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The Agenda - 14 Feb 2010 - Feb 14,2010

Sat, 13 Feb 2010 14:30 GMT

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Paid parental leave âover my dead bodyâ, says Abbott

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 08:00 GMT

Reports that Liberal leader Tony Abbott is considering a taxpayer-funded paid maternity leave scheme must be treated with extreme suspicion given his track record as a supporter of WorkChoices and previous hardline opponent of helping working mothers, say unions.

ACTU President Sharan Burrow said the Howard Governmentâs WorkChoices had undermined pay and conditions for women, and it was simply not credible that Mr Abbott believed in supporting working mothers and would actually deliver on such a scheme.

She said that when it came to women in the workforce, Mr Abbott was an unreconstructed traditionalist who was now attempting to court the female vote.

âAfter years of entrenched views antagonistic to the interests of women, Tony Abbott is now trying to con the electorate,â Ms Burrow said.

âHis real views are contained in comments he has made in recent days that housework and ironing are the role of women.

âDuring his years as Employment Minister under John Howard, Mr Abbott never made any attempt to introduce a paid parental leave scheme. He is on record as opposing it.â

In 2002, he told a Liberal Party function in Victoria:

âCompulsory paid maternity leave? Over this Governmentâs dead body, frankly.â

Ms Burrow said women fared extremely badly under WorkChoices, which took away job and income security, and made it harder for mothers to balance their work and family responsibilities.

âTo its credit, the Rudd Government has committed to a fully-funded, universal scheme that will start next year,â Ms Burrow said.

âWill Mr Abbott support this legislation â or block it, like he does with every positive initiative from the Government?

âWe already know that Mr Abbott wants to re-introduce WorkChoices policies into Australian workplaces.

âWorking parents simply cannot trust him to do the right thing.â

Skilled migration changes on the right track

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 08:00 GMT

Major changes to Australiaâs skilled migration program announced today will better target skills shortfalls, but need to be accompanied by tighter labour market testing to ensure Australians are given job opportunities, say unions.

The ACTU welcomed the reforms to the permanent skilled migration program announced today, which would both target skills needs and reduce exploitation of workers from overseas.

âThis is a welcome initiative,â said ACTU President Sharan Burrow.

âIt recognises that Australia needs to more effectively integrate migration policy with national workforce and skills planning.

âReforms such as the removal of the Migration Occupations in Demand List and its replacement with the new Skilled Occuptions List, along with the proposed review of the points test, will better target future skills needs.

âSkills Australia is the right body to develop this new list.â

Ms Burrow said the changes would undo bad policy by the Howard Government that had led to foreign workers being exploited with no guarantee of decent work.

Tightening migration to focus on labour needs rather than uncapped migration and unregulated training schemes was positive, but without proper labour market testing, employers could still deny Australian workers job opportunities.

âWe continue to have outstanding concerns that the migration program relies excessively on uncapped, temporary, employer-sponsored migration dictated by short-term employment cycles,â Ms Burrow said.

âWe call on the Government to reform and retain a Critical Skills List which identifies skills in high demand in the immediate or short-term.

âHaving such a list in place would enable permanent skilled migrants with these skills to be brought in through priority processing arrangements to address immediate skills deficits, and avoids temporary migration visas being seen as the only response.â

The Agenda - 7 Feb 2010 - Feb 07,2010

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 14:30 GMT

USA: Prospects for organized labor’s legislative agenda rapidly fading

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 08:00 GMT

LabourStart headline - Source: Las Vegas Sun

Australian Climate Action Summit 2010

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 00:32 GMT

IT'S TIME TO REGISTER FOR THE 2010 AUSTRALIAN CLIMATE ACTION SUMMIT! Sat 13 March – Mon 15 March, ANU, Canberra

Altona By-election Brief

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 12:54 GMT

Altona, Victoria. Credit: John Shadbolt

By Alex Schlotzer:

Australians will head to the polls for a federal election sometime later this year and until the exact date is to be announced decided, any number of theories and speculative guesses abound. However political junkies will also no doubt be aware that this year will also see three state elections, with South Australia and Tasmania leading the charge on March 20 and Victoria rounding out the year on November 27.

If history is any judge, all three campaigns will involve some very fierce political battles with “dirty tricks” undoubtedly featuring prominently. The use of such underhand techniques has already begun with some reports of their use in one form or another in all three states although such things are not necessarily reported through mainstream media outlets until near the end of the campaigns.

However, the good electors of the Victorian state district of Altona will be the first to head to the polls (February 13) to elect a replacement to fill the vacancy left after Lynne Kosky's dramatic retirement from politics. And this by-election will have much hype, although anything suggesting that it will be an “early test” of the Brumby Labor government is a joke. Looking at the demographics and voting patterns of Altona District, suggests that the Labor Party will easily retain the seat. For me it's an election and I love elections; I am a self-confessed election addict, some may say – junkie.

At the 2006 state election, the Greens vote was a little more than 10%, and there are expectations from the party that this vote may increase. The Socialist Alliance have also fielded a candidate and there are a couple of supposed “independents” although they appear to be little more than stooges for the Liberals. The two-party-preferred (2PP) vote for Labor in 2006 was roughly 71% and will probably be about the same at the conclusion of the ballot count for this by-election.

The Greens are likely to pick up the Socialist Alliance preferences and the Liberals the independents' preferences; though there'll be leakage all round between the parties and independents. The Greens preferences, if they can't out last the Liberals in the ballot count, will flow to the Labor Party. As with most by-elections, I'd expect to see an even lower than normal voter turn out, which unfortunately is symptomatic of by-elections.

What makes this by-election interesting, and worth watching, is that the Liberals for the first time in nearly two election cycles have fielded a candidate in a by-election they can't win.

A by-election worth watching? What do you think?

Live Coverage Details

theangle.org will be providing the live coverage through our Live Blogs (courtesy of Cover It Live) from 6:30pm on February 13. The live blog will have provding commentary:

Alex Schlotzer, theangle.org's contributing regional editor, will act as the live blog's facilitator and moderator.

Rich Bowden, theangle.org's Editor in Chief, who is co-moderating the live blog

We hope to be able to add some expert and “on-the-ground” coverage on the day.

Alex Schlotzer is a straight talker when it comes to politics and loves to vent his spleen. Actively involved in Australian and international politics with a keen understanding of the dynamics of the political machine, Alex has a prolific online presence and has been a cyber activist for over 15 years. Regional editor of theangle.org, he can also be found at his blog and his exciting online project Australian Politics TV.

Turkey: Tekel Supporters Unfurl Banner on Mount Ararat Peak

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 08:00 GMT

LabourStart headline - Source: News.am

USA: Obama's Labor Secretary Backs Employee Free Choice, Strong Enforcement of Wage, Safety Laws

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 08:00 GMT

LabourStart headline - Source: AFL-CIO

Zimbabwe: Cops, state's spy agency main violaters of workers' rights: assault, torture union activists

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 08:00 GMT

LabourStart headline - Source: Zim Online

Rant n Rave Radio News Headlines

The Agenda - 14 Feb 2010 - Feb 14,2010

Paid parental leave âover my dead bodyâ, says Abbott

Skilled migration changes on the right track

The Agenda - 7 Feb 2010 - Feb 07,2010

USA: Prospects for organized labor’s legislative agenda rapidly fading

Australian Climate Action Summit 2010

Altona By-election Brief

Turkey: Tekel Supporters Unfurl Banner on Mount Ararat Peak

USA: Obama's Labor Secretary Backs Employee Free Choice, Strong Enforcement of Wage, Safety Laws

Zimbabwe: Cops, state's spy agency main violaters of workers' rights: assault, torture union activists

Paid parental leave âover my dead bodyâ, says Abbott