We need industrial action to defeat the IR laws
As the Howard governments’ Industrial Relations legislation approaches its implementation date, workers have received further confirmation that the union movement was correct when they warned these laws will mean nothing but major cuts to wages, conditions and safety standards in the workplace.
By Antony Alder, UNITE Melbourne
In perhaps the first of many cases a Melbourne car parts manufacturer has emerged as the first to invoke Howard’s new workplace laws in a bid to strip workers’ pay by at least 5 per cent. Dana Car Parts is proposing to slash existing wages by 5 per cent. Further to this it wants to cut new starters’ pay by 20 per cent and cancel all rostered days off. This is just a taste of things to come in Howard’s brave new world.
It is clear that the ACTU and union movement as a whole must act now and campaign to defeat these laws. So far we have seen the ACTU run a successful propaganda campaign, which has been useful in raising awareness about the new laws, but the industrial side of the campaign has been missing. We saw two massive demonstrations called in protest at Howard’s so called ‘Work Choices’ legislation last year. The two rallies gave workers a massive boost of confidence, it showed them an example of their collective strength and indicated workers from all sectors are ready to put up a fight.
The ACTU however have seemingly poured cold water over any possible thoughts workers may have had of a real industrial campaign being launched. Despite the release of a new round of advertisements to be launched in the next month or so the ACTU have sent a clear message that, according to them, the only way to reverse the IR laws is to get the ALP in power at the next election. This is an extremely flawed plan. Firstly because it not only assumes that the ALP will get into power but also have control of both houses of parliament. Secondly, the ALP in all states around the country are implementing anti worker laws and are continuing to prove themselves as representatives of big business, not ordinary workers.
The ALP is yet to make any concrete commitments to abolishing individual contracts. They are more so relying on anti-Howard sentiment to get re-elected rather than providing any real policies at this stage. If they fail to be elected at the next federal election in three years, the opportunity to fight back against the IR legislation may well have long passed.
Feeling the pressure from workers and the militant unions, the ACTU have indicated a possible day of action or ‘Community day of protest’ in the future but as we have seen last year and with the global anti-war demonstrations unless backed by strike action, these mobilisations do little to discourage the bosses from using the laws.
Rather than making the excuse that they don’t want to call rally after rally until only a hand full of people bother to turn up, the ACTU must learn the lessons of the past and hurt the bosses where it hurts them most, financially through loss of production. Rather than over, this fight has yet to begin.
UNITE will continue to campaign for the ACTU to call a 24 hour general strike as the next phase in the campaign along with the call for the trade unions to break with the ALP and link with the progressive community groups and militant unions to form a new workers party that will represent workers interests and challenge not only Howard’s industrial relations attacks but the capitalist system as a whole.