Unions Across Australia Mobilise to Defend Workplace Rights

More than 250,000 workers and their families rallied in capital cities and regional towns across Australia on November 30 to protest against the "Workchoices" laws which have torn up decades of established rights for workers and trade unions. The legislation introduced by the right-wing government of Prime Minister John Howard drastically curtails the collective rights of workers in Australia and severely penalises trade unions for undertaking industrial action. In particular the new legislation has destroyed independent industrial dispute resolution, ripped up unfair dismissal protections and totally undermined union rights to collective bargaining. The impact of the laws have been profound, with widespread opposition reflected in the large rallies across Australia. IUF affiliates the Australian Workers' Union (AWU), the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union (AMWU), the National Union of Workers (NUW) and the Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Workers' Union (LHMU) were all present at the rallies across Australia. These unions along with all unions in Australia, through their national centre the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) will continue to mobilise members and the wider community in the coming year to campaign for a new government which respects and represents workers' rights.