En Passant

The only way to smash the ABCC is to strike and cut off the flow of profits to the building bosses. Workers did that in 1969 with Clarrie O’Shea. They struck and smashed the penal powers then. They can do the same today with the ABCC.

The ABCC is not about stamping out lawlessness but stamping out building unions, the one group of unions still committed to defending their membership by sometimes taking industrial action over shoddy work and safety practices and defending jobs and wages.

The ‘crime’ these unions commit is being real unions.

Only mass strikes can save and, if convicted, rescue Ark Tribe from jail, smash Labor’s ABCC and put people and their lives before profit.

Victory to Ark Tribe. Victory to building workers across Australia.

Ark Tribe goes to court tomorrow charged essentially with being a unionist and facing 6 months jail for this ‘crime’. The only support he has received is from his and other unions, and the radical left. That not only tells you which side we are on – the workers’ – it also tells you which […]

Ark Tribe is a building worker. He faces six months in jail for being a unionist. His fifth court appearance starts this Tuesday in Adelaide. Here’s how the website rightsonsite describes his situation: Ark Tribe is a construction worker from South Australia facing six months in jail. He has been charged with not attending an interview with the Australian Building […]

Julia Gillard is the Peter Reith of the Labor Party. Of course she’s more nuanced, more articulate and has more influence over the trade union movement than Reith. That makes her more dangerous to workers and more useful to the bosses. Her value to capital and closeness to the trade union and Labor Party bureaucrats explains why, if […]

Australian justice is like Chinese justice – it represents the interests of the rich and powerful.

Is the rank and file prepared to push the struggle for the right to strike all the way, and bring in members of other unions on and off building sites across Australia?

Industrial action across Australia can smash Labor’s ABCC and save Ark Tribe from jail. Now is the time to begin organising for this.

It’s time for Julia Gillard to order the ABCC to investigate if Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton have been bribing foreign officials and committing a crime in Australia.