The war against workers and the organised expression of the working class, the trade unions, should be of concern to the peace movement, because peace is union business.
Go back through Australian history and you will find that trade unions have led the fight for peace since the fight against conscription in World War I.
In Newcastle in the 1930s, for example, seafarers took a stand against Japanese aggression in China. When the Chinese crew of the Silkwood refused to carry war materials to Japan, the local union movement stood by them.
When Dutch imperialism tried to hold on to Indonesia as its colony, the maritime unions supported the Indonesian independence movement.
During the Vietnam War, the Afghanistan and Iraqi invasions, the union movement stood up and opposed war. When we were fighting for East Timor’s independence in 1999, John Comyns led the Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) members who occupied the airport terminal and stopped a Garuda Airlines flight.
Working-class people are under attack in this war on workers, and one of the most steadfast unions for peace in this country, the CFMEU, has even had a special law brought against it. Administrators have been imposed, and it now doesn’t have the right to organise its own members.
This is part of the war against workers.
If the CFMEU is deregistered, it will impact social movements, such as the peace movement, as well as destroy working conditions and safety on building sites. Attacks on building workers will flow onto other unions as well.
I’m in the Community and Public Sector Union NSW branch and am a NSW vice president (and speaking in a personal capacity).
We’ve already started to see bullying, intimidation and overwork becoming normalised. The bosses feel more confident because a mighty union like the CFMEU has been put under an administrator, workers are not allowed to say what they think and organisers are limited in what they’re able to do.
That’s part of the war on workers.
I went to a CFMEU support group meeting recently and the rank-and-file said: “When you go to cast a vote, remember the CFMEU and preference the parties accordingly.” Unfortunately, it was Labor, supported by the Liberals, who brought in that terrible law.
None of the sacked CFMEU officials been convicted of any crime. But because the union has stood up for workers and for peace, now there’s a war against them.
I endorse the words of Lynne Forbes from the Hunter Peace Group, who spoke about the dangers and the false promises of AUKUS and the nuclear submarines.
When you come to vote, think about who really does stand up for working people and you will find they are the ones that are also campaigning for peace in this country.
[Steve O’Brien is the Socialist Alliance candidate for Newcastle. This article is based on a speech he gave to the Palm Sunday rally for refugees on April 13.]