Heroes or villains? Inside the CFMEU

In the first of a two-part series, Working Life goes beyond the tabloid headlines to find out what makes the CFMEU tick.

10 Things you should know about tax

IT’S TAX time again. No one likes doing it, but there’s no getting around the annual tax return.

To help guide you through another year of receipts and figures, here’s 10 things you need to know about tax, from Sydney-based accountant David…

The ugly truth about the FIFO way of life

GRANTED, it’s not common these days to look back at the Bjelke-Petersen era with nostalgia.

But Joh had the right idea on one thing. When granting mining licenses in his state, he made it conditional on mining companies building…

Anything but your average Joe

HE has outlasted seven Prime Ministers, seven ACTU presidents, and five ACTU secretaries but the way he tells it, Joe De Bruyn fell into the union movement almost by accident.

The FIFO life is not all it’s cracked up to be

THE rapid growth of FIFO (Fly in, Fly Out) and DIDO (Drive in, Drive Out) in Australian mining continues to throw up major problems for the workers, families and communities caught up in it.

The Dismissal : Where Were the Unions?

11th November 1975 saw an unelected representative of the ruling classes dismiss a government that had been elected by a majority of people in Australia.

Most books, even trade union histories of the time, make scant reference to trade…

The reason 50% of apprentices don’t finish

The apprenticeship system needs urgent reform to lift…

Pilbara mine workers unite to take on Rio Tinto

AUSTRALIA during the last ten years has witnessed one of history’s greatest mining booms.

Thanks to record demand from Asia, the extraction and export of our wealth of resources has transformed our economy.