Burger King is trying to intimidate and silence its workers and the Unite union from criticising the company.
The company has applied to the Employment Relations Authority seeking an injunction to stop Unite from organising teach-ins at its stores about how the company is treating its workers. It also wants to shut down the union's blog from reporting on Burger King and its activities.
Burger King has told its staff that if any of them speak up at teach-ins outside its stores they face 鈥渟erious consequences鈥.
935
With weary familiarity, Britain鈥檚 government deficit 鈥 the gap between what it spends, and what it receives from taxes 鈥 has been revealed as far worse than anticipated.
Last month, the government borrowed 拢557 million ($846 million). In July last year, it saved 拢2.5 billion 鈥 spending less than it received in taxes.
For the financial year since April, its total deficit has risen to 拢44 bllion, 拢11.6 billion higher than the same period last year.
Free Syrian Army (FSA) leader Abdul Salaam types on his Dell laptop while a comrade sitting nearby taps a text message on his iPhone.
Eight of his fighters lounge around an apartment living room late one night. Their 150-man brigade, Ahrar Syria (Free People of Syria), even has its own Facebook page.
The brigade sports modern techno gadgets, but it lacks sophisticated arms and ammunition. So instead of fighting in the battle of Aleppo, the militants help smuggle refugees and injured fighters from war-torn Syria into Turkey.
In recent months, Prime Minister Julia Gillard has taken to highlighting the role of state electricity utilities in pushing up power prices. Average power bills have been rising rapidly 鈥 69% over four years in NSW.
A small but vocal group of people gathered outside the Land and Environment Court in Sydney on August 20 to protest against Rio Tinto鈥檚 plans to extend its Mount Thorley Warkworth coalmine near Bulga, in Singleton Shire in the NSW Hunter Valley.
The protesters held banners saying 鈥淒on鈥檛 bugger Bulga鈥, 鈥淪top coal and gas destroying NSW鈥 and 鈥淪ave the Warkworth Sands Woodlands鈥, while they chanted slogans such as 鈥淩ack off Rio Tinto.鈥
OK, nobody panic or anything, but it seems another key plank in Gina Rinehart's plot to destroy the Earth has been given the green light. and rail project in central Queensland has been granted federal government approval, ABC.net.au said on August 23.
on August 24.
* * *
The Refugee Action Coalition has welcomed the government鈥檚 announcement to immediately increase Australia鈥檚 refugee intake to 20,000. But the government could and should have increased the intake without re-opening Nauru.
鈥淭he bitter pill of violating refugee rights on Nauru is not going to be sweetened by increasing Australia鈥檚 overall intake,鈥 said Ian Rintoul, spokesperson for the Refugee Action Coalition.
Telstra sends jobs offshore
Regional communities are furious at . Last year,
Local councils say the 126 job cuts in Townsville and 116 job cuts at Lismore will devastate communities there.
Five words sum up federal opposition leader Tony Abbott's response to some sharp questions put to him by journalist Leigh Sales in the August 22 episode of ABC TV's 7.30: Liar, liar, pants on fire!
If you need a good example of a person with a chronic disposition to lie, this is it. Read the , then imagine the same interview 鈥 except conducted after Abbott was given a dose of truth serum.
Perhaps it would go something like this.
* * *
The independent Gonski review, commissioned by the federal government into school funding, was released in February. It concluded that Australia is investing far too little in education and that in our wealthy country there are many schools that are underprivileged.
It also concluded that our education system is not fair 鈥 that our school system is stacked against the disadvantaged, while it gives the most privileged the most advantages.
In response to attacks on jobs and services by the Barry O鈥橣arrell Coalition NSW government, Unions NSW is launching Local Union and Community Councils (LUCCs) across the state. Many of these groups are based upon networks established during the Your Rights At Work campaign in 2007.
LUCCs have been set up in more than a dozen regional and metropolitan locations, and several groups are having their inaugural meetings over the coming weeks (see below
for details).
The campaign against the Liberal National Party Queensland government鈥檚 public sector cuts and suppression of alternative views is gathering momentum in the state鈥檚 Far North region.
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