CONSTRUCTION, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union (CFMEU) supporters have warned that the massiveprotests bringing city traffic in Melbourne and Sydney to a halt last Wednesday could continue for days to come.
The Melbourne protest, 60,000 strong according to organisers, was so long that it took fully 15 minutes to march past any point on Latrobe Street. Most workers were from the CFMEU, backed up by large contingents from the AMWU manufacturing and ETU electrical unions.
Smaller contingents were also visible from the MUA (maritime division of the CFMEU) and the National Tertiary Education Union.
In the massive ‘Line in the Sand’ protest, the Building Industry Group of Unions (BIG) alliance brought tens of thousands of workers off their jobs and onto the city streets in Melbourne to protest the forced administration of the construction division of the CFMEU, and also to prevent construction bosses from taking advantage of the chaos to erode safety and wages in the construction industry.
The BIG alliance unites the Construction Forestry and Maritime Employees Union (CFMEU), Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU), Electrical Trades Union of Australia (ETU, a division of the Communications Electrical and Plumbing Union, CEPU) and the Plumbing and Pipe Trades Employees Union (PPTEU).
The rally was called by a large joint delegates meeting of the BIG unions last week.
The same meeting launched BIG’s Target 1000 Campaign – to secure 1000 EBAs in Victoria over the next 12 months. Protesters took to the streets for the second time this month last Tuesday and Wednesday.
EBAs are Enterprise Bargaining Agreements which set out the minimum employment conditions that businesses must adhere to.
In Melbourne, the Electrical Trades Union’s Victorian secretary Troy Gray addressed thousands of workers who filled Flagstaff Gardens after marching from Trades Hall.
He accused the federal government of targeting construction workers.
‘If there is an orchestrated continued attack on the working conditions and living standards of Victorian construction workers … we will call a third rally … and there’ll be a call for a 72-hour stoppage.’
The threat was met with loud cheers and applause from the massive crowd.
Earlier, Gray told the crowd the appointment of the administrator could put 100 years of union achievements at risk.
He also drew parallels between the Howard Liberal Government’s (failed) attempt to destroy the Maritime Union of Australia in 1998 with today’s attempts to destroy the CFMEU.
‘60,000 workers today are saying we’re not taking a backward step, not today, not now, not ever.’
As Wednesday’s rally drew to a close, there were threats of a 72-hour work stoppage by the Electrical Trades Union.
The protests appeared to have been effective after the (Australian Prime Minister Anthony) Albanese government organised a forum next month to thrash it out with the embattled unions.
Apart from the massive 60,000 demonstration in Melbourne, the CFMEU also staged a protest across Sydney with a rally which closed the main roads in the city centre.
Trade union members and supporters flooded Roma Street Parkland in Brisbane’s central business district in a rally organised by Your Union, Your Choice, a group led by former CFMEU leaders.
Sacked union bosses joined the rally and told the crowd the CFMEU had been ‘stolen’, after it was plunged into administration by the Australian government.
Sacked CFMEU national president Jade Ingham, who is not accused of any wrongdoing, said the union had been targeted unjustly.
He said: ‘They pulled the trigger without any evidence, they pulled the trigger without anyone even being given a fair trial.
‘The irony of this is that we have less rights than any worker in the country.
‘Whether you love or hate the CFMEU, there is a real concern that this is a dangerous precedent.’
Late last month, thousands of workers in Brisbane, Sydney, and Melbourne all downed tools to join protests against the government’s decision to place the CFMEU in administration.
The government’s actions came after allegations of a ‘bikie gang infiltration’ of the union were reported by 9News, 60 Minutes and The Age.
Several leaders of the CFMEU were dismissed.
The union is taking its fight for reinstatement to court, arguing the government acted unconstitutionally.
- Maintenance workers in Burnie, Tasmania, from IUF affiliate Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU) alongside the Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union (CEPU), have been striking for over three months against Canadian dairy manufacturer Saputo.
AMWU and CEPU are demanding recognition of their skills through establishment of pay parity with Saputo sites in mainland Australia.
Since the strike began, local management from Saputo Dairy Australia (SDA) have refused to engage in good faith negotiations, changing proposals already on the table. The union is demanding:
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- The IUF has called on Saputo senior management in Canada to intervene urgently to bring this dispute to a close;
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- The IUF has further clarified that attacks on rights are antithetical to the fundamental principles and rights at work as defined by the ILO (International Labour Organisation);
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- With Saputo’s reported revenues of $4.5 billion and earnings of $379 million, Saputo must put people before profits, return to negotiations, and settle a fair contract.’
IUF General Secretary Sue Longley stated: ‘After three months of intense struggle, it’s past time for serious negotiations.
‘We call on Saputo’s Canadian leadership to intervene, to return to the table and to negotiate a fair contract for these brave and committed workers.’
The Tasmanian workers held a rally at the end of last month to demand mainland rates of pay.
The maintenance crew at Burnie had been taking protected industrial action, with no pay, for over three months straight.
The AMWU and the CEPU are calling for pay parity for the maintenance workers at the Burnie site, who are paid 23.5% less than their Victorian counterparts.
Canadian diary manufacturer, Saputo, is one of the largest dairy processors in the country but its Australian division has so far failed to offer Tasmanian workers a fair deal despite multiple negotiation attempts by striking AMWU and CEPU workers, with bargaining ongoing since August 2023.
The media and members of the community were invited to attend a press conference on Tuesday 27 August at 12.30pm outside Saputo’s Burnie factory at 145 Old Surrey Road, Havenview as the workers took a stand.
AMWU Tasmanian State Secretary Jacob Batt said: ‘It would be disappointing if any replacement workers chose to enter the factory. We would view any business or worker acting as a strike-breaker as undermining Tasmanian workers who are seeking fairness with their mainland colleagues.
‘It’s disappointing that a permit from Burnie City Council for a 24/7 picket was granted, yet within hours the council succumbed in favour of multinational Saputo to make the permit unworkable.
‘We feel for the Burnie Council, a city with a proud union history of unionism such as the Battle of Burnie with the Pulp, and would hope the local council decides to stand for workers – the same way the Burnie community, the Tasmanian community, and the House of Assembly have.’
CEPU Tasmanian State Secretary Michael Anderson said: ‘Saputo have not only disrespected their Tasmanian workers leading to this strike, they have also disrespected Tasmanian farmers by cutting their milk price by about 15%.
‘Now that the milk season is upon us, Saputo’s anti-Tasmanian position of starving out its employees who seek to have the company uphold its own stated politics of fairness and equality will be plain to see for all Tasmanian businesses and farmers.’
ACTU President Michele O’Neil added: ‘The strength and determination of Saputo workers is inspiring, and the union movement will stand with them every step of the way until they receive the pay they deserve.
‘It’s unacceptable that workers in Burnie are paid 23.5% less than their Victorian counterparts for doing the same work. This is yet another case of corporate greed at the expense of hardworking Australians who are facing cost-of-living pressures.
If Saputo wants to be respected by local communities and consumers, they need to treat their Tasmanian workers with dignity and offer them a fair pay deal.’