BY FELICITY MARTIN & GRAHAM MATTHEWS
MELBOURNE — M1 is steadily gaining support amongst major Victorian trade unions, with the Victorian Trades Hall Council and the M1 Alliance agreeing to combine forces for an "Anti-Corporate Unity March" on May 1.
The Victorian Trades Hall Council has announced plans for a two-hour union rally and march, which will start at Trades Hall in Carlton and then march through the city streets, past Nike's superstore, to join up with anti-corporate protesters blockading the offices of the Australian Stock Exchange. Trades Hall plans to end its part of the unity march at about 12.30pm.
The M1 Alliance, meeting on March 28, voted to back Trades Hall's proposal and called for "the joint Anti-Corporate Unity March" to "incorporate Yallourn offices, BHP HQ and Rio Tinto".
Spokespeople for the alliance met with representatives of the VTHC, the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union, the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union and the Australian Workers Union on March 28 to hammer out details. They resolved to hold further talks in coming weeks to agree on joint publicity material.
M1 Alliance activists are also making plans to address delegates and site meetings of the more militant trade unions in Melbourne, to convince unionists of their common cause with anti-globalisation protesters.
The agreement is the result of a growing willingness by union leaders and anti-corporate activists to work together.
Speaking at a forum "Unions and M1" on March 25, the CFMEU's Victorian secretary Martin Kingham said he welcomed anti-corporate actions on May 1 and expressed a strong desire for a joint action on the day between trade unions and anti-corporate groups. "We should learn from our mistakes [at the S11 protests against the World Economic Forum] and try to coordinate the protest early", he said.
There was strong support from within the more militant Victorian unions for becoming involved in the globalisation debate, he said, and argued that it would be easier for the trade unions to mobilise members if they had their own targets.
"In terms of a mobilising call for our workers, it would be much easier to do if we have a focus on Rio Tinto", Kingham said.
The decision to join with the trade unions for a combined action received overwhelming support from M1 Alliance members, although there was some debate. Some activists, including members of the Socialist Alternative group, argued that a joint march with unions simply wasn't militant enough, but others, including those from the Democratic Socialist Party, argued that a political alliance with militant trade unions was a significant breakthrough for the anti-corporate movement.
The M1 Alliance voted to continue the protest action and march around "corporate Melbourne" for the rest of the day after the "unity march", before concluding with a 5pm festival featuring the Painters and Dockers, amongst others.