Sue Bolton
"I think that the rank-and-file workers are getting really stirred up. I've never seen workers like they are today. Not only workers but the general public and other organisations. They're very hostile to what the government's trying to do to workers", Queensland Transport Workers Union secretary Hughie Williams told Green Left Weekly.
Victorian Electrical Trades Union secretary Dean Mighell echoed this view, saying after a successful delegates' meeting, "I've never seen our members this switched on about anything. It was probably the most important meeting our union's ever had."
Union leaders from around the country report a big increase in inquiries about what it costs to join a union. Western Australian Maritime Union of Australia secretary Chris Cain told GLW that his union had been getting plenty of inquiries from people who had signed Australian Workplace Agreements (AWAs — individual contracts) but wanted to come back to the union movement.
Cain said that if the federal Coalition government's anti-worker legislation is introduced, those who will feel the effects of the government's legislation first will be "workers on the minimum wage, the vulnerable who haven't got strong unions to rely on, and those who haven't got enterprise agreements and are on AWAs — they are going to be in big trouble. Now we're seeing a lot of them flock back to the union movement."
After the success of the June 30-July 1 national round of mobilisations against the attacks, a number of union leaders are pushing to maintain the momentum. Between 310,000 and 350,000 people protested against the laws, and in addition, several busloads of unionists from the Gold Coast were prevented from attending the Brisbane June 30 rally because of intense storms and flooding.
Mighell told GLW that the Victorian Trades Hall Council's decision to call a mass rally on June 30 and to call on other states to take similar action on the same day had been vindicated. "The rally — getting people together en masse — was the most powerful statement. I think it's a far more powerful statement than just having workplace meetings and little meetings here and there."
Mighell said that the ACTU's advertising campaign helped increase the size of the rallies, and then the massive rallies around the country had a big impact on the opinion polls. Mighell added that "it's really important that the ACTU campaign continues. I'd also like the advertisements to start saying some positive things about trade unions — not just the negatives about what Howard's doing."
Australian Manufacturing Workers Union Victorian president Chris Spindler agreed, telling GLW that "the advertising campaign of the ACTU is having an impact and there's a broader discussion happening in the community. That's obvious from the number of community groups that are starting to ask for union speakers and to participate with the unions in the campaign."
Spindler described the national protests as "fantastic" and argued that "another national day of action and national stoppage has to be called". He said: "Rank-and-file unionists as well as officials should be putting that sort of call within their own unions and be working that up through Trades Halls and the ACTU. A national stoppage has to be part of the overall strategy to keep that unified campaign happening across the country.
"We also have to repeat the success of mobilising the community and public opinion against Howard's anti-union laws, similar to what happened with the MUA campaign [in 1998], where the community itself was part of the campaign, along with the unions."
Spindler also argued that "industrial action should be seen as a legitimate part of the campaign". He called for actions against companies that "are supporting and pushing this legislation" or that try to use the legislation if it is introduced. He also called for solidarity with any workers that are targeted by the laws.
Spindler rejected the idea that industrial action would alienate community support for the campaign, saying that "any form of action that we take as part of this campaign has got to be explained, and it's got to be explained clearly to the community. The reason why the community is now starting to get involved in the campaign is because the unionists are getting out there and talking about the changes and the impact they will have on workers across the country."
New South Wales National Union of Workers secretary Derrick Belan explained to GLW that his union branch is also pushing for national action. "We think a national day of action should be called and also for people to be asked to come off the jobs rather than this 'come if you want to' attitude of some unions."
Belan suggested "a national stoppage the week the legislation's introduced or the week the new senators sit down to consider it". He said NUW members "strongly believe that industrial action is what we need to do. That's how we've won all the good wages and conditions over the last 100 years. Our country members are just as supportive of action as our city members."
Belan also rejected the idea that industrial action would alienate the community: "We've got to remember that union members are the community. We are represented at the workplace. The workplace builds the community."
After a national day of action, Belan said, "all companies which are members of the Business Council of Australia should suffer more industrial action or repercussions. Those top 50 companies in the BCA, a lot of them are unionised and vulnerable to their workers and this is why they want the government to change the industrial relations system. It's business trying to stop workers."
"You've got the government doing big business bidding, and the unions now have to do the workers' bidding", Belan said, adding that "the campaign's running OK, but the dip in the polls won't last forever. Howard's got 20 million bucks to spend on advertising."
On July 8, the VTHC executive decided to call another all-unions delegates' meeting, with the date to be decided in the next couple of weeks. It also concluded that a national day of action is needed.
Mighell said, "The next phase of the campaign must be around building on the success of the Victorian rally for a national day where we're all taking action on the same day at the same time".
However, "industrial action isn't so straightforward for the ETU in Victoria", Mighell explained. "We've got enterprise agreements with employers that don't want a bar of Howard's campaign, they don't want a bar of individual contracts, they're happy to support collective agreements. You don't punish those that have entered into collective agreements with the union. For the ETU in Victoria, that's the majority of employers.
"The other companies which are pro-Howard are looking forward to taking on the unions", Mighell said, so "we've got to be very careful that we don't get sucked into campaigns that are undisciplined in this environment".
"Industrial action includes a broad range of actions. Walking off the job to attend a political protest under the current laws is industrial action. We've got to be extremely disciplined and smart about it. But if those employers who are right behind the IR reforms and part of the think-tank that is pushing it, then I think we need to give them our utmost attention."
Cain said that the WA branch of the MUA had a long-term strategy to get rid of the Howard government. "For the next part of the campaign, we should bring the delegates back together for mass delegates' meetings in every state", which "should decide whether we have another bout of industrial action and what the timeframe would be for that action".
"We've seen that Howard's popularity has dropped in the opinion polls, and while the pressure's on him, we should be lifting it up a gear again."
According to Cain, "Industrial action will also play a key part in this campaign, and Howard's got to be told by the whole union movement that on the day he puts that legislation through, we'll all be on the street."
"If we take industrial action, it needs to be all the unions taking it at the same time, not on an industry by industry basis, because that's when Howard can chop you up."
Williams said that while "it's inevitable that there will be some form of a national stoppage", he thinks "at this stage it's a little bit premature. I think that the rallies and meetings of workers, their families and others in the community show that the campaign is building up into something that's going to be big, so a national stoppage will happen eventually." Williams stressed that this must not be the end, but part of a "long campaign".
The Queensland TWU held a delegates' seminar recently and also organised a demonstration outside the Liberal Party MP for the seat of Bonner, Ross Vasta. The TWU has threatened to mobilise 1000 members to doorknock Vasta's whole electorate.
The TWU is also part of the Queensland Transport Unions Federation. QTUF brings together the Rail, Tram & Bus Union, the MUA and the TWU. According to Williams, it is a powerful organisation and could cause a lot of disruption if it decided to take stop-work action. He added that people are very wound up, so it wouldn't be hard to get people out taking industrial action.
"John Howard's going to spend millions of dollars to sell his deal. Now if it's such a good deal, why does he have to spend all our money to sell it? These bastards are lying to us and they're doing it at the behest of the big capitalists", Williams said.
Victorian AMWU printing division secretary Jimmy Reid has met with members since June 30 to get their ideas about where the campaign should go next. "They're very keen to keep up the momentum", he said. Printing members have suggested that the union movement should organise a convoy of buses to go to Canberra to coincide with the next major national day of protest. Reid suggested this could help attract the community groups that are supporting the campaign.
Reid thinks that the union movement could also get some publicity "if we have a permanent presence in Canberra along the lines of the Aboriginal Embassy and the Workers Embassy in Western Australia a number of years ago".
Reid said that printing union members are also calling for a "48-hour stoppage to send a message well and truly to industry. Our members are saying that this is an investment in our future. If we lose a couple of days' wages here or there in order to protect our future, then that's money well spent."
According to Reid, those unions that don't think industrial action should be taken over these laws are "seriously misjudging the mood of the people. This is a big fight. And I believe that a lot of people who aren't union members understand that. They support it. They know themselves that it is their children's and grandchildren's future."
The 6500-strong Wollongong mass meeting on July 1 voted unanimously "to call on Unions NSW and the ACTU to organise an even larger Sky Channel mass meeting stopping work to consider this legislation when it is introduced into parliament. This meeting should be nationwide and part of a national day of protest." Some 5500 people also attended meetings scattered throughout the south coast of NSW.
South Coast Labor Council secretary Arthur Rorris told GLW that the Sky Channel format "allows unions to make that impact where you work and where you live. It also allows different unions to employ whatever means they need to, to stop work and attend. Some people will call it a stop-work, some will take flexitime off, others will call it something else. What we know is that when you get 6500 people to the entertainment centre like we did in Wollongong, that makes a big impact on the town and the morale and feeling of unity, strength and solidarity."
He said whether or not a "greater emphasis on straight-out industrial action" is needed will "depend on the conditions", but that the important statement in the NSW and Wollongong motions was emphasising "the need to keep industrial action in the armoury to be able to be used when it's going to be most effective".
Rorris added that "withdrawing labour to hurt the opponent and the employer economically", when the government is "so ideologically-driven and doesn't care about small business and workers", means that the government "can turn that around and say it's just inconveniencing people and demonstrating the weakness of the union movement".
Some unions are also calling on the Labor Party to commit itself to the campaign. Belan said: "The Labor Party should say loud and clear that they'll not only repeal the laws, but they're going to make the laws better for working people. I don't believe any of that nonsense that you can't unscramble an egg."
Mighell also said Victorian unions had identified that state Labor governments need to start weighing into the campaign. The VTHC executive has discussed taking up the political campaign to get the ALP to commit to, in very real and demonstrable ways, repealing the legislation and putting in place something better.
Belan summed up the mood of many unionists in response to Howard's latest attacks: "Whenever anyone wants to take anything off workers by force, the workers should fight to keep it. It's that simple, isn't it?"
From Green Left Weekly, July 13, 2005.
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