Union militants urge new strategy

By Julia Perkins PERTH — Under the pressure of its ranks and one of the most influential militant minorities in the union movement nationwide, the WA Trades and Labour Council has launched itself into an industrial campaign with some bite. Following the 24-hour stoppage on October 17 a number of unions have already announced their intention to organise further industrial action. Hospital workers are continuing stoppages and bans against contracting out of jobs; the Transport Workers Union is planning sector by sector bans and stoppages; and the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union and Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union are planning a power strike. The Australian Services Union which covers white-collar workers at power stations have also said their members would not break any strike by other power station workers. But WA Labor leader Jim McGinty is against this course. He was at pains to distance himself from the national blockade, pleading that he couldn't do anything to "hurt the WA economy". McGinty has also strongly urged unions not to go ahead with the power strike but to bank on the return of a state Labor government. According to CEPU Electrical Division Executive member Anthony Benbow, "McGinty is really worried about tarnishing his 'responsible' image in the eyes of the bosses" and unionists shouldn't heed his pleas for patience. He says WA unionists should learn lessons from Kennett's attacks on unions in Victoria where initial impressive union and community mobilisations "gave way to a campaign to re-elect Labor". The WA TLC has raised the possibility of entering negotiations on the legislation if the state government agrees to freeze its implementation, Benbow told Green Left Weekly. "While this may prove a necessary tactic", he points out, "it should be premised on some agreed upon bottom line; there's some things we just can't give away". Benbow and other union militants in WA believe that the unions should have organised a mass rally on October 17. "Every industrial move must be paralleled by attempts to mobilise broader community support", said Benbow. "Workers are also very cynical about a union movement that revs it up when it's Liberal Party attacks and hoses it down when it's Labor. Every time the union movement does this it demoralises workers and saps away the potential mobilisation strength of the labour movement. Workers want to fight for their rights, not to secure seats for politicians. "We need to mobilise WA workers and the broader community against the Court legislation by linking these attacks on unions to the other attacks on the community. This won't water down or discredit union demands, as some unionists believe. On the contrary, it will give more workers a reason to get out and protest the legislation. "A serious campaign to defeat the Court/Kennett/Howard attacks also can't shy away from taking on the precursors of these attacks, Labor's Accord and enterprise bargaining. Any attempt to stop at the Liberal attacks simply disarms the union movement."