Our Common Cause: Are Labor governments the friends of unions?

ALIGN="LEFT">

Our Common Cause: Are Labor governments the
friends of unions?

Unionists are desperate to get rid of the Coalition
government. The government's anti-union laws, its 1998 attack
on the wharfies and the ongoing attack on building industry
unions has left unionists wanting to vote for anyone but PM
John Howard.

Unionists' hopes are fuelled by the ALP national
conference's improvements to the party's industrial relations
policy in spite of the very conservative social agenda pushed
by Labor leader Mark Latham.

The new industrial relations policy, however, doesn't
specifically commit a Labor government to repealing the
Workplace Relations Act (WRA). Despite this, many unionists
assume that an incoming ALP government would repeal the act.

But should we be so trusting?

The new policy promises to repeal the penal provisions of
the Trade Practices Act which outlaw supportive industrial
action. Repeal of the penal provisions was ALP policy
throughout the last 1983-1996 federal Labor government but the
government repeatedly refused to implement it.

This Labor government, led first by Bob Hawke and then Paul
Keating, presided over a massive redistribution of wealth from
wages to profits through the Prices and Incomes Accord. Has
the Labor Party become more pro-union since it lost federal
government in 1996? The record of state Labor governments
around the country answers this question with a resounding
"No".

Over the last five years, state Labor governments have been
responsible for many attacks on workers and their unions. We
have witnessed the following:

* A meeting of state Labor treasurers in 2003 agreed to cap
all state public sector union wage increases to 3% or less per
annum;

* A refusal to bring in industrial manslaughter laws (the
honourable exception is the (tiny) ACT)

In New South Wales:

* 2001 — The Carr Labor government introduced
legislation to make it more difficult for injured workers to
sue an employer for negligence under common law.

* 2004 — The Carr government scapegoated railway
workers for safety problems in the rail system — problems
caused by years of underfunding, understaffing and
corporatisation.

* 2004 — In March, the Carr
government used section 127 of Howard's WRA to force rail
maintenance workers back to work.

In Western Australia:

* 2002 — The Labor government repealed the harsher
provisions of the previous Coalition government's anti-union
laws but left individual workplace agreements (although
disguised with a new name) in place.

* 2004 — Labor is ramming through new workers
compensation legislation that will cap compensation benefits
and prevent workers from suing negligent employers under
common law.

* 2004 — The government got the Industrial Relations
Commission to issue a return to work order against train
drivers. When most drivers didn't return to work, the
government threatened them with the sack.

In Victoria:

* 2000 — The Bracks Labor government enacted the
Electricity Supply Industry Act to force Yallourn Energy
workers back to work. Later, the government assisted the
company in seeking writs of $38 million against the union and
15 workers.

* 2001 — The government wrote to Australian
Manufacturing Workers Union national secretary Doug Cameron,
complaining that the AMWU's Victorian leadership was
"having a negative impact on ... investment decisions of
companies".

* 2002 — The Labor government responded to requests
from BHP Steel to send in police to attack a picket line.

* 2004 — In February, the government threatened
electricity workers with the Electricity Supply Industry Act
unless they lifted bans.

In Queensland:

* 2002 — Under Labor, the Queensland government public
works corporation locked out its construction and maintenance
workers for taking industrial action.

The record repeatedly demonstrates why unionists should
judge the ALP by what it does when it is in government and not
by what it would have us believe it will do.

Socialist Alliance members are rebuilding activist networks
in their unions to fight for better wages and conditions. We
campaign in defence of militant unionists like Craig Johnston
and for solidarity in our unions with other union struggles
and community issues.

We have to get rid of Howard. But a substantial primary
vote for the Socialist Alliance will serve notice on Labor
that it has no mandate to continue Howard's anti-union
attacks.

Sue Bolton

From Green Left Weekly, April 7, 2004.

Visit the Green
Left Weekly home page.

From GLW issue 578