Economists oppose QLD privatisation

The fight against Queensland Premier Anna Bligh's plan to privatise $16 billion worth of state assets is strengthening, with 19 influential economists branding it ''economically unsound''.

The group of economists, which include Reserve Bank director Warwick McKibbin, Henry Ergas and a host of academics, said in a joint statement yesterday the Queensland Government's case for selling road, rail, port and forestry assets was based on ''spurious claims''.

''The people of Queensland deserve a robust and well-informed public debate over the costs and benefits of privatisation.

So far they have not received it,'' the economists said.

Their criticisms echo a union-commissioned report on the privatisation. University of Sydney professor Bob Walker found that the Government had overstated how bad the state's finances were and made misleading claims to justify the asset sell-off.

University of Queensland fellow in economics John Quiggin hopes the economists' joint statement will add credibility to the widespread public criticism of the Bligh Government's privatisation rationale.

''I would be very surprised if you could find a senior independent economist who would endorse [the Government's privatisation justifications],'' Professor Quiggin said.

Ms Bligh's plan - not revealed to voters until after she was re-elected in March - has sparked public anger at the Government. Polls suggest 80 per cent of Queenslanders oppose the asset sell-off and the ALP's support has tumbled.

more

White Ribbon Day: flags fly on ship & wharf

25 NOV 2009
It's White Ribbon Day, day for the elimination of all violence against women, and the MUA is flying the flag nationwide


MUA Deputy National Secretary Mick Doleman has been endorsed as the ACTU representative on the National Leaders Grouup of the White Ribbon Day Foundation, NT national organiser Glen Williams has attended the White Ribbon Day breakfast and is standing by at a shopping mall this afternoon with members Rowan Hayward and Stephen Richardson to raise awareness. Sydney Ferries are all flying the flag as too are other MUA workplaces.

Nationally the union is challenging members to take the oath on the MUA website, featuring different faces from the wharves and ships each day this week.

more

ACTU push for pay equity

With average female pay still at least 17% lower than for men, it is clear that business self-regulation has failed and new mandatory requirements are needed, says the ACTU.

ACTU President Sharan Burrow welcomed recommendations from a Federal Parliamentary committee to introduce annual pay equity audits requiring companies to reveal how many women are employed and their pay rates compared with those of men.

But tougher regulations on business are needed to prevent unequal remuneration, including performance improvement notices and mandatory action plans, Ms Burrow said.

The committee’s recommendation for gender and equal remuneration principles to be considered when industrial awards are upgraded by Fair Work Australia, including the federal minimum wage case, is a positive step.

Positive also is the proposal for a pay equity unit within Fair Work Australia to gather data, monitor and investigate equity in pay, conditions and benefits.

The World Economic Forum’s annual Global Gender Gap Index recently revealed a disturbing trend for Australia women, who are slipping further down world rankings on key indicators of labour force participation and wage equality.

“It’s 40 years since the first equal pay test case, yet women still lag well behind men in the Australian workforce,” Ms Burrow said.

“Women went backwards or stood still on pay, workforce participation and access to senior executive positions under the former Coalition Government.

“Over the course of her career, an Australian woman will earn $1 million less than a man, and will retire with less than half the savings in her superannuation account.

“Employers have had four decades to correct this inequity. They’ve shown they can’t do it voluntarily so it is time for tougher regulations.

“But already employers are gearing up to oppose equal pay for women for the simple reason that they don’t want to pay women any more. We cannot allow claims about red tape to stand in the way of fairness and equality.”

Unions are calling for action on women’s pay and career opportunities by businesses and governments.

Unions are also undertaking a major industrial campaign with a major new test case in Fair Work Australia that could lift the pay of workers in the female-dominated social and community services sector by more than $100 a week.

It is wrong that workers in the sector have historically been underpaid simply because their jobs were undervalued and seen as “women’s work”, Ms Burrow said.

Pat Mackie: 1914-2009

Pat Mackie led the Mount Isa strike of 1964/5 that polarised the town and almost bankrupted Mount Isa Mining.

Pat Mackie: Nancy Borlase - National Portrait Gallery of Australia

Mackie's life of activism began when as a young stowaway on a boat from New Zealand, he challenged the captain as to the lawfulness of his uncomfortable accommodation. Working in blue collar jobs around the globe, he became a member of the Industrial Workers of the World and the United States Seafarers Unions before ending up central Queensland.

The dispute of 1964/5, one of Australia's major rank and file uprisings, arose over management's failure to provide showers for miners. As it escalated, Queensland Premier Frank Nicklin described Mackie as a 'vicious gangster' and the strike as a 'communist strategy to retard and even prevent major developmental projects in this state'; the government vainly explored all possible avenues to have him deported.

The strike and the rest of the unionist's tumultuous life are described in Mount Isa: The Story of a Dispute (1989) and Many Ships to Mount Isa (c. 2002).

MUA: Oil and gas workers role

13 November 2009 MUA press release


The Maritime Union of Australia said protected industrial action planned by maritime workers employed by Farstad Shipping had been taken responsibly within the Fair Work Act and rejected claims of the action being "reckless or destructive".

"Any industrial action is always a last resort and taken only after serious consideration and the Union has carried out negotiations in good faith. The Union is ready to avoid any action through further negotiation with the employer", said Paddy Crumlin, National Secretary of the MUA.

"The Australian Mines and Metals Association and other detractors should remember that Fair Work Australia gave the go ahead for this proposed action and these claims are not frivolous. we remain committed to a negotiated outcome.

"The employers' hysterical protestations and dissembling of the facts in the media reflect their poor application to the bargaining process. Nevertheless we will persist with the negotiations in both our members and the industry's best interests", Crumlin added.

"The Maritime union is seeking to have seafarers engaged in offshore construction to earn the same as riggers on vessels which, subject to negotiations, would be equivalent to an allowance of $200 to $300 and the union is prepared to have the payment phased in.

"The figure of $500 a day which has been mentioned by detractors is misleading. Workers are entirely justified in seeking an allowance for a construction role that makes additional specific demands on them, consistent with what other workers of the same skill level are paid working along side of them.

"There are essential skills to learn if workers are to perform to the standards expected in the burgeoning oil and gas sector and in this particular situation and training should be mandatory. The Union is requesting companies pay $45 a day for training per employee, in a sector of the industry that has been extremely reluctant to commit to meeting their training needs over many years", said Crumlin.