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Rail workers walk out over safety

Rail workers walk out over safety BY BILL MASON BRISBANE — The Queensland Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) struck for 12 hours on April 13 against the introduction of driver-only trains in north Queensland. The "wildcat" strike was called at

UNITED STATES: 16 years for pinching a chocolate

UNITED STATES: 16 years for pinching a chocolate According to an April 5 report on ABC radio, mandatory sentencing laws in the US state of Texas resulted in a man being jailed for 16 years for stealing a Snickers chocolate bar. Listeners to the AM

Indonesian, East Timorese militants tour

Indonesian, East Timorese militants tour By ROHAN JOSEY BRISBANE — More than 130 people, some who travelled from as far away as Lismore and Toowoomba, packed the Queensland Council of Unions auditorium on April 11 to hear the Budiman Sujatmiko,

STREETS FREE TO ARTISTS

Advertisement STREETS FREE TO ARTISTS see Australia: http://www.brushtail.com.au USA: http://openair.org/alerts/artist/nyc.html

Students serve log of claims

Students serve log of claims BY ADAM BAKER AND KATE STEWART BRISBANE — Griffith University students, incensed at deteriorating campus conditions, have served a log of claims on their university administration. The students marched through the

Controversy over milk hormone safety

Controversy over milk hormone safety In late 1993, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave permission for Monsanto corporation to market rBGH, a genetically engineered hormone that is injected into dairy cows to make them produce more milk.

ZIMBABWE: Australian Democrats back white privilege, IMF austerity in Zimbabwe

Democrats back white privilege, IMF austerity in Zimbabwe On April 4, Australian Democrat senator for Western Australia Andrew Murray successfully moved a notice of motion asking the Senate to "support the British government's strongly expressed

Tax office pay dispute

Tax office pay dispute BY CHRIS SLEE The tax section council of the Community and Public Sector Union has recommended that CPSU members in the Australian Tax Office reject management's draft agency agreement. Management is offering a 4% a year

Young people rally against 'legalised racism'

Young people rally against 'legalised racism' Hundreds of secondary students walked out of school last week to protest the racist policies of the federal government, in particular its refusal to repeal mandatory sentencing laws in Western Australia

Industrial campaign at SCU builds

BY NICK FREDMAN LISMORE — "There's something rotten in the state of Lismore!", thundered Maurie O'Sullivan, president of the NSW Public Sector Association, at a picket and rally at Southern Cross University (SCU) here on April 11. O'Sullivan was

COSTA RICA: Strikes, marches force delay of privatisation

Just after midnight on April 5, weary government and civic representatives inked a deal that put a halt to three weeks of sometimes violent national strikes in Costa Rica. The strikes were the largest mass protests seen in this Central American

Is there a 'new economy'?

The expectation of enormous productivity gains from the rapid spread of information technology (IT) has been driving the Nasdaq, Wall Street's index which tracks the prices of key IT and other high-tech stocks, to breathtaking new highs. The US stock