BY LINDA WALDRON
MELBOURNE — Six hundred Bradmill workers seized the opportunity presented by the re-enactment of the first sitting of federal parliament in Victoria's Parliament House on May 10 to mobilise to save their jobs. They demanded to know, "Why should we be proud of a government that doesn't protect workers' jobs?".
In February, 900 workers at Bradmill's Yarraville, Ararat and Reservoir plants were informed that their factories were to be closed. They received little or no redundancy pay.
Michelle O'Neill from the Textile, Clothing and Footwear Union of Australia (TCFUA) urged her members to "show John Howard what it means to go home and tell your family you don't have a job [and] not to know whether or not you're going to get redundancy pay".
The dynamic chorus of "Save our jobs! Save our jobs!", clearly expressed the workers' determination to fight for their jobs not simply for a redundancy package.
The federal ALP's Carmen Lawrence also addressed the rally. She emphasised the workers' just claim for the payment of their entitlements but was notably silent on the workers' fight to keep the factory open.
Many workers have been employed at the factories for more than 30 years, and in some cases several family members have worked there. The links between the workers and the local communities are significant. One worker who grew up in Footscray said she always knew she would one day work for Bradmill.
The factory has supplied major brands like Lee and Levi's with fabrics for generations. Only three years ago the factory won an Exporter of the Year award. Despite its profitability, poor managerial decisions have forced the factory to close.
Workers at the rally told Green Left Weekly that the value of the land on which the factories at sited are alone is worth $170 million, yet redundancy packages will total only $24 million. This undermines management's claim that there is no money to pay-out workers.
The company has divided itself into nine entities and separated the ownership of the its assets to avoid responsibility for paying the workers' outstanding entitlements. For example, one entity owns the land.
The high level of union membership among Bradmill workers was a key factor in such a large percentage of the 900 workers joining the protest. Most major unions were well represented, including the TCFUA, the Electrical Trades Union, the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union and the Australian Workers Union.
Some conservative trade unions' leaders demonstrated their unwillingness to broaden support for the members' struggle when activists of the Democratic Socialist Party arrived to offer their solidarity. One organiser told the Bradmill workers to ignore the Green Left Weekly distributors. "This is not M1, this is our rally. Let's focus on Bradmill", he said.
Despite this, most workers responded positively. One worker declared that she did not support M1 until last week when the closure of the Arnott's factory was publicised. "We have stand together to fight these bad times", she said.
Earlier, reports Bronwyn Rees-Allen, the Friends of the ABC staged a rally outside Parliament House to demand that the ABC remain in public hands. Senator Bob Brown appeared briefly to show his support for the rally.
Large numbers of police, on horses and on foot, barricaded the protesters into one small area. As the politicians arrived, so too did the Bradmill workers. The workers were also barricaded by large numbers of police and forced to remain in one area.
The protesters booed and workers chanted "Save our jobs", successfully drowning out the authoritarian drum beat played by a military band as Prime Minister John Howard arrived.
Friends of the ABC plans another day of action on June 7, 11am at Treasury Gardens.