A slogan for International Women's Day 2014? PENALISE - PENALISE - PENALISE

"What's on your mind?" Facebook asks each time I post.  Well, what's on my mind is the dreadful interview with a young-ish woman on ABC TV this morning.  The young-ish woman spoke about why women are not getting a fair go in the workplace and are not well represented in the higher management positions etc ad nauseam.

Picture below is from here

Let me declare my interest.  I am a 1970s-1980s feminist and to see what happens to even the most basic feminist traditions such as IWD makes me ill.

The young-ish woman enunciated a new version of failure to understand or act on the REAL problem by discussing how mentoring of women had failed but this new thing called sponsorship of women would be a huge success. 

What absolute garbage!!!  The problem no longer lies with women - except perhaps those women who are unable or unwilling to study and work hard to progress.  A lot of women prefer stasis to playing boy's games or suffering  under boys' bias.  

But let's take a look at what women can do.  Work hard? See Gail Kelly, CEO of Westpac.  Manage family responsibilities - even multiple births?  See Gail Kelly! Extend your education in a new direction? See Gail Kelly.  Improve the company's bottom line? See Gail Kelly.    

Gail Kelly is not alone in managing all this.  She is merely (?) the most public face of what a lot of women are doing, have done, and will continue to do.

In 1984 Australia legislated the Sex Discrimination Act which in recent years has been revised without doing what needs to be done.  Discrimination of any type can be difficult to prove.  Discrimination on the basis of gender is particularly difficult.  Penalties for such discrimination either at business/corporate level or the individual level have been, more often than not, the equivalent of being well and truly beaten with a feather duster.  

The problem, in the main, is no longer a problem of women and their abilities and education.  Women - generally speaking - have never been more well-educated, well-qualified, and able.  

The problem lies where it has always lain - with men.  The problem lies even in the second-highest office in the land - the Prime Minister's office. The problem lies, currently, in the civil discourse established by Australia's current prime minister to defeat one particular woman - but also women within his own party.  What is the punishment for the Prime Minister's vilification of women?  Success - that's what.  He got there.  His cronies got there.  The media he favoured got there.  

What will the young-ish woman do about that?  What will the ABC Breakfast Show do about that?  What will the Sex Discrimination Act do about that?  What will that joke of a government bureaucracy titled the Workplace Gender Equality Agency or EOWA do about that?

Men are rewarded with real status and meaningful incomes while women are given useless legislation, a very dim government bureaucracy, a lot of lip service.  

Saturday 8 March is International Women's Day.  Are you spending it in a meaningful way or just going to one of the frippery type events.  I suggest that there be a one word message for this year's IWD - PENALISE!

World Day for Decent Work - October 7 - Please organise so that your voice can be heard

Website for World Day for Decent work on October 7 is here.

Since 2008 the ITUC has been organising the World Day for Decent Work (WDDW) on 7 October. It is a day for mobilisation for all trade unions across the globe, from Fiji in the east to Hawaii in the west. Every year we have hundreds of activities in a hundred countries, carried out by millions of people.

DOCUMENTS

Download your documents here:

Name	Size	Type
Flyer 12 by 12 Campaign	2.4 Mb	PDF
ITUC Congress Resolutions on Decent Work	15.4 kb	HTML
ITUC Global Poll 2013 - Economic and Social Outlook	2.8 Mb	PDF
ITUC Global Poll 2013 - Prepared for the Lowy Institute for International Policy	1.8 Mb	PDF
Report: Economic Briefing 1	1.2 Mb	PDF
Resolution on organising	63.6 kb	PDF

Now - more than ever - you need to be in a union : waiting for Tony Abbott to have a second crack at WorkChoices

Our Sharan Burrow, who was ACTU President 2000-2010, is now the most senior union leader in the world. She was elected to the position of Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) in 2010 - the world trade union body representing 174 million workers in 156 countries. Not bad for a girl from Warren in country NSW!

Sharan leads the movement from Brussels, when she is not travelling the world speaking up for workers' rights everywhere.

Everyone's union activism starts somewhere, and for Sharan it was when she was a high school teacher in country NSW and was elected to be the local representative for the NSW Teachers Federation. She became the President of the Bathurst Trades and Labour Council and went on to hold positions with the NSW Teachers Federation before becoming President of the Australian Education Union and then President of the ACTU. Sharan left her position at the ACTU when she was elected as the first Australian and first woman to become the Secretary of the ITUC. The Australian union movement has produced many great leaders and fighters and we are proud of the work Sharan is doing on behalf of all workers.

Sharan was the ACTU President during some tough times under the previous Coalition Government and has sent this message to Australian union members. Share to spread the word.

Everyone's union story starts somewhere. Tell us yours in the comments below, or start yours today: www.australianunions.org.au/join

Read about WorkChoices Mark I here.

Young women and work rights. Please don't resign - get professional advice on your work rights.

From Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission ~~~~~

We are currently reviewing our my work rights campaign and would like to receive your feedback. The ‘My work rights’ campaign aims to raise awareness of young women’s rights at work. Experiencing harassment and discrimination can have real, negative impacts on a person’s confidence and wellbeing.

Our research shows that among young Victorian women:

a third have experienced sexual harassment at work

more than a third have been discriminated against at work.

We also discovered that young women often don’t make a complaint about discrimination or sexual harassment. They are more likely to resign.

We’ve developed a quiz to help young women find out about their rights at work. Please send this update on to your networks and encourage them to promote it and take our short survey at myworkrights.com.au to help us improve the campaign. The survey is anonymous and takes 10 minutes or less to complete.

If you, or anyone you know have any questions about rights at work you can call the Commission’s Enquiry Line for a free and confidential chat on 1300 292 153 or email enquiries@veohrc.vic.gov.au.

For updates about ‘My work rights’ like facebook.com/myworkrights and follow@MyWorkRights on Twitter.

For further information about the Commission's electronic updates service visit: humanrightscommission.vic.gov.au/eupdates
.......................................................................................
Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission 
Level 3, 204 Lygon Street |Carlton 3053 | Victoria, Australia
Telephone: 1300 891 848 | Fax: 1300 891 858
Email: communciations@veohrc.vic.gov.au
Web: www.humanrightscommission.vic.gov.au

The Commission's Privacy Policy can be found at www.humanrightscommission.vic.gov.au/privacy

Latest news from Ethical - with top story the battle against McDonalds at Tecoma

Update. July 2013 No to McDonalds! Palm oil slavery Animal testing Tax Havens Quick bites

Say No to McDonalds! Fast Food giant McDonalds has taken their move to build a store in the leafy Dandenong Ranges township of Tecoma in Melbourne's east to a new level. They are now suing 8 local residents. See the Age article McDonald's uses fear tactic, say Tecoma eight. Despite the community clearly not wanting the development, the CEO of McDonalds in Australia says "we can't see what the problem is". > Listen to mp3. This is corporate bullying of ordinary citizens. It's time to say enough. > Join the 'Burger Off!'community campaign. Sign these petitions (1) (2), join the Facebook campaign. Come to thepublic rally on Sunday 28th. Be inspired by people power with the 'Resitance is fertile' CD. Globally, the McCount is presently an enormous 34,392restaurants in 116 countries - 896 in Australia. Criticisms of McDonalds include: cruelty to animals, selling unhealthy food, targeting children in ads, exploiting workers and contributing to the destruction of rainforests. See more at  11 Things McDonald's Wishes You Never Knew About .   Slave labor linked to palm oil Businessweek has released a groundbreaking article connecting Indonesia's palm oil industry to widespread cases of forced and child labor (18/7/13). The stories include workers, many of whom are children, being defrauded, abused, and held captive on palm plantations. The investigation focused on Kuala Lumpur Kepong, one of the world’s most significant palm oil suppliers, a major supplier to agribusiness giant Cargill. > See full story >Take action at the RAN Campaign > More on Palm Oil > More on Agribusiness in Australia. Animal testing for cosmetics in China A Choice investigation has found that major cosmetic brands are failing to inform customers that their beauty products are tested on animals in China. Skin and eye irritation tests must be conducted on animals in order for cosmetic products to be sold in China, which are paid for by manufacturers. > ABC News (vid, 6/5/13). > Seecompanies list compiled by Choice. Also, in related news, India has announced that it will implement a ban on animal testing for cosmetics (1/7/13). See more on animal testing. Tax Havens for Australian companies exposed A Uniting Church report, 'Secrecy Jurisdictions', reveals 61 of the top 100 companies hold subsidiaries in 'Tax Havens' - countries that offer low levels of tax and regulation, and thick layers of secrecy. News Corporation, Westfield and the Goodman Group were among those holding more than 50 entities in low-tax jurisdictions each (25/5/13). > more > See this infographic on how Associated British Foods group (the brand owners of Tip Top bread and Don smallgoods) dodge their tax in Zambia - depriving the country of $27 million in lost revenue since 2007. Money that could be spent to help free people from hunger. > Find out more and take action at EndTaxHavenSecrecy.org Quick bites ... Excellent new ASIC report 'Labour and Human Rights Risks in Supply-Chain Sourcing' - looks at policies and disclosure of top companies in Australia (24/6/13). The Australian Federal Court has found Steggles engaged in false advertising that claimed its meat chickens were free to roam in large barns. (10/7/13)AusFoodNews International consumer products group PZ Cussons has acquired Australian premium baby food brand Rafferty’s Garden for AU $70 million. (10/7/13) AusFoodNews

Bangladesh garment factory fire at Rana Plaza - Woolworths/Big W reply to concerns & their sustainability strategy and even more links

Thank you for writing to us with your concerns on the recent factory collapse in Bangladesh. Let me assure you that BIG W was not sourcing from Rana Plaza. BIG W has in place a requirement for all suppliers to comply with our ethical sourcing policy on providing a safe and hygienic working environment. We regularly visit our suppliers’ factories in Bangladesh to ensure they meet our standards.

We believe the Accord on Fire and Building Safety is a positive initiative that enables a collaborative approach. On 7th of June, we announced that BIG W has written to IndustriALL to indicate that it will sign the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh.

On 29th May, BIG W wrote to the global union organisation IndustriALL to express our support for the Accord’s aims and our intention to become a signatory once the Accord working group, which includes retailers from around the globe, advises on the details of the implementation plan.

Woolworths Limited is a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact and is an active member of the international Consumer Goods Forum’s Global Social Compliance Program. This program aims to deliver a shared and consistent standard for continuous improvement to working and environmental conditions across all manufacturing categories and sectors.

Kind regards
Armineh Mardirossian
Head of Corporate Responsibility
Community & Sustainability
Woolworths Limited

Woolworths press release of 2 June 2013.

Woolworths Limited - Corporate Responsibility

Woolworths Limited - Doing the right thing: Sustainability strategy 2007-2015  Please read Chapter 20

Please note: picture, links and "The Brands You Know and Trust" have been inserted by Miss Eagle.

Benefit for Bangladesh : You saw 4 Corners, now take action: Thurs 27 June, Celtic Club, Queen St, Melbourne

Kelvin Thompson - Parliamentary Secretary for Trade - responds on the Rana Plaza fire in Bangladesh

In May I posted five times on The Network regarding exploitative sweatshop labour including writing about the deathly Rana Plaza fire. Western corporations and consumers have been/are the beneficiaries of cheap and slave labour. If you click here, you can view the posts.

If you click on this link, you can see in this post the text of the letter which I wrote to the Parliamentary Secretary for Trade, The Hon Kelvin Thomson MP.  

To-day's post brought Kelvin Thomson's reply.  I publish it below.  What do Networkers think?  Is this sufficient ... sufficient to ensure the dignity of right rewards for labour in Bangladesh and, for that matter, other countries where, to date, labour - particularly the labour of women and children - has been exploited to the benefit of western corporations and consumers?  Please comment.

Walmart, human rights in Bangladesh : Walmart & its international supply chain : Why do no journalists ever question Corbett re Walmart?

At last we hear from Walmart in relation to safety in its Bangladesh supply chain.

Published from Inside Retail.Asia

Walmart joins Bangladesh safety plan

Posted Date: 15/05/2013 By InsideRetail.Asia Walmart says it will conduct in-depth safety inspections at all factories in Bangladesh that produce goods for the retailer. The company will complete all reviews within six months and will publicly release the names and inspection information on all 279 factories. As a result, workers in these facilities can be assured of safer working conditions, it says. Walmart began more rigorous inspections under the enhanced safety program earlier this year, and will begin posting results of these inspections on June 1. Adding to this new level of supply chain transparency, the company posted on its website the list of failed factories in Bangladesh that are no longer allowed to produce for Walmart: http://corporate.walmart.com/bangladesh. A list of all failed factories will follow in the coming weeks. The company is also increasing the pace and frequency of follow up inspections in all Bangladesh factories, with visits taking place every two months to ensure both compliance and progress. "Transparency is vital to make progress in improving factory conditions, and by disclosing this information, government, workers, non-governmental agencies, and companies can benefit from this work," said Rajan Kamalanathan , VP of ethical sourcing for Walmart. The safety inspections are designed to provide detailed reports that allow the company to continue to make responsible sourcing decisions, and include: Thermal circuit imaging to determine the temperature profile of the factory electrical system and analysis for possible faults and fire risks. A review of system compliance with both local legislation and global standards (NFPA 70). Measurement of circuit parameters including voltage, current, insulation, and leakage to identify system performance and existing or upcoming risks, as well as a review of circuit load in relation to system protections to identify the degree of protection against overload and hotspots/sparks. Confirmation of approved building design and verification of civil design compared to major dimensions of existing building construction; a review of building utilization per permits and as utilized; reviews of compliance with local legislation; review of routes of egress, fire detection systems and response elements, including sprinkler systems and fire mains. Visual inspection of building for indications of structural distress. Review of building use as compared to conditions established in fire certificate for the building. Walmart retained engineers and other trained professionals to perform these inspections at its own cost. The company will order production stopped at facilities where urgent safety issues are identified, notify the factory owner and government authorities of the need to take action, and require remediation. Walmart expects that the costs of appropriate remediation and ongoing safety investments to be appropriately reflected in its costs of goods purchased. "If we identify issues that cause us to believe that people's lives are in danger, we will take swift action," said Kamalanathan. "Preventing the kinds of tragedies that have recently taken place in Bangladesh will only happen if all stakeholders across the board set clear parameters and take action to drive real safety and compliance improvements." Walmart will also contract with Bureau Veritas to provide fire safety training to every worker in every factory that produces goods for the company in Bangladesh. In addition, the company is contributing $600,000 towards a project that empowers workers to have a voice in the solution. By partnering with Labor Voices, a company that communicates proactively and directly with workers to identify and share concerns inside of factories, Walmart will gain new insights for ensuring the safety of and empowering factory workers.

~~~~~~~

Miss Eagle's comment: 

It is noted that the Bangladeshi government has moved to permit unionism.  The government's previous stand was clearly a breach of human rights.  Walmart is no respecter of workers' rights in its home country of the United States.  Will it allow unionism in its supply chain workplaces and factories in Bangladesh or will it carry on like it does in the land of the unfree, the United States of America?  What human rights will employees in Walmart's supply chains in other countries be able to expect?  Why does no journalist - let alone an Australian journalist - ever question Roger Corbett in relation to Walmart matters and his role as a Director of Walmart?

May Day, Labour Day, 8 Hour Day : the confusion of labour movement commemorations & celebrations in Australia

HAPPY MAY DAY TO ONE AND ALL

In Australia, the role of May Day in the lives of working people is - in some places - completely overlooked.   In fact, there is national confusion when one wishes to establish who celebrates Labor Day when.  Perhaps the time for a national day to celebrate working people and their labour is long overdue.

From my own personal experience, the only two places where the May Day-Labour Day connection is/has been made is in Queensland and in the Northern Territory.  In each of these places, Labour Day is celebrated on the first Monday in May.  This sometimes means that Labour Day does fall on 1 May - but mostly it doesn't.  However, the May celebration does maintain the connection with May Day and its communal and labour connections.

Particularly confusing are the sites on the web which proclaim Queensland as celebrating Labour Day in October.  Please see here and here.  

However, the problem is resolved if one pays a visit to the Industrial Relations site of the Queensland Government relating to Public Holidays in Queensland.  Queensland moves away from the May Day connection this year. Labour Day moves to October to bring Queensland into line with the majority of states.

Victoria's Labour Day - celebrated in March (as it is in Tasmania) - has long since been abdicated to a less serious Melbourne jollity called Moomba.  This site gives dates and background to Labour Day in Australia.

As can be seen from the graphic below, the number of states celebrating an October date now outweighs the number celebrating a March date.  It would be interesting to know when a unified day for celebrating Labour Day will be reached.

If, dear Networker, you wish to get a handle on the background to all this,
might I suggest the Wikipedia entry on the Australian Labour Movement.

If you live in or near Melbourne, perhaps you would like participate in the May Day March sponsored by the Victorian Trades Hall Council Executive and the Melbourne May Day Committee please go here for more information.  And there's this Facebook site.

Housing, Location, Jobs, and Wages - declining affordability

Defaulting on the Australian dream This week we launched our report into the affordability of housing for workers in a number of occupations,Defaulting on the Australian dream. The research shows that a full-time salary no longer guarantees access to affordable housing in Australia. We've also created a new way for you to take action as part of the campaign. You can now send a letter to the editor of your local newspaper directly from our website! What's even more powerful than us contacting the media is for you to contact them direclty – to tell your story of housing stress and why you believe housing stress should no longer be ignored. We wish to thank Ged Kearney, President of the ACTU, for helping us launch the report, which shows that working Australians who would traditionally be looking to buy their first home are among those affected by the current housing crisis. Ged pointed out that more and more Australians don't have the protection of full-time work, and that people in causual and contract employment can have even more difficulty accessing affordable housing than reflected in this report. Housing stress means you are spending more than 30% of your income on housing, and we were surprised to discover how many people have to spend more than half of their income on rent. This makes it almost impossible to save for a deposit, which means that home ownership is not an option. Child care workers, cleaners and hairdressers are likely to spend more than 50% of their income on housing in their capital city. The crisis is most keenly felt by workers in Queensland, closely followed by NSW, ACT and NT. This report confirms the need for affordable housing close to jobs. Our plan for addressing housing affordability in Australia can be downloaded here. Regards, Joel Pringle Campaign Manager Australians for Affordable Housing

Walmart, Woolworths, Pokies, Grog and the Salvation Army - does Roger Corbett have a case to answer

Why is it that one never sees nor hears of an Australian journalist interviewing Roger Corbett about his involvement as a Director on the board of Walmart?  Walmart's poor employee and workplace practices are legion and legendary.  Yet here in Australia we cannot seem to ask questions about this.

Just like how we don't know how the Salvation Army involves itself with Corbett in its Red Shield Appeal while he sits on the Board of ALH Group (the Woolworths grog and pokies conglomerate).  ALH Group is the largest poker machine operator in Australia and on its way to being the world leader in poker machine operations.  So how does the Salvation Army find a synergy of goals with someone like Roger Corbett?  

A tale of two troglodytes: how Julia called time and changed the game!

This blog is a participant in Blog Action Day 2012.

The theme is the Power of We -

which I believe the women of Australia

have demonstrated in support

of our first female prime minister, Julia Gillard,

and in support of reasonable civil discourse.

This is quite a story.

This post is Part 1.

I expect to follow up this afternoon with Part 2.

This wordcloud has come from  Turn Left 2013

I will leave it to a feminist PhD candidate to collect every last thread of this story.  Collecting the most recent and prominent threads has been enough.  Below please find a list of mainstream media links relating to Julia Gillard's speech last Tuesday 9 October 2012.  Among these links both the video and the transcript of the speech are available.

I believe a number of factors led to the speech of 9 October.

Firstly, the ongoing vileness day after day, week after week by conservative forces and the Leader of the Opposition, Tony Abbott.  Please go here to see some of the images used against Julia Gillard.  Many women face sexism and misogyny every day and have to let it go by with dignity - so it has been believed.  There is no doubt that Julia let it go by with dignity - but we do suspect she may have mentally rehearsed what she would actually say given the opportunity.

Secondly, she faced the Canberra Press Gallery to answer challenges which had been going on for a long time regarding events in her earlier life. Julia stood there taking every question the gallery asked and answering in detail.  My view is that if they had stayed there until midnight, she would have kept up her strong demeanour and kept answering their questions.  As it turned out, the gallery ran out of questions after 55 minutes.  But it was a tour deforce with Julia remaining composed, answering lucidly, and even giving some interchange.

Thirdly, what doesn't break me makes me stronger. Unfortunately for the conservative opposition, the Liberal National Party Coalition, they have continued their hardline and vile tactics for over two years. Australia has a 'hung' parliament with the government holding on by a thread with support of a mixed bag of independents and teeny-tiny parties. For Julia and her manager of government business, Anthony Albanese, some days it must feel like herding cats.  Every day that parliament sits, the Labor government is only a vote or two or three away from defeat.  Yet Labor has not toppled as the Opposition expected ... and day by day their frustration, their hatred, their violent language has become more putrid.

So while some believe that Julia Gillard remains the Prime Minister of Australia by luck and with the help of petulant independents, her misogyny and sexism speech proves beyond doubt that this is a strong woman with a sound intellect who is competent, competitive, and determined.  This is what electrified and transfixed Australia - and, as it turned out, the world - last Tuesday.

Now we see and hear a mystified mainstream media trying to play catch up.  They focus on what led to the speech - matters surrounding the now resigned Speaker of the House of Representatives.  They say they had to give context to their reporting.  I have yet to hear any of our senior and serious journalists acknowledging that a number of narratives can co-exist and run concurrently, each with their own context.

The context of the eruption of social media was that a significant number of Australians - perhaps the majority - and possibly a majority of women were fed up.  We have been fed up with the negativity of the opposition.  We have been fed up with the vileness and violence of their language which has poisoned public discourse in Australia.  We want good government.  We don't want either our economy or our nation talked down to glorify the negative agenda of the Leader of the Opposition, Tony Abbott.  Over and over with spontaneity since last Tuesday Australians have said "Enough is Enough".  I am not sure whether we have to wait a little longer to declare Julia's speech cathartic, a national release, rejoicing, breathing out at last.  We will wait to see if that is really the case.

But last Tuesday was significant.  I believe that the women of Australia reached a new milestone then.  Our drooping shoulders could now be lifted and braced. The misogyny and sexism and ridicule and diminution of women would now be fought with dignity and strength.  Men who share the values of Abbott and Jones will have to either shut up or justify themselves, their words, their actions.  Game on! Thank Julia!

For a distinguished review of the vile things
that have been visited upon Julia Gillard
please go to Anne Summers site - The Looking Glass.
Please note Anne's warning: there is a vanilla version,
then there is the R rated version, and then the pictures.
~~~~~~~~~

Here are a few blogs to give you a flavour
of the mood among women in The Land of Oz

boeufblogginon

Turn Left 2012

Blue Milk

Cafe Whispers

I realise that these blogs are only a minute representation

of the blogosphere on this topic.

Please, Networkers, feel free to send me

the name and URL of your favourites for inclusion.