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Secretary's Soapbox - May 2005

The national trade union movement campaign to defend workers rights is moving into higher gear.  The Howard government is determined to push through its extreme industrial relations laws in the federal parliament, during the coming weeks.

It’s time to mobilise again.  The VTHC, as part of the ACTU’s national strategy, is supporting the call for another “National Community Day of Protest” on Tuesday 25 October 2005.

The VTHC’s Industrial Relations Committee has called for an all-unions delegates meeting on Wednesday 7 September 2005, 10.00am at Dallas Brooks Hall, East Melbourne, as an initial VTHC affiliates event in order to promote the 25th October rally and related events across Victorian workplaces.

The Howard government is hell bent in having to push through its anti-workers legislation in place sooner rather than later, now that it controls the numbers in the Senate.  There are a raft of draft laws lined up for the August – October parliamentary period.  First up are laws aimed at targeting building workers and their unions, to curtail their industrial rights as a specific group.  John Howard is hoping by victimizing building workers he will intimidate all other workers.  Developments in this industry should be watched carefully as it will clearly signal what is to come.

Other laws are aimed at reducing the number of workers in small businesses to having access to redundancy pay; denying proper bargaining tactics used by workers, by imposing secret ballots, artificial cooling-off periods and allowing so called ‘third parties’ to interfere in legitimate disputes; restricting right of entry into workplaces so that union organisers can’t talk to and organise workers; imposing a false level of employee numbers in a given workplace so that unfair dismissal rights are denied; forcing AWA’s (individual contracts) on workers by blackmailing state governments with denying normal federal/state funding arrangements if such contracts are not offered (!); changing the definition of so called ‘independent contractors’ so they are not covered by usual industrial practices like wage rates, hours of work, safety laws etc and creating the Fair Pay Commission (read “Low” Pay Commission), appointed by the government with no real independence like the AIRC, to control wage rates.

All workers and members of the community are encouraged to participate in all activities occurring in Melbourne, suburban and regional areas.  Members of unions should contact their particular union for further information.

reducing the number of workers in small businesses to having access to redundancy pay.
denying proper bargaining tactics used by workers, by imposing secret ballots, artificial cooling-off periods and allowing so called ‘third parties’ to interfere in legitimate disputes.
restricting right of entry into workplaces so that union organisers can’t talk to and organise workers.
imposing a false level of employee numbers in a given workplace so that unfair dismissal rights are denied.
forcing AWA’s (individual contracts) on workers by blackmailing state governments with denying normal federal/state funding arrangements if such contracts are not offered (!).
changing the definition of so called ‘independent contractors’ so they are not covered by usual industrial practices like wage rates, hours of work, safety laws etc and creating the Fair Pay Commission (read “Low” Pay Commission), appointed by the government with no real independence like the AIRC, to control wage rates.