ABCC chaos puts construction industry on the verge of shutdown Dan Nancarro, ETU Australia, 8 March 2017 The ETU warns the construction industry is on the verge of shutdown as the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC)’s failure to process enterprise bargaining agreements for compliance to the new Building Code throws the industry into chaos.…
From public good to profit margin: how privatisation is failing our communities David Hetherington, The Guardian, 6 March 2017 In parts of Australia a quiet tragedy is slowly unfolding. Families already beset by adversity are seeing their last shreds of hope and comfort carefully dismantled. And it’s happening under the shield of one of the…
Penalty rates: Labor says it makes ‘no apology’ for Bill Shorten’s decision to oppose cut Gabrielle Chan, The Guardian, Sunday 5 March 2017 The shadow employment minister, Brendan O’Connor, has defended Labor’s decision to step away from the Fair Work Commission’s penalty rate decision as unions meet this week to plan a Work Choices-style campaign…
Return to public ownership of national electricity grid would reduce costs, says economist Will Ockenden, www.abc.net.au, Friday 3 March, 2017 A publicly owned electricity grid is the only way to put a cap on costs, keep energy competitive and solve the country’s energy crisis, according to an economics expert. Professor John Quiggin says the creation…
Company profits surge as wages fall Michael Janda, www.abc.net.au, 27 February 2017 Official data show wages going backwards while company profits surged at the end of last year, with mining and construction leading the trend. Bureau of Statistics business indicators data for the December quarter show a massive 20.1 per cent surge in profits over…
Coca-Cola Amatil to close Adelaide factory in 2019, boost Queensland production By Sarah Scopelianos and Lauren Waldhuter, ABC,net.au, Wednesday February 22 2017 Coca-Cola workers in Adelaide are in shock after the company announced it would close its South Australian manufacturing facilities in 2019. Workers attended the Thebarton factory at 8:00am for the announcement, after shifts…
Adelaide ASC workers strike again over stalled pay talks Adam Langenberg, The Advertiser, February 23, 2017 HUNDREDS of workers at Adelaide shipbuilder ASC have launched industrial action once again over protracted pay negotiations. Union members marched outside ASC’s headquarters in Osborne on Thursday morning in a show of defiance to the Federal Government and…
Software glitch to blame for blackout of extra 60,000 SA homes in heatwave Gareth Hutchens, The Advertiser, 21 February 2017 The South Australian network operator says a software problem led to load shedding of 300MW instead of the 100MW requested by national market. SA Power Networks has said it knew a software glitch caused an…
Techport ship-building facility in Adelaide at centre of funding stoush between Federal, SA Governments Andrew Greene, ABC.net.au, Friday 18 February 2017 Australia’s multi-billion-dollar naval ship-building program has become embroiled in a spat over who should pay for the use of Adelaide’s state-of-the-art construction facilities. Over the next few decades the South Australian-owned naval…
Workers struggling to improve safety on South Australian construction sites despite deaths Aaron Cartledge, The Advertiser,February 17 MASTER Builders Association chief executive officer Ian Markos has obviously not worked on a building site in South Australia lately and encountered a safety breach that might have endangered his life. If he had, he might understand that…