Stephen Garvey, Melbourne
On April 21, the Victorian state Labor government announced new legislation to force an end to strikes considered detrimental to community interests.
The Emergency Powers Act would establish an "independent" statutory officer with the power to impose interim wages and conditions and force workers back to work until an industrial dispute is settled by arbitration.
This legislation would allow the state to undermine the right of workers to withhold labour from bosses who refuse to improve working conditions and pay. Victorian state secretary of the Electrical Trades Union Dean Mighell told Green Left Weekly that the proposal is "anti-union and anti-worker" and that "any legislation that takes away the rights of unions to bargain is a disgrace".
The state government insists that these new powers would only be used as a last resort when an essential service, industry or government project is threatened. However, according to the April 21 Melbourne Age, Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Neil Coulson implied that it would specifically target workers in the building and power industries where unions have been more inclined to defend workers' interests through industrial action.
According to the Victorian Trades Hall Council, industrial disputes have declined by 30% since ALP Premier Steve Bracks came into power. This raises a series of questions: Why is this legislation deemed necessary at a time when unions have limited strikes? Why does this government consider it a priority when it refused to introduce legislation to jail bosses when workers are killed at work due to dangerous cost-cutting measures?
These questions were answered by PM John Howard when he took a swipe at Bracks for being too soft on militant unionism. Despite Labor's promise of more tax cuts for big business, Howard stated in an April 21 interview on 3AW radio: "People repeatedly tell me that the industrial relations climate in this state is less beckoning [for investment] than it is in NSW or Queensland." The real reason for this major infringement upon workers' rights is because Bracks feels that he must prove to the business community that he can prevent unions in Victoria from advancing wages and conditions for workers.
From Green Left Weekly, April 29, 2004.
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