rate of exploitation of its workforce. It made over $16 billion in post-tax profits in the financial year 2010-11 and is not short of cash for expansion. In the next five years it plans to boost production by 50 percent to 333 million tonnes a year in the western Pilbara region (WA), at a possible cost of more than $15 billion.

Community sector workers have a huge struggle ahead of them if the equal pay case is to actually deliver money in their pockets.

State public sector workers face massive cuts in jobs and funding for services across Australia. The year 2011 ended with some of the largest protest actions for many years by public sector unions and their members, including in NSW the Police Association.

Medicare, the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme and social security are all under attack. The government is still pursuing a budget surplus for 2012-13. Never mind that most of the economy is recessed and unemployment on the rise or that taxation revenue will be less than expected.

Austerity measures

In May last year, Treasurer Wayne Swan claimed the main theme of the 2011-12 Budget was: “to put opportunities that flow from a strong economy within reach of more Australians.” Nothing could be further from the truth, as The Guardian warned at the time in an article titled “Lies and deception” (Guardian, 18-05-2011).

“The ‘strong economy’ referred to is the mining sector. Australia’s gross domestic product (GDP) – an overall measure of the growth of the economy – might look good, but it hides the reality that most other key areas of the economy including manufacturing, tourism and retail are recessed. At a time when the rest of Australia requires an expansionary budget, the government responds with harsh austerity measures, not seen since the early years of the Howard government”, the article said.

The austerity measures referred to included cuts to health, social welfare, the public service and environmental programs. Not surprisingly a contractionary budget that found more money for the military, corporate tax cuts and corporate welfare, failed to create jobs or “put opportunities … within reach of the more Australians”.

The overall economy is not strong and millions of Australians are struggling to make ends meet as prices continue to rise. The phenomenal amounts being invested in the mining sector do not constitute a strong economy. They are not the pathway to an eternal paradise; the impression being given by the Australian government in its migrant recruitment blitz in Greece.

Manufacturing, retail, tourism and housing construction are flat or in decline. A credit squeeze by the banks is only compounding the situation, especially for homebuyers. At least the Reserve Bank of Australia came to its senses and did not increase interest rates at its last meeting. The small reduction of 0.25 percent was not enough; a further and more substantial reduction is required from its meeting in February.

Figures released last week by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) show that unemployment has increased over the past 12 months and the actual number of people in work fell during 2011, despite a growth in the number of people of working age. The official unemployment rate rose from 5.1 to 5.4 percent. The ABS counts anyone who has had one hour or more paid work in the past week as employed!

The ABS’s latest estimate of under-employment, which includes people who are working part-time and are seeking longer hours of work, is 7.3 percent (November 2011). That puts the official figure of “labour force underutilisation” at around 12.6 percent – one in eight workers are under-employed or unemployed.

Labor treasurer Wayne Swan continues to pursue his neo-liberal, anti-people agenda and proving to the financial markets and the mining conglomerates that Labor can manage the capitalist system better than any Abbott government. Instead of turning policy around, halting the privatisations and corporate handouts and increasing funding for public services and social welfare, the next budget is set to be even more pro-big business and anti-people with cuts where it hurts people the most.

Swan boasted that it is “the first time in Australian history that we have received the gold-plated AAA rating from all three global rating agencies”. The financial institutions know whose side he is on!

The Fair Work Act is under review, with the government under substantial pressure from a highly organised employer lobby to further restrict trade union rights. Their agenda is union-free workplaces and individual contracts.

Fight back

The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) is waging a campaign for job security. The number of workers employed as casuals, in fixed or short-term contracts, labour hire, and contracting has almost doubled in the last two decades. Around 40 percent of the workforce now face all the difficulties of low or uncertain income, lack of access to bank loans and other social and economic problems associate with job insecurity.

The building and construction division of the CFMEU, despite over $6 million in fines over the past two years, has not given up its fight to unionise construction sites and defend the safety, jobs, wages and conditions of its members. The Maritime Union of Australia has not backed off on the waterfront. The public sector unions have taken the fight to defend jobs and services to the streets.

Individual trade unions are to varying degrees of success recruiting new members and fighting their battles as they arise. These struggles tend to be isolated, putting out small fires, and sometimes making some small gains where possible.

These and other struggles are indicative of a growing preparedness to fight back, but the trade union movement as a whole is still far from strong enough to meet the challenges ahead and cannot do so on its own.

One of the key challenges in 2012 is the building and strengthening of the labour movement, not just in numbers and organisation but also ideologically so that it can take on the broader economic, social, ideological and political struggles as well as provide solidarity in the smaller more localised battles.

There is also an urgent need to take up a broad and united struggle for jobs, for public services, for an expansionary budget that serves the people, to halt corporate tax cuts, to improve social security, increase the age pension.

It cannot be left to the nurses to fight for public hospitals, for teachers to defend public education, manufacturing unions for manufacturing sector jobs, building unions for trade union rights, pensioners for a pension increase, the unemployed for their rights, etc. As the trade union saying goes: “An injury to one is an injury to all.”

The Your Rights @ Work campaign that brought together trade unions, left and progressive forces and members of the community provides an excellent model for building a broad united front in defence of workers’ rights, living standards, the public sector, small farmers and businesses. It saw the back of the Howard government, and such a movement could be used to build a pro-people, political alternative.

The present two-party system, in which government is alternately shared between the Liberal-National Party Coalition and the Australian Labor Party, is not serving the people.

The Communist Party of Australia (CPA) has set as one of its priorities for 2012 the important task of building the Party. The CPA believes there is a way to overcome Australia’s economic and social problems. To do this it is necessary to change the direction of politics in Australia and, eventually, to replace the capitalist system with a socialist one.

The Communist Party is a party of activists who work in trade unions, peace and environmental groups, solidarity organisations and a variety of other community movements as well as running campaigns in the name of the Communist Party.

The members of the CPA work to eliminate unemployment, poverty, injustice, homelessness, racism and war. These problems arise from the domination of our society by huge profit-hungry private corporations.

What better New Year’s resolution than to join us, or at least find out more about us, perhaps send a donation of support and take out a subscription to The Guardian.

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02. EDITORIAL – Words won’t replace
need for struggle

Symbols and words can be powerful and useful; they can unite and heal. But nobody is impressed by lip service or tokenism. In the lead-up to Invasion Day (or Survival Day as it also known) and which is officially celebrated as Australia Day, such judgements are being made about a government-sponsored report on proposed changes to the constitution.

Recognising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples in the Constitution is the work of a panel headed by Aboriginal leader Professor Pat Dodson and senior lawyer Mark Leibler AC. It is said to be the result of discussions with “… more than 4,600 people, in more than 250 meetings in 84 locations across the country and received more than 3,500 submissions.”

The recommendations include “Recognising that the continent and its islands now known as Australia were first occupied by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples; Acknowledging the continuing relationship of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples with their traditional lands and waters; Respecting the continuing cultures, languages and heritage of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples; Acknowledging the need to secure the advancement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.”

Commentators have noted that solid majorities in polls taken on these issues have been reflected in the recommendations. The fact that attitudes to questions like recognition of the first peoples of Australia are improving is certainly to be welcomed.

A recommendation that jars, however, is Section 116A that would prohibit racial discrimination. It is not long ago that the federal government over-rode the Racial Discrimination Act to launch its outrageously discriminatory Northern Territory Intervention in 2007 during the Howard era. The Rudd and Gillard governments embraced the policy. It is not ancient history. The discrimination was said to be ended by atrocious legislation that extended aspects of the Intervention to disadvantaged people of all backgrounds in the Northern Territory and beyond.

While the original Intervention legislation is approaching its sunset clause to be replaced by the cheerier sounding “Stronger Futures in the Northern Territory”, the land-grabbing intent continues. Residents of remote Aboriginal communities are being pressured to sign regular leases on their property. Sign on the dotted line before the August deadline or lose it. Funding for housing in remote communities is frozen in favour of construction in faraway towns. Opposition leader Tony Abbott is rubbing his hands together on behalf of resource developers referring to the current situation in the NT as that of a “failed state”.

So, while it would be a relief to believe in the Prime Minister’s endorsement of the report and the process it will set in train, it’s hard to believe it indicates a fundamental change of heart on the part of the federal government. The Gillard government has form in ushering in legislation that belies its stated intent. The carbon tax will not tackle climate change. The mining super-profits tax will not levy a meaningful impost on profit-bloated mining transnationals. It’s a gloomy thought that the constitutional changes that could develop from this report might fall into the category of appearing to do something about an outrageous injustice while doing little or nothing in fact.

One is reminded of the apology made by Kevin Rudd to the Stolen Generations in 2007. Would it have been better that he didn’t make the apology? Many Aboriginal people welcomed it while realising not much else will happen given the current balance of political and social forces. It may well be the same with the proposed constitutional changes. They will be noted and might be appreciated but nobody should be fooled that real change will not come without united struggle.

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03. CPA campaign
for Port Adelaide in full stride

The Communist party’s campaign for the seat of Port Adelaide shifted up a gear with its official launch at the Port Dock Brewery Hotel on Saturday. A good crowd of supporters gathered to hear about the Party’s policies for the working class district. A recurring theme during the afternoon was that of unity of the left and how the CPA’s campaign has cemented united front work in Adelaide.

The by-election has been brought on by the resignation of former state treasurer, Kevin Foley. The controversial member was identified strongly with the privatising, guarded, media-managing, pro-corporate government of former Premier Mike Rann, who has also resigned forcing a by-election in the northern suburbs seat of Ramsay. Mr Foley suffered double digit swing against him at many booths at the state election in 2010 and there were concerns in ALP ranks that the Mayor of Port Adelaide Enfield, Gary Johanson, who is running as an independent, could pull off a surprise win in the traditionally safe Labor seat.

A changed electorate

CPA State Secretary, Bob Briton, is running as the Party’s candidate. He contested the state election in the adjacent western suburbs seat of Lee in 2010. The Party waged a highly visible campaign and was rewarded with a solid result – 609 votes or 2.9 percent. The contest may be tougher this time. Many portside, working class areas are no longer included in the Port Adelaide electorate and more affluent, conservative voting areas like Mawson Lakes have been brought in.

The new premier, Jay Weatherill, comes from the left of the right-dominated state Labor Party. The ALP claims to have developed a new style of “debate and decide” rather than “announce and defend”. His performance has been patchy. He has decided to take the contract for the redevelopment of the Port away from the Urban Construct consortium and to develop a new master plan. It remains to be seen if this decision will ultimately favour lower income earners and the community generally rather than wealthy residents and investors who benefited under the old plan.

On the negative side, Weatherill will continue the state government’s love affair with uranium mining and military industries. On a recent trip to the US he claims to have clinched a new weapons making deal with a US corporation. It also remains to be seen if the change of Premier and leadership style will benefit Labor candidate Susan Close, who is also a member of the party’s left faction.

A district with problems

The problems facing the people of the area don’t respect electorate boundaries, however. Pollution from industries granted exemptions from environment protection regulations have taken a heavy toll on the environment. Toxic soil from the new Royal Adelaide Hospital site is being dumped in the area. Increased traffic to the Outer Harbour is eroding the living conditions of residents living near Victoria Road. Many hazardous materials, including uranium yellowcake, are exported through Port Adelaide. One newspaper report boasted that uranium exports would increase five times in the coming years.

Jobs are scarce in the Western suburbs, especially for young people. The Rann government axed 1,400 public sector jobs as a last act of neo-liberal vandalism on the community. The Liberals have promised to cut deeper. Uranium mining and military industries are held out as the hope for the struggling state economy. The Olympic Dam mine has been given the go ahead. The Techport industrial precinct continues to get state government funding to attract weapons manufacturing transnationals to set up shop at Osborne.

The redevelopment of the inner Port, which the government’s Land Management Corporation entrusted to the Urban Construct consortium, has been a disaster. Sales of the first stages of riverside luxury apartments have been slow. Resale values are way down. Plans for subsequent stages have hit snags. One design included a complex in which many bedrooms had no windows!

Left Unity

The CPA has taken up all these issues over the years. Party members joined local Aboriginal people in a campaign to have a Kaurna cultural centre built on the site once occupied by the old CSR sugar refinery. The Aboriginal people were moved off the land onto missions and it was expected that some sort of land justice would result from the redevelopment. A token park was made instead.

The Party has leafleted extensively about the pollution problems facing the area. The local Branches have also campaigned for a reduction in military industries, the scrapping of military-oriented curricula and “partnerships” for high schools and weapons manufacturing companies. The CPA has joined with other members of the local Left Unity umbrella group around this issue and others in recent times. LU representative Pas Forgione spoke at the CPA campaign launch on the weekend. CPA candidate Bob Briton concluded his contribution with this observation:

“I believe we will not make much headway towards our goals of a more just society unless and until we have a strong Communist Party within a strong and united left. I cannot tell you how impressed and grateful we are for the support shown by the Left Unity organisation in Adelaide. Left Unity is made up of members of the CPA, Socialist Alliance, Organise!, the Anti-Capitalist Forum, the Socialist Party, current and former members of the Greens and other progressive individuals.”

He pledged ongoing support for the joint work of Left Unity and expressed the wish for a good result in the by-election in return for the confidence shown by supporters of the CPA’s campaign.

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04. Gov’t rejects UNHCR refugees

A group of Tamil refugees in Indonesia, recognised as refugees by the UNHCR, but rejected by the Australian government now say they have little choice but to get on a boat to get to safety in Australia.

The Tamil refugees are part of the group of 254 taken to the port of Merak by the Indonesian navy at the request of then Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd in October 2009. More than two years later, having spent a year in detention and being found to be genuine refugees, the Australian government has turned its back on 40 Merak Tamils despite being referred to Australia by the UNHCR.

Most of the refugees are now living in Medan, but out of 134 Merak Tamil refugees still in Indonesia, only three families have been accepted.

The rejection has angered the Tamil refugees. They are already boycotting English and computer classes in protest.

“The refugees have been shamefully treated by the Australian government. Their plight makes a mockery of the Australian government’s supposed concern for the safety of refugees at sea,” said Ian Rintoul, spokesperson for the Refugee Action Coalition. “It is rank hypocrisy. Their policies are pushing people onto boats. There is no other way to get to safety in Australia. The Australian government should not feign surprise if more Merak Tamils get a boat to Australia.”

Around 50 Merak Tamils took a boat to Christmas Island in 2010, and around 25 of them already have Australian protection visas.

“In 2009, then Home Affairs Minister Brendan O’Connor and other Ministers said that Australia would help resettle the Merak Tamils. Successive governments have reneged on that promise. They simply don’t care about the lives of refugees – neither those that are left in limbo in Indonesia nor those that lose their lives trying to get to Australia,” said Rintoul.

Two other Merak Tamils drowned attempting to get a boat to Australia in June 2010.

“There is no justice. We have been very patient for over two years, but we are losing patience. We were processed by the UNHCR,” Nimal, one of the Tamil refugees in Medan told the Refugee Action Coalition, “There is a big risk for us to get a boat to Australia. But are left with no choice. Is the Australian government is trying to kill us?

“The UNHCR and the Australian government has let us down. We were promised that we would be resettled within a year. There is no future for us in Indonesia,” said Nimal.

The Australian government’s rejection of the Tamil refugees is also a slap in the face of the Indonesian government which has repeatedly requested Australia’s assistance to resettle the Merak Tamils. The head of Indonesia’s Diplomatic Security, Dr Sujatmiko, told the media in April 2010, “We need Australian people, the Australian government to help them.”

No deportations
to danger

Meanwhile, the Australian government is currently attempting to deport Afghan Hazara asylum seeker, Ismail Mirza Jan, to Afghanistan. Never before has an Afghan national been forcibly removed from Australia to Afghanistan.

This would be a new low in Australia’s refugee policy, with the Labor government sinking even further than the Howard government in pursuing deportations to danger. Even high-ranking ministers in the Western-backed Afghan government have questioned Australia’s right to forcibly repatriate Afghan asylum seekers from Australia. If Ismail is deported, this will open the way for the deportation of scores of Afghan, and potentially other, asylum seekers – back to war torn countries, impending danger, or even a death sentence. Two Tamil asylum seekers, Emil and Vithuran, too were only saved from deportation by last minute legal action in December.

Recently Ismail received a temporary reprieve when the Federal Magistrates Court questioned whether he received “procedural fairness” by the Australian government in their attempts to deport him. Ismail’s deportation case will come back to the High Court on February 8. The refugee rights movement, and all those who oppose this move to forced deportations, have a short window of opportunity to build a broad campaign against the forced deportation of Ismail, and the terrible precedent it would provide for further deportations.

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05. Australian Draft Bill
on cluster bombs

Australia is about to pass legislation in order to ratify the Convention on Cluster Munitions, and Cluster Munition Coalition Australia (CMCA) has several concerns that the proposed text does not reflect the spirit of the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

Main concerns

The overriding concern is that the proposed legislation demonstrates a weak interpretation of the Convention. As such it is not consistent with the spirit of the Convention which strives “to unequivocally, and for all time, end the suffering caused by cluster munitions.”

Interoperability – because the proposed legislation may allow Australian forces to assist with activities that are prohibited by the Convention. The spirit of article 21 in the Convention on Cluster Munitions was to protect troops of signatory countries from prosecution for actions by other nations not party to the conventions. It was never intended to allow either limited or unlimited collaboration with non-signatory parties.

Jurisdiction – because the proposed legislation allows foreign forces to use Australian territory to stockpile and transit cluster bombs. This is clearly facilitating the use of cluster bombs.

Retention – because the proposed legislation allows Australia to retain cluster bombs without specifying any reporting obligations and setting a minimum number.

Positive Obligations – because the proposed legislation does not mention any of the positive obligations to assist in clearance, victim assistance and to universalise the treaty.

The proposed legislation does not prohibit indirect investments in cluster bombs.

Fix the Bill campaign

Members of the CMC Australia as well as overseas participants have made more than 15 submissions to the Senate Committee of Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade, enumerating our concerns with the proposed legislation. As an adjunct to this we believe it is essential to educate and engage key Senate members, MPs, media and other key players. Therefore we are conducting lobby meetings with voting members of the Senate Committee as well as other key Parliamentarians from the House of Representatives.

We hope to ensure that the voting members of the committee will be able to ask all relevant and important questions to the witnesses during the public hearing on March 3. Putting the cluster bomb bill on the agenda is vital, and CMC Australia is therefore currently also working on getting broad media coverage on the issue. Later CMC Australia will organise a parliamentary briefing in Canberra between March 22 and June, depending on when the Senate will debate the cluster bomb bill. It is still unclear when this will happen.

Goals

To ban cluster bombs in Australia, its region and the world.

To promote strong Australian legislation and implementation that reflects the spirit and intent of the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

To educate and engage Senate members, MPs, political leaders, media and other key stakeholders about the convention on cluster munitions.

Organise a Parliamentary Briefing for senators, MPs and political leaders

Organise a reception in conjunction with the Parliamentary Briefing .

Organise a cluster munitions photo exhibition for the briefing at Parliament House.

Obligations include to:

assist in clearance of contaminated areas,

assist victims,

assist other states parties to meet their obligations under the convention,

work to universalise the convention

The CMCA believes the proposed legislation is a weak interpretation of the convention, and thus fails to uphold and abide by the spirit and intent of the treaty. The stated aim of the convention is “to unequivocally, and for all time, end the suffering caused by cluster munitions.” To achieve this humanitarian aim it is not enough to restrict or limit the use of cluster munitions; we must aim to eradicate them and legislate accordingly in strong and unequivocal terms.

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06. “The seafarers’ bill of rights”

In a landmark day for local seafarers, Australia has now lodged its ratification of the Maritime Labour Convention with the International Labour Organisation in Geneva.

Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) national secretary and International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) president Paddy Crumlin witnessed the passage of what it commonly termed the seafarers’ bill of rights last month.

The Australian permanent representative to the ILO, Greg Vines, lodged the documents with the ILO on December 24, 2011, making it the 22nd nation to ratify.

This means Australia is among the 30 countries required to ratify the laws to ensure the MLC comes into force globally by 2012-13. Mr Crumlin said the coming into force of the Maritime Labour Convention will be an outstanding achievement in international relations and will support the future of the global shipping industry.

“The Maritime Labour Convention ensures that seafarers have their human and labour rights recognised alongside existing standards of safety, security and crew standards,” Mr Crumlin said. “By lifting international minimum standards, the MLC promotes fair and decent work, with more than half the world’s seafarers now covered by ratifying nations.”

The MLC sets standards for:

minimum requirements for seafarers to work on a ship;

conditions of employment;

accommodation, recreational facilities, food and catering;

health protection, medical care, welfare and social security protection;

compliance and enforcement.

“As the largest island continent on earth, Australia’s economic future is inextricably linked to safe and productive shipping,” Mr Vines said.

“It is in our environmental and economic interest to ensure that ships that travel through the region are safe, secure and crewed by seafarers that are decently treated, fairly paid and well trained.

“In ratifying the MLC, Australia reaffirms its longstanding commitment to ensuring decent working conditions for the world’s 1.2 million seafarers that work in this fundamental and truly global industry.”

Although the Convention will target the sub-standard labour conditions on many international ships, it will also provide a valuable boost to Australian shipping and complements Australian shipping reform.

Mr Crumlin also highlighted the importance of the MLC in fighting the ITF’s Flag of Convenience campaign.

“The convention will address the worst features of the FOC system by codifying international safety standards, human rights, trade union rights and labour standards,” Mr Crumlin said.

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07. ABCC’s “action”
too little, too late

CFMEU National Construction assistant secretary Frank O’Grady said last week that the Australian Building and Construction Commission’s (ABCC) recent series of press releases boasting about the $297,000 it had recovered in unpaid wages and entitlements was a desperate attempt for the organisation to justify its existence and $135 million cost to taxpayers since its inception.

Mr O’Grady said CFMEU branches around the country had recovered almost $20 million in underpaid wages and entitlements for construction workers in 2011.

“The NSW branch was recently able to recover $800,000 of entitlements for 51 workers caught up in the collapse of the Cardinal Group of companies, just in time for Christmas. But we don’t put out a press release every time we help our members get what they’re legally owed, that’s just what unions do.

“The ABCC shouldn’t be boasting about this, they should be embarrassed it has taken them so long to start doing anything to secure workers’ rights and at how unsuccessful their efforts have been.”

The $297,000 recovered does not even cover the salary of ABCC head Leigh Johns.

The union says the ABCC has consistently ignored the reality that sham contracting is a major issue facing the construction industry and that a few token back payments for workers does not mean that it recognises the endemic nature of sham contracting in the construction industry.

“The CFMEU’s research has found that the illegal use of sham contracting is costing the Australian taxpayer over a billion dollars each year. There are thousands of workers in construction who are forced to sign on as sham contractors – missing out on superannuation and workers’ compensation coverage – just to get a job.”

Mr O’Grady said that it was time for the government to act on its election commitment and scrap the ABCC.

“This anti-worker organisation and its coercive powers have no place in a free society. The legislation introduced to the Federal Parliament last year to scrap the ABCC needs to be voted on as soon as possible.”

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08. Retail cleaners walk the East Coast of Australia in one year

A report by United Voice, the cleaners’ union, finds that due to the crisis in Australia’s shopping centres, cleaners are being forced to walk the distance from Cairns to Warrnambool in one year, with some walking nearly a half marathon in a day, while also being required to clean up spills, keep toilets sanitary and safe and maintain proper health and safety standards for the shopping public.

The report which highlights the stress and pressure suffered by cleaners is based on a study done by United Voice of cleaners in retail shopping centres across the country. Cleaners wore a pedometer on shift, and their step count was recorded daily. The striking results find that, with all participants combined, cleaners do enough to circle the earth’s equator 1.27 times.

Louise Tarrant, the union’s national secretary, said that these intense workloads were the direct result of cost cutting and exploitation of cleaners.

“There’s a race to the bottom in contract cleaning, with shopping centre owners, like Westfield, cutting cleaning contracts, and irresponsible cleaning contractors like Spotless following suit and cutting bids.

“This means that there is fewer staff on the floor; fewer people to do the actual work. This forces the cleaners on the floor to be literally run off their feet trying to get their work done in short, timed rotations, sometimes as short as five minutes. For all this walking, cleaning companies and building owners won’t pay decent wages.”

The union warns that there are health and safety catastrophes waiting to happen in shopping centres. At the moment, the catastrophes are for cleaners who are suffering from the second highest injury rates — only lower than those working in concrete construction. It’s not surprising with such high workloads.

“One cleaner told us that she had to clean 35 toilets in 20 minutes,” said Ms Tarrant. “Could you do that? Could you believe a toilet was actually clean if it was only cleaned so quickly? These high workloads mean that the centre isn’t as clean as a cleaner would like, but it also raises the question of whether a centre is clean enough for shoppers.”

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09. ANF welcomes extra funding

The Australian Nursing Federation (ANF) welcomed an announcement last month from the Minister for Mental Health and Ageing, Mark Butler, that the government is investing $18.7 million to expand the vital role of nurse practitioners working in residential and community based care.

Nurse practitioners (NPs) are registered nurses with the high-level education and the extensive experience needed to see and treat clients in an advanced clinical role, with their scope of practice extending beyond that of a Registered nurse.

NPs can also offer clients’ rebates on services under the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) and to write prescriptions that qualify for Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) subsidies.

Minister Butler said more than 30 projects utilising the skills of NPs across Australia will be funded under the program Nurse Practitioner – Aged Care Models of Practice which aims to improve access to primary health care for elderly Australians.

“NPs are increasingly being called-upon to provide frontline health services across all parts of the community,” ANF federal secretary, Lee Thomas, said.

“We welcome the roll-out of this initiative as it will allow NPs to deliver frontline clinical care in residential and community settings for people who would otherwise have to be admitted to hospital or see a GP. This high level of specialist care will also allow for older people to remain in their homes for longer.”

Whilst welcoming the extra funding for NPs, Ms Thomas said the ANF and its growing membership was still calling on the Gillard government to reform aged care by closing the wages gap experienced by nursing and care staff working in the sector.

Nurses in aged care earn between $168 and $300 on average less than nurses working in public hospitals – at a time Australia urgently needs 20,000 extra aged care nurses.

The ANF, with over 214,000 members, is the professional and industrial voice for nurses, midwives and assistants in nursing in Australia.

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10. Film reviews by Peter Mac

Albert Nobbs meets
the Iron Lady

It says something about the US film industry that two of its most gifted actors are now starring in movies made in other countries. Highly focused on comedies and action epics, the US industry offers few dramatic roles of any depth – especially for older actors.

Meryl Streep became familiar to Australian audiences many years ago for her portrayal of Lindy Chamberlain, and Glenn Close for her illuminating performance in the Australian film Paradise Road.

In both the current films the main characters struggle to break out of rigid “know your place” class constraints and to ascend to an “elevated” social status.

The performances of the two actors are equally brilliant. But there the similarities end. The Iron Lady depicts the political rise and fall of Margaret Thatcher in post-war Britain, while Albert Nobbs is a fictional account of a woman struggling to work her way out of grinding poverty in a posh Dublin hotel in about 1900.

Both these films are noteworthy, albeit for very different reasons, and both are well worth the price of a ticket.

The Iron Lady traces the life of Thatcher from her teenage youth during the World War II to her old age. It covers in great detail her struggle to get the British Conservative Party to accept her – or any woman, for that matter – as a candidate.

Even after she won a seat she was still patronised by many in the party. However, she gained the support of her more perceptive fellow MPs, including her friend the former Colditz prisoner of war Aerie Neave, who supported her for the leadership when it fell vacant. One of the film’s lighter moments, in which he grooms her to maximise her formidable image, is countered by the depiction of Thatcher’s narrow escape when Neave is assassinated by the IRA.

The film covers the main events in Thatcher’s career as British Prime Minister, but in many cases is maddeningly deficient on historical background. The war in the Falklands or Malvinas Islands, for example, is described vividly but does not explain that just prior to its commencement a geological survey had located significant deposits of oil in the Falklands region.

That issue resurfaced last week, with the current British Prime Minister rejecting a renewed claim to the islands by Argentina, and with mass media reports of the “recent” discovery of oil.

Thatcher’s ruthless determination to regain control of the island and its resources was illustrated by her instructions to sink the General Belgrano, pride of the Argentinean fleet, with the loss of more than 300 lives, even though Britain had virtually won the war already. Prince Andrew was serving on one of the Royal Navy vessels, and according to one report Thatcher gave instructions that if he was killed in battle, Buenos Aires was to be subjected to nuclear bombardment.

Apart from the assassination of Neave and the bombing of the Brighton hotel where Thatcher and her husband were staying, there is little explanation of the struggle for independence of Northern Ireland. Her wholehearted support for US President Reagan’s appalling plan to develop new “star wars” technology doesn’t rate a mention in The Iron Lady.

The film sees events almost entirely from the viewpoint of Thatcher and the Tories, certainly not from that of the miners or industrial workers who were brutally thrown out of work by her policies, and who are seen demonstrating and beating on her car windows as she sails into Parliament House.

Britain’s capitalists were delighted at the prospect of only having to pay the same amount as its poorest citizens, under Thatcher’s proposed new poll tax. However, her colleagues realised with horror that the monster they had helped to create was leading them to virtual destruction at the ballot box, because of her manic commitment to the grossly unjust new tax.

They also realised that her mental condition was deteriorating. The film depicts with great sensitivity the issue of dementia, exemplified by the anguish of Caroline Thatcher as her mother gradually succumbs.

Thatcher described herself as “one of the people”, and was able to recite in astonishing detail the current prices that shoppers had to pay for groceries. But this was a legacy from her early life as the daughter of shopkeepers. She was no sympathiser for working people, but rather a petit-bourgeois with a manic determination to become a fully-fledged bourgeois – and she over-achieved her ambition, entering the ranks of the aristocracy as Baroness Thatcher.

Despite its shortcomings the film provides a valuable insight into many aspects of Thatcher’s reign. It’s hard not to admire her for overcoming the barriers of gender and social background, but we should never forget that her policies endangered world peace, committed Britain to terrible warfare and inflicted great suffering on the working people of Britain and Northern Ireland. That, alas, is the bitter legacy of Margaret Thatcher’s period in office.

Albert Nobbs is the name adopted by a shy 14-year-old young orphan after she is brutally attacked by a group of youths. She withdraws within herself. However, she’s impoverished, and jobs for women are in short supply in 19th-century Ireland, so she takes a job as a waiter, disguised as a young man. Inscrutable and motionless while awaiting the call for table service, she finds she is, in effect, almost invisible, despite being in full public view.

Yearning for comfort and security, and for a life in which she doesn’t have to deny her gender, she stashes away her occasional tips with a view to eventually buying a tobacconist’s shop.

But it’s a long, long road, with many setbacks. Middle-aged and at last nearing her goal, she’s horrified when she’s ordered by the manipulative hotel owner to share her room – and her bed – with a house painter who’s staying the night. Despite her best endeavours she is betrayed by the heavy corset that brutally constricts her natural figure, and the painter learns her secret.

However, the painter is sympathetic, and later Albert learns to her amazement that “he” is a she, just like herself. They become friends and when she meets the painter’s partner she realises with great joy that it’s possible to enter into a deeply fulfilling relationship with someone of the same sex.

Alas, fate intervenes. Albert survives a typhoid epidemic, but the painter’s partner is struck down. The grieving painter rejects a suggestion that Albert might take her place, and Albert turns her attention to another friend, a chambermaid who is carrying the child of the feckless hotel janitor.

The janitor is intent on escaping to a new life in New York – on his own. Alas for Albert, the janitor overhears her suggestion to the girl that she should let the janitor go and accept Albert as a replacement. The results are both tragic and ironic.

Albert Nobbs is not without its failings – among them is the not inconsiderable stretch of the imagination required for the audience to believe that Close would ever be accepted as a man, even with a short back and sides, and no make-up.

Nevertheless, the movie is beautifully produced. Close’s depiction of the emotionally-imprisoned woman struggling to retain her inscrutable composure in a hostile environment is exquisite.

Dublin in 1900 might seem far-removed from Australia in 2012, but the film’s themes are entirely relevant to current reality. Working people are still involved in the struggle against exploitation. Same-sex marriage is still blocked by prejudice, religious conservatism and political opportunism. And the search for the ideal partnership? Well. that’ll go on forever, won’t it?

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11. Socialism is the future!

Anna Pha

“It becomes increasingly obvious for millions of working people that the crisis is a crisis of the system. It is not faults within the system but the system itself that is faulty, generating regular and periodic crises.” This was one of the conclusions of the 13th International Meeting of Communist and Workers’ Parties held in Athens from December 9-11, 2011. Seventy-eight communist and workers parties from 61 countries, including the Communist Party of Australia, took part in the meeting which was hosted by the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) under the theme “Socialism is the future!”

In a statement issued by the meeting (see page 6), the parties point out: “It [the crisis] results from the sharpening of the main contradiction of capitalism between the social character of production and the private capitalist appropriation and not from any version of the management policy of the system or from any aberration based on the greed of some bankers or other capitalists or from the lack of effective regulatory mechanisms. It highlights the historical boundaries of capitalism and the need to strengthen the struggles for anti-monopoly anti-capitalist ruptures, the revolutionary overthrow of capitalism.”

The meeting was opened by Comrade Aleka Papariga, general secretary of the KKE, who spoke about the extensive ideological and political groundwork that went into the preparations for today’s struggles in Greece, within the KKE and Communist Youth (KNE) and also amongst working class and other popular social strata.

She pointed out that, “in the face of the toughness and complexity of the struggle, in the face of the intransigence of the enemy” a defensive stance will not achieve results. This is “because we are in the conditions of an assault which aims to abolish gains won in the 20th century particularly after the Second World War in Europe.

Escalate class struggle

“What is required today is the planning and the escalation of the class struggle, to erect obstacles – as far as possible – in the way of the worst measures which are on the horizon, to delay new decisions and to buy time for the counterattack, the outcome of which must be directed to the overthrow of the power of the monopolies, the bourgeois political system, for working class-people’s power, socialism,” Papariga said.

Around 75 delegates made a contribution to the discussion addressing political, ideological, economic, social and historical questions. These ranged from a theoretical analysis of past experiences such as the counter-revolution in the former Soviet Union and its lessons for today, through to the issues and tasks confronting the communist movement in today’s conditions. Delegates shared experiences of their struggles, the impact of the capitalist crisis, government policies, their party’s approach, and raised the growing aggressiveness of imperialism and the dangers of fascism and war.

The communist parties work under a wide range of conditions from being in government attempting to build socialism or being part of a bourgeois government through to illegality and the constant threat of being assassinated or jailed. The characteristics of their struggles reflect these differences. There are also tactical, ideological and political differences in approach between parties on such issues as alliances and the transition to socialism. There was a strong sentiment that the struggle cannot be limited to a struggle to hang on to past gains or to return to the past. As the final statement says:

Capitalist barbarity

“The overthrow of capitalism and the construction of socialism constitute an imperative need for the peoples.” Delegates called on working people, farmers, and rural workers, women and young people to struggle together to put an end to capitalist barbarity.

“Only socialism can create the conditions for the eradication of wars, unemployment, hunger, misery, illiteracy, the uncertainty of hundreds of millions of people, the destruction of the environment. Only socialism creates the conditions for development according to the contemporary needs of the workers.”

The meeting salutes “the growing popular struggles releasing huge emancipatory potential against imperialism, against capitalist exploitation and oppression, and for the social, labour and social security rights of workers all over the world.”

Imperialist aggression

The statement also warns of the dangers of the intensification of imperialist aggressiveness:

“There are already several regional points of tension and wars and they are multiplying: in Asia and Africa, in the Middle East with the increasing aggressiveness of Israel particularly against the Palestinian people. At the same time we note the rising of neo-Nazi and xenophobic forces in Europe, the multifaceted interventions, threats and the offensive against the people’s movements and the progressive political forces in Latin America. Militarisation is being reinforced. The risk for a general conflagration at a regional level becomes even greater. In this sense the expansion and strengthening of the anti-imperialist social and political front and the struggles for peace in the direction of eradicating the causes of imperialist wars are fundamental.”

There was a strong desire for greater unity and co-ordination of struggles by communist and workers’ parties. This is reflected in a statement adopted by the meeting for a main areas of joint actions for the coming period. These include International Women’s Day (March 8), May Day (May 1), the anniversary of the Great Socialist October Revolution (November 7), a front against imperialist aggressiveness centred around the 25th Summit of NATO in Chicago (May 20-21), the 130th anniversary of the birth of Georgi Dimitrov (June 18), the blockade of Cuba and Cuban Five. There will be actions in defence of the environment and against capitalist destruction and appropriation of natural resources.

The Parties also agreed to the promotion of an international front against imperialism and the support of international anti-imperialist mass organisations, the World Federation of Trade Unions, the World Peace Council, the World Federation of Democratic Youth, and the Women’s International Democratic Federation.

International solidarity

The importance of internationalism, which is at the heart of these annual meetings of communist and workers parties, was reflected in the solidarity resolutions before delegates. There were 16 specific resolutions expressing solidarity and a political position on specific issues and struggles which Parties could sign on an individual basis. These included support for the Palestinian people, opposition to military intervention in Iran, support for the struggles of the working class in Greece, several on Latin America and Cuba, and the Cyprus problem.

One of the highlights of the meeting was an event of internationalist solidarity in honour of the fraternal delegations organised by the KNE delegates.

In his welcoming speech to delegates, Thodoris Chionis, secretary of the Central Council of the KNE, briefly outlined the history of the Communist Youth and their work in Greece. He spoke about the role that the KNE is playing in the current struggles in Greece, in educating young militants “in a communist way” and in renewing the ranks of the KKE with new working men and women of a young age.

“The future belongs to the youth, this is obvious and we do not need to prove it. The question is which youth will take the future in its hands, the youth of the exploited class or the exploiting class. The young working men and women, the youth of the popular strata cannot expect anything from the old historically obsolete capitalist system, which is in its final imperialist stage. Their future for a better life, for the satisfaction of their needs is directly connected to their participation and contribution to the development of the class struggle, the overthrow of capitalist barbarity, the construction of the new, of the socialist system.”

Solidarity

A number of delegates paid a lunchtime visit to the picket line of Helliniki Halivourgia (Greek Steelworks) on Sunday December 11, where 400 workers had been on strike for over 40 days. The employer is the first in the industry attempting to impose five-hour working days with wage cuts and casual employment on its workforce.

Since the strike began on October 31, 34 workers had been sacked, but the employer’s stand-over tactics have only made the workforce more determined than ever. The highly profitable steelworks is leading the charge for other companies in the industry. It is attempting to casualise its workforce, and impose five-hour working days with wage cuts, flexible employment relationships and unpaid overtime. The blackmail threats continue, the most recent is the threat of 180 more sackings.

The workers, with the support of the All Workers Militant Front (PAME) are demanding the re-hiring of all dismissed workers and a return to the hours of work and wages provided for in their agreements.

The day of the visit was “Children’s Day”. Santa Clause was there delivering presents to the children of the striking workers, which had been organised by the Women’s Committee. The foreign delegates were warmly welcomed, their solidarity very much appreciated.

The KKE is to be congratulated on its outstanding organisation and hospitality which contributed so much to the success of the meeting. The provision of documents, organisation of accommodation, transportation, excellent meeting facilities, the work of the interpreters, and all the other assistance provided to delegates reflects the capacity of a great party that is in the midst of an intense struggle.

The final statement, main areas of joint actions, delegates’ contributions, list of participating parties and solidarity resolutions are available on the Solidnet Website: www.solidnet.org

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12. CULTURE & LIFE – The rich get richer, and the world gets scarier

Rob Gowland

Early last year, British pressure group Compass, with backing from the charitable Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust (remember Rowntree chocolates?) established the High Pay Commission to investigate persistent claims that boardroom pay had become excessive.

After a year-long enquiry, the study concluded that the pay of top FTSE executives had risen on average by more than 4,000 percent over the last 30 years. In contrast, average wages in the UK today are just three times higher than in 1980.

The study noted that the salary of former Barclay’s chief executive John Varley was 169 times more than the wage of the average worker in Britain today. In 1980, the top pay at Barclay’s was just 13 times the average British wage.

Like the old adage says, the rich get richer and the poor get screwed.

One aspect that was not dealt with in the report but was picked up by various commentators is that top executives vote themselves these obscenely high salaries regardless of how well the company is actually doing. It amounts to a form of asset stripping: whether the company succeeds or fails, no one is going to ask for the money to be paid back. They’re laughing all the way to the bank.

Meanwhile, at the end of November, Britain’s Education Secretary, Michael Gove, showed his keen grasp of the fundamentals of music education by announcing – more or less simultaneously – that he was sending a copy of the King James Bible to all British schools and that he was cutting a program that sought to teach children from deprived backgrounds to play a musical instrument.

The music program is based on Venezuela’s El Sistema plan, which has produced youth orchestra’s that have amazed music lovers all over the world. John Summers, managing director of the Hallé orchestra in Manchester, said of Gove’s cuts: “There is a 20 percent reduction between now and 2014 without even factoring in inflation. That’s massive.” But they will have a Bible with which to console themselves.

Still in Britain, the giant union Unite has taken up the case of the Reverend Mark Sharpe who has been driven out of his Worcester parish by a campaign of harassment that included slashing his tyres and poisoning his dog. (No, I don’t know why, but someone clearly had it in for him.) The union’s attempts to take his employer, the Church of England, to court over the matter have been met by a denial by the Church’s lawyers that they are his employers. The church’s lawyers maintain that God is his employer.

The clergy apparently are just “office holders” and are not subject to the laws that protect other workers.

While still on the subject of religion, did you see at the end of last year where the Vatican’s Chief Exorcist (yes, the Papacy has such a thing) has condemned the Harry Potter books and films and yoga as “evil”.

Don Gabriele Amorth has been the Vatican’s chief exorcist for 25 years and has carried out more than 70,000 exorcisms. Really, the mind boggles!

Speaking in Umbria, Father Amorth said that “Practising Yoga brings evil, as does reading Harry Potter. They may both seem innocuous but they both deal with magic and that leads to evil.”

This medieval fool has a position of authority in the Roman Catholic Church, and yet he believes that “Yoga is the Devil’s work. You think you are doing it for stretching your mind and body but it leads to Hinduism [gasp!]. All these oriental religions are based on the false belief of reincarnation.”

Just in case you didn’t get the message he went on to say: “Yoga turns devotees towards Hinduism. Satan is always hidden and the thing he desires more than anything is for people to believe he does not exist. He studies each and every one of us and our tendencies towards good and evil and then he tempts us.”

What a ghastly collage of inhumane and paranoid superstitions he must carry around with him as he goes about exorcising evil spirits!

If he wants to see real evil, he should look at the USA’s so-called “Missile Defence System” which is being deployed across Europe, with all its missiles aimed straight at Russia. Despite the hideous cost of such a hi-tech arms race, Russia has no choice but to respond. The Russian military has established of a new generation of over-the-horizon missile warning radar stations. One has been set up in the Kaliningrad region, monitoring all of Europe including Britain. A second is located in the Krasnodar region of Southern Russia and a third will be operational in the Irkutsk region of Siberia some time this year.

Developed by the Moscow Research Institute of Long Distance Radio Communication, this new generation of Voronezh-DM stations will be able to detect all missile launches anywhere and monitor airspace from the North Pole to the Southern hemisphere. The new stations consume 40 percent less power than their predecessors and can be redeployed quickly if necessary (in other words, they’re mobile).

Cuba, on the other hand, with the likely effects of global warming in mind, has developed rice crops with increased resistance to drought and salinity, as well as a genetically modified corn for animal food that is resistant to sand flies (a scourge of corn in Cuba itself). Cuban scientists are also developing veterinary vaccines against swine fever and cattle ticks, while taking every precaution to guarantee human and animal safety and to take into account the toxicological and environmental implications of genetic research.

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