BY MELANIE SJOBERG
SYDNEY — A truly international flavour permeated the November 13 union-organised protest against corporate globalisation. Initiated by the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU) to coincide with the World Trade Organisation meeting in Qatar, the rally was attended by delegates from the International Metalworkers Federation conference, held in Sydney from November 12-14.
The 4-5000 protesters dazzled midday crowds by carrying colourful flags and banners across Darling Harbour's main footbridge and then through the busy city streets to Parliament House. Rappers, "radical cheerleaders", street theatre and stilt walkers added to chanting led by megaphone-wielding union officials.
The official platform of speakers focused upon calling for "fair trade" through the implementation of international labour standards. John Parkin, NSW secretary of the AMWU's metal and engineering division, argued that: "the realities of globalisation mean that those most at risk, children and women, bear the brunt of the corporate desire to get in to underdeveloped countries to utilise cheap labour".
Peter Tighe, national secretary of the Communications, Electricity and Plumbing Union, supported this view. He claimed that Australian manufacturing had been decimated by competition with manufacturing carried out under Third World wages and conditions. He called on workers to "vote with their feet" at rallies to show that "the community will not accept this".
Bill Shorten, Australian Workers Union federal secretary, fired unionists up for the march with a speech that captured the anger and disgust of many working people about the outcome of the federal election. "Today's gathering is of people who did not vote for [Prime Minister] John Howard", he declared. "Saturday was a defeat... it was a lost battle for the soul of Australia."
Fervently condemning the Coalition for running an "evil" argument, he charged Howard with double standards for pushing for an "internationalised economy" while being unwilling to include adherence to international standards for workers.
Shorten then blasted the bipartisan abuse of the refugees on the Tampa, telling the crowd that Howard chose to unleash the negative part of the Australian character. "Howard went after the symptoms of insecurity", he said. "Rather than blame the world trade system for the loss of jobs, Howard blamed 400 refugees who had to flee through no fault of their own."
He called for Australian workers to move on from the federal election, to reject the politics of hate and racism and instead to build a global movement of unions working together.
A huge round of applause greeted the Reverend Dorothy McCrea McMahon of the Uniting Church when she pointed out the hypocrisy of the Howard government's claim that it stands for democracy.
Former NSW Builders Labourers Federation leader and green bans activist Jack Mundey praised Bob Brown and the Australian Greens for their stand in the federal election, adding that the trade union and environmental movements must "link up in order to control corporate globalisation". He also chastised the ALP for not giving enough support to the labour movement.
AMWU national secretary Doug Cameron concluded the rally with a rousing speech reaffirming that free trade is freedom for big business to exploit working people and force governments to diminish workers' rights.
Cameron also regaled against anyone who justified playing the race card in elections and stated that the notion that Australia is being flooded with refugees was nonsense.
"This political process has divided the community", Cameron argued, slamming the ALP's position on refugees along with the Coalition's, and declaring his intention to fight within the ALP for a more humanitarian position. "I am prepared to help the debate [around the treatment of refugees] become as big as Vietnam", he said. Arguing that the ALP must get people into its ranks that actually care about working people, he called on workers at the rally to turn the ALP into a real party for working people.
From Green Left Weekly, November 21, 2001.
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