The right to have unions

Nick Hamilton, Melbourne

On October 18, 200 people attended a forum at Preston Town Hall on the federal government's industrial relations changes. Organised by the Darebin Workers' Rights and Community Justice Campaign, speakers included Victorian Council of Social Services' Cath Smith, Catholic Bishop Hilton Deakin, Trades Hall Council secretary Brian Boyd and Jeannie Rea from the National Tertiary Education Union.

Smith explained how the IR changes will combine with welfare "reform" to lower the living conditions of the disabled, disadvantaged, underemployed and unemployed. Disabled people deemed able to work more than 15 hours a week will be placed on unemployment benefits, resulting in a $20-$40 drop in income per week.

Deakin countered PM John Howard's paraphrasing of the pope that the "primary responsibility of government is to create the conditions under which everyone who wants a job can get one", by quoting Pope Leo the 13th: "Workers have the right to have unions and go to work and have a decent wage".

Boyd stressed that "the community link aspect of our work is crucial. We learnt this at the [1998] waterfront dispute", but this time the government is "after everyone".

[For more information, visit <http://www.unionsolidarity.org>.]

From Green Left Weekly, October 26, 2005.

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From GLW issue 646