441

Union protests Speedo sackings

BY MICHELLE BREAR SYDNEY — Workers are continuing their actions against swimming costume manufacturer Speedo, which shut the doors of its South Windsor factory on March 2, leaving 65 workers without jobs. Sixty of the workers were women who had

Australian ownership of Woodside in whose interest?

On March 6 eight West Australian Liberal MPs wrote a letter calling on Prime Minister John Howard to block the imminent $10 billion takeover of Australia's 12th largest company, Woodside Petroleum, by the Anglo-Dutch oil giant Royal Dutch/Shell.

M1: The people behind the letters

BY SEAN HEALY The two letters — M1 — are certainly getting around: they're on flyers, on lamp posts, stencilled onto footpaths, they've even started to get into the mainstream media. The idea is getting around too: "we're going to blockade the

Reactor plans hits another hurdle

BY JIM GREEN The federal government's plan to build a new nuclear research reactor in the southern Sydney suburb of Lucas Heights hit another hurdle on March 15 when a French court banned a ship from unloading 360 spent fuel rods from the existing

Capturing the feel of a new movement

S11 DocoWritten, produced and directed by Charlie Hill-Smith, Cindy Elliot & Pat Stirling$8Order a copy by email at <charlie@cobweb.com.au> StruggleKineticDistributed by MGM Records BY SEAN HEALY I've spent most of the last six months

Capitalist globalisation condemned

BY TONY ILTIS MELBOURNE — "The borders are open for the capitalists to exploit workers all over the world but they are shut in the faces of refugees and poor people", Surma Hamid of the Committee in Defence of Iraqi Women's Rights told a forum

M1 club censored at Tas Uni

BY SARAH CLEARY HOBART — Despite much interest in the planned M1 action from students, the University of Tasmania's clubs and societies council voted on March 12 to deny an application to affiliate from the campus' M1 Alliance group. While the

Rio Tinto may pursue Jabiluka uranium mine

BY JIM GREEN Multinational mining company Rio Tinto may now decide to complete construction of and then operate the Jabiluka uranium mine in the Northern Territory itself, it was revealed on March 14. For several months Rio Tinto has been

ZIMBABWE: 'Only a new revolution will dislodge Mugabe'

BY DALE T. McKINLEY HARARE — For a man who might soon find himself facing the life-threatening wrath of a former comrade turned despotic head of state, Dzinashe Machingura shows amazingly little concern. Maybe that's because Machingura is better

Linencare workers victorious

BY ANTHONY BENBOW PERTH — After six days of a round-the-clock picket line, workers at Linencare linen service in Perth's southern suburbs returned to work victorious. The members of the Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Workers Union,

Indonesian unionist condemns IMF

BY TONY ILTIS MELBOURNE — "Although Indonesia has, like a good child, been obeying the [International Monetary Fund], the economy is not improving", Indonesian union leader Dr Setia Pribadi told a March 15 public meeting here on labour struggles

KOREA: Daewoo factory reopens under police siege

BY IGGY KIM SEOUL — Daewoo's Bupyong factory recommenced operations on March 7 under the guard of 8000 riot police. As 80 buses took workers into the factory about 200 laid-off workers attempted to block them. All were detained by the police.