United Voice

Dear Member

I have just spent two days in Canberra and want to share the amazing experience with you.

At the opening of Federal Parliament I surprised myself at how excited I felt. It’s easy to be cynical about politics and politicians but this felt different.

I remembered how hard we all worked to beat WorkChoices and how the Australian people stood up to say "yes" to fairness in the workplace and to reject the individualism and harshness of the Howard Government’s IR laws.

That’s the history to this new Government and its mandate: to rebuild a sense of community, compassion and security in the workplace and broader community.

Allies

As I looked around Parliament I was struck by how many faces I recognised on the Government side from Your Rights At Work rallies, BBQs, community meetings and workplace visits. These aren't just remote politicians – these are allies who fought hard with us over the last two years to change bad workplace laws and poor employer behaviour.

As I watched Jodie Campbell, the new member for Bass, officially sworn in I remembered her joining in our Delegates Convention last year.

I watched with great pride as Mark Butler, our former SA Branch Secretary took the oath. There was Mike Kelly who so publicly supported our Canberra members last year after they were sacked for not signing an individual contract.

I saw Graham Perrett and remembered meeting him for the first time at a Saturday get-together of members in our Brisbane office.

And there was Sharryn Jackson returning as the Member for Hasluck after working so hard to win this WA seat with the help of so many of our members.

These are all good people committed to the values we stand for. They believe in the right, indeed, need of people to organise together. They understand the need for fair workplace laws. They understand the need to negotiate collectively and not individually. They are absolutely committed to workers getting a fair go. They also bring with them good experience of our many industries and issues.

Dumping Workchoices

But goodwill is not enough. We also need a change in the laws. So it was terrific to see Julia Gillard, the Deputy Prime Minister, introduce the first of the bills that will see WorkChoices dumped. This legislation will stop the old style individual contracts being offered to workers.

It was interesting to note that when Julia introduced this legislation to the House of Representatives virtually all the Labor Members were present in the House but only a handful of Opposition politicians bothered to attend.

Julia committed the Government to immediately stop offering new individual contracts in the federal public service. It was a bold and appropriate commitment. Spontaneously all the people sitting in the gallery around me started clapping. They understood this was significant. And as we all clapped we could see Julia and the other Labor Members sit taller and feel good about what they were committing to. And as they sat taller and prouder the clapping in the gallery got louder. We gave each other support and encouragement.

For me that moment captured the events of the last two years.

The power of standing together

By standing together and fighting hard, unionists around the country gave the ALP the strength to stand-up for fair workplace laws despite some heavy pressure from the business community. By taking a strong position the ALP gave many in the community the hope that change was possible and a clear sense of choice in the election. Together we campaigned to get a government elected that was committed to workers' rights.

It’s a good lesson in why acting as a collective is so powerful. Together we really do have a stronger voice and can make a real difference.

We must remember this over coming months as the Government works to get its new workplace laws through the hostile Senate.

The campaigning for these laws isn’t over. I’m sure in coming months we’ll have to dust off our Your Rights At Work badges and campaign again to remind the Opposition of the Rudd Government’s mandate.

Sorrow for loss and grief

One of the best parts of my trip was sharing the experience with Dianne Terrence, a longstanding member from Canberra. Dianne is a childcare worker so it was particularly good meeting up with Maxine McKew, the new Parliamentary Secretary for Early Childhood Development. It was fun to get this photo of Dianne and Maxine together.

Wandering the corridors of Parliament Dianne and I chatted. We talked about the recognition we wanted for our members working in early childhood and we talked about family. Dianne told me about her Aboriginal dad and of her family's struggles confronting difference, and at times, lack of understanding and respect. We talked about the importance of Parliament’s apology to her family. And we talked of what the apology meant for her.

Dianne told me how she had responded recently to the death of a friend's father. Even though she didn’t know the father and was in no way responsible for his death, her natural response was to say "sorry" – sorry for the death and sorry for her friend’s loss and grief. That was why we all need to be part of the apology: so we can all understand, acknowledge and share the absolute heartache and loss suffered by so many Aboriginal families because of the Stolen Generation.

It was very moving to stand on the Parliament House lawn and know that around the country people were stopping to be part of the apology. My partner in Sydney was watching on a big screen in Redfern. My mum was listening from her hospital bed in Taree. Dianne was watching with her family who had come to Canberra especially for the day.

Around the country we are united as a people acknowledging and saying sorry for past wrongs but also committing to a better future for all.

Read LHMU statement of support for the Australian Parliamentary apology to the Stolen Generation

Moving mountains

So forgive the rose coloured glasses but this week feels special. We know that ultimately it is our capacity to organise together in workplaces and across industries that gives us strength and voice. But this task can be made harder or easier by governments of the day. Governments make the laws and set the tone for employers.

Hopefully, we now have a government in Canberra that will change workplace laws and provide a strong message to employers that reflects real rights for workers:
the right to act and bargain collectively,

• the right to be treated with respect in the workplace,
• the right to have your health protected at work,
• the right to secure income and employment, and
• the right for workers to be proudly union

   
It has been a week of significant first steps with many more to go but a start nonetheless.

A start made possible by all the work of our members over the last two years writing petitions, marching, attending forums and talking to friends and neighbours about the need for rights at work.

This week proves we can make a difference even when things seem overwhelming – by standing together and acting on our values we can move mountains or in this case governments, to do the right thing.

Louise Tarrant
LHMU National Secretary