20 July 2007

Your Rights at Work Campaign comes to Blair

The Queensland Council of Unions (QCU) is taking its Your Rights At Work campaign to the marginal federal electorate of Blair on Monday to listen to local workers and discuss the impact of the Howard Government’s WorkChoices legislation.

QCU Secretary Grace Grace said the Your Rights At Work campaign brings the State Secretaries of Queensland’s major unions to local workplaces to hear members’ stories in person.

“It’s the personal impact on families’ lives that is most distressing about the WorkChoices legislation,” Ms Grace said.

“There are few things more threatening to an ordinary working family than the possibility of unfair dismissal or having the breadwinner’s take-home pay slashed.

“It means the mortgage or rent can’t be paid, family savings are used just to get by and the family is racked with uncertainty about the future.”

Ms Grace the QCU Executive’s tour of Blair would cover all bases.

“We’ll visit workers in their workplace, we’ll give local candidates from the main political parties a chance to air their views on WorkChoices and we’ll talk to business representatives over lunch for the first time our history,” she said.

“The message for the people of Blair is clear – think carefully about your working conditions and your future, because you have a rare opportunity to put fairness back into the workplace this federal election.

“Blair is a marginal seat and so the thousands of ordinary workers in this area could decide who becomes Prime Minister and which workplace laws they will live under for the next three years.

“The job security of workers in Ipswich, Rosewood, Laidley, Gatton, Boonah and beyond is too important to sit back and do nothing. That’s why we’ve planned four days of activities with plenty of opportunity for the QCU Executive to talk direct with ordinary workers and their families.”

Ms Grace said one major regret was that Liberal Member for Blair, Cameron Thompson, had rejected an opportunity to do likewise when he refused to speak at a public forum for local candidates next Tuesday night.

“The forum is open to the public and the media and I can’t think of a better opportunity for a local candidate to have his say as well as listen to views of others.”

Among other activities, the tour includes: 

•  a walk through Health Plaza and sausage sizzle at Ipswich Hospital
•  three different sausage sizzles for workers at a range of local workplaces
•  Blair Candidates’ Forum, Tuesday 7pm, Ipswich Civic Centre
•  QCU Executive meeting, Ipswich Trades Hall, Wednesday
•  Lunch with Chamber of Commerce, Wednesday
•  Visits to workplaces in Rosewood, Laidley and Gatton, Thursday

13 July 2007

Rural maternity services - there will soon be no births in rural Queensland unless midwifery models of care are developed and supported

There will soon be no births performed in rural Queensland unless midwifery models of care are developed and supported, the Queensland Nurses Union (QNU) conference has been told.

QNU secretary, Gay Hawksworth, has told the conference that unless action is taken to provide midwifery models of care it won’t be long before all women will have to come to the coast, or Toowoomba, to have their babies.

The 26^th annual conference of the Queensland Nurses Union (QNU) is being held this week – 11, 12 and 13 July 2007 - at the Sebel Citigate (formerly Carlton Crest) Hotel, Brisbane.

Around 200 delegates, representing more than 35,000 nurses from hospitals, community health facilities and aged care facilities throughout Queensland, are discussing a range of industrial relations, health and political issues.

Ms Hawksworth said the QNU and midwifery groups are working with the Queensland Government on this issue, but it is important the wider community understands its urgency.

“The QNU supports last year’s review of maternity services in Queensland, which states that we must enhance choices for women without compromising safety. In terms of rural services the issue is even more pressing than that. It is about whether we will offer a local service, close to their home, family and friends, at all.

“This problem was identified by the review, which noted that the issue had reached a chronic stage in some areas. As the review said:

-          women have few choices;

-          continuity of care is not available for the majority of women; and

-          birth is being removed piece by piece from community and family life.

“This is particularly true for rural women and it is time everyone recognised the profile of maternity carers is changing. Such recognition will allow us to provide better maternity care across the community, but it will also allow us to act more promptly in areas where services are at risk or absent altogether.

“GP obstetricians are leaving obstetric practice in rural and remote areas and unless midwifery models of care are recognised and supported, as they should be anyway, then there will be no service at all. The QNU believes that is an unacceptable and unnecessary development.

“Aggressive medical campaigns about safety and risk arising out of midwifery models of care should be confronted and called for what they are – fear campaigns, often based on vested interest.

“As the review noted:

There will always be an element of risk in birth whatever the choice of birthplace. However, safety in childbirth is intrinsically related to the mother’s emotional, psychological and physical well-being during labour. This, in turn, is influenced by the choices which are made during pregnancy, choices which should enable a woman to give birth at ease with her environment, her attendants and herself.

“That means we need to support ways to provide care, that is obviously safe, but also:

-          open and transparent;

-          integrated across all stages of the maternity cycle;

-          better integrated with the family and community; and

-          local.

“This can be done and we need to act before more Queensland women lose local services altogether. Midwifery models of care will be an important part of that response.

“The idea, put by the review, of ‘bush bub-hubs’ has merit. Bush bub-hubs are described as Rural Clusters of Care, which include carers from different towns in a rural and remote community in a formal arrangement that provides local pregnancy, birth and post-birth care.

“If we don’t roll out these options soon then increasing numbers of women will be separated from their communities for longer periods of time, at coastal hospitals, while they have their babies. This is a trend we need to stop and actually start reversing,” Ms Hawksworth said.

10 July 2007

Entries closing soon for 2007 Work Safe Awards

Queensland workplaces have until the end of the month to enter the 2007 Work Safe Awards.

Minister for Employment and Industrial Relations John Mickel said the Awards, run by Workplace Health and Safety Queensland, showcase the achievements of companies, individuals and organisations doing their bit to help improve the safety of their workplaces.

“There are many businesses out there that have come up with ingenious ways to overcome safety risks to protect their workers, boost their productivity and reduce their costs.

“What these businesses have in common is a strong commitment to making safety a priority every day in their workplace.

“Besides the public recognition, entering the Awards gives them a chance to share their great ideas and inspire other workplaces and industries.

“We want to hear from anyone who has developed an innovative workplace health and safety solution, system or initiative, but they need to act quickly as entries close at 5pm on Tuesday 31 July 2007.”

Entries can be submitted in more than one category:

• Category 1: Best workplace health and safety management system
• Category 2: Best solution to an identified health and safety issue
• Category 3: Best workplace health and safety practices in small business
• Category 4: Best individual contribution to workplace health and safety
• Category 5: Best solution to an identified electrical safety issue.

Winners will be announced during Work Safe Week from 21 to 27 October 2007.

For more information visit www.worksafeawards.qld.gov.au or call 1300 369 915.