SOUNDING THE ALARM
Unions started ringing the alarm bells after the Australian election in October 2004 when it became clear the re-elected Coalition Government was determined to bring in the most anti-worker industrial relations laws in history.
But Australia’s union movement sprinted out of the blocks first, uniting behind the Your Rights at Work – Worth Fighting For campaign and running a hard-hitting information campaign about the proposed new laws.
Despite strong public opposition, Prime Minister John Howard pushed through his Orwellian-titled ‘WorkChoices’ IR laws through Parliament and then spent $55 million of taxpayers’ money on a deceitful government ad campaign.
SHOWING THE IMPACT
Immediately after the WorkChoices IR laws took effect on March 27 2006, Australian workers started to feel their harsh impact.
People were being sacked unfairly and workers were being pushed onto AWA individual contracts that cut their take-home pay.
The Howard-Costello Government tried to discredit the workers that had the courage to tell their story but thanks to the Your Rights at Work Campaign the public got to hear the real story.
BUILDING SUPPORT FOR CHANGE
Young and old alike flooded into the Your Rights at Work Campaign in 2006 and 2007 — spawning a new generation of active people against WorkChoices and for workers’ rights.
Huge public rallies were held — linked together by a satellite TV broadcast — and unions engaged their members like never before.
Buses toured country areas and an enormous grass roots campaign complemented a disciplined media and political campaign spearheaded by Sharan Burrow and Greg Combet of the ACTU.
MAKING ELECTION HISTORY
Our community campaign culminated in an enormous effort up to the 2007 Australian election.
We concentrated our efforts by targeting marginal Coalition seats, speaking to 39,000 people about voting to protect their rights at work. 5,000 volunteers worked at polling booths around the country — by far the biggest presence of any group of political party.
The national swing against the Howard Government was 5.4% — one of the biggest swings against a Government in Australia’s history.
Eight out of ten people who voted against the Government said they did so because of the unfair WorkChoices IR laws. And the sweetest result of all… Prime Minister John Howard lost his seat to boot!
CONTINUING THE CAMPAIGN
Our goal was never just to win the election, it was to win back workers’ rights.
In 2008 we saw the new Rudd Labor Government begin to dismantle WorkChoices.
From 27 March 2008 there are no new AWAs. A new safety net of awards and minimum legal standards are being developed.
However the rest of WorkChoices is still with us and many employers are continuing to use the unfair laws and to resist the new Rudd Government’s promised changes.
We still need your support! Join up today!