On June 6, public servants and community supporters rallied and marched in cities around Australia as part of a national day of action called by the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) to protest against the Howard government's planned public service job cuts.
Noel Bartone reports from Canberra that 4000 people rallied in the city square before marching on the Department of Industrial Relations. After marching back through the city centre, the crowd heard rank and file unionists speak on the likely effects of the cuts on services to the public.
Some speakers expressed the frustration felt by many CPSU members about the lack of industrial action and leadership by their union officials. One delegate from the Department of Industrial Relations told the rally how their sub-branch delegates' committee and union members took it upon themselves to organise strike action. Another emphasised how important it is for united action to begin immediately.
Chris Slee reports from Melbourne that some 800 public servants rallied around the theme "No chops to our public sector". Proposed cuts to Victorian services include the closure of six regional social security offices, four regional tax offices, three regional customs offices, all regional and country Medicare offices, and immigration offices in Geelong and Sunshine.
Bill Mason reports from Brisbane that around 500 people joined a rally in the Roma Street Forum chaired by CPSU state secretary Claire Moore. Speakers included: John Thompson, secretary of the ACTU-Queensland; George Blair from Friends of the ABC; Max Woods from the Maritime Union of Australia; and Terry O'Shane from ATSIC.
Gordon Rennie, general secretary of the State Public Service Federation (Qld) told the crowd that 1996 will be known as the year of the rally. "There'll be a lot more marches and rallies to confront the Howard government attacks."
From Perth Michael Bramwell reports that street theatre artist Dr Drop summed up the Coalition government's attacks on the public sector by lying on a bed of nails and sledge hammering a slab of concrete resting on his stomach.
The rally of 500 people heard Health and Family Services officer Anne Mill describe the effect the cuts would have on the rural community and young people especially.
PSU state secretary Ian Thompson said the cuts would "advance Australia backwards" citing the privatisation of the National Crime Authority (the only authority that deals with white collar crime), and the abolition of overtime on the waterfront and in the custom services as examples.
ACTU president Jennie George condemned the deregulation of part-time work and employers' right to only pay apprentice workers for their "productive time". She called on people to support the public sector rally in Canberra on August 19.