RECENT UNION-ORGANISED strikes protesting against the Federal Government’s proposed changes to industrial relations drew an angry response from employers, with some even considering suing workers who participated in the actions.
RECENT UNION-ORGANISED strikes protesting against the Federal Government’s proposed changes to industrial relations drew an angry response from employers, with some even considering suing workers who participated in the actions.
GM Holden claimed to have lost up to $25 million in sales as a result of the 1 July strikes, and has said it is considering legal action against employees who took part.
Employers were further spurred on by calls from the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) to examine the legality of the stop work protests and potentially sue employees who took part in them.
“Make no mistake – this union campaign is a misleading litany of fear, not fact,” said ACCI director of workplace policy Peter Anderson.
“At its core is not the interest of workers, but a fear by unions that they lose power and privilege, if employees and employers are empowered to make decisions in each workplace.”
The Master Builders Association of Victoria also put the cost of the stoppage at $20 million in its industry alone.
Not all employers, however, were as angry about the strikes. Mark Bethwaite, chief executive of Australian Business Limited, said the turnout in NSW “must be a major embarrassment” to unions and thought they would have been “very disappointed by the response to the call to stop work”.
Private sector employees virtually ignored Unions NSW’s call to stop work, he said, pointing out that the strike was primarily supported by public servants. “It also demonstrates that the last bastion of 1970s trade union militarism is the NSW public service.”
Unions claimed the strike, which coincided with the day the Federal Government gained a majority in the Senate, was a major success and a clear indication that employees did not want a bar of Prime Minister Howard’s workplace reforms.
Speaking at the rally in Melbourne, Trades Hall Council secretary Brian Boyd claimed 120,000 workers marched in protest of the reforms.
“John Howard is as welcome in Melbourne as a redback spider on a dunny seat,”Boyd said eloquently.
“I think us having this huge rally in Melbourne will send this big signal up there that their spin on these changes isn’t catching on and a lot of workers are angry about what he’s proposing.”
The Federal Government said it had no intention of holding back its proposed reforms, as it had already consulted everyone extensively, including unions, about them.
Instead, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations Kevin Andrews lashed out at unions for the strike, comparing it to the “bad old days when militant unions took strike action for no reason other than self interest”.
“Today’s demonstrations show Australians just how irresponsible the union movement is in organising this campaign against workplace relations reforms that are vitally needed to keep Australia economically competitive.”
Minister Andrews said the government was planning to introduce its changes in September or October, along with a government supported advertising campaign.
