The Guardian 5 April, 2006
Howard Government sinks to new lows
The Howard Coalition Government has sunk to a new low, not just in its actions, but in public opinion. New research conducted by the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) shows that the public are deeply opposed to the Howard Government’s new IR laws.
"The community believe the laws show the Government is acting in the interests of big business over the rights of Australian working families", ACTU President, Sharan Burrow said last week when the new laws came into operation.
The ACTU polled 1,000 voters in 24 key Federal Government-held marginal seats in late February, early March.
The research shows that less than one in four Australians support the laws, and that almost 70 percent believe that while the laws will benefit big corporations and CEOs they will hurt ordinary families.
Key findings include:
72% of voters support unfair dismissal laws that protect workers.
59% of voters believe that "the Government’s new IR laws alone are a strong reason to vote against the Government" at the next federal election.
70% believe that individual contracts give too much power to the employer.
68% agree that the new laws are strong evidence that John Howard governs more for corporate Australia than for ordinary working families.
60% agree that collective bargaining means better job security for workers.
66% believe that the laws are a threat to every working family.
"Today, Australian working families lose unfair dismissal laws, the strong award system, the safety net, the right to a minimum wage, laws that protect the right to collectively bargain, and laws that have ensured fair representation by unions at the workplace", Ms Burrow said.
"The public are asking why the Government would introduce laws that are so obviously designed to take working families wages and conditions backwards, and to remove basic rights for workers at the workplace.
Millions of dollars of government ads and lies have not fooled workers as to the real intent of the new laws.
Union membership up
Figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) last week indicate that there was a four percent increase union membership in the year to August 2005 with an extra 70,000 workers joining a trade union.
That was before the ACTU ran its media campaign. Since August trade unions have stepped up organising and recruitment and held various actions to make workers and the community more aware of the new laws. Your Rights at Work and other committees are being set up around Australia.
The ACTU expects that more workers will turn to unions to help them protect their job security, wages and basic entitlements.
The ABS data also confirmed that it pays to be union, that union members earn an average $118 more per week than non-union members.
There has also been a significant jump in callers to the ACTU’s Union Helpline that offers free telephone advice to callers.
"We have received double the usual number of calls in the past few days. Many of the calls are from people who have been sacked, people who fear being sacked in the near future, or workers who have been told by their employer that they will soon be put onto individual contracts with lower wages and conditions", Sharan Burrow said.