Union leaders tell Green Left Weekly why the June 28 national protests against Work Choices are so important.
Tommy Watson (CFMEU-FEDFA division Victorian state secretary)
We’ve got to continue these rallies and community actions. We know what the agenda of Work Choices is now; the ALP and the ACTU can’t use the excuse anymore that you’ve got to wait until the legislation’s out before you can act. If we get half-a-million people out on the streets throughout this country on June 28, that will certainly have an impact on the government. We’ll also get a much better industrial relations policy from the ALP if we have hundreds of thousands of people in the streets, instead of just talking to the ALP in the backroom.
[The proposal for] the June day of action came from the Victorian unions first. The ACTU and other unions realised that even if they rejected the proposal we would still have a rally in Victoria and we’d continue the campaign ... They could lose [control of] the agenda. They couldn’t allow that ... and decided to call the June 28 national protests.
Jeremy Smith (National Tertiary Education Union, University of Ballarat branch president)
Mass countrywide protests are critical in indicating to all workers that the campaign still has a great deal of momentum. And for those who are already engaged in local campaigns, they get support from a national day of action.
There is a real groundswell from rank-and-file unionists for a substantial response to the government’s legislation now that it’s been enacted. This groundswell amongst activists moved the ACTU to call the June 28 national protests.
Jimmy Reid (AMWU printing division Victorian state secretary)
Howard says he takes no notice of protests, but the Howard government, like any other, will be sniffing the political air to see if the unions are running for cover or mobilising for the fight. The rallies are a message to both main political parties that the union movement is not prepared to roll over while workers are being stripped of their conditions.
I don’t believe that workers in the printing industry are any different from workers in other industries and printing industry workers are saying loud and clear, “We want [the AMWU] to be leading the charge in this fight against this act of bastardry by the Howard government”. If other union leaderships are not listening to that message coming from the shop floor then they’ll be judged by their membership.
There is a groundswell of resentment from the factory floor against this legislation, and the factory floor is saying that rallies are an important part of the IR campaign.
The union movement has got to be rock solid. Support has to be given to any union or workplace that comes under attack when a company trying to apply this legislation ... If that means a campaign of civil disobedience then so be it.
Tim Gooden (Geelong Trades Hall secretary)
There’s a lot of things happening on the ground in the campaign, but there’s only one activity that brings everybody together — national protests and national stoppages. Those actions gain more media attention and put more political pressure on governments than any other campaign tactic by itself.
June 28 will be important to let the government know that even though the laws have come into effect, the fight’s not over. The national protest will help the united workers’ movement defend and assist those workers who have already been penalised under the new laws.
Rallies are a very significant indicator of what workers are prepared to do. It is very difficult to leave work to join a protest march and rally when you face being sacked, penalised, victimised and “counselled” by the boss. So when workers do mobilise in massive numbers it is a strong indicator of how they feel about an issue.
From Green Left Weekly, April 5, 2006.
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