107 Western Australian building workers face jail and personal fines of up to $28,600. Their crime? Participating in a stoppage in support of a sacked workmate and refusing to accept persistent safety breaches in their workplace.
This is the largest prosecution to date of individual workers under the Federal Government's harsh new laws for building workers, part of its radical industrial relations changes.
Send a message of support to the workers now.
The workers are being prosecuted for taking part in industrial action in support of a sacked health and safety representative. The Government claims the strike was illegal and therefore under its new IR laws for building workers, the individual employees can be charged and fined up to $28,600 each.
The individual workers stand to lose their family homes and everything they've worked for if the Government's prosecution succeeds. When ordinary working Australians can be fined up to $28,600, the impact of the Federal Government's IR laws on working families becomes very stark.
These workers need our support. Together with their families, they need to know that across the country, concerned workers and community members stand beside them.
We support the 107 workers
The Howard Government is taking 107 Western Australian workers to the Federal Court for taking part in industrial action in support of a sacked health and safety representative.
The Howard Government claims the strike was illegal and therefore under its new IR laws for building workers, the individual employees can be charged and fined up to $28,000 each.
They stand to lose their family homes and everything they’ve worked for if the Government's prosecution succeeds.
Send your message of support to the workers and their families by filling in the form below. You can just sign your name, or leave a personal message of support too.
ACTU President Sharan Burrow will deliver the messages of support to the 107 and their union.
