FIGHTING BACK DOWN UNDER

RMTnews :: april 2007 :: www.rmt.org.uk 26 RMT’s sister union down under, the Australian Rail Tram and Bus Union (RTBU), has been retooling itself to defend the gains of the past and to keep alive the dream of a better future for working families. At its peak, more than 55 per cent of Australian workers were in unions. Working through the Australian Labour Party, unions won an impressive range of rights and benefits written into law—including pension and health care for everyone. The railways were generally publicly owned and operated by Australia’s six states. Most of the railways were taken over by the national government in the early 1990s and Railway unions responded to that and other changes with a sweeping merger: the formation of the RTBU combined Australia’s major rail unions and the association representing bus and tram drivers. PRIVATISATION By 1993, Australian union membership was on the decline. The decimation of various industries due to unfair trade policies and massive technological change destroyed tens of thousands of good union jobs. In 1996, a massive wave of privatisation and sub- contracting hit the rail industry—with virtually all freight put in private hands and parts of passenger service and infrastructure too—either through out-and-out sale or the creation of state-owned corporations. “We went from dealing with six rail operators a decade ago to over 60 today,” explains RTBU’s general secretary Robert Hayden. “That alone meant the union had to change, and the members have to be mobilised because staff and officers no longer had enough eyes to watch over everything,” recalls Sally Higgins, now an RTBU national organiser, and formerly a railway fireman. UNDER ATTACK Adding to the union’s woes were the draconian laws implemented by the current right-wing government of Australia in two waves, beginning in 1996, when something called Australian Workplace Agreements (AWA) implemented. The law allowed companies to void collective bargaining agreements and substitute weak individual agreements with each employee. The 1996 law was replaced by s still worse series of laws in 2005 making it even easier and more profitable for employers to simply cancel existing contracts and implement AWA’s. In addition: • It is now illegal for a contract (called an enterprise agreement) to contain a ban on hiring temporary workers. Even requesting such a ban means a $33,000 fine against the union and $6000 against its top officer. Fred J. Solowey reports on how Australian transport workers are fighting back against privatisation and union-busting FIGHTING BACK RALLY:Some 300,000 Australian workers took to the streets last June to protest against repressive labour legislation implemented by a government they intend to unseat in national elections later this year. Photo: Courtesy of RTBU POOR MAINTENANCE: “It’s all been very frustrating,” says rail union member and track maintenance employee Tom Jones, pointing to the deterioration of safety and the widespread use of unskilled casual labour to increase profits.