Workers will take to the streets across the country to mark May Day, International Workers’ Day, on May 1.
But which parties will best defend and extend their right to decent pay and conditions, and to organise for these on the job?
The anti-worker, anti-union Coalition wants to cut the public service by 41,000 jobs. Under pressure, it has been forced to backtrack on its return-to-work scheme, but you cannot be sure.
The Liberals, encouraged by the anti-union HR Nichols Society, want to weaken, or abolish, enterprise bargaining and industry specific rates. It says workers can negotiate with their bosses alone. But this would hand even more power to the bosses, which would lead to worse pay inequality, particularly for women and marginalised groups.
The Liberals also want to remove union right-of-entry laws, which means elected union officials will not be able to inspect workplaces for breaches of workplace health and safety.
HR Nichols refutes the fact that wage theft exists, arguing that employers only need to be “educated” on good wage practices. Uber and DoorDash should be able to underpay, the Liberals say, leaving gig workers trapped in insecure jobs, with no guaranteed pay or conditions.
We know what happens as a result of lax workplace safety and restrictions on union right of entry. SafeWork NSW lists falls from heights as the leading cause of traumatic injuries and fatalities in the construction industry.
This is a key reason why the bipartisan assault on one of Australia’s leading militant unions, the Construction Forestry Maritime Employees’ Union (CFMEU), should weigh heavily on all unionists and their supporters.
Today union density is very low — 13.1% of workers compared to the peaks in the 1970s, when more than 50% belonged to a union.
This leaves workers in a far weaker position to fight for better pay, conditions and safety on the job.
Unionised workers earn, on average, $250 more a week than non-unionised workers and unionised workplaces are safer and have better conditions.
But the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) has found that one in five workers aged under 25 is paid below the legal minimum wage for their age. A Dutton-led government would not turn this around; instead it would attack workers’ rights, drive down wages and increase casualisation, and insecure work.
Dutton’s refusal to support Labor’s Closing Loopholes Act 2023, which helps underpaid workers access the small claims jurisdiction in the Federal Court and allows some casual workers to go permanent, underscores the Coalition’s approach.
But while Labor claims to be a workers’ party, it has shown it will side with construction bosses to smash a militant union.
Labor’s Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Amendment (Administration) Bill 2024, which the ACTU unfortunately supported, reveals that it too is prepared to “do a deal with the devil” as one ETU official described it.
CFMEU construction branches in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania were put into administration following, as yet, still unproven allegations of corruption by the corporate media.
Don’t forget a majority of democratically elected officials and leadership were sacked! The ACTU suspended the construction division.
This attack has had major implications for construction workers across the country. While deaths on worksites are far less frequent now, thanks to unions enforcing stricter occupational health and safety (OHS) rules, there are still far too many tragedies.
For instance, there were 33 deaths at transport, construction and agriculture workplaces in Naarm/Melbourne in 2024.
Defend the Unions — Defend the CFMEU spokesperson Tim Gooden said in November that the CFMEU would “never allow the bosses to get away with lax responses to OHS issues ... This is one of the reasons why we are under attack.”
When three workers died over the Christmas holiday period, the government-appointed administrator was on a break and affected workers were not given the support they needed.
The ACTU has opted to campaign for Labor with its pitiful “Don’t Risk Dutton” campaign. It is not citing substantial positive reasons to vote Labor, other than to point to Dutton’s anti-worker agenda.
Don’t forget that Labor, with Dutton’s support, has set the conditions for any future union administration, or possible deregistration of any union that does not fall into line.
This May Day and this federal election, workers should vote for parties that stand up for all workers, their elected bodies and their right to organise.
Vote for Socialist Alliance and Victorian Socialists where you can and the Greens. These parties have committed to stand up for workers and help organise the fight-back in workplaces and communities.
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