By Maurice Sibelle
BRISBANE — A combined union delegates meeting on August 30 endorsed a motion authorising Brisbane's anti-privatisation committee to call an action in support of a national week of action on privatisation. The meeting, attended by 50 delegates, heard reports from Mick Carr from the Maritime Union of Australia and Pat Gorman from the Communications Workers Union.
Carr explained that there had been no deal between his union and the Labor Party. He was not convinced that appointing a new board and taking privatisation of ANL (Australia's national shipping line) "off the agenda" at the ALP's national conference was a satisfactory resolution to the issue.
Referring to the new appointees to the ANL board, he said, "The maritime unions are seeking someone with commercial shipping experience on the board. The unions want input into the board." He said that millionaires like Neville Wran and Malcolm Turnbull did not have the expertise or interests to make decisions in the interests of Australians.
Pat Gorman reported that the Communications Workers Union was fully behind the national week of action. She said that her union would report to a mass meeting of members on September 7 and mobilise the support of their members.
The following day, the anti-privatisation committee decided to call a rally and march against privatisation on Wednesday, September 14, 12.30pm at the King George Square. The rally entitled, "Enough is Enough — National Day of Action", is modelled on a similar rally being organised in Melbourne by the Victorian Trades Hall Council.
Union rallies are also being planned in Sydney on September 16 and Canberra on September 21.
Col Davies from the Maritime Union summed by the feeling of the meeting on August 30: "In private organisations they would have to go to the shareholders to make a decision about selling it off. The Australian people are the shareholders of public enterprises, and we have never given them a mandate to sell them off."