Construction workers fly their colours

BY
TIM GOODEN

GEELONG — Answering a call from the Victorian branch of the Construction,
Forestry, Mining and Energy Union for shop stewards to fly banners of peace
on construction sites, members have found that even a peace symbol needs
to be defended.

On February 17, workers arrived at their construction site, part of
Kerry Packer’s Crown Casino in Melbourne, to find that someone had removed
the peace banner from the building’s scaffolding. A stop-work meeting was
immediately held, causing Crown management to apologise and return the
banner. Crown denied that Packer knew about the matter and blamed the security
guards for removing the banner without approval

Meanwhile, in Geelong, construction workers unveiled their new banner
in solidarity with the peace movement. The banner was donated by Torquay
members of Architects Against War.

Plumbers’ shop steward Bob Devries, told Green Left Weekly: “All
the members on this job are opposed to war, we want peace in the world
and on our job, Howard doesn’t speak for us”.

From Green Left Weekly, February 26, 2003.

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From GLW issue 527