Mick Houlbrook
Unions and the ALP
On February 6 Western Australian workers joined their brothers and sisters in other states between the rock and the hard thing after the Coalition state election victory. On the one hand they can expect savage labour market deregulation under the new government. On the other they face leaders of the union movement seeking to resurrect the Labor Party.
Presumably we have a short time to ponder the onslaught in WA. While not renowned for his intellect, Premier Richard Court is unlikely to be daft enough to provide Keating with the kind of ammunition Kennett has provided in recent months. Whether our ponderings lead to action is another matter. The half-hearted resistance of some Victorian unions, including the tramways deal on phasing out conductors, may indicate the wider malaise.
The Coalition IR policy in WA shows a remarkable resemblance to the Kennett policy. Apart from an increase in ambiguity, the themes are essentially the same: a “minimum wage safety net”; the “needs of the enterprise”; the “option” of the present or the new system; “essential services” legislation. The WA policy proposes repeal of “unnecessary legislation” and emphasises contractual obligations (presumably as defined under the antiquated, employer-biased, common law system). All this, of course, within the framework of “flexibility” and “freedom of choice”.
The flawed assumption justifying this nonsense is that productivity has declined and that restoring productivity will create jobs. The fact is that, under the Accord, productivity has steadily increased and real labour costs have declined. Remarkably, while productivity was being delivered and hundreds of thousands of workers were losing their jobs, the number of hours worked actually increased. This period also brought declining social and real wages and a 10% shift in wealth from the poor to the rich. Not to mention the destruction of militancy -- the very thing we need now.
All this under Labor and the Accord.
Workers in WA will certainly not be better off under the Court regime, but how can they gain anything from trusting those who sold us the “benefits” of the last 10 years? Is it better to be bled than clubbed?
There are other choices. Many working people in New Zealand have opted for the Alliance alternative, though the popularity of the Alliance is the Australian media's best kept secret.
Imagine making the obvious demands from the legacy of the Accord -- a shorter working week and job creation. Unions prepared to make such demands and to develop political independence could win back the trust of an alienated rank and file. That won't be likely from those who see the ALP as the “political wing” of the union fts” returning to the fold.
[The writer is an organiser with the WA State School Teachers Union.]
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