Widespread community concern over cuts to take-home pay and the loss of basic employment conditions has underpinned strong turnouts at protests across Australia today says the ACTU.

Around 300,000 people have attended rallies and other events across Australia today, sending a strong message to the Howard Government that the Australian public opposes the new IR laws.

Commenting on the rallies today, ACTU President Sharan Burrow said:

"The Government's own Office of the Employment Advocate has admitted that every new AWA individual contract it has registered since the Government's new IR laws came into affect have removed at least one award condition and that 64% of AWAs have removed workers' right to leave loading; 63% cut penalty rates and overtime; 52% cut shift loadings; 40% stripped away public holidays; and 16% removed ALL protected award conditions.

Widespread concern about cuts to workers' take-home pay and the loss of entitlements such as penalty rates, overtime payments and other basic entitlements has underpinned the large turnouts at the rallies today.

The rallies show a groundswell of opposition to the new IR laws and are a clear signal to the Howard Government that it faces a tough fight at the next election over its IR laws," said Ms Burrow.

UNION ESTIMATES OF RALLY NUMBERS

• The largest turnout was in Melbourne, with around 150,000 people rallying in the centre of the city at the corner of Bourke and Swanston Sts.
• 40,000 people attended the main NSW rally in the outer suburb of Blacktown - almost double the number organisers expected.
• Around 25,000 turned out in Brisbane to hear major addresses from QLD IR Minister Tom Barton, ACTU Secretary Greg Combet and ALP Treasury Spokesperson Wayne Swan.
• An estimated 10,000 attended rallies in Adelaide throughout the morning, targeting the electorate offices of a number of Coalition MPs. South Australian workers also attended a rally in Whyalla today.
• In Launceston Tasmania, around 2,000 people rallied including rescued Beaconsfield miner Brant Webb. A further protest is planned for Hobart on Saturday 1 July on Parliament House lawns.
• There was a strong turnout in Perth with around 20,000 people marching and around 500 attending a protest in Darwin.

Unions estimate a further fifty to sixty thousand people also attended rallies in regional centres across Australia today:

• In Queensland 7,000 attended a rally on the Gold Coast and protests were also held in Gladstone, Rockhampton, and Townsville.
• In NSW, 6000 attended a rally in Newcastle and 7000 in Wollongong. There were also protests in Albury, Armidale, Bathurst, Coffs Harbour, Goulburn, Lismore, Nowra, Tweed Heads, Tamworth, Queanbeyan and Wagga Wagga.
• Workers also rallied in regional Victoria today with protests in Ballarat, Geelong, Hamilton, Portland, Warrnambool and Wodonga/Albury.

more info: www.rightsatwork.com.au