Australia 300,000 workers march against labour laws Matt Waine |
| Over 300,000 workers took to the streets of Australia on 28 June as part of the national day of protest against new labour laws. The new laws include attacks on job security; bosses are allowed to cut take-home pay; the value of minimum wages will fall; the right to collective bargaining will be eroded and bosses are allowed to sign up workers to individual contracts. The protests were called by ACTU (Australian Congress of Trade Unions) mainly as an attempt to boost the Labour Party ahead of next year’s federal elections. However, the Labour Party has no serious differences with Howards’ ruling Liberal Party in terms of policy. Where Labour have been in power at state level, they have launched attacks on workers. For this reason the Socialist Party in Australia has called on the the unions to launch a serious campaign of opposition to the new legislation that includes strike action in all sectors to force the government back, rather than relying on a discredited Labour Party. |
