Howard’s Hangover Continued…

Howard's ethanol hangover continued this week as it was revealed his session with Honan has cost hundreds of jobs that would have been created by a CSR backed ethanol plant planned for Queensland. While Howard and his mates at the big end of town bandy together in their 'pseudo society', we in the real world can take heart from the growing strength of co-ops (highlighted last week) and the revelations this week that socially driven industry super funds, without a need for profit and with those managing them earning smaller salaries, are putting the capitalists to shame.

PICKS OF THE WEEK

Fuel in the fire with a political hot potato

Peter Beattie will be less than impressed with John Howard when he learns that Australia's other major ethanol producer, CSR, has shelved plans to build a $75 million plant in regional North Queensland, as a direct result of the political controversy surrounding financial favours and ethanol producer and political donor Dick Honan.

Full story: http://www.smh.com.au/text/articles/2003/08/14/1060588529942.htm

Socialists beat capitalists - by about $100bn

There's an awkward secret at the centre of Australia's superannuation system: the socialists are winning.

Full story: http://www.smh.com.au/text/articles/2003/08/15/1060936057198.htm

Another 150 IT jobs to go at Westpac

Westpac Banking Corp has joined the latest round of job shedding in Australia's financial services sector, confirming that it was making 150 people in its information technology division redundant.

Full story: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/08/20/1061368355795.html

Westpac chief gets 17% pay rise

Westpac's board has handed David Morgan a 17 per cent pay rise and signed him to stay on as chief executive until the end of 2007,when he turns 60. Dr Morgan will have a $1.7 million base salary in 2004, a sum that is fixed for the four years.

Full story: http://www.theage.com.au/text/articles/2003/08/14/1060588525794.htm

Bosses must do more on terror

BOSSES and businesses are exposing their workers to danger by not having adequate anti-terrorist workplace drills, a leading security expert has warned.

Full story: http://www.dailytelegraph.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,6982160%255E704,00.html

Ex-GIO directors up for $20m bill

Former directors of insurer GIO will pay an estimated $20 million in compensation to shareholders if the Federal Court approves Australia's largest shareholder class action settlement in the next two weeks.

Full story: http://www.smh.com.au/text/articles/2003/08/17/1061059718676.htm

LEGISLATION NEWS

Law reforms to expand CEO duties

Chief executive officers and chief financial officers will be compelled to certify the accuracy of their company's financial statements under new measures contained in draft legislation on corporate law reform.

Full story: http://www.theage.com.au/text/articles/2003/08/17/1061059717872.htm

Law dean a tip to replace ASIC chief Knott

Shock. Surprise. That was the general reaction this week when David Knott, chairman of possibly the nation's most important regulator, announced he would step down from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission after only three years of his five-year term.

Full story: http://www.theage.com.au/text/articles/2003/08/15/1060936053529.htm

No fair go for Samuel in blue over codes

When Graeme Samuel finally received permanent tenure as chairman of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission last month, he would have known he was about to start living in a goldfish bowl.

Full story: http://www.smh.com.au/text/articles/2003/08/15/1060936057850.htm

INTERNATIONAL

PwC head says new rules a price Wall Street has to pay

The global head of PricewaterhouseCoopers said yesterday the recent Sarbanes-Oxley legislation in the US, though flawed, improved the "environment of governance" on Wall Street.

Full story: http://www.smh.com.au/text/articles/2003/08/14/1060588527972.htm

Whiz kid suspect in $65m theft at Merrill

It was the summer of 1998. The bull market was under way. Wall Street banks barely gave a second thought to hiring young whiz kids straight out of college.

Full story: http://www.smh.com.au/text/articles/2003/08/15/1060936057875.htm

Wishing on a star

CAN the Terminator star solve California's economic woes, assuming he wins the votes?

Full story: http://www.dailytelegraph.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,6962852%255E704,00.html

FEAR IN THE WORKPLACE

From a special advertising report on Occupational Health & Safety. The Australian, August 20, 2003.

FEAR and malice rule in an increasing number of Australian workplaces. It's not OK. There's every sign that the nation is paying an increasing price for it.

"On one hand, managements espouse the value of teamwork," says OHS consultant, Mr Bruce Parry, "at the same time they create workplaces in which staff compete against each other for survival, everyone's being expected to do more work in less time, employees increasingly work longer hours, trying to make themselves stand out as stars.

"Many try to one-up their colleagues by withholding information. Knowledge is power, and the colleague who doesn't have it is made to look less efficient as a result."

That's in the short term. In medium and long terms, stress leads to violence in the worksite, general increases in workplace conflict, and a rising tide of depression and anxiety that could become Australia's number-one health care problem in little more than a decade.

As marketing manager of the Australian OHS counselling company IPS Worldwide -- and a workplace counsellor -- Bruce Parry sees no reason to believe that things are going to get much better. In fact, he sees no reason to believe they'll become any better at all.

The increasing level of emotional problems in the workplace are caused largely by what Mr Parry describes as the long-term stress due to a sustained period of change over the past five years.

"The only constant for many workers has been change," he says. "Downsizing has reduced the number of jobs in many organisations. The survivors are worried about whether they can retain their jobs. They're worried about how longer hours are affecting their families and their health and community relationships.

"Those who work for multi-nationals, particularly American companies, have extra problems because head offices seem to have no idea of time zones.

"Australians stand by at home for 3am teleconferences. Then they get through the day on three hours sleep."

Globalisation means that many Australians must work to American standards and practices, and these already seem to have dire effects on an increasing share of that nation's workforce.

IPS's Parry expresses certainty that depression will be the number one OHS problem in American companies within 10 years, at an estimated national cost of $US30-$US40 billion a year.

But to the superficial manager, that's a later decade's problem. Former GE chief executive Jack Welch remains widely honoured as the US manager of the (twentieth) century in large degree for sacking large numbers of employees and selling off low-earning company activities.

GE today trains its aspiring young managers to what it titles "black belt" standard: it's a war out there, and these people are armed for it.

Following "efficiencies" in the US Post Office, the American language acquired a new phrase: going postal was coined after episodes in which disaffected postal employees brought a gun or guns to work, shot as many colleagues as possible, and often then shot themselves. Americans go postal today just as Australians spit the dummy.

The Itchy and Scratchy workplace tide has yet to peak.

"There's no sign the pressure cooker is going off the boil," says Bruce Parry. "I tell my clients the only thing I'm sure of is that the stress is going to increase. Learning to manage stress is no longer a luxury, it's a necessity.

"And long-range distress leads to depression, anxiety, aggression, and at many workplace levels. Managers who are depressed make very bad, haphazard, emotional decisions, and from these flow further OHS implications."

Increasing workplace stress creates a need for increasingly sophisticated person management: the increasing practice of dumping or downgrading employees because they take family responsibilities seriously is replaced in some corporations by helping family members integrate their life and work by child care or elderly-parent care assistance.

In Australia as elsewhere, counsellors are called to non-functional work teams to encourage employees not to take out their aggression on each other -- or customers.

"We don't try to make them all buddies," says Perry, "but we can establish lines of respect and encourage them to deal with the issues they can resolve, and live within those that they can't."

WORLD WIDE WEB

Multinational Monitor

Multinational Monitor is a monthly magazine devoted primarily to examining the activities of multinational companies. The magazine also covers issues involving labour, the environment, corporate crime, multilateral banks and development. Each issue contains: several short news items; approximately two feature articles; and an interview with a government official, corporate executive, union leader, environmentalist, academic, consumer activist, or other expert on a topic of interest to the magazine. The Monitor also run an article on a labour issue; an article analysing an economic issue; and/or a book review.

http://multinationalmonitor.org

SATIRE

Care of the Chaser... "Striving for mediocrity in a world of excellence."

http://www.chaser.com.au

Indecent Obsession begin to doubt 'Next Big Things' tag

SYDNEY, Wednesday: Members of the early-nineties pop band Indecent Obsession are beginning to lose faith in a prediction made ten years ago that they had a big future in music.

The all-boy guitar group burst on to the Australian scene amid a blaze of hype, leading many industry pundits to tout them as the Next Big Things. But after nearly a decade since the release of their only single, the band members are starting to question the accuracy of the claim.

"At the time everyone said it, I had no reason to doubt them," said the outfit's briefly popular singer David Dixon. "I mean, this wasn't just record company puff - it was a genuine statement about the group's long-term prospects for chart success."

Dixon said he completely trusted the musical judgement of the Mushroom Records marketing department, who in more than one press release described Indecent Obsession as having the potential to be as big as The Beatles.

"It sounded realistic to us," he said. "I mean, even Molly himself was saying it. It's just not like Molly to get these things wrong. After all, he was so on the money about Kids in the Kitchen."

Dixon said the band first began to doubt their Next Big Things status two years ago, when their manager booked them to play a regional League's Club. Things looked even less promising a week later, when they were replaced at a wedding gig by Ratcat.

The band members have agreed to stick it out for one more year to see if their predicted glory can yet be fulfilled.

For further information

Contact:   Chris Owen
Email:   c.owen@labor.org.au
WWW:   www.bosswatch.labor.net.au