June 29 was dubbed "Black Friday" for Queensland public servants as up to 3000 temporary and contract workers faced the sack from the Liberal-National Party government.
Contracts for many staff in "non-frontline" jobs expired and will not be renewed under a job freeze ordered by Premier Campbell Newman, the June 29 Courier-Mail said.
Newman has also appointed a razor gang, following the interim report of the Costello Commission of Audit into state debt, to find more cuts, including jobs of permanent staff.
jobs
Federal Liberal/National Coalition leader Tony Abbott left Normanton, in far north Queensland鈥檚 gulf country, on November 10, having failed to win Aboriginal elders' backing for his bill to repeal Queensland's Wild Rivers legislation.
The existing Wild Rivers legislation aims to protect the wilderness rivers of the tropical north, and provide Aboriginal control of employment and economic development in the region.
British rail unions branded Transport for London (TfL) 鈥渂arefaced liars" after its management attempted to claim minimum disruption during a 24-hour strike on November 3.
London Underground services were crippled by strike action called by the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) and Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA) over safety-critical job cuts.
All 11 of the London鈥檚 Tube lines were hit by the walkout. The action was the latest in a series of strikes over plans to axe up to 2000 jobs, including 800 station staff.
NUMSA supports the decision taken by Mine Line workers to take-over and run the company since it was long placed under curatorship.
The Mine Line company is based in Doornkop, and produces valves for mining machines. Out of fear of paying workers decent wages, its owner Waynerd Mulder declared the company bankrupt in August after reaping the profits generated through the sweat and blood of workers.
As a result of this melodrama by Mulder, workers were hardest hit by the company鈥檚 non-operation and lost their earnings in the midst of the escalating cost of living in our country.
One of Australia鈥檚 richest men, mining magnate Andrew 鈥淭wiggy鈥 Forrest, used Australian television on October 24 to send an address to the nation about his 鈥淕eneration One鈥 campaign, which aims to 鈥渃lose the gap鈥 between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.
I don鈥檛 have any air-time, but I do have page space. This is my address to Twiggy.
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Dear Mr Forrest,
I think we have something in common (yes, I鈥檓 surprised too).
Mining magnate Andrew 鈥淭wiggy鈥 Forrest had an opportunity on ABC鈥檚 November 1 screening of Q&A to defend his record on Aboriginal employment. He didn鈥檛 do very well.
鈥淵ou can see that through Generation One, a real challenge to fill those jobs, because we've proven for all time that corporate Australia 鈥 in fact every Australian 鈥 isn't racist鈥, Forrest said.
鈥淲e do love our first Australians. We do want to help them as much as we can but we can do it without just throwing money, and I believe I could do more.鈥
Aboriginal workers in the Northern Territory "want to work, want to have a go鈥, Aboriginal activist Mark Fordham told 60 people at Brisbane鈥檚 Kurilpa Hall on October 24. Fordham is a former Community Development Employment Projects co-ordinator at Ampilatwatja community and is a member of the Liquor Hospitality and Miscellaneous Workers鈥 Union.
Fordham had spent the previous two weeks touring the east coast, speaking with unions and community groups about the effect the federal government鈥檚 intervention into NT Aboriginal communities has had on employment.
The following statement was adopted by the Trade Union Climate Change Conference held in Melbourne on October 9.
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This conference of Victorian union activists and local climate activists commends the report by Beyond Zero Emissions and Melbourne University鈥檚 Energy Research Centre. The report outlines a technically feasible and economically viable way for Australia to transition to 100% renewable energy within 10 years.
On October 20, 200 people gathered in the community of Kalkarindji to protest against the policies of the Northern Territory intervention, launched in 2007 by the Howard Coalition government.
Under the intervention, Aboriginal welfare recipients in the NT have half their pay 鈥渜uarantined鈥 onto a Basics Card, which can be used only in approved stores and only for food, clothing and medical supplies.
Gippsland unions and community organisations took part in the fourth in a series of 鈥渢ransition jobs seminars鈥. The seminar took place on October 13 under the auspices of the Gippsland Trades and Labour Council (GTLC) and the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT).
It dealt with the region鈥檚 current skills base in brown-coal mining, dairy and other industries, and the sort of training needed to skill workers for environmentally sustainable production.
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