Victorian Trades Hall Council. The voice of Victorian workers since 1856.Victorian Trades Hall Council. The voice of Victorian workers since 1856.

New Workplace Laws Attack Workers, Families and Communities

A coalition of unions and western suburbs community groups are calling on people to fight the Howard Government’s changes to industrial relations laws and are holding a public meeting to explain the impact upon workers, families and the community.

 

The Western Suburbs Unions-Community Coalition aims to build a broad based grass roots campaign to raise awareness about the far-reaching effects of the new workplace laws and to mobilise workers and community support for 30 June stop-work and rally. The group’s long-term aim is to help build a broad grass roots movement in defense of unions and living and working conditions.

 

Speaking at the meeting on 22 June in Footscray are Michele O'Neil (TCFUA), Mark Zirnsak (Uniting Church) and Robert Stary (democratic rights lawyer).


From 1 July the Howard Government is poised to bring in harsh industrial laws that threaten working people’s long-held rights to organise collectively in unions to protect their wages and working conditions. If successful, these laws will lead to lower living standards and working conditions, increased casualisation and job insecurity, longer working days and fewer entitlements for less pay.

 

Families and communities in the western suburbs will be doing it a lot tougher as a result of the Howard Government’s agenda.

 

Don’t let the Government destroy our working and family lives!

These laws are designed to boost big business profits even more by slashing wages and cutting into working people’s entitlements and working conditions. Big business and their Government want to take away the gains that working people have won through many years of hard struggle. To achieve this, they need to get rid of unions’ ability to fight for and protect decent wages and conditions for all working people and the community.

 

Big business in Australia is making record profits, but wants to squeeze even more out of working people.

Hugh Morgan, ex-Chairman of Western Mining Corporation and current President of the powerful Business Council of Australia, has complained that the new Workplace Laws do not go far enough!

 

At the same time as working people’s rights and conditions are under assault, the Government has also launched attacks on welfare, community services and long-held civil liberties and democratic rights to organise and speak out. All these attacks can be defeated by all unions and communities uniting in a broad-based campaign to defend decent working and living conditions and the democratic right to organise.

It has been done before.

United we stand.

 

These laws are designed to reduce the effectiveness of unions in protecting wages, working conditions, rights and entitlements of all workers. If these laws succeed:

  • Workplace health and safety will be cut back.
  • Penalty and overtime rates will disappear.
  • Long service leave and superannuation will no longer be guaranteed.
  • Democratic rights of workers to organise in unions and bargain collectively for decent pay and employment conditions will be taken away. Unions’ right of entry into a workplace will be restricted to twice a year.
  • Many workers will be forced to negotiate their pay and working conditions on their own.
  • Minimum wages for the lowest-paid workers will be reduced even more.
  • The right to strike will be even further reduced, whilst members may be sued for taking action to protect their rights, jobs and entitlements.
  • Workers in health, education, community services and essential services industries will have the present short ‘legal’ period for industrial action reduced or taken away altogether.

Public Meeting:

Wednesday, 22 June, 7.30 pm
The Church Hall, 10 Hyde Street, Footscray
(between Maribyrnong Town Hall and Footscray City Primary School)

 

Contact:

Shirley Winton

shirley.winton@vu.edu.au

0417456001
NTEU-VUT Branch
Western Suburbs Unions-Community Coalition


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