Stationery giant Esselte, which last year attempted to force its workforce onto AWAs, is threatening compulsory redundancies against eight workers due to changes to business processes.
Graham Matthews
In the afterglow of saying sorry to the Stolen Generations, the federal Labor government introduced its first piece of industrial relations legislation into parliament on February 13 — the Workplace Relations Amendment Bill. While the government claims that this legislation is the first step in dismantling Work Choices, in fact, it will leave most of Work Choices intact.
A key aspect of PM Kevin Rudds IR agenda is the creation of a national industrial relations system that would cover all private sector employees.
In his election night acceptance speech, PM Kevin Rudd said that all of Labors policy now becomes a plan of action for the incoming Labor government. As to Labors oft repeated promise to tear up Work Choices, their plans as far as they actually go are detailed in the Forward with Fairness: Policy Implementation Plan, released by the then Labor opposition in August.
The November 24 rout of the Howard government owed much to the work of the organised labour movement. Of the marginal Coalition seats targeted by the Your Rights at Work (YRAW) campaign, 20 of 24 have fallen to Labor (including John Howards own seat of Bennelong); the other four remain in doubt. Most of those who voted for Labor did so believing that Labor would abolish Work Choices, as promised by Kevin Rudd on October 14, the official start to the election campaign. Yet Labors industrial relations policy Forward with Fairness promises only minimal changes, replacing the Coalitions legislation with Work Choices Lite.
Voting Howard out on November 24 will not be enough to defeat Work Choices. However, on the choice of alternative governments, it is important that we preference Labor ahead of the Coalition, to elect a Labor government. And if we vote for the Socialist Alliance first and the Greens second, we send the most powerful message that any vote can, that we want all of Howards IR laws abolished, not just tinkered with. But even the election of a Labor government will not be the end of it. If we are to finally bury Work Choices once and for all, we will have to continue the struggle.
In a striking piece of political theatre, on November 5 federal workplace ogre Joe Hockey promised to resign from a re-elected Howard ministry if the government changed Work Choices (significantly). “They can run all the scare campaigns they want”, Hockey said, “but the bottom line is if we are making any substantial changes to our laws, then I will resign.”
PM John Howard is running low on stocks for a fear campaign to propel him back into office for a fifth time. In 1998, Howard gave just enough support to Pauline Hanson’s racist fear campaign against Asian migrants and Aboriginal people to to get him over the line in spite of promising to bring in the unpopular GST. In 2001, the fear campaign was generated by the Tampa refugees, with Howard defiantly claiming, “We will decide who comes to this country and the circumstances in which they come”. In 2004, it was the threat of rising interest rates under Labor — oops, can’t use that one again Johnnie!
On October 21, the day of the great debate, Labor leader Kevin Rudd announced Labors latest policy to help working families. He promised, if elected, to increase the federal government rebate on child care costs from 30% to 50% and to pay the rebate quarterly rather than annually. This promise stands alongside Labors pledge to allocate $2.5 billion dollars to allow working families to claim 50% of educational costs up to $750 per year for primary school kids, or $1500 for high schoolers. And of course, lets not forget the education revolution.
The socialist movement lost a strong supporter with the death from cancer of David Matthews my father on September 30 at the age of 79. David joined the Socialist Alliance soon after its formation and remained a financial member and a strong supporter of the campaign to bring the fractious left together.
In his frantic bid to secure a fifth consecutive election victory for the Coalition, Prime Minister John Howard has fired up the amp and is loudly proclaiming his message that growth and increased private wealth will solve all problems. Howard is presenting his message pump-primed by a lavish promise of personal tax cuts (largely for the already wealthy) and proclamations that economic growth can proceed unhindered (in spite of growing environmental concerns and increasing inequality) like a spruiker at a country sideshow: enjoy the fairy floss and dont mind the smell of bullshit.
I think all these unfair tribunals and all this unfairness have to be removed, Derek Belan, NSW state secretary of the National Union of Workers, told Green Left Weekly in response to Labors release of its Forward with Fairness Policy Implementation Plan in late August. If Labor is elected, people are voting that they dont want this stuff. There is a mandate to remove it. People are aware what this stuff means and people want it removed and Labor has to listen.
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