Next meeting: Wednesday, 11 January (details below)

Dear all,

Greetings for 2006 from the Western Suburbs Community and Unions Coalition to all our friends. We hope everyone had a restful break and recharged their batteries for the coming year.

The year ahead is shaping up to be a period of struggles and challenges for working people and their communities.

Defending workplace rights and conditions and protecting the present standard of living in our communities will be the main task facing workers, unions and wider communities.

Present workplace rights and conditions have been won over the past 150 years through the collective action of unions and communities banding together.

The so-called "Work Choices" is no different to many previous attempts to push down working people's conditions and restrict the right to organise collectively. And this time again working people and their communities have shown already that they will refuse to bow to attacks on hard won living standards.

The Western Suburbs Community and Unions Coalition will continue to take part in the ongoing mass campaign to involve wide sections of the people in defence of workers' rights and working people's standard of living.

We're starting early in the year to plan our activities over next three months.

Next Meeting: Wednesday, 11 January, 6.00 pm

Meeting Room 2, Maribyrnong Council Town Hall, Hyde Street, Footscray. (Enter via rear of Town Hall from Hyde Street - take lift to 1st floor.)

Main Agenda:

1. Western Suburbs Community Picnic (late Feb.or late March) Theme along the lines of "Defend Workers' and Community Living Standards - Celebrate 150 years of working people's struggles and achievements."
2. Working with community groups and unions
3. Finances

Schedule of fortnightly meetings: 6.00 pm, Meeting Room 2, Maribyrnong
Town Hall.

• Wednesday, 11 January
• Wednesday, 25 February
• Wednesday, 8 February
• Wednesday, 22 February
• Wednesday, 8 March
• Wednesday, 22 March

Contacts: Shirley 0417456001, Justin 0417896297, Billy 97489959.