Interesting that you should mention a "new era of unionism", Warren. I was listening to a Radio National program discussing the new IR legislation. One thing they mentioned was that people in like occupations should band together to negotiate for fair deals (unions!). They also talked about the idea of an employment advocate - being someone with knowledge and understanding of your particular employment situation - and how that role might be best fitted to a union. Wouldn't it be ironic if the Howard government was responsible for an upsurge in unionism? Link to program http://www.abc.net.au/rn/talks/natint/default.htm <http://www.abc.net.au/rn/talks/natint/default.htm> if you are interested in listening Bridget Knaus Intranet Manager, Web Publishing National Library of Australia Ph: (02) 6262 1619 Fax: (02) 6273 3648 Mob: 0438 782867 -----Original Message----- From: austechwriter-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:austechwriter-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of warren.lewington@xxxxxxxxx Sent: Tuesday, 29 November 2005 3:46 PM To: austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: atw: Re: Was OT: Culture - now truth and logic Yes, that's right. I did not want to mention churchill (note case) for that. His reputation is so well regarded still. The iron lady was quite the real deal wasn't she? Oh, and there are quite a few others who have tried. Problem we have now is the lack of union representation here. we have lost the union as a 'united we stand' paradigm. Particularly pertinent for unionism now would be call centre type clerical staff, IT based careers, and the blue collar industries that are losing their unions. Don't misunderstand me, I have never been a union person, and was black-banned once, (over unrelated disputes with a company, I lost work as an apprentice!) but I know unions changed lots of our work conditions for the better... I wonder if these new IR laws may begin a new era of unionism? Warren Lewington Technical Writer Metso Minerals Arndell Park, Sydney. NSW, Australia.