BY MELANIE SJOBERG
The S11 mass protests in Melbourne against the World Economic Forum, September 11-13, united a diverse alliance in condemnation of the neo-liberal economic order. Some of the most significant participants in this alliance were from the trade union movement, sections of which fully backed the S11 blockade.
The Victorian branch of the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union openly supported the blockade and urged its members to participate. The state division of the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union provided practical assistance, including a stage for speakers and a first aid tent, drawing the ire of federal workplace relations minister Peter Reith.
Several interstate unions, such as the CFMEU in NSW and the CFMEU, AMWU, Australian Education Union and others in South Australia, did their best to mobilise their members, booking train carriages and buses to get them to Melbourne.
Since the protests, further sections of the union movement have come out against the police violence used against the protesters and against Labor Premier Steve Bracks' endorsement of that violence.
Tensions were also evident, however, between the more militant and the more moderate unions. Bracks used all his connections with ALP-aligned unions to try to dampen union involvement, with some success.
The Victorian Trades Hall Council, for instance, led by its secretary Leigh Hubbard, did agree that its labour rights rally, on September 12, would join protesters outside Crown Casino. But Hubbard was adamant that Trades Hall had differences with the S11 Alliance and did not support the blockade, even urging rally-goers to keep "union discipline" and not participate in it.
Nevertheless, many thousands of union members were determined to make their point and demonstrably joined the blockade.
Green Left Weekly spoke to five different unionists about the blockade and the legacy of those three days: STEPHEN SPENCE, the South Australian secretary of the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance and chair of the United Trades and Labor Council international committee; JENNY DEVEREAUX, a research officer with the Australian Education Union; CHRIS SPINDLER, an organiser with the Victorian branch of the AMWU and a member of the Democratic Socialist Party; JOHN SHORT, an AMWU organiser in South Australia who assisted in coordinating the contingent from Adelaide; and TIM GOODEN, a Geelong-based member of the CFMEU and a member of the DSP, who acted as a marshal during the blockade.
How significant do your think the S11 protest was for unions and social movements?
Spence: The S11 protest at Crown Casino was one of the most important political actions in Australia in recent times. The coalition of groups involved showed the possibility of broad progressive forces working constructively together, when we focus on the points that unite us rather than the points that divide us.
The challenge that was given to the hegemony of neo-liberal ideas by S11 was awesome, that it was sustained for three days was marvellous, and the fact that so many young people were involved gives great hope for the future.
Devereaux: I was proud that the three-day blockade of the WEF meeting sent a message to the world that there was nowhere the transnational corporations and their flunkeys could hide.
So many different people from so many different backgrounds — age, appearance, political positions — united in a sense of their collective power against what had once been seen as the monolithic power of the transnational corporations.
Spindler: The blockade was a clear statement that ordinary people recognise that the tiny elite who met at the WEF represent no-one but themselves. Their profit is our poverty, and the protests recognised the need not just to alter government policies here and there but to change priorities all together — democracy, political power, the right to a decent life here and internationally.
Short: The blockade was one of the greatest community protests that Australia has seen in the past 20 years; a diverse group of Australians banded together for the common purpose of stopping the WEF.
The organising committee should be congratulated for their efforts and the success of the blockade. The sight of thousands of people linking arms and standing together gave everyone who saw it great hope for the future and undeniable pride.
Gooden: A strong contingent of union and community activists travelled up from Geelong for S11. As a marshal, it was patently clear that the majority of people were present to protest against the WEF in a peaceful and non-violent manner.
It was an inspiring and exciting thing to witness the solidarity that can be built through the collective strength of people committed to social justice.
What's your reaction to the evident tensions within the union movement, especially the divisions over support for the blockade?
Spence: I think the collective position of the VTHC that Leigh Hubbard was articulating was wrong. The international committee of the United Trades and Labor Council of South Australia supported S11, and a healthy South Australian trade union delegation participated in the protests from day one.
The "fair trade, not free trade" debate in the labour movement has highlighted deep contradictions. Some sections of the movement support free trade, others believe there is no other alternative, and, amongst those who support fair trade, there are divided views on how to advance the question.
Given all of that, the important part is to highlight that thousands of trade unionists marched to Crown Casino on the Tuesday and thousands of individual trade unionists participated in the blockade on the Monday. That is what is most significant.
Devereaux: As a committed unionist, I was both saddened and angered that, with a few notable exceptions, the leadership of the union movement in Australia, both in the ACTU and the VTHC, was so accommodating to the TNCs and their global agenda.
I was particularly upset by ACTU president Sharan Burrow's decision to give legitimacy to the TNCs by crossing the blockade and addressing the forum.
Spindler: I was disgusted by Hubbard's comments [discouraging unionists from joining the blockade]. The people on the casino blockade were the same people who stood arms linked with the MUA at the community picket line in 1998, and here was a trade union leader seeking to drive a wedge between them and the trade unions.
Activists, and especially the young people, at the blockade are the future of a healthy, vibrant labour movement, but these actions served to underline the disenchantment and isolation many unionists already feel from those in the officialdom who are motivated more by their ALP ties than working-class interests.
Short: The attitude of Sharan Burrow from the ACTU and Leigh Hubbard of the Victorian Trades Hall Council was disappointing. The Australian trade union movement had a great opportunity to show community leadership and protest with other committed Australians, but instead they took the regrettable step to hold their rally on the Tuesday.
It almost seemed that the hierarchy of the ACTU was trying to derail the whole protest, and I am sure it will take a long time for this decision to be forgotten by other activists throughout Australia.
Gooden: We saw the official leadership of the trade union movement rekindle their narrow definition of violence, just as they did after [the] August 19, 1996 [demonstration outside Parliament House in Canberra]. They used the furphy of potential violence from some elements to justify their lack of support for a broad international working-class issue.
The upside is that the anti-capitalist sentiment was clear and strong on the ground and, despite the VTHC line, unionists made their presence felt over the three days, including by joining the blockade.
What lessons for the future should unions be drawing from the protests?
Spence: I think the lessons are that the authorities in Australia are now prepared to use mass violence against non-violent civil disobedience, and no matter how you conduct yourself as a protester, you will be characterised as a violent fascist. In those circumstances, there is no public relations war to be won by standing back.
We have to take the unity from S11 and build it. I don't care what mistakes some of us make from time to time, I don't care about your label or your program, I only care about what you are doing to fight injustice.
Devereaux: I have felt a sense of empowerment from the connections that were made, across differences of age, background and political affiliations.
As a result of activities undertaken around S11 in my own union, a group of members have made a commitment to form an ongoing group to plan and undertake future anti-corporate actions, both through our union and through working collaboratively with other unions and groups.
Short: The great message was that we can make a difference collectively and we can change peoples' mind sets. The alliances that have been developed during S11 will continue for a long time across different states and various groups. It will be a watershed for activism in Australia.
It was great to see three unions from South Australia, not normally associated with each other, take time out to voice many people's concerns about globalisation. The AEU, CFMEU and AMWU should be applauded for their continuing commitment to this major issue and their leadership role to union members.
Spindler: The first lesson was the strength of people's power. The first day, simply because of its size, showed that people can win and can be organised in large numbers.
Secondly, despite some of the union officialdom, the response of unions in mobilising 10,000 showed that union members are interested in social issues beyond the factory gate.
Thirdly, there was a common interest among diverse interests and recognition of a common enemy — not so much the individuals but the system they represent. Unionists, environmentalists, peace campaigners, women's activists, high school and university students — they were a united voice. We need to forge this into a strong, ongoing anti-capitalist struggle.
Gooden: The collective strength and solidarity certainly need to be built upon.
In the longer term, the trade union movement needs to review how unions relate to Labor in and out of government, when it consistently shows it puts the interests of business ahead of workers and the community.
We need to put the priority on building unions that are in principle and practice for the working class and are independent of political parties that put the corporate interests ahead of people and the community.