Australia Post report points to massive cuts to jobs and services

A consultants’ report reveals advanced plans to wind back postal deliveries, outsource more jobs and cut wages.

Australia Post slashes 900 jobs in preparation for privatisation

Up to 10,000 jobs are expected to be eliminated over the next three years to make the postal service an attractive proposition for a corporate buyer.

Young workers super-exploited in Australian meat industry

Young Asian workers on temporary visas are being systematically underpaid and mistreated.

Australia Post workers face further restructuring and privatisation

Whatever the Abbott government’s final plans, there will be another wholesale attack on jobs, wages and conditions, as well as the slashing of mail services.

WSWS interviews charity workers and recipients

Demand for emergency welfare relief “dramatically spikes” in Sydney

The WSWS interviews charity workers and recipients about the social impact of the global economic breakdown in Sydney, Australia’s financial capital.

Philippine president bolsters police powers and foreshadows new austerity measures

In her second State of the Nation speech on July 23, Philippine President Gloria Arroyo laid out a prescription for tougher economic austerity measures, further inroads into democratic rights under the banner of fighting “corruption,” “crime” and “terrorism” and closer relations with Washington.

US prepares to extend its military presence in the Philippines

When the US dispatched more than 1,000 troops to the Philippines earlier this year, both Washington and Manila claimed that the Balikatan (Shoulder-to-Shoulder) “training exercise” would last only six months and be completed by July 31. As the deadline approaches, the signs are growing that US soldiers will remain in the country, under one pretext or another, well into the future.

Washington seizes on Philippines hostage deaths to extend military presence

A botched rescue attempt by Philippine soldiers on June 7 has resulted in the deaths of two of the three hostages held by an Abu Sayyaf group in southern Mindanao for more than a year. American missionary Martin Burnham and Philippine nurse Ediborah Yap were killed in the shootout. Martin Burnham’s wife Gracia received a gunshot wound to the leg and was ferried to hospital by helicopter. Four guerrillas were killed and seven Philippine soldiers wounded, four seriously.

Philippine president uses September 11 attacks to forge closer ties with US

In the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks, Philippines President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has exploited the opportunity to establish a closer relationship with the US. She immediately condemned the attacks and gave full support to the Bush administration’s “global war on terrorism,” offering the use of the former US military bases—the Clark airfield and the Subic Bay naval facility.

Philippine President Arroyo takes hardline stance over hostage crisis

The hardline stance taken by Philippine President Gloria Arroyo over the current hostage crisis on the southern island of Basilan has once again confirmed the rightwing and anti-democratic orientation of her administration. With the backing of the United States, she has repeatedly ruled out any negotiations with the hostage takers, dispatched 5,000 troops including special forces to the area, imposed a media blackout and threatened to prosecute anyone found assisting the Abu Sayyaf rebels.

Philippine president fails to obtain a clear mandate in national elections

Vote counting in the May 14 national elections in the Philippines will probably not be finalised for more than a week. But it is already clear that President Gloria Arroyo has failed to register the ringing electoral victory she needed to legitimise her ouster of former president Joseph Estrada earlier in the year. At stake in the poll are 13 out of 24 Senate seats, all 208 seats in the House of Representatives and over 17,000 posts at the regional and municipal level, including governors and mayors.

Philippine president declares "state of rebellion" and cracks down on opposition

Large protests by supporters of ousted Philippine president Joseph Estrada culminating in running street battles with police and the military on May 1, have rocked the newly installed administration of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. At least four people were killed, 113 injured and more than 100 arrested in what commentators describe as the worst riots since the overthrow of the dictator Ferdinand Marcos 15 years ago.

Political payoffs to supporters and opponents alike

Arroyo attempts to shore up her grip on the Philippine presidency

Just over a month ago, with the backing of the military, the Catholic hierarchy, significant sections of big business and the political establishment, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo forced Philippine president Joseph Estrada from office and, blessed by the Supreme Court, took charge herself. Her installation was portrayed in the national and international press, with a few misgivings, as a triumph for democracy and People Power that would end Estrada's alleged corruption, incompetence and abuse of power.

Mounting evidence of Philippine president's involvement in shady dealings

Over the last two weeks damning evidence has come to light in the impeachment trial of Philippine President Joseph Estrada linking him to a bank account under the fictitious name of “Jose Velarde” at the Equitable PCI Bank. According to the prosecuting team, money in the account came from payoffs from the illegal numbers racket “jueteng”.

Amid impeachment proceedings

Philippines president Estrada struggling to hang onto office

Philippines President Joseph Estrada is fighting to hang onto office after desertions from his cabinet, advisers and ruling coalition last week, further falls in the peso and demands from big business that he step down to stem the country's deepening economic and political turmoil.

Filipino president faces calls for resignation over gambling payoffs

Last Wednesday an impeachment motion was formally filed in the Philippine congress against President Joseph Estrada over alleged payoffs of more than $US8 million from an illegal gambling racket known as jueteng. Heherson Alveraz, secretary-general of the main opposition party Lakas-NUCD, who filed the motion along with 40 other congressmen, accused Estrada of bribery, graft, corruption and the betrayal of public trust.

Philippines president buys a little time by ending Cha Cha reforms and reshuffling cabinet

In mid-January, Philippines president Joseph Estrada moved to defuse an increasingly dangerous confrontation with the political opposition headed by former president Cory Aquino and Catholic Archbishop Jamie Sin. Facing plummetting opinion polls and further planned protests, he announced in a report to the nation on January 10 that he would drop his push for constitutional change, commonly referred to in the Filipino press as Cha Cha.

Overloaded ferry sinks in the Philippines killing at least 42 people

The sinking of the Filipino ferry M.V. Asia Korea at dawn on December 23, near Bantayan Island off Cebu province, is a further tragic indictment of the widespread practice across Asia of overloading aged and unseaworthy ferries. Based on the reports of survivors, the vessel struck rocks in heavy seas and its engines and generators stopped. The ferry began listing within 10 minutes of the accident, and went down within half an hour.

Estrada embarrassed by proof of Marcos billions

A series of six articles by journalist Donna S. Cueto of the Philippines Daily Inquirer, exposing the extent of the Marcos fortune, has thrown the Estrada administration into its greatest political turmoil since taking office a little over a year ago.