By Jonathan Singer
On May 20, federal industrial relations minister Peter Reith announced that "pattern bargaining" between unions and employers, in which unions negotiate a single wages and working conditions structure for an industry, will be made illegal.
Unions such as the construction division of the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) and the metals division of the Victorian branch of the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU) are pursuing pattern bargaining.
On May 6, Reith announced the government's proposed "second wave" of changes to industrial relations law. Proposals include compulsory secret ballots before strikes, new restrictions on unions' right of entry to workplaces, attacks on union efforts to maintain 100% unionised workplaces, the removal of more conditions from awards and modifying of shifting the powers of the federal Industrial Relations Commission to the Office of the Employment Advocate.
On May 20, Reith also proposed an extension of the required notice for strike action to five days.
The ACTU is planning a national day of action in August in opposition to these changes. Green Left Weekly spoke to several union leaders about the trade unions' response.
John Sutton, CFMEU national assistant secretary, said his union had already held a national meeting and promised "major protest actions and stoppages" against both the first round of changes that led to award stripping and the second wave proposals.
John Cummins, CFMEU construction division Victorian branch president, said unions "need to crank up a campaign against the essence of the changes, which is to strip unions' ability to represent their members and to aid and abet employers" in attacking workers' rights. "We're discussing the need to get out there and talk to our members about the meaning of the legislation."
Others are thinking along similar lines. Michelle Hogan, United Trades and Labor Council of South Australia assistant secretary, told Green Left Weekly that unions "are going to need a strong campaign against these attacks because they are part of a broader agenda of the Liberal government. We need to make this a priority and oppose it now; otherwise we'll not be in a position to do much in the long term."
Frank Fairley, AMWU Victorian branch secretary, said: "When a law is a bad law, it's open to challenge. Our members will be asked to voice their displeasure at rallies and on the job to ensure that their bosses don't use the worst aspects of it."
Attempting to prevent the implementation of legislation restricting union action has had some success in Western Australia, where similar laws have already been passed.
Tim Gooden, secretary of the Community and Public Sector Union ACT government service section, admitted that he and his fellow members had not thought much about the second wave changes because they are in the middle of an enterprise bargaining campaign against the ACT's Liberal government. Workers are experiencing "real frustration. Our ability to take action is already so heavily compromised that the second wave is a complete outrage", he said.
On compulsory secret ballots for strikes, Gooden said that most of his members would not take it seriously. "How are you meant to have a secret ballot at a mass meeting? In our enterprise bargaining campaign, we've had reasonably regular mass meetings of about 400 members who want to make their decisions there and then, not wait for a secret ballot. It is at mass meetings, where members democratically decide what direction they want to go in, that major decisions are made."
Other campaigns could also establish the conditions for defeating Reith. Cummins pointed to the CFMEU's successful campaign for a substitute paid holiday for Anzac Day and expressed confidence in the union's ability to achieve its 100% unionisation campaign.
Fairley said the AMWU has an "onus as a larger, progressive union to lead the way", as it is doing in a Metal Trades Federated Unions campaign to preserve manufacturing jobs in Victoria. Strong unions can "involve other unions which aren't normally so forthcoming by inviting them to rallies and campaigns", he said.
Hogan said that in South Australia, the UTLC is "linking the current attack on the state industrial relations legislation to the federal changes, because they are part of the same Liberal government strategy. We aim to bring together both state and federally based unions to work with the community in this campaign.
"[ACTU president] Jennie George spoke at a public meeting on May 21 and will speak again at a state-wide rally we are organising on June 3. We have distributed propaganda amongst workers and at community events, and plan to conduct workplace awareness raising sessions through affiliated unions. We are building the national day of action."
Fairley and Sutton identified some employers as potential allies in opposition to secret ballots, because they may prolong disputes. Sutton doubted whether that change would get through the Senate.
Parliamentary votes cannot be relied on, Cummins said. He pointed out that the Democrats "were prepared to bargain when Reith's first round of industrial relations changes came around ... I think you fight it in the streets and on the jobs."
Gooden, who is also a Democratic Socialist Party activist, said, "No representative could ever be expected to stand up for you if you don't stand up for yourself. We need to fight an industrial and political war — it's that serious.
"Industrially, delegate meetings and mass meetings must take the lead. This will get union members aware and involved and put them in control. The national day of action will then be a real opportunity to demonstrate popular opposition. In the community, there'll be a battle for the idea that workers have the right to organise collective action."
Gooden added, "Workers and their supporters need to develop a political voice — an organisation — that will fight for them unequivocally."
Cummins remarked that the situation facing unions "is reminiscent of the Clarrie O'Shea days [1969]. The union movement made a stand against the jailing of O'Shea, and history tells us that their choice of action at that time was second to none.
"More and more unions are realising that the options are clear: you either stand up and fight or you lose. Our actions need to be considered. We'll make a stand on our terms. Frankly, I like our chances better than theirs."