Chris Williams, Wollongong
When Fred Moore was called up to the Wollongong Entertainment Centre stage during the November 15 mass meeting against PM John Howard's WorkChoices laws, every single person present — close to 10,000 — spontaneously stood and applauded the legend. When asked by Green Left Weekly what he
thought, Fred smiled and said, "I thought it was pretty good".
Fred is a living symbol of militancy. He's been active in the union movement for more than 70 years, since attending his first May Day march in 1932 as a 10 year old. He's a blood-brother to the Jerringa people and a life member of the South Coast Labour Council, the NSW Combined Pensioners, South Coast May Day Committee, which he chaired for 20 years, and the first life member of the Miners Federation (now the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union). And because of his unstinting help and solidarity, he was made a life member of the Miners' Women's Auxiliary!
Asked what he thought about WorkChoices, Fred's smile disappeared. "This is the most vicious attack on workers' hard-won conditions in this country. Before this, probably the biggest thing was when they tried to smash the unions through the red bill after the 1949 miners' strike, and there was massive resistance to that."
According to Fred, the government is "going to try to murder the unions through fines and other things". But, he continued, "this is the most organised fight-back ever. It's very hard to defeat the government in any land, but you can still work to do it. In this campaign, the ACTU are involved with the labour councils. We should bring out some of the old slogans like: 'Not a penny off the pay; not a minute on the day'."
What about the main opposition party? "The Labor Party should be speaking up now", said Fred. "Old 'Bomber Beazley' has made his promise: 'We'll rip these laws up', he says, and we should congratulate him for that, but we should also hold him to it. If he goes back on his word, then thousands, hopefully millions, will get out on the streets and say 'You've welched on the deal!'."
Fred continued: "The campaign needs to be a mass, collective one because there's great strength in numbers. November 15 was vitally important; I thought it was wonderful. The day was well organised and I compliment the leadership. We haven't seen the ACTU as involved as this since the [1998] Maritime Union of Australia dispute, and it has to continue.
"To win, we need to build unity. The other side will try to break you into little groups and annihilate you, but unity is strength. The mass of workers have a lot of bargaining power and, united, we have to use it now.
"When they brought the dogs in against the MUA, it turned out that the public were with the workers, and that will happen again this time. But this time it's not only the MUA with their back to the wall — it's the whole movement, whether you're a trade unionist or not. So the campaign will build, and we'll see real people's power and that could bring any government down.
"We must continue. If they use these laws to attack unions, then the union leaders and the community have a job to do. If they jail people, like they jailed the miners' leaders in 1949, then we have to stay united behind them.
"When [the Chifley Labor government] jailed old Jack McPhillips, Ted Roach, Jim Healy and others, the comrades didn't hesitate. They said, 'Righto, we're representing the
workers, so that's it'. They got 12 months each. Remember, everything was fought for. Nothing was ever given in benevolence. The only thing the ruling class has ever given us is the sack!
"But after the jailings, the workers fought back under the most adverse circumstances, and won conditions for future generations. Workers won't be cowed; they'll throw up their own leaders and fight back. The harder the government pushes, the harder they'll fight, even if they have to go underground.
"They'll try and scare the unions with fines and other things; it won't be a place for the faint-hearted. And [ACTU leader Greg] Combet has said publicly he won't pay no fines for protecting workers' rights, and he's right about that."
As for the Howard government's proposed "anti-terror" laws, Fred described them as the sort befitting a Hitler or Mussolini.
"It will be very detrimental when they use both [terror and IR] laws. For example, a union might oppose the war effort in Iraq by not loading a ship. First, they'll be slapped with contempt of court, then sedition. That's why they're building bigger and more modern jails. Just for opposing the war, you could get nabbed, so workers must oppose these laws too."
Fred says he wants to see "a massive demonstration on May Day next year ... where everyone joins in to put their protest on the street. It's the international workers' day of solidarity and we should call for delegates from other countries. We should invite a couple of guest speakers over from Venezuela, for example.
"We live in such a rich country, with mineral resources and a small population. We should never have troubles with hospitals, education and housing. They should be passed on to future generations; these things are theirs. Never, ever, will I give up any hope that the workers will fight back. They're ready this time, and they'll fight back alright."
[Fred Moore features in a Your Rights at Work video talking about the struggle to win workplace rights. Go to: <http://www.rightsatwork.com.au/static/ACTU_Nov14_elders.mov>.]
From Green Left Weekly, December 7, 2005.
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