The corporate heavies of the Business Council of Australia are using Howard to impose their anti-worker industrial agenda.
How to fight is critical. We must work to mobilise not only the entire trade union movement, but the whole working class and the broadest sections of Australian society. It is extremely important to build a huge movement of peoples’ organisations and individuals from a wide range of political views.
Rely on the people
Ever since Eureka, Australian workers have had a proud history of looking out for the powerless and oppressed. Only the organised working class has the tenacity and collective strength to lead the people in defence of hard-won social and economic gains. When people jack up, they often look to the union movement as reliable protection against ruthless bosses and autocratic governments.
This is why the working class is a threat to the Business Council which represents the IMF, World Bank, WTO and global corporations operating within Australia.
This is a political battle
The Business Council’s plan is to smash trade union organisation and give big business a free hand to increase exploitation.
The big bosses are planning even greater attacks on the working people; privatisation, attacks on social services, health, education, pensions, the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, etc. They call it globalisation; we call it imperialism.
That is why workers are being threatened with harsh IR laws and the beat-up about “terrorism” and “sedition”.
Therefore the fight is more than just an industrial battle to defend achievements of the trade union movement. It is also a political battle to defend the Australian people. The Howard government works for the most ruthless and ugly exploitation by remote and powerful monopolies.
Build unity and solidarity
The working class is now gathering strength, looking for allies, resisting in the workplaces, in the streets and in the communities. Informing and alerting people is still very important, especially non-union workers and those in less active unions.
It is no use waiting around until the next election. Workers, their unions and their leaders are already being lined up. They must be vigorously defended and not left to be picked off one by one. Large numbers of people must be organised and ready to move into action.
Conscious solidarity is a mighty weapon that will toss these laws into the dust-bin.
|
Home | Editorial | Local News | Features | Marxism Today | International News | Archive | Search the Site