Struggle Street News Listen closely --------- --------- » 2004 Editions --------- » About us --------- » 2003 Editions --------- » 2002 Editions --------- --------- Struggle Street News for 09 March 2002 Produced by: Jolyon Sykes and Susan Wood ACOSS Rejects Commissions Prescription The Australian Council for Social Service has responded to the Productivity Commissions report on the Jobs Network, saying it is the right diagnosis but the wrong prescription. Andrew McCallum, the president of ACOSS, says the report confirms his organizations long-standing criticism of the funding of Jobs Network, namely, that the most disadvantaged unemployed people do not get the help they need. However, he says that the Productivity Commissions suggestion to ration the Intensive Assistance service to those most likely to benefit is wrong-headed. Andrew McCallum says ACOSS agrees with the minister, Tony Abbott, that competitive tendering should not be abolished completely. ACOSS wants a new funding model which will reward providers for investing in the most disadvantaged job-seekers and the introduction of an employment assistance guarantee, tailored to suit individual needs. Turning to the problem that most intensive assistance recipients have used the service before, he says this means they must have been unemployed for a very long time, two years or more. Andrew McCallum says the solution to this problem is to make a genuine investment in finding work for them in the first place. Women Losing in Struggle Against Discrimination Women marginalized by the impacts of globalization and ongoing discrimination have little to celebrate on International Women's Day, according to the Australian Council of Trade Unions. Speaking on the 8th March in Melbourne, the president of the ACTU, Sharan Burrow said women around the world are excluded from decision-making and are bearing the brunt of poverty, violence and discrimination. She says Australia's record is also poor with women's average wages 171 dollars less than men's; with 70% of women having no access to paid maternity leave; and with 38% of the adult female population estimated to have experienced physical or sexual violence. The ACTU will host the Global Women's Congress of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions in February next year. Flags of Convenience Threaten Coastal Security A report issued by the Centre for Maritime Policy at the University of Wollongong has prompted the Maritime Union of Australia to intensify its campaign to save Australian shipping. The report says that, unlike airports and embassies, coastal security has not been upgraded since the September 11 disaster last year. The MUA cites several examples of reported breaches of coastal security by ships flying flags of convenience. These include drug dealing, gun running, people smuggling, money laundering, tax evasion, illegal fishing, and pollution from oil spills. The union says that foreign flagged and crewed ships are exempted from many security checks and that more and more of them are replacing Australian flagged vessels in Australian trade. The MUA is campaigning to stop the Australian registered ship, CSL Yarra, being sold and returned to the coast under a flag of convenience. The ANL, which was once owned by the Australian people, now sails under the flag of Cyprus. Drive for Women Members by World Union Body The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions has launched a campaign aimed at doubling the number of women in trade unions and improving women's working conditions. The campaign began on the seventh of March, the day before International Women's Day and is expected to run for three years. The ICFTU is calling for national trade union movements and centers to mobilize around the issue of women's right to decent work, which is the main theme of the campaign this year. It was launched in New York to coincide with a meeting of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women which is focussing on poverty eradication through the empowerment of women. Nancy Riche, the Chair of the ICFTU Women's Committee says the campaign is aimed especially at young women, migrant women and women working in the informal sector to encourage them to organize and improve their lives. Medicare for the Environment And finally, the Nature Conservation Council of NSW is calling for an environmental levy on income, similar to the national Medicare levy. The NCC says it believes this option offers the best hope for reversing the decline in natural resources. It was responding to the Deputy Prime Minister, John Anderson, who has identified natural resource management as the most pressing environmental challenge facing Australia. Executive Officer of the NCC, Kathy Ridge says she agrees with the Deputy Prime Minister that incentives are needed for farmers to continue to look after the environment on behalf of the community. However, she says that if the incentives are to be effective, they need to be given adequate resources. Only a bipartisan approach will solve problems like salinity, deteriorating river systems, land clearing and loss of biodiversity. Kathy Ridge says these have massive implications for regional communities, the environment and the economy and need to be tackled before its too late. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ For further information Contact : Jolyon Sykes Email : jolyonsykes@bigpond.com --------- --------- © 2002 Struggle Street News For more info, contact Jolyon Sykes