Sunday, October 30, 2005
The majority of Iraqis support armed attacks on Western forces there, according to a survey carried out for the British Ministry of Defence.
The survey found that up to 65% of Iraqis approve of attacks on the US-led occupation forces.
82% of Iraqis said they were strongly opposed to the presence of US and other foreign troops. Seventy-two per cent said that the occupation forces have made their lives less secure.
Seventy-one per cent said they rarely get safe clean water, 47% that they never have enough electricity, and 70% that their sewerage system rarely works. 40% of those in the British-occupied south of Iraq are unemployed.
Nearly 25,000 Iraqis have been reported by the media as being killed in violent attacks in the first two years of the war. 37% of such casualties were caused by US-led forces, 9.5% by Iraqi irregular forces, and 36% by 'common criminals'.
US officials overseeing spending of the US$20 billion allocated by the US Congress two years ago to repair Iraq's water, electricity, health services and oil industry told a congressional sub-committee earlier this month that up to 80% of reconstruction project funds were being spent on 'private security contractors' - essentially mercenaries.
(Source: Green Left)
The survey found that up to 65% of Iraqis approve of attacks on the US-led occupation forces.
82% of Iraqis said they were strongly opposed to the presence of US and other foreign troops. Seventy-two per cent said that the occupation forces have made their lives less secure.
Seventy-one per cent said they rarely get safe clean water, 47% that they never have enough electricity, and 70% that their sewerage system rarely works. 40% of those in the British-occupied south of Iraq are unemployed.
Nearly 25,000 Iraqis have been reported by the media as being killed in violent attacks in the first two years of the war. 37% of such casualties were caused by US-led forces, 9.5% by Iraqi irregular forces, and 36% by 'common criminals'.
US officials overseeing spending of the US$20 billion allocated by the US Congress two years ago to repair Iraq's water, electricity, health services and oil industry told a congressional sub-committee earlier this month that up to 80% of reconstruction project funds were being spent on 'private security contractors' - essentially mercenaries.
(Source: Green Left)
The majority of Australians do not trust their neighbours, and levels of trust are falling, according to a new survey.
The Wellbeing and Security Survey found that only one-third of Australians had high levels of trust in their neighbours.
Survey author Dr Philip Hughes said levels of trust had been falling across the community for several years.
About one-third of people said they trusted those of a different race or religion from their own.
Around 10 per cent of people did not have high levels of trust in the members of their immediate family.
(Source: Sydney Morning Herald)
The Wellbeing and Security Survey found that only one-third of Australians had high levels of trust in their neighbours.
Survey author Dr Philip Hughes said levels of trust had been falling across the community for several years.
About one-third of people said they trusted those of a different race or religion from their own.
Around 10 per cent of people did not have high levels of trust in the members of their immediate family.
(Source: Sydney Morning Herald)
Saturday, October 29, 2005
Diseases associated with malnutrition and poor sanitation could re-emerge as a result of the federal government's new vision for Australian workplaces, according to a new report.
A 120-page analysis of the new industrial laws, carried out by Sydney University and commissioned by Unions NSW, forecasts that the life expectancy gap between lower and higher paid workers will expand significantly.
The report the university's Australian Centre for Industrial Relations Research and Training, expects rising illness and falling levels of mental and physical health caused by workplace change.
The report's author, senior centre research fellow Chris Briggs, found the industrial changes would transform Australia from a "living-wage nation" of stand-alone salary earners to one where greater numbers of low-wage earners would earn lower wages and become dependent on welfare.
Dr Briggs said that "the changes will not see the sky fall in for well-paid employees whose skills are in demand, but the floor will fall away for unskilled workers."
A report prepared for New Zealand's Health Ministry in March this year examined the 1980's and 90s in New Zealand, when radical workplace changes were introduced along similar lines to those proposed by the federal government. The report found widening inequality had contributed to rising mortality rates and had created gaps in life expectancy between low and high-income groups. Cardiovascular disease, lung cancer, other cancers and suicides also rose among lower-income earners.
(Source: The Age)
A 120-page analysis of the new industrial laws, carried out by Sydney University and commissioned by Unions NSW, forecasts that the life expectancy gap between lower and higher paid workers will expand significantly.
The report the university's Australian Centre for Industrial Relations Research and Training, expects rising illness and falling levels of mental and physical health caused by workplace change.
The report's author, senior centre research fellow Chris Briggs, found the industrial changes would transform Australia from a "living-wage nation" of stand-alone salary earners to one where greater numbers of low-wage earners would earn lower wages and become dependent on welfare.
Dr Briggs said that "the changes will not see the sky fall in for well-paid employees whose skills are in demand, but the floor will fall away for unskilled workers."
A report prepared for New Zealand's Health Ministry in March this year examined the 1980's and 90s in New Zealand, when radical workplace changes were introduced along similar lines to those proposed by the federal government. The report found widening inequality had contributed to rising mortality rates and had created gaps in life expectancy between low and high-income groups. Cardiovascular disease, lung cancer, other cancers and suicides also rose among lower-income earners.
(Source: The Age)
Friday, October 28, 2005
Several workers who appeared in advertisements promoting the Federal government's changes to workplace relations say they were misled into appearing.
Hairdresser Phelia Grimwade said she was "furious and embarrassed" when her face appeared on the TV ads.
"I was lied to and deceived. It's been put to me that I'm just a Liberal Party pin-up girl. But that's not me. I've protested against the Liberal Government. I'm into social justice," she said yesterday.
Ms Grimwade, 22 says she was told by the producers that the film shoot was to promote health and safety. She said she was also told that she would receive a cheque of about $1000 for the shoot, which occurred more than a month ago.
She said she was not told that the advertisement would be used to promote the Government's workplace agenda. She has also not been paid.
Ms Grimwade said she signed a form that referred to a video about industrial relations "which the producer said meant health and safety".
Two Dandenong factory workers claimed last week that they had also been deceived into taking part in the ads.
A 23-year-old welder at a Dandenong engineering firm, Calbah Industries, said he was paid two hours' overtime for his appearance. Two former Calbah workers told Channel Nine that they earned about $13 each for promoting the new workplace system, and that they too believed they were taking part in a work safety video for a Victorian health and safety authority.
One said Calbah was rumoured to have received more than $7000 for allowing the ad to be shot at the factory.
(Source: The Age)
Hairdresser Phelia Grimwade said she was "furious and embarrassed" when her face appeared on the TV ads.
"I was lied to and deceived. It's been put to me that I'm just a Liberal Party pin-up girl. But that's not me. I've protested against the Liberal Government. I'm into social justice," she said yesterday.
Ms Grimwade, 22 says she was told by the producers that the film shoot was to promote health and safety. She said she was also told that she would receive a cheque of about $1000 for the shoot, which occurred more than a month ago.
She said she was not told that the advertisement would be used to promote the Government's workplace agenda. She has also not been paid.
Ms Grimwade said she signed a form that referred to a video about industrial relations "which the producer said meant health and safety".
Two Dandenong factory workers claimed last week that they had also been deceived into taking part in the ads.
A 23-year-old welder at a Dandenong engineering firm, Calbah Industries, said he was paid two hours' overtime for his appearance. Two former Calbah workers told Channel Nine that they earned about $13 each for promoting the new workplace system, and that they too believed they were taking part in a work safety video for a Victorian health and safety authority.
One said Calbah was rumoured to have received more than $7000 for allowing the ad to be shot at the factory.
(Source: The Age)
Tuesday, October 25, 2005
Qantas has threatened to send more than 3000 highly skilled maintenance jobs overseas unless it receives concessions from its workforce.
The airline says it will send 3250 of its 6900 engineering and maintenance jobs offshore if workers don't give up several of their conditions.
Qantas is one of the world's most profitable airlines, posting a record profit of $763.6 million for 2004-05.
Qantas chief executive Geoff Dixon recently voiced his support for the federal Government's industrial relations reforms, saying they would give established companies greater flexibility to adapt to changing conditions.
(Source: The Australian, Workers Online)
The airline says it will send 3250 of its 6900 engineering and maintenance jobs offshore if workers don't give up several of their conditions.
Qantas is one of the world's most profitable airlines, posting a record profit of $763.6 million for 2004-05.
Qantas chief executive Geoff Dixon recently voiced his support for the federal Government's industrial relations reforms, saying they would give established companies greater flexibility to adapt to changing conditions.
(Source: The Australian, Workers Online)
A Senate enquiry into the Federal government's changes to industrial relations laws will run for only six days, and will be unable to look into many of the laws' major elements.
The enquiry will not look at unfair dismissal or the overhaul to the award system.
Other subjects that the enquiry will avoid include secret ballots, suspension and termination of a bargaining period, pattern bargaining, cooling off periods, remedies for unprotected industrial action, strike pay, right of entry, freedom of association and civil penalties for officers of organisations regarding breaches.
(Source: Workers Online)
The enquiry will not look at unfair dismissal or the overhaul to the award system.
Other subjects that the enquiry will avoid include secret ballots, suspension and termination of a bargaining period, pattern bargaining, cooling off periods, remedies for unprotected industrial action, strike pay, right of entry, freedom of association and civil penalties for officers of organisations regarding breaches.
(Source: Workers Online)
Australian workers are increasingly unhappy with their jobs and their bosses, according to a new survey.
A questionnaire of 7,100 Australians by employment agency SEEK found 56 per cent of workers unhappy in their jobs, compared to 45 per cent last year.
69 per cent of workers said they did not believe their management to be open and honest. The same percentage said management failed to provide regular feedback, while 71 per cent did not believe their employers responded to suggestions and criticism.
(Source: Sydney Morning Herald)
A questionnaire of 7,100 Australians by employment agency SEEK found 56 per cent of workers unhappy in their jobs, compared to 45 per cent last year.
69 per cent of workers said they did not believe their management to be open and honest. The same percentage said management failed to provide regular feedback, while 71 per cent did not believe their employers responded to suggestions and criticism.
(Source: Sydney Morning Herald)
Wednesday, October 19, 2005
A former career policeman was derided by his fellow officers as a cross-dresser and a pedophile before leaving the force, a tribunal heard today.
Tomislav "Tom" Hecimovic, who worked as a policeman for 12 years until his resignation in October 2000, is seeking compensation from Victoria Police in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
Lawyer Mark Champion alleged the sexual harassment began in 1996 when his client was promoted to senior constable and began working at the Force Response Unit (FRU) - an emergency response team which attended demonstrations such as the World Trade Centre protests.
Mr Champion said the taunts about Mr Hecimovic's sexuality went well beyond what might be considered reasonable even in a "robust working environment".
"What occurred here was not an occasional remark ... but a persistent course of conduct that wore him down over time," he told the tribunal.
"This didn't happen once, but it was a daily feature of working life."
Mr Hecimovic alleges one officer accused him of having sex with gerbils while another spoke offensively of his mother's sexual organs.
Mr Champion said the bullying built to a crescendo in March 1999 when members of the FRU were called to a demonstration.
While in transit on a mini-bus they passed some schoolchildren.
One of the officers said the children should look out for Mr Hecimovic, alleging he was a pedophile.
Mr Hecimovic said he had not made a formal complaint because "if you make a complaint against another member, your career's effectively over, you're blackballed," Mr Hecimovic said.
Mr Hecimovic is seeking compensation for a year's worth of lost earnings and for medical treatment for a serious depressive illness following the harassment.
(Source: The Courier-Mail)
Tomislav "Tom" Hecimovic, who worked as a policeman for 12 years until his resignation in October 2000, is seeking compensation from Victoria Police in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
Lawyer Mark Champion alleged the sexual harassment began in 1996 when his client was promoted to senior constable and began working at the Force Response Unit (FRU) - an emergency response team which attended demonstrations such as the World Trade Centre protests.
Mr Champion said the taunts about Mr Hecimovic's sexuality went well beyond what might be considered reasonable even in a "robust working environment".
"What occurred here was not an occasional remark ... but a persistent course of conduct that wore him down over time," he told the tribunal.
"This didn't happen once, but it was a daily feature of working life."
Mr Hecimovic alleges one officer accused him of having sex with gerbils while another spoke offensively of his mother's sexual organs.
Mr Champion said the bullying built to a crescendo in March 1999 when members of the FRU were called to a demonstration.
While in transit on a mini-bus they passed some schoolchildren.
One of the officers said the children should look out for Mr Hecimovic, alleging he was a pedophile.
Mr Hecimovic said he had not made a formal complaint because "if you make a complaint against another member, your career's effectively over, you're blackballed," Mr Hecimovic said.
Mr Hecimovic is seeking compensation for a year's worth of lost earnings and for medical treatment for a serious depressive illness following the harassment.
(Source: The Courier-Mail)
A former American prisoner says that corrections officers ignored his written pleas for help, and even laughed at him, while he was repeatedly raped and sold into sexual slavery by prisoners in jail.
Roderick Johnson was sent to prison for violating the conditions of his probation. He was soon told that he would have to submit to sex or be killed. Mr Johnson filed several written pleas to prison officials, asking them to put him in a secure section of the prison. He says prison officers mocked him, accusing him of wanting to
be raped.
According to court documents, vulnerable inmates were told to either fight it out with rapists or find boyfriends who would protect them in return for sex. Mr. Johnson says gang members were free to rape him, sometimes by paying a few dollars to the prisoner who in effect owned him.
Speaking of prison officials, a witness said, "They seen what was happening but they pretended they didn't."
(Source: New York Times)
Roderick Johnson was sent to prison for violating the conditions of his probation. He was soon told that he would have to submit to sex or be killed. Mr Johnson filed several written pleas to prison officials, asking them to put him in a secure section of the prison. He says prison officers mocked him, accusing him of wanting to
be raped.
According to court documents, vulnerable inmates were told to either fight it out with rapists or find boyfriends who would protect them in return for sex. Mr. Johnson says gang members were free to rape him, sometimes by paying a few dollars to the prisoner who in effect owned him.
Speaking of prison officials, a witness said, "They seen what was happening but they pretended they didn't."
(Source: New York Times)
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
Employers and unions will be unable to agree to protect workers from unfair dismissal under the Federal government's new workplace laws.
Even if both sides agree, the new laws will include fines of up to $33,000 for submitting a private unfair dismissal agreement for certification.
Hundreds of union agreements in the warehousing, transport and manufacturing industries already contain, or are set to contain, unfair dismissal procedures after the Government announced it would abolish legal remedies for firms with less than 100 employees.
Under the changes employers could also refuse to negotiate new agreements, and in 90 days, terms and conditions would default to the Government's minimum standards.
It was also confirmed that workers could have all their leave loading, allowances, penalty rates and public holiday pay eliminated by a single paragraph in employment contracts.
The new rules would remove the "no disadvantage test", which ensures workers must be paid extra to compensate for signing away penalty rates.
Workplace Relations Minister Kevin Andrews confirmed it would be possible for employers to pay workers only the basic minimum wage of $12.75 an hour and insert a contract clause stating that this rate included any entitlement to penalty payments.
In Parliament, Labor seized on the example of Rockhampton fruit and vegetable company Tancred Fresh, as a sign of things to come. Federal Labor MP Kirsten Livermore said employees of Rockhampton fruit and vegetable company Tancred Fresh had lost leave loading, all allowances, penalties and public holiday pay rates, in return for 16 cents an hour more than the award rate.
(Source: The Age)
Even if both sides agree, the new laws will include fines of up to $33,000 for submitting a private unfair dismissal agreement for certification.
Hundreds of union agreements in the warehousing, transport and manufacturing industries already contain, or are set to contain, unfair dismissal procedures after the Government announced it would abolish legal remedies for firms with less than 100 employees.
Under the changes employers could also refuse to negotiate new agreements, and in 90 days, terms and conditions would default to the Government's minimum standards.
It was also confirmed that workers could have all their leave loading, allowances, penalty rates and public holiday pay eliminated by a single paragraph in employment contracts.
The new rules would remove the "no disadvantage test", which ensures workers must be paid extra to compensate for signing away penalty rates.
Workplace Relations Minister Kevin Andrews confirmed it would be possible for employers to pay workers only the basic minimum wage of $12.75 an hour and insert a contract clause stating that this rate included any entitlement to penalty payments.
In Parliament, Labor seized on the example of Rockhampton fruit and vegetable company Tancred Fresh, as a sign of things to come. Federal Labor MP Kirsten Livermore said employees of Rockhampton fruit and vegetable company Tancred Fresh had lost leave loading, all allowances, penalties and public holiday pay rates, in return for 16 cents an hour more than the award rate.
(Source: The Age)
Friday, October 07, 2005
The Australian government has failed to track down and prosecute "at least several hundred" Nazi war criminals believed to have found refuge here.
The Simon Wiesenthal Centre, which is dedicated to finding suspected World War II criminals and helping prosecute them, says Australia has failed to do enough and needs to take "additional steps, urgently".
"Australia remains the only major Western country of refuge which admitted at least several hundred Nazi war criminals and collaborators, which has hereto failed to take successful legal action against a single one," the centre's director, Efraim Zuroff, says in his annual report analysing the efforts of governments worldwide.
"Numerous attempts have been made...to convince the Australian authorities to adopt civil remedies - denaturalisation and/or deportation - to deal with Holocaust perpetrators in the country, but the Government has refused to do so."
Federal Justice Minister Chris Ellison signed an extradition request in July after the Simon Wiesenthal Centre tracked down Perth pensioner Charles Zentai, who stands accused of murdering a Jewish teenager while in the Hungarian army in Budapest in 1944.
Mr Zentai, who suffers poor health and is appealing against the extradition, was arrested just days after Senator Ellison agreed to the extradition request from Hungary. While Mr Zentai denies any wrongdoing, the Wiesenthal Centre names the 83-year-old as one of the world's top 10 most-wanted Nazi war criminals.
Among the other most-wanted for war crimes during World War II is the infamous Alois Brunner, a key operative of Adolf Eichmann, who has found refuge in Syria.
Dr Zuroff says Canberra's poor record in chasing Nazis who fled to Australia at the end of the war was exacerbated by the decision to shut down the special war crimes unit set up under the previous government.
"It is therefore extremely unlikely that they will be able to obtain any convictions while they continue to insist on prosecuting these suspects on criminal charges," he says.
"This is particularly true in Australia, where all witnesses in such cases must appear in person, a factor which would make a successful prosecution next to impossible, given the country's geographical distance from the scene of the crimes committed."
Aside from Mr Zentai, the Wiesenthal Centre earlier this year also tracked down another Australian pensioner suspected of connections to the Nazis: Hungarian-born Melbourne man Lajos Polgar.
(Source: The Australian)
The Simon Wiesenthal Centre, which is dedicated to finding suspected World War II criminals and helping prosecute them, says Australia has failed to do enough and needs to take "additional steps, urgently".
"Australia remains the only major Western country of refuge which admitted at least several hundred Nazi war criminals and collaborators, which has hereto failed to take successful legal action against a single one," the centre's director, Efraim Zuroff, says in his annual report analysing the efforts of governments worldwide.
"Numerous attempts have been made...to convince the Australian authorities to adopt civil remedies - denaturalisation and/or deportation - to deal with Holocaust perpetrators in the country, but the Government has refused to do so."
Federal Justice Minister Chris Ellison signed an extradition request in July after the Simon Wiesenthal Centre tracked down Perth pensioner Charles Zentai, who stands accused of murdering a Jewish teenager while in the Hungarian army in Budapest in 1944.
Mr Zentai, who suffers poor health and is appealing against the extradition, was arrested just days after Senator Ellison agreed to the extradition request from Hungary. While Mr Zentai denies any wrongdoing, the Wiesenthal Centre names the 83-year-old as one of the world's top 10 most-wanted Nazi war criminals.
Among the other most-wanted for war crimes during World War II is the infamous Alois Brunner, a key operative of Adolf Eichmann, who has found refuge in Syria.
Dr Zuroff says Canberra's poor record in chasing Nazis who fled to Australia at the end of the war was exacerbated by the decision to shut down the special war crimes unit set up under the previous government.
"It is therefore extremely unlikely that they will be able to obtain any convictions while they continue to insist on prosecuting these suspects on criminal charges," he says.
"This is particularly true in Australia, where all witnesses in such cases must appear in person, a factor which would make a successful prosecution next to impossible, given the country's geographical distance from the scene of the crimes committed."
Aside from Mr Zentai, the Wiesenthal Centre earlier this year also tracked down another Australian pensioner suspected of connections to the Nazis: Hungarian-born Melbourne man Lajos Polgar.
(Source: The Australian)
A nursing home on the Mornington Peninsula where residents were put at serious risk was not an isolated case, the Health Services Union says.
Union secretary Jeff Jackson said that each week the union heard from aged care workers unhappy with the care provided at the nursing homes they worked at.
The Sir James by the Bay home at Mount Martha failed 18 of the 44 mandatory care standards set by the Federal Government in an assessment completed nine weeks ago.
The Aged Care Standards and Accreditation Agency found two carers had monitored 103 residents overnight and staff had been told to turn off the heating at 8.30pm.
One elderly resident was found shivering in urine-soaked sheets while another was not sent to hospital for days after a fall.
(Source: The Age)
Union secretary Jeff Jackson said that each week the union heard from aged care workers unhappy with the care provided at the nursing homes they worked at.
The Sir James by the Bay home at Mount Martha failed 18 of the 44 mandatory care standards set by the Federal Government in an assessment completed nine weeks ago.
The Aged Care Standards and Accreditation Agency found two carers had monitored 103 residents overnight and staff had been told to turn off the heating at 8.30pm.
One elderly resident was found shivering in urine-soaked sheets while another was not sent to hospital for days after a fall.
(Source: The Age)
The armed forces will continue to be allowed to investigate abuse in its own ranks, despite an enquiry finding that it had failed to properly investigate cases of violence, abuse and racism over a period of decades.
In June, after a 20 month inquiry, a Senate report found that the military had failed to properly investigate cases such as that of 20-year-old Private Jeremy Williams, who hanged himself at Singleton in February 2003 after being humiliated by soldiers about being injured and transferred to a rehabilitation platoon. It recommended that investigation and prosecution of crime within the defence force should be handled by the police and court system instead of the military.
Instead, the defence force will receive an extra 35 new staff and $3.5 million a year, to run its own justice system.
(Source: The Age)
In June, after a 20 month inquiry, a Senate report found that the military had failed to properly investigate cases such as that of 20-year-old Private Jeremy Williams, who hanged himself at Singleton in February 2003 after being humiliated by soldiers about being injured and transferred to a rehabilitation platoon. It recommended that investigation and prosecution of crime within the defence force should be handled by the police and court system instead of the military.
Instead, the defence force will receive an extra 35 new staff and $3.5 million a year, to run its own justice system.
(Source: The Age)
