Sydney鈥檚 May Day march on May 1 highlighted the green ban imposed by the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union on the demolition of Willow Grove, a heritage-listed building which the NSW government wants to 鈥渕ove鈥 to make way for the Powerhouse Museum.
Around 3000 trade unionists and supporters took part in the upbeat rally through the city鈥檚 streets from Prince Alfred Park to Willow Grove.
Following the welcome to country by a Dharug woman trade union member, speakers addressed a variety of struggles including the need for international solidarity under COVID-19, the resilience of frontline workers and the injustice of wage freezes and austerity. Natalie Lang from the Australian Services Union and聽Allen Hicks聽from the Electrical Trades Union聽criticised the federal government for its complete failure to act on sexual harassment at work.
Two聽School Strikers 4 Climate聽and聽Ian Brown from聽Gamilaraay Next Generation, who are fighting to save country from Santos gas, made passionate pleas to combine the fight for jobs with the fight for a safe climate.聽They聽invited聽all聽unions to join their next strike on May 21 at聽12noon at Sydney Town Hall.
National聽President of the Maritime Union of Australia聽Christy Cain called on the Australian Council of Trade Unions and individual unions to take up the fight to unionise more industries, saying the percentage of union coverage was too small. He said May Day, the workers鈥 day, needed to be a public holiday and challenged the ACTU to lead a fight over the matter.
鈥淲hen workers come together in struggle, we win,鈥 Cain said, who went on to stress that trade unions were about聽much more than just fighting for the wages and conditions of their own members.
鈥淚t is great to see the union movement together with the community here today. What [the bosses] forget is that the trade union movement is part of the community.鈥
ian_brown_gamilaraay_next_generation_peter_boyle.jpg
