En Passant

If left union leaders are serious about defending their members, themselves, and their position then the general strike in 1969 to free Clarrie O’Shea and smash the penal powers shows a real way to win the right to strike. Union members could begin to organise in their unions now to run any campaign to smash the modern day equivalent of the penal powers.

Under Labor’s ‘Fair’ Work laws workers can be jailed or fined for taking industrial action. Australia is still a rich person’s country.

An injury to one is an injury to all. Concerted and wide spread industrial action can smash Labor’s anti-worker ‘Fair’ Work Act and its restrictions on the right to strike.

Solidarity forever.

If Grocon wins it will be a setback for all workers. That’s why it is important for building workers to fight back in the way that has the greatest chance of success – striking and shutting down the building industry and cutting off the flow of massive profits to bludgers like Grollo and his ilk, and in doing that calling on other workers to join them to bury Labor’s anti-worker Fair Work Act.

Unions have the strike power today to turn the penal powers in Labor’s Workchoices Lite into a dead letter. Why don’t they?

Labor will attack teachers. When it does the teachers have the opportunity to defeat the league tables by striking and smashing Labor’s penal powers.

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