James Vassilopoulos, Melbourne
Martin Kingham, secretary of the Victorian branch of the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union, urged the 150 people who attended a May 17 forum at Brunswick Town Hall to "join with us for the June 28 national day of action and stoppage".
The packed forum, organised by the Moreland Community and Union Solidarity Network, heard a range of speakers on the fight-back against the federal Coalition government's attacks on working people.
Kingham explained that the real victims of PM John Howard's laws are non-unionised workers, but that union members are also affected. For example, an incident in which Gary McCarthy, a union member in Bendigo who was 15 minutes late back from lunch after organising a whip-around and raising $3500 for the family of the dead Beaconsfield miner, is now being investigated by the Australian Building and Construction Commission.
Kingham added that building contractors in China have been organising Chinese workers to come to Australia and paying them half the wage rates of unionised workers. He highlighted the hypocrisy of asylum seekers on temporary protection visas not being allowed to work legally while the government simultaneously approves 700,000 temporary work visas per year.
Community activist Phil Cleary described how the casualisation of the work force began under the previous federal Labor government, then sped up under the Coalition. He argued that working people would not be saved by trade unions or politicians, but rather by "the community".
Kelvin Thomson, the federal member for Wills, said that in past years workers had a fair go, under wages and conditions set by the Australian Industrial Relations Commission. He claimed that the ALP's proposed new unfair dismissal laws would "balance" the rights of employees and employers, adding that ALP policy would guarantee a strong safety net, the right to reject Australian Workplace Agreements and the right to join a union.
Sharan Burrow, president of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, described Australia as a "divided country", with the head of Macquarie Bank earning $21 million per year while Optus workers face a $20,000 pay cut and loss of penalty rates. She encouraged people to join the protest on June 28 and the next one at the end of the year.
Rivkah Nissam, policy analyst for the Victorian Council of Social Services, condemned Howard's "welfare to work" legislation, which forces sole parents and people with disabilities onto Newstart and out to work. A disabled person on Newstart could legally be paid only $2.80 per hour.
A lively discussion followed and a range of future activities were advertised. These included a June 7 inter-faith meeting on work justice, a May 23 union action at Findlay Engineering and the June 28 national day of action. A motion calling on Moreland Council to run the local swimming pools in-house (they are currently run by an outside organisation) was carried unanimously.
To get involved in the Moreland Community and Union Solidarity Network, phone James on 0405 309 283.
From Green Left Weekly, May 24, 2006.
Visit the Green Left Weekly home page.