SP Newsletter No.230
It is clear that UNITE’s campaign to organise 7-Eleven workers in Victoria is starting to have some effect. Today the Workplace Ombudsman announced plans to send ‘know your rights’ brochures to thousands of international students at universities and TAFE colleges throughout the country.

Referring to 7-Eleven the Workplace Ombudsman Nicholas Wilson said that in Melbourne, inspectors have targeted 24-hour convenience stores in the CBD for auditing after public reports that overseas students working after hours were not be being paid properly.

Wilson said “the number of overseas students coming to Australia was creating a new group of vulnerable workers open to exploitation by unscrupulous employers”. This has been the case with 7-Eleven. For example this week UNITE revealed that they had been in contact with several 7-Eleven workers who were only being paid $8 per hour!

There were more than 459,000 international students enrolled in Australia at the end of July. It is in the interests of all unions to attempt to organise these workers. If we allow greedy multinationals like 7-Eleven to get away with this behaviour more and more employers will try to follow suit.

Pressure is now mounting on 7-Eleven to significantly improve the wages and conditions of all of their workers.

Action against 7-Eleven in Melbourne this Friday!

UNITE will be staging another action against 7-Eleven this Friday.

The details are: 5pm – 6pm Friday September 12th outside the 7-Eleven petrol station at 23 Victoria Street East Melbourne. The store is directly across the road from Trades Hall.
For more information contact UNITE on 0393281555.

Maintain the Rage - National young workers conference in Melbourne

On September 12 & 13 the Victorian Young Unionists’ Network (YUN) is hosting a national young workers conference called ‘Maintain the Rage’. All sessions of the conference will be held at Trades Hall on the corner of Lygon and Victoria Streets in Carlton South.

The first day of the conference is designed for high school students and new workers and will take up topics such as legal rights, access and equity and health and safety issues. On the second day activists will discuss environmental issues, queer rights, community organising and other campaigns.

An after party will be held in the Trades Hall Bar with two of Melbourne’s best bands - Pablodiscobar and The Pataphyics. The conference is free and so is the after party! For more information or to see the full timetable visit the YUN website at www.yun.org.au. You can also contact conference organiser Danielle Archer on 9659 3578.

SP financial appeal

SP needs $20,000. Please read this important appeal and donate now!
http://www.socialistpartyaustralia.org/archives/1446

Help the SP election campaign in Yarra

All Victorian Councils will go to the polls on November 29. SP will be running a strong campaign in the City of Yarra. We will be defending Stephen Jolly’s seat in the Langridge ward and we will also be standing Denise Dudley in the Melba ward and Anthony Main in the Nichols ward.

We will need help letterboxing, staffing the pre polling booths and on election day. We also need to raise money to pay for the campaign. If you can help in any way contact our National Office on 0396399111. For more information about our work in Yarra visit.
http://www.socialistpartyaustralia.org/council

News links

Pakistan: Water and sanitation workers’ protest
http://www.socialistworld.net/eng/2008/09/03pakisa.html

Egypt: Fire at parliament’s upper house exposes Mubarak’s regime
http://www.socialistworld.net/eng/2008/09/05egypta.html

US: Students walk out against the Republican National Convention
http://www.socialistworld.net/eng/2008/09/08usa.html

Join the Socialist Party

If you agree with what you have read in our newsletter or on our website you should consider joining SP. The Socialist Party has branches in Melbourne, Sydney, Newcastle and Perth as well as members and supporters in all other states.

We are involved in trade union work and student work. We also run community, anti-war and environmental campaigns. But most of all we want to build a party that will fight to get rid of the capitalist system, the system that is at the root of all of these problems. We fight for socialism - a system that will bring an end to wars, poverty and environmental destruction. To join SP contact our National Office on 03 9639 9111 and we will send you a membership application form.

Subscribe to ‘The Socialist’ newspaper!

Support the Socialist Party by subscribing to our monthly newspaper ‘The Socialist’. Subscription rates are only $10 per year or $20 solidarity price. You will receive 11 copies per year delivered to your door every month. You will also receive our email newsletter every week and you will know that you are supporting an organisation that is at the fore of fighting against the capitalist system. To subscribe to ‘The Socialist’ contact our National Office on 03 9639 9111 and we will send you a subscription form.

Socialist Party contact details

Melbourne: Phone Anthony on 0396399111.
Sydney: Phone Gary on 0297287727.
Newcastle: Phone Samantha on 0249681545.
Perth: Phone John on 0894020728.
Rest of Australia: Phone our National Office on 0396399111.
Rest of the world: Phone our International Office on ++ 44 20 8988 8760.

The Socialist Party is the Australian section of the Committee for a Workers’ International (CWI). The CWI is organised in over 40 countries across the world.

http://www.sp.org.au
http://www.socialistworld.net
http://www.myspace.com/socialistpartyaustralia
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=20461960776