3 Days

WA MUA contingent rally to the cause

Tens of thousands take to the streets across the nation in defence of worker's rights

Around the nation workers downed tools and took to the streets in a week of action against the Howard Government's proposed industrial laws. Ports stopped as waterside workers at Patrick and P&O joined mass rallies of 20,000-30,000 in most capitals ­ and a record 100,000 in Melbourne.

The CBD was brought to a standstill by the June 30 march, which stretched from Flinders Street station all the way back to Trades Hall in Lygon St,

1.5 kilometres away.

In WA, the branch boasted a record 1000 maritime workers bussed in to join the 25,000 strong Perth rally. "It was our best ever," said Branch Secretary Chris Cain. Trade union leaders and federal and state Labor MP's led the march.

In Sydney, workers marched down Sussex Street and along the Hungry Mile to the beat of "Power in the Union", passing a giant screen showing scenes from the 1998 Patrick lockout, before unfurling a banner on the Harbour Bridge.

Thousands more gathered in Parramatta, Rooty Hills, Newcastle and Wollongong to watch the satellite link telecast.

Newcastle branch passed a resolution pledging "full support in opposition to this fascist legislation" and to "campaign to defeat the government proposals." In Adelaide, workers held a stop work meeting before joining the rally; Opposition leader Kim Beazley marched with workers and ACTU leaders in Melbourne and in the Northern Territory Labor politicians including the chief minister and federal members Warren Snowdon and Senator Trish Crossin showed their colours.

In Hobart, MUA State Secretary Mike Wickham urged 500 unionists and workers at Devonport to vote out the Howard Government: "We have to get these people out of office and we will target them through unannounced rallies at their offices and by letter-boxing every house in their electorates," he said, before leading a march to the local Liberal MPs office and calling for him to step down.

The rallies were synchronised to complement an $8 million dollar television campaign portraying life under the new regime ­ a mother threatened with the sack if she didn't abandon her young children to work an unrostered shift, a man forced to sign an individual contract cutting his pay and conditions after 15 years with the company.

The impact of the campaign was immediate, with polls showing the overwhelming majority of Australians opposing the government's plan and Howard's popularity slumping to an all-time low. Labor was ahead by 54 per cent to 46 per cent in two party preferred terms. It was enough to make the PM cut his winter holiday short and return to work to espouse the rosy future of his Œenterprise workers'. A week later, new polls showed a slump in consumer spending was also attributed to the union campaign.

At the same time the unions have found allies in unlikely places ­ the new head of the Anglican Church, Phillip Aspinall, said that he would consider joining pickets while the renowned right wing Catholic primate, George Pell, compared Howardıs IR bill to the poll tax that led to British PM Margaret Thatcherıs political demise. The otherwise conservative Family First Party, taking up its first seat in the Senate, announced it would push for the public release of a family impact statement on the new laws. Meanwhile, government and business leaders began bickering over who should pay for a counter-offensive and media commentators noted divisions within the business community.

One paper featured a caricature of Patrick boss Chris Corrigan attacking the Business Council of Australia for failing to do anything to counter the ACTU campaign (Chanticleer, AFR, 13/7/05). The columnist noted: "So far business is leaving workers (and other taxpayers) who will be screwed by the changes to pay the government (PR) bill." John Howard's popularity slump was not helped by his refusal to repeat the 1996 'rock solid promise' that no worker would be worse off under his policies while daily horror stories of people forced to sign individual contracts and cash in their annual leave, made headlines.

And the timing of a dispute at the Department of Workplace Relations over making AWA acceptance compulsory for those seeking to join the public service through DEWR was an added embarrassment for the Government.

The CPSU was also highly critical of the department's move last month to put out engagement contracts - now withdrawn - to potential non-ongoing employees asking them to tick a "yes" or "no" box to "acknowledge my commitment to sign an Australian Workplace Agreement".

Meanwhile an Australian Bureau of Statistics report has confirmed the truth of the ACTU campaign ­ most workers on individual contracts are worse off than those on collective agreements. And a second survey, by Dun Bradstreets, found scrapping unfair dismissal laws would not entice companies to hire new staff.

The Howard IR regime is also attracting international attention. The International Labour Organisation is investigating whether Australiaıs existing workplace laws breach international treaty conventions and when the new laws pass through the Senate, these too will be up for international scrutiny.

The fight for worker's rights has now gone beyond national borders and the Maritime Union is doing its bit, garnering support at the Pacific Rim "Globalising Solidarity" conference in the US in May (see "Our Global Team") and helping organise a protest outside the Australian Embassy in Bangkok on June 30 when unionists from 13 countries representing 10 million workers were attending the Southern Initiative Globalisation and Trade Union Rights Conference.

The meeting included representatives from South African, Sri Lankan, Pakistani, Canadian, Indian, Brazilian, Philippines, Indonesian, Australian, Bangladeshi, Nepalese, Korean and Thai trade unions.

"This is an extraordinary development," said MUA National Secretary Paddy Crumlin. "We've got workers from developing countries prepared to take action in support of workers from Australia, a country once renowned for fairness and labour justice."

Meanwhile, the Government is so concerned by the public and media outcry against its reforms that Howard has appointed a special IR taskforce led by virulent anti-union campaigner (former Liberal Party federal director and National Farmers' Federation) MP Andrew Robb. As well, the infamous media spin doctor and Peter Reith's offsider during the Patrick lockout, Ian Hanke, has joined Andrew's staff.