One hundred and seven members of the WA Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union employed by Leighton Kumagai (LKJV) to build the Perth to Mandurah rail line will face court on August 29 after the Howard government's Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC) served writs on them for striking in February. The workers took strike action to have their delegate reinstated after he was sacked for insisting that health and safety agreements were enforced. The workers face fines of up to $22,000 each; some of them face $28,600 fines. This article is reprinted from the winter edition of Construction Worker, the WA CFMEU's journal.
Charlie Isaacs — one of the 107 — has been on a run of firsts.
He was one of the first hired onto Package F of New Metro Rail, the first of only two Nyoongar employees hired by LKJV for the project, one of the first sacked by LKJV for "operational reasons" under Howard's Work Choices law, one of the first to have his privacy at home invaded by the ABCC's process servers, and one of the first ABCC targets to come forward and speak out.
And his recent run may not stop if Howard gets his way.
Charlie — skilled labourer, long-time CFMEU member, grandfather of three — started work at 14 and has been hard at it for four and half of his six decades. "All that time, I've always been able to string enough jobs together to keep a good roof over our heads and food on the table. A decent life, nothing flash, no complaints, but like most of us, it's pretty hard to get ahead when you work job to job."
He was even toying with retirement when the chance to work on the rail project came along. "Another first. Three years of work on a decent wicket that I couldn't pass up." Decent enough that Charlie and his family were told that, after 25 years, they had to move out of their Homeswest home and into a private rental.
But getting good pay doesn't make a big job a good one. "Just another big company making big promises they couldn't keep and then sheeting the blame to the workers. That's nothing new. But you can only get pushed so far before you have to stand your ground."
In March, just after the rail strikers returned to work, LKJV gave Charlie the boot.
"This time, I got two for the price of one — the first time that I've ever been sacked from a job, and I got to be one of the first workers in the country that couldn't fight my dismissal because of Howard's new laws.
"'Put it down to experience', they said. Well, my family's already been given all the 'experience' we want, thanks.
"My grandfather, Sam, rode a horse into the surf at Margaret River to rescue people from the wreck of the ship Georgette, with the help of a girl named Grace Bussell. Now you may have heard of Gracetown or Bussellton, but how about Isaacston? But he got 'experience'.
"My father joined the army and went away to fight for this country as one of the Rats of Tobruk. When he came back, he didn't get a parade or service or the keys to the city, but he did get 'experience'.
"Then a Japanese and a German-owned company came to my town and started a joint venture. They tell me they've got three years for me, but after two it's bang to first on last off and my 45 years of working experience. You're gone."
Charlie gave his trademark chuckle when asked about paying any fine, let alone $28,600. "If I haven't been able to put together enough for a deposit on a house after all of these years, good luck to 'em. I've just started to pick up enough casual work to keep up with the rent on this one. We sure won't be getting back into a Homeswest anytime soon, so if it comes down to it, I guess Johnny will have to put me away and force the taxpayer to pay for my room and board.
"Maybe he'll pass another law that brings back the workhouses and make my great grandkids pay the debt. He's good at laws like that."
Charlie's granddaughters asked him why he was on the TV. It was easy enough to explain what's happened, but he still hasn't been able to make them understand why.
"Every time I try to explain the new laws, they say 'Poppy, that doesn't make any sense' or 'that's not right'. As the saying goes, out of the mouths of babes.
"I tell them the same thing my father told me and his father told him. Don't ever sit back and let something bad happen to you. Stand up, speak up and you'll always be able to hold your head high."