By Peter Boyle
MELBOURNE — The Macquarie Dictionary defines a "vandal" as "someone who deliberately or ignorantly destroys or damages property, works of art, etc". The definition fits Victorian Premier Jeff Kennett and his government, currently inflicting the greatest wave of reaction on a state already reeling from the worst effects of the economic crisis. Kennett is trying to throw thousands more on the unemployment heap, close schools in the most needy areas, slash health and public transport in a fit of social vandalism.
Since the 1970s, governments of Liberal and Labor parties have steadily eroded and dismantled the social institutions that made up what has been called the "welfare state". Education, health and welfare were transformed from rights to restricted benefits or, under the slogan "user pays" to commodities to be purchased by those can afford them. But the Kennett government has accelerated this process in Victoria to a pace that has startled even bastions of conservatism such as the Business Council of Australia.
Kennett's reactionary program has been labelled a "revolution" of the "radical right" by the Melbourne Age and Kennett has proudly accepted this as an honour. The right-wing Institute of Public Affairs and Small Business Association boss Peter Boyle have stepped forth to howl Kennett's reactionary rampage on. The former is churning out proposals for ever more job cuts in the public sector while the latter dispenses public strategic advice on how to conduct class warfare.
The new Employee Relations Act goes beyond introducing individual employment contracts to allow employers to exploit their great advantage over individual employees or prospective employees in the labor market. It seeks to tip the scales even further in the employer's favour by virtually banning the right to strike and picket and by criminalising breaches of employment contracts.
The Victorian ERA is much more draconian than the system introduced by the National government in New Zealand. But like the NZ law it will hit the least organised and poorest paid workers the hardest. Women workers comprise two-thirds of workers under state awards and 60% of casual workers (who will suffer a 25% income cut with the loss of and penalty rates).
The union movement has begun a campaign of industrial action to resist the ERA and associated legislation but Kennett has responded by bringing forward proclamation of parts of the ERA. Since November 26 employers gained the right to bring in the new employment contracts, and the first have already been signed. $1000 fines for breach of contract (or "inducing" breach of contract) are in place and compulsory unionism is outlawed.
As from January 4 strikes are only legal if preceded by a secret ballot, last no more than five days as well as not falling within the life of an employment contract. The government will have new nions.
But the public alarm at the sort of society Kennett and his supporters are trying to fashion extends well beyond the union movement, and is rapidly growing. Several church leaders, including Catholic Archbishop Sir Frank Little, Anglican Archbishop Dr Keith Raynor, Bronwen Pike of the Uniting Church Social Justice Unit and Bishop Michael Challen of the Brotherhood of St Laurence, have spoken out against attacks on workers' rights and the cuts to social services.
Kennett's attacks on workers compensation make up another aspect of the cruel new order. Some 80% of common law claims will be excluded (note: employer's are guaranteed full access to common law actions against workers taking industrial action under the ERA) and all but those narrowly defined as seriously injured will have to return to work in six months or face much reduced compensation. Serious injury does not cover total loss of an eye, loss of an index finger, severe speech impairment, 10-20% mental retardation, loss of all fingers on a non-dominant hand or a loss a foot! Rights of appeal and access to legal representation are severely limited.
The cuts to education have hit the poorest and most deprived public schools while exclusive private schools like Scotch College, Wesley College, Carey Grammar, Methodist Ladies College, Xavier, Loreto and Genazzano have been allocated $16.3 million in state aid (they get more from the federal government, making a total of $632 million subsidy to private schools in Victoria this year). Three of the 55 schools being closed are major providers of special education for Koori, non-English speaking and homeless students. Children in the country will lose the 33 mobile libraries which previously serviced them.
Kennett's attacks on the health system, the initial scope of which was announced on December 2, include 3500 job cuts, the closing of the Melbourne School for Enrolled Nurses and the abolition of the first year psychiatric nursing education program. Further details have yet to come but health workers have warned that hospitals are already seriously understaffed and overloaded.
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