Photos and story from Sydney solidarity action for WA 107
4-500 protest in Sydney in solidarity with the WA 107
The (new, smaller) Trades Hall auditorium was filled to overflowing and then workers took to the streets to support the 107 WA CFMEU workers who face individual fines of $28,000 each for striking to protect a sacked job delegate. We marched to the office of the Australian Building & Construction Commission (ABCC - the new draconian industrial police force created by the Howard government to intimidate construction unions).
Most if not all trade unions were represented at the action along with a number of political groups including the Greens and Socialist Alliance.
107 workers were formed into a chain gang to give a visual demonstration of what 107 workers looks like. (Green Left Weekly was one of the organisations invited by the CFMEU to provide five of the 107 members of the chain gang.)
Truly this is an important campaign - the first major test case for the campaign against WorkChoices - and the action today was a start. But we do need to get serious if we want to win - especially as a number of other workers have already been targetted. The Socialist Alliance national conference in October will be preceded by a practical discussion forum for unionists on how can do exactly that.
See the Socialist Alliance website for more details about this campaign: www.socialist-alliance.org.
By Alex Bainbridge
Green Left Weekly - Sydney
www.greenleft.org.au
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http://sydney.indymedia.org/node/38541