The following statement issued by the Socialist Alliance argues that the Coalition government's anti-union agenda can be defeated.
With control of both houses of parliament, the Coalition has made it clear that it wants to push through another round of anti-union laws.
This includes exempting small business from unfair dismissal laws, requiring secret ballots and a cooling off period before strikes, banning industrial action during the life of an agreement, giving third parties the right to ask for strikes to be suspended if they are being affected, and declaring whole industries such as health, education and transport off-limits to industrial action.
These things are a serious attack on the rights and conditions of Australian workers and their unions. While PM John Howard is now in a stronger position, we can still stop his agenda.
The Coalition has had control of the Senate before, as it did under Malcolm Fraser and Robert Menzies. Workers have also had to defeat anti-union laws just as bad as the ones the Howard gang has cooked up.
In the post-war period before the election of the Gough Whitlam Labor government in 1972, strike action was illegal. Despite this the union movement survived, grew and made many historic gains. It ignored the anti-union laws, turning them into useless scraps of paper.
We saw a great example of this sort of defiance in the 1998 Patrick dispute. Despite being technically illegal, the massive community solidarity at the picket lines forced Patrick and the government to back down and it undoubtedly pressured the Federal Court to rule in favour of the Maritime Union of Australia. The government knew it could not get away with locking up tens of thousands of people.
Howard is a clever politician and he's learnt from his mistakes. The government and the bosses will try to pick off one sector of the work force or community at a time to avoid stirring up a hornet's nest. That is why all of us have to take to heart the motto "Touch one, touch all!"
No matter who they go after first, we must all swing in behind and support them with all our means and every effort. If Howard gets beaten first up, he will be forced onto the back-foot. Should he win, the bosses will expect more.
The bosses, all worked up in a lather, aren't afraid of talking class war. Some don't even want to wait for the new senators to take their seats in July. The Democrats and independent senators are likely to do deals with Howard to pass some anti-union laws before the Senate changes hands. That's whey we can't wait until July.
Unfortunately, Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) leaders Greg Combet and Sharan Burrow have been pouring cold water on industrial action and other serious measures. Instead they are talking about doing surveys! They seem to be under the spell of the Labor Party leaders who are saying they have to make their industrial relations policy even more "business friendly".
It's no time to be running up the white flag or pleading with the bosses on bended knee. This only encourages them.
Already the government has started taking an even harder line in response to the ACTU's mild-mannered approach. Socialist Alliance supports the attitude of Victorian Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union secretary Martin Kingham who said: "If employers go down that track they will be inviting a shit fight to end all shit fights."
Alliances of unions prepared to take militant action to defend each other, coupled with serious community mobilisations, are vital.
Federal Labor leader Mark Latham was never going to be a knight in shining armour riding in to save Australian workers and their unions. Howard's control of the Senate now puts that beyond doubt. Instead we must look to the force that built up our unions over 100 years ago in the days when unionists were jailed and shot for their beliefs. That force is the combined solidarity, determination and courage of the working men and women of this country.
All unionists should support the Free Craig Johnston Campaign because Howard and the bosses are hoping the union movement will be intimidated. We must show that we will not move an inch in the face of this sort of thing.
This is not the first time a union leader has been jailed for doing his or her job and it won't be the last. As WA CFMEU construction secretary Kevin Reynolds explained, his union would fight any attack on building workers' rights: "If that means union officials being arrested or jailed then that's an occupational hazard."
From Â鶹´«Ã½ Weekly, November 24, 2004.
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