Melbourne Central Branch
Dave Kerin, Union Solidarity Coordinator 0412 484 094

general email enquiries: contact@unionsolidarity.org
post: Union Solidarity Group
P.O.Box 285
Carlton South 3053

Union Solidarity and Community Network:
VICTORIA
the following groups meet regularly and organise community events/actions.

Banyule Worker's Rights & Social Justice campaign
touchonetouchall@hotmail.com | Gary 0415 103 375
webpage: banyule.unionsolidarity.org

Community Sector
Tash 9342 3477 | community@unionsolidarity.org
webpage quicklink: community.unionsolidarity.org

Darebin Workers Rights and Social Justice
Joe 0402 679 201 | joemontero@ixa.net.au
Gary 0415 103 375 | gary.harper@tpg.com.au
webpage: darebin.unionsolidarity.org
disscussion group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/darebindefendworkersrights/

Dandenong Group
Dandy 9701 3044 | Maree 0417 553 869
webpage: dandenong.unionsolidarity.org

Geelong Community & Union Solidatity
J Cameron 0414 289 584 | 5248 1714 | camonjo@aapt.net.au
P.O Box 9064, St Albans Park 3219
webpage: geelong.unionsolidarity.org

Northern Communities & Union Solidarity
Wayne 0438 403 326 | toneyex@bigpond.com
webpage: northern.unionsolidarity.org

Portland
see South West Community Solidarity

South West Community Solidarity
Pablo 0409 513 332 |
webpage: portland.unionsolidarity.org

Warrnambool Solidarity
Gary 5565 8723(h) | 5560 3712(w)
webpage: www.unionsolidarity.org/2007/01/warrnambool-solidarity.html
email: glucas@comconnect.com.au

Western Suburbs Unions and Community Coalition
Shirley Winton 0417 456 001 | westerncommunityunions@gmail.com
webpage: western.unionsolidarity.org
website: www.westcommunityandunions.org

Yarra Union Solidarity Group
Lynda 0408 588 586 | yarra@unionsolidarity.org
webpage: yarra.unionsolidarity.org

WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Community Solidarity WA

• Fremantle: Dave 0410 410 592 or Craig 0409 100 989
• Kwinana-Rockingham: Terry 0417 095 665
• Peel: Coral 9535 9127

wasolidarity@yahoo.com.au | PO Box 1379 Fremantle WA 1379

No group near me
How do I start a new group?

Contacts
helping to coordinate and organise community activtity in their areas
Victoria:
Wantirna
0425 772 753

Port Melbourne
Sigrid 9646 0255

South Eastern
Gary 0402 560 844
webpage: www.unionsolidarity.org/southeastern

Moreland Union & Community Solidarity Network
webpage: moreland.unionsolidarity.org

Resister as a Union Solidarity Contact
We now have an online form where you can register as a contact with Union Solidarity and add your name to our SMS response list and email list. The purpose of the list is to generate a pool of people that are able to provide assistance to community assemblies and disputes.

Labels: Contact us

Back in 1856 Australian workers won the first ever eight hour day.

The bosses of the day didn't like it. The media of the day called it a dangerous and foolish idea that would "destroy society as we know it". The colonial government didn't want anything to do with the idea either.

Nevertheless, we took industrial action and organised mass protests and won the campaign and kept organising and advocating for better wages and conditions for workers.


We won the right to organise in unions. We won the right to a safer work place. We won the right to four weeks annual leave, long service leave and sick leave. Some unions won the 36-hour week. More recently, a massive campaign of unions and community groups forced James Hardie to pay compensation to asbestos victims. The government didn’t force James Hardie to pay. It was unions which won this victory over a callous company.


And we didn't just concern ourselves to working issues. In the 1890s we campaigned for Women's suffrage. In 1916 we campaigned against conscription. In the 1930s for a basic wage, in the 1950s against legislation banning political organisations. In the 1960s against the Vietnam war, in the 70's against apartheid in South Africa.We supported East Timor before it became fashionable or politically expedient. History has proven us right on every occassion.


Trade unions are today central to the campaigns supporting refugees and opposing Australia's involvement in the War on Iraq. History will doubtless prove us right on these issues in ten years time.


While none of these things were just handed over, it would be a foolish government indeed that attempted to reverse any of the social issues such as suffrage, conscription, support for apartheid fought for and won by the trade union movement in partnership with the community.


The current Howard Australian Government is however attempting to reverse some of the basic industrial gains achieved by trade unions. Now that the Government has control of both Houses of Parliament, they are changing fundamental laws underpinning industrial relations in this country.


They are willing to try to destroy our unions to claw it back. They don’t mind if unions exist as service organisations, as long as we don’t organise our members industrially.


That’s why the Coalition government is planning legislation to:

* Remove conditions in awards such as redundancy pay, penalty rates, long service leave.
* Introduce secret ballots before industrial action.
* Make it easier for employers to impose Australian Workplace Agreements (individual contracts) on workers.
* pattern bargaining.
* Restrict the democratic right of workers to have their unions visit them in their work places.
* Remove unfair dismissal protection for workers in small businesses.
* Remove redundancy payment rights for workers in small businesses.

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