The Guardian 3 October, 2007
Rally slams unfair work laws
Manufacturing workers were prominent in a 30,000-strong march through Melbourne’s CBD on Wednesday last week, to protest against unfair work laws and their impact on the next generation.
Around 5,000 Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU) members from workplaces across Melbourne, joined by their families, attended the rally organised by building sector unions.
AMWU Victorian Secretary Steve Dargavel said that while many AMWU members had felt the pain of the federal industrial relations laws, the full impact of Work Choices would be felt by future generations of workers if the laws weren’t removed at the upcoming election.
"We don’t want our kids to grow up and live in a country where they have no rights at work.
"We are here today with our kids and families because this rally is about workers using their democratic right to win decent wages and working conditions for themselves and future generations."
The erosion of rights to union representation and collective bargaining put young people at particular risk of exploitation, said Dargavel.
"Since the introduction of these laws we’ve seen wages and conditions go down, especially for young people and women workers, and no real benefits for the economy."
The movement still has a long way to go before seeing the laws torn up and replaced by legislation that recognises basic trade union and worker rights.
The Coalition looks like being thrown out in the forthcoming federal elections and Rudd Labor government replacing it. Recent statements by Kevin Rudd and his deputy Julia Gillard confirm that the struggle will have to be maintained and heightened after the elections if WorkChoices and other pieces of anti-worker, anti-union legislation are to be torn up.
This question is one that a number of the Your Rights @ Work Groups have been discussing. Big business is lobbying Labor hard and the trade unions and political left and other progressive and democratic forces will have to do likewise and keep up the pressure.
It is also important to not only vote the Coalition out, but also consider candidates that are supportive of the trade unions and working class, such as the Greens. The election of such members to both houses could lay the foundation for real change in future elections.