2004 FEDERAL ELECTION Meatworkers have been under specific attack from John Howard since his government was elected in 1996.  Members should carefully consider the record of his anti- meatworker government at the upcoming federal election.   Its time to settle some accounts with John Howard.  Lets give him and his anti-meatworker government the boot. These specific attacks are bad enough and justification for sacking the Howard government. But of course, all meatworkers and their families have also been affected by other anti-worker policy moves made by Howard. Consider the following. MEDICARE  Since John Howard came to office bulk billing rates have plummeted.  He has forced many Australians to either choose whether or not they go to the doctor or attend a hospital emergency department - placing more pressure on an already over-stretched system. Mark Latham and the ALP have committed to rebuilding Medicare for the future.  They will provide incentives for doctors to bulk bill and have set a target to raise bulk billing rates to 80%.  Further, Mark Latham has committed to setting up Medicare Teams in areas where bulk billing is in decline. These Teams will offer families access to bulk billing to help take the pressure off the public hospital system. Australians deserve access to free, quality public health care regardless of their financial circumstances.  John Howard's government has done nothing but reduce that access to the point where it is real danger. COSTELLO'S TAX CUTS - ONLY FOR SOME One of the big ticket items in this years' budget are the tax cuts.  It's here that John Howard and Peter Costello show their true colours.  To get a tax cut you need to earn $1000 per week.  This means 4 in 5 taxpayers (and most meatworkers) will miss out.  Peter Costello himself gets a tax cut of $42 per week. LABOR'S TAX AND BETTER FAMILY PAYMENT PLAN will: · Deliver a tax cut of up to $8 per week for taxpayers earning less than $52,000; · Deliver the Budget income tax cuts to taxpayers earning more than $52,000; · Increase the top tax threshold to $85,000 in 2006/7; · Simplify existing family benefits into a single payment; · Give two tax-free thresholds to single income families; · Increase family payments' means testing to $50,000 (up from $33,000); · Fix the family debt trap.   EDUCATION Badly Neglected Every meatworker wants the best for their kids and a 'fair go' in education.  John Howard's record over eight years has been to wind back government spending in this area and move towards 'user pays'- i.e. up front fees for University and reducing spending on public state system education. Put simply, the Howard government has no plan or vision for:- . Early childhood development; . Funding private and public education on the basis of needs; . Providing additional funding for public education; . Addressing the shortage of University and TAFE  places in areas of skill shortages; . Keeping higher education affordable; and . Helping our kids make the transition from school to work. Labor will · Transfer money from rich private schools to public schools and needy private schools. · Create more opportunities for gaining proper trade qualifications. · Create 20,000 new TAFE places · Create 20,000 new university places every yer. · Reverse the Howard Government's 25% increase in university fees. THE ENVIRONMENT Labor will: · Ratify the Kyoto Protocol as the first step towards achieving an effective global response to climate change. · Save the Murray River - restoring the health of the river and building a sustainable future for the regional communities that depend on it. · Stop large-scle, indiscriminate land clearing. · Ban mining and exploration both on and off the Great Barrier Reef. WORKPLACE RELATIONS What's Next?  The Howard Government's record on Industrial Relations is a disgrace. One thing is for sure. John Howard is keeping his future policies in the area of workplace relations under double wraps for the next election.  We all have to ask: what's next?  We have already seen this government reduce conditions through award stripping. It has opposed every national wage increase and reacted to any decision favourable to workers by changing the law. The last point is a good one.  Recently the Full Bench of the Commission extended severance pay to employers who had less than 15 employees.  These were previously exempt.  John Howard moved immediately to make this issue 'non-allowable' in awards, thereby depriving many workers of the benefit of the decision. Workers should be concerned.  Last term, we saw the 'second wave' reforms.  Each and every time Howard changes his Workplace Relations Act, it has always been to reduce the conditions of workers, reduce their bargaining power, or reduce their access to matters like unfair dismissal procedures.  Not once has John Howard ever amended his Act to the benefit of ordinary Australian workers. Mark Latham and the ALP's platform is comprehensive and an open one. It wants a greater role for the Industrial Relations Commission for trade unions and a reduction in managerial discretion.  It seeks to enhance the award system with an array of new provisions for awards, including part-time work for returning parents, unfair dismissal protection, maternity leave and discouraging casualisation.   Mark Latham and the ALP will abolish Australian Workplace Agreements (AWAs) and remove industrial issues from the Trade Practices Act.   JOHN HOWARD'S RECORD OF ATTACKS ON MEATWORKERS 1. SPECIFICALLY TARGETED THE MEAT INDUSTRY (ALONG WITH THE                  WATERFRONT, MINING AND CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRIES) FOR GOVERNMENT-LED ATTACKS ON WORKERS.  21 November 1996 - Peter Reith in Federal Parliament when he introduced his Workplace Relations Act:    "We also need to encourage better practices in key industries    like the waterfront, construction and meat processing industries    and other industries."  4 January 1997- Peter Reith in The Herald:   "It is a slightly more delicate situation where we have a national    interest in the matter but are not the employer....the waterfront,    for example, the construction industry, the coal industry and the    meat industry,"  Mr Reith said.   "There are quite a range of these industries where we know there    are problems with productivity and have been for a long time.    The first thing to say is we have a general role and interest in these    areas and there are some things we can do to encourage a changed    approach."  27 January 1997- Reith addressing Australian Liberal Students:    "The National Meat Association will be pursuing an application to   simplify its industry awards in the near future.  In particular, it will   be using the new provisions of the Act to seek the deletion or   modification of the current tally system in the meat industry "    something I strongly support as it is a major impediment to productivity   in this vital export industry." 2.  PROVIDED ASSISTANCE TO G&K O'CONNOR  The Howard Government encouraged and gave ongoing assistance to O'Connor in 1999 when he locked out 300 members for 9 months to starve them into signing AWA's which took away most of their conditions.  The Department of Workplace Relations and the Office of the Employment Advocate were always available to assist O'Connor.  The Howard Government also supported O'Connor in the Federal Court cases taken by the Union in defence of the O'Connor workers.  These cases were all won by the Union, despite Howard's use of taxpayers funds to help O'Connor. 3. PROVIDED ASSISTANCE AND SUPPORT TO THE NATIONAL MEAT ASSOCIATION TO ATTACK AWARD BASED TALLIES.  When the case attacking meatworker's awards was called on in the Commission, guess who turned up intervening in support of the employers? The Commonwealth; i.e. John Howard's goons from the Department of Workplace Relations.  These puppets endorsed and supported every submission made by the employers. 4.  PASSED A SPECIAL ACT OF PARLIAMENT TO TAKE AWAY THE UNION'S RIGHTS TO RETAIN AWARD BASED TALLIES IN AN AWARD.  The employers' application to remove tallies was filed in March 1997.  Due to the Union's dogged defence of the matter, the federal meat award was not varied until September 2000.   In its final decision, the Full Bench left open the possibility of tallies in specific awards not being deleted if a case could be shown for the retention of the tallies.     John Howard moved immediately to pass a special act of Parliament (Workplace Relations Amendment (Tallies) Act 2001 [Cth.]) to make tallies unlawful in any award.  Despite the opposition of the ALP, this bill passed in the Senate with the assistance of the Democrats.  His anti-meatworker government couldn't even wait for the independent umpire to rule on the matter.   As a result, despite the Union's continued persistence with the defence of the matter, all remaining awards were deleted and the companies placed on the Federal Meat Award in October 2001. 5.  GOT HIS ANTI-UNION GESTAPO, THE EMPLOYMENT ADVOCATE, TO TRY AND REMOVE 'OBJECTIONABLE PROVISIONS' FROM AMIEU CERTIFIED AGREEMENTS  If the award based attacks weren't enough, John Howard's Anti-Union Gestapo (The Employment Advocate) must have spent weeks going through every AMIEU certified agreement to find 'objectionable provisions'.  The Employment Advocate then made an application to have these provisions deleted from the agreements. The case in the Commission turned out to be a flop for the Employment Advocate, with only a few small changes being made.  All in all, another significant expenditure of taxpayer's money in the interests of attacking meatworkers when there was no real justification for doing so. CONCLUSION John Howard's anti-meatworker attacks are in themselves justification to sack him and his government.  However, when you consider the social impact his policies have had on average meatworkers and their families, the case is overwhelming.  Authorised by Graham Bird Secretary AMIEU 62 Lygon Street Carlton South Vic. 3053