US LOW PAID WORKERS WARN OF IR PERILS

30 July 2007

Extraordinarily low wages and the pressure to work two or three jobs just to try to pay the bills is the stark reality of the US Industrial system - and low paid American workers are warning Australia not to follow the downward spiral.

Three low paid workers earning as little as $9 an hour - bus driver Iris Flores, day porter/janitor Allen White and steward/office cleaner Dolores McCoy - are visiting Adelaide on Tuesday (July 31) to share their stories of a deregulated industrial system.

They'll meet the Premier, exchange experiences with fellow paid workers in the cleaning industry, and appear at a booked out forum hosted by SA Unions and SACOSS.

SA Unions Secretary, Janet Giles says the visit is a timely warning of the dangers Australia faces if the Coalition is re-elected.

"If you think the IR changes are biting now, listen to the US experience and consider how much worse it could be if the Howard Government is given the chance to furthers trip workers' rights."

Ms Giles says, "This isn't some vague suggestion that IR changes might prove difficult - this is the hard truth from those struggling to survive in the world's richest country."