Contributed by Joe Montero
Australia’s unions have launched their biggest advertising push in more than a decade as part of a pre-election campaign to overhaul Australia’s workplace laws.
It is part of the Change the Rules campaign.
The last time such an effort was made was during the campaign against John Howard’s WorkChoices industrial law. The Campaign was immensely successfully and played a significant part in the downfall of the Howards government in 2017, and the second time in Australian history that the Prime Minister lost his own seat.
Eight weeks of advertising will begin on Sunday, featuring television, radio and billboards. The campaign back in 2005-7 cost $14.4 million, according to information with the Australian Electoral Commission.
This time, the target is insecure work and anti-union laws that in many ways parallel WorkChoices. Advertisements will feature workers struggling to pay their bills sand the favouritism given to big business.
The aim is to remove the existing Fair Work laws that have been designed to ensure minimum capacity of unions, to be involve in the workplace and limits the issues in which they can be represented.
There is also widespread dissatisfaction with laws that target construction industry unions.
ACTU leader Sally McManus, has said that big business had too much power, insecure work was rife while workers were struggling to get pay rises.
”Working people want change,’’ she said.
”They’re sick of one-third of big businesses not paying tax. They’re sick of watching CEO bonuses going up, company profits going up while their own pay falls behind basic living costs.”
Winning the Change the Rules campaign is vital to the future. Major employer organisations have already accused it of wrecking Australia. But it is their actions that are doing it. Many of their members do not contribute to paying their share of tax. Yet they are always in line for a government handout. They do not invest their money into building up the economy. Profit is increasingly made on the back of taking from everyone else, and this is shrinking the market on which growth depends.
Thew anti-union laws have helped to make this come about.
In his case, working to put an end to these laws is not only justified. It is an obligation.
I am retired. But when I worked I knew the value of a union. It was essential to protect the rights of employees against the grabs of government. The union movement has become weaker because more and more is privatised, there is less job security and much more part-time work. “Play by our rules or piss off.” Just the reason to have stronger unions but they must be honest as well. Too often we see union officials with their fingers in the tills. A receipe for disaster.
If the big employers of this country would act ethically, and give a decent, living wage for a decent days work, unions would be able to concentrate on safety instead. But the big corporations are NOT ETHICAL. Otherwise they would PAY THEIR TAXES
The people that makes the world 🌎 go round are the workers, big business would not exist if the did not have workers they are the GOLD they are the backbone they work hard 😓 they should be treated with respect ✊ and given a fair go—-with out your workers you do not servive you are dead 💀 in the water 💦 you are sunk—WAKE UP you GREEDY FOOLS