Delegates protest IR laws

By Tony Green

MELBOURNE — Two thousand union delegates attended a Victorian Trades Hall Council/ACTU rally against the proposed federal industrial relations legislation on May 28.

The meeting was addressed by Tim Pallas of the ACTU, who explained the details of the legislation, and by Lyn Allison of the Australian Democrats. Allison, while expressing concern at some aspects of the legislation, did not condemn it as a whole.

Two motions were endorsed by the meeting. The official motion included a call for workers to serve claims on their employers for a guarantee of no reduction in pay and conditions. It also called for a petition campaign and a rally in Canberra on August 19.

After the official motion was passed unanimously, the chair attempted to close the meeting, ignoring a supplementary motion that had been circulated, calling on the ACTU and union affiliates to organise a 24-hour strike as part of a national day of action, with rallies in every city.

After protests from the floor, the chair agreed to allow five minutes for debate. Members of the Community and Public Sector Union and Australian Eduction Union spoke for the motion.

A member of the official platform then proposed an amendment to leave it up to individual unions to decide if they wanted to participate in the national day of action. The chair put the amendment without allowing the mover of the motion the right of reply. The amendment was passed, as was the amended motion.

From GLW issue 234