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

KERRY SACKED BECAUSE SHE WAS A DELEGATE

On Thursday, 8 June, The Advertiser reported how an LHMU aged care member, Kerry Rattray, was "sacked because she was a delegate".

Kerry has been an excellent delegate at the Gawler based Martindale Nursing Home in WA since August 2005. A staff member approached Kerry about an alleged incident where they had witnessed another worker abusing a resident.

Kerry encouraged the staff member to formally report the incident to management and was later sacked herself. The LHMU believe that Kerry should be reinstated. The Office of Workplace Services are currently investigating the matter and the LHMU are preparing a case for Kerry's reinstatement.

Please help by giving your support to Kerry and send a message to Martindale on any of the details below and ask for Kerry's reinstatement.

REINSTATE KERRY CAMPAIGN

1. SMS the Director of Care, Lynn Norwood on 0439 687 158 with Reinstate Kerry.
   
   
2. Or email Lynn Norwood with Reinstate Kerry at lynn@martindalecare.com.au
   
   
3. Or go to Martindale's website and under their heading, "what can we do for you" write Reinstate Kerry. Go to: www.martindalecare.com.au/contactus.htm

Queries contact Sarah Andrews, Lead Organiser, on: 0417 874 304 or go to

weblink: http://www.lhmu.org.au/lhmu/news/2006/1149828274_24427.html

Anonymous late-night phone calls, threats of jail for non-appearance at interviews or for withholding information, allegations of illegal conduct at events up to two years previously and closed courts — such police-state tactics are totally legal when used by the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC) task force investigating allegations of illegal industrial activity by workers in the industry.

No wonder Martin Kingham, Victorian secretary of the construction division of the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU), said of one task force interrogation that it was like “a star chamber with powers that would make Stalin blush”. Criminal defence lawyer Rob Stary said that “if you commit a serious criminal offence you have more rights” than are granted to construction workers by the ABCC. “You have a right against self-incrimination, you have a right to silence.”

The restrictions on workers’ legal rights under the Howard government’s new construction industry laws are strikingly similar to those applying to terrorism suspects under the government’s anti-terrorism laws. They are designed to intimidate workers into siding with their bosses, rather than their workmates, and thereby severely weaken unions’ ability to defend their members’ wages and conditions...more.

Sue Bull, Melbourne

more info: Green Left Weekly Article