💾 Archived View for tanelorn.city › ~vidak › old-blog › change-the-rules-rally.gemini captured on 2020-11-07 at 01:37:57. Gemini links have been rewritten to link to archived content
⬅️ Previous capture (2020-09-24)
-=-=-=-=-=-=-
---
generator: pandoc
title: 'change-the-rules-rally'
viewport: 'width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0, user-scalable=yes'
---
+++ date = "2018-10-23T10:59:11Z" title = "Change the Rules Rally" +++
Change the Rules Rally - Melbourne
==================================
By Felix Dance and Mary Merkenich
---------------------------------
On Tuesday the 23rd of October a reported 170,000 union members and
their supporters flocked to the city for the ACTU-initiated Change the
Rules rally. The rally was orchestrated to address the unfair workplace
laws that prevent workers from taking industrial action, to protect OH&S
laws and fight for improved working conditions and the overarching
slogan was ''Australia needs a pay rise''.
AC/DC cover band Thunderstruck wowed the crowd and boisterous drummers
helped to create a festival atmosphere. Luke Hilakari, the Trades Hall
secretary, pointed out that trickle-down economics hasn't helped working
families. He added that while productivity and profits have gone up, the
vast majority of Australian workers have not received a real pay rise
for many years. Additionally, 40% of Australian workers are on
contracts, meaning they lose many of their entitlements. Twenty-one
workers have been killed on the job so far this year and others injured.
Over 700 large companies in Australia have paid no tax at all.
The rally was address by other big-league union leaders such as Lisa
Fitzpatrick from the ANMF, Troy Gray from the ETU and Sally McManus, the
Secretary of the ACTU.
The speakers roused the striking workers by pointing out that the union
movement is 1.5 million members strong, and has the numbers to throw out
the federal liberal government and prevent coalition state opposition
leader Matthew Guy from taking power in Victoria. The unionists marched
from the Eight Hour Monument at Trades Hall filled Swanston St to
Federation Square.
Despite all the inspiring words about their uncompromising fight to
change the workplace rules, nearly every union leader exhorted the crowd
to vote for the ALP at both federal and state elections as a solution.
Daniel Andrews posing for selfies in front of the cameras in the midst
of the rally was testament to their mutual interests.
However, the Andrews government has a very mixed record on workers'
rights. Andrews has fully committed to the neoliberal project, such as
selling off the Port of Melbourne and has attempted to privatise
disability services in Victoria. Similarly, during EBA negotiations
between Andrews and teachers, he refused to fund smaller classes or
support improved conditions for teachers. In 2015 Andrews took train
drivers to court in an unsuccessful attempt to stop a strike rally.
At the rally on Wednesday there were no calls for continued strike
action, or mobilising the workers against the greed of the bosses. An
effective mobilisation would not just defer to elections but would show
workers how to get involved in concrete steps to improve their
conditions.