#2
Meat workers win after long battle
LAUNCESTON — On September 15, an 18-month industrial dispute came to an end at Blue Ribbon's plant in St Leonards. Seventeen workers received $500,000 in wages owed, which had accumulated since the beginning of the dispute.
According to the September 16 Hobart Mercury, Grant Courtney, the Tasmanian state secretary of the Australasian Meat Industries Employees Union, said that "some workers have had huge marital problems, some have sold their houses and others had to sell their cars just to get through this crisis".
The workers spent 182 days outside the plant. They were locked out after they refused to become independent contractors in April 2003.
Duncan Meerding
Rally protests Centrelink closure
MELBOURNE — On September 16, local residents and supporters of the Action Against Centrelink Closure campaign group marched along busy Brunswick Street and converged on the Fitzroy branch of Centrelink to protest it's planned closure by the Howard government.
The rally was addressed by federal MP for Melbourne Lindsay Tanner (ALP) and the Greens and Socialist Alliance candidates for the seat. Tanner claimed that "it's too late for me to keep this facility open if we get into government". Instead, he promised he would "work to have a new office open in this area".
Greens candidate Gemma Pinnell told the rally that "this Centrelink office should stay here, that's what the community in this area would like to happen".
Socialist Alliance candidate Zoe Kenny said: "The Socialist Alliance is calling on Lindsay Tanner and the ALP to support the demand of the local community and guarantee that this Fitzroy Centrelink office is not closed."
Marcus Pabian
Left makes gains at UWA
PERTH — The broad-left ticket Left Alternative made strong gains in the University of Western Australia (UWA) guild elections held on September 13-16.
The incumbents, Student Team About Results (STAR), regained control of the guild, however next year's guild council will include a greater number of left activists and international students.
Trent Hawkins, a UWA Resistance club member, and Alexis Vassiley, an activist in the Education Action Network, were elected from the Left Alternative ticket as guild councillors. The UWA Greens club president Rebecca McIntyre won the environment officer position. Fred Fuentes, current guild councillor and Resistance member, won the left's first National Union of Student delegate position for a number of years.
International Student Link increased its number of councillors from two to three.
Kiraz Janicke
From Green Left Weekly, September 22, 2004.
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