The fight to protect our rights at work from the current assault via the Fair Work Amendment Bill continues. The vote in the Senate has been delayed which means we have more time to convince the cross bench Senators to support workers' rights.
Two pieces of great news:
- Independent Senator John Madigan has announced that he will vote against Tony Abbott's new workplace laws that take away your rights at work!
- Tony Abbott and the Liberals haven't been able to bring their horrible new workplace laws on for debate in the Senate yet.
This is all due to your hard work. By making your voices heard, and calling out these anti-worker laws, making a difference.
If you haven't already contacted a cross bench Senator, do it today:
- Find all their contact details here - give them a ring or pay them a visit, it makes a big difference
- Email them all here - use the standard text or, better yet, tell them your story
Senator Madigan has been committed to workers rights for a long time and his announcement is another strong demonstration of that commitment. In his statement Senator Madigan said Abbott's laws were an attack on workers and would "leave those with the least with even less". He also is urging his fellow Senators to support our campaign and vote against the Bill.
The Government thought that passing these new laws would be simple. They thought they could push them through whilst no one was looking. You changed that.
If Tony Abbott thought he had the numbers to pass the Bill he would have put it to the vote by now. He hasn't, and it's thanks to your hard work. You are helping the Senators understand the serious impacts of this bill.
It's not over yet. Here is where we think things are up to:
- Our best information is that two Senators - Bob Day and David Leyonhjelm - will almost definitely support this Bill and vote yes. David Leyonhjelm is a classical Libertarian and much of this Bill fits with to his deeply held beliefs about removing government regulation. Bob Day has been a senior figure in the extremist HR Nicholls Society, one of the groups that conceived the idea of WorkChoices, and believes that workers should be stripped of most of their workplace rights and protections.
- The remaining Senators Muir, Xenophon, Lazarus, Wang and Lambie haven't committed but seem to still have open minds on this Bill.
The Senate is back in session soon and there is a chance that the Bill will be debated then. We know it often seems like the sands are shifting - that the laws keep coming up for a vote and then get delayed. It's frustrating. We don't get a say in when Tony Abbott and his crew bring these votes on. BUT on the bright side the delay gives us more time to convince Senators to stand with working people.
Across the country people have worked hard to make sure all of the Senators hear the call to stand with workers and not be a part of Tony Abbott's attack on living standards. Victorian union members delivered Senators Madigan and Muir thousands of handwritten letters. In South Australia union members have protested outside Senator Day's office.
The calls that you've made and the emails, well over 20,000 of them, that you have sent are having a big impact.
That's because of you, and thousands of people like you around the country.
Thank for everything that you have been doing - keep the pressure on those undecided Senators:
- Find all their contact details here - give them a ring or pay them a visit, it makes a big difference
- Email them all here - use the standard text or, better yet, tell them your story
Remember what's at stake
The Federal Government's proposed new laws under the Fair Work Amendment Bill will:
- Strip protections for workers on individual contracts to cut wages and penalty rates
- Allow workers to be paid with something other than money
- Make it easier for a boss to rip you workers by having them sign away their right to compensation.
- Take away workers' right to strike by allowing bosses to veto industrial action
- Gives mining and construction employers a special deal to write their own Enterprise Agreements.
- Make it harder for workers to access and be supported by their union at work.
ACTU President Ged Kearney said the Abbott Government has a clear agenda to strip away workplace rights, wage and conditions from everyday Australians.
"The Government is starting with the Fair Work Amendment Bill in the Senate before it launches a Productivity Commission review of workplace laws with terms of reference that may as well have been written by big business," Ms Kearney said.
"Tony Abbott and the Coalition Government can repeat their mantra of workplace reform being 'evolution not revolution' - but no one should be fooled. This is the first step of the Coalition's agenda to strip away worker's rights and wages.
"Whatever the Government calls it and however they plan to do it, the end result is still the same – workers will be worse off under the Government's anti-worker agenda."
People can join the campaign to convince the crossbench Senators to protect workers' rights at: http://bit.ly/asu-adopt-senator