En Passant

Donate to support the sacked and striking Hutchison wharfies. The account details are here.

The “No job cuts” campaign at the University of Sydney has seen the biggest mobilisation of staff in years writes Alma Torlakovic, the chair of the campaign committee and one of the general staff of the university. The experience we’ve had at Sydney University shows how quickly the mood among workers can shift. From a place that’s often been respectable and quiet, we’ve seen a serious and defiant campaign emerge within a few short weeks. Union membership grew as the campaign spread and new layers of members were involved in activity. In a period where workers across the world are facing austerity and attacks on their living standards, strong unions will need to be rebuilt everywhere to face the coming challenges. The campaign at Sydney University has been a step in the right direction.

The first step is for a large turnout to rallies, campaign committee and general meetings. We can spread the word about the seriousness of the situation as widely as possible and get as many people as possible to the protest next week and to the general NTEU (union) meeting when it occurs. From there we can plan a stop work meeting and prepare the ground for a campaign of industrial action.

The time to fight back against the cutters and destroyers of quality education is now. For students that means mass meetings and rallies and whatever may come out of that. For staff it means strikes. Stop work to save jobs. Stop work for quality education. Stop work to stop Vice- Chancellor Young.

My blog is a small contribution to the wider attempt to keep alive the ideas of genuine socialism, of democracy and revolution. Even though it is more or less unrewarded labour in the monetary sense, it is rewarded in another sense. It is my own, my free labour in a world of alienated labour. I will never stop writing.

Geelong Council has sacked two workers after they filled in hazardous potholes in their lunchtime.

Employment in the mining industry will double over the next decade. Scaremongering about job losses is so the bosses can get even more money out of us.

By striking and stopping Government revenue, tax officers can win large wage increases and job security.

Commonwealth Bank management salary cuts are tokenistic posturing aimed at convincing staff to accept a real wage cut.

According to Satuday’s Canberra Times, the Australian Bureau of Statistics has begun to carry out its decision to sack 180 staff.  This week 31 learned they are going. More will get the boot in the coming weeks. My union, the CPSU, has done nothing but talk. Only mass meetings of all CPSU members to consider indefinite strike […]