BY PAUL BENEDEK
SYDNEY — More than 10,000 unionists, mostly members of the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU), marched from the Sydney Town Hall to NSW parliament on October 27 to demand tough industrial manslaughter laws to defend the safety of working people.
Chants of "Jail bosses who kill", "Workers united will never be defeated" and "Justice for Joel", roared through the crowd, which also included contingents from the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union and the Electrical Trades Union (ETU).
The rally was organised after 16-year-old Joel Exner fell 15 metres to his death on October 15, when working on a storage shed at Eastern Creek. It was Exner's fourth day on the job.
"The situation now is that all workers have to bargain with is their life", Bernie Riordan, secretary of the ETU, told the rally. "The company wouldn't buy a harness for [Exner] for a lousy $40", Riordan continued, to thunderous boos from the rally.
The rally was addressed by Exner's mother, who invited NSW Premier Bob Carr to come out of parliament and "tell us why we have to rally here for safety — it should be automatic". The rally responded with chants of "bring out Bob" — Carr declined to address the rally.
The mother of Dean McGoldrie, a 17-year-old killed earlier this year on a construction site, told the rally that she still hadn't received any of the compensation due for the death of her son.
There was anger over the miniscule penalties employers face for industrial manslaughter, reflected in a placard which read "Kill a dog — go to jail. Kill a worker — pay a fine". NSW Labor Council secretary John Robertson explained that "in 75% of cases that go to court, the bosses get less than a $100,000 fine".
"The ALP was elected in NSW on a platform of being tough on crime", Robertson said. "The biggest crime is bosses who kill workers — we need industrial manslaughter laws now!"
The rally also sent a message that union rights must be defended, in order to defend and extend safety conditions for workers. Speakers pointed to the contradiction that the federal government spent $60 million on a royal commission to attack the CFMEU, but refused to look at safety issues that kill workers.
Exner's former teacher, a Teachers Federation member, said his message to Howard was "keep your grubby hands off the CFMEU!"
The rally pledged to return in greater numbers if there are not dramatic changes — ensuring that bosses who kill are jailed, and workers' safety is maintained.
From Green Left Weekly, November 5, 2003.
Visit the Green Left Weekly home page.