Red Report Back - Week Ending 30/10/2022
NORTHERN TERRITORY MOB SUFFERING IN SHAMEFUL HOUSING CRISIS CONDITIONS
A recent investigation has unsurprisingly revealed that the most disadvantaged Australians are suffering the effects of a lack of access to housing. It has shown that Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory are unable to access housing due to chronic property shortages, with extended wait lists forcing many into degrading conditions and homelessness.
In remote hubs in the NT, there is a 5 year waitlist to access public housing. However, in major hubs that provide essential healthcare, education, jobs and other services, that wait grows to 10 years. People are waiting while living in unsanitary, overcrowded conditions that exacerbate ongoing health issues, especially for the elderly and kids, in locations that make it difficult to access treatment.
While many have expressed sympathy for those suffering, there is little action to address the foundation of the issue. Many have noted how this public housing shortage comes from decades of deliberate inaction, which in turn has left many in these degrading situations. However, those in power are not attempting to address the issue through the establishment of public housing programs.
Indeed, this is nearly always the case for rural First Nations people, who are suffering from these issues the most. The First Nations people living in these remote areas are under-serviced and lack emergency services that can respond in an adequate time frame to address their health conditions. Furthermore, they are forced to endure an environment the capitalist state has deliberately created that fosters alienation, fails to resolve mental and physical health issues and creates a variety of social issues. This in turn allows the capitalist state to justify the redirection of funds into the police that are used to harass these communities, perpetuating the abusive cycle.
As with all those who are exploited and oppressed under the tyranny of the capitalists and their mates in government, there is to be no justice found but that which we make ourselves. There must be an organised campaign to defend and extend public housing with access to services. There must be local initiatives that amplify the voices of the community and take power away from the reactionary state. Mob must unite to push back against these degrading conditions that have continued uninterrupted for so long. There is not going to be any justice found in the courts or laws of the capitalist state. If the people want dignity and justice, they must seize it. Shame on the NT government. All power to the mob in the Territory.
SECURE jOBS, BETTER PAY BILL INTRODUCED BY LABOR
Some details have been revealed on Labor’s Secure Jobs, Better Pay bill this week. If passed, the law would provide more flexible hours for certain workers, such as carers and over 55’s, with workers able to take employers to the Fair Work Commission for arbitration if they are refused. Additionally, it also expands the powers of the anti-worker FWC in arbitrating cases where there is a stalemate. This will allow the forces of the capitalist state to attack unions who refuse to bow to the interests of employers, once again curbing the rights of workers to defend their own interests.
The bill also seeks to implement industry-wide multi-employer bargaining, which Labor says will fix a broken, outdated enterprise system that was introduced by the Keating Labor government in the 1990s. These neoliberal changes, first introduced by Labor, have seen growing numbers of workers faced with lower award rates and worse conditions, as well as stagnant wages. Employers naturally are reluctant to see any legislative changes that may allow workers to engage in industry-wide action
The bill would also include safety clauses that prevent ‘rogue bargaining agents’ from participating in its tame approach to multi-employer bargaining. This means that unions which have previously acted in breach of the strict, anti-worker constraints imposed by the Fair Work Act are blocked from organising with other unions, leaving multi-employer bargaining firmly in the hands of tame cat unions. Additionally, workers and their unions will not be able to engage in industrial action unless they have first participated in conciliation with an employer.
This convoluted mess of a bill perfectly highlights the two-pronged approach of Labor in the modern neoliberal era. On one hand, they utilise the labour aristocracy in unions to frame these piecemeal measures to workers as a victory. They don’t point out that workers will be forced to submit to the rulings of the anti-worker FWC if they don’t play nice with the bosses. They don’t talk about how militant unions will be excluded from any benefits that could come from multi-employer bargaining, while at the same time patting themselves on the back because they’ve abolished the ABCC. At the same time, they’ve simply transferred the powers of the ABCC to the FWC to punish and isolate militant unions.
The other prong of Labor’s strategy, and the ideological foundation of their policy for the last five decades, is to protect the interests of businesses and the market, as well as the status quo of the neoliberal capitalist state. In the proposed bill, this is evident in how they empower the wealthy pro-capitalist appointees of the FWC to stifle dissenting workers. They protect businesses and the capitalist class from industrial action that would shift the balance of power to the workers. They stifle the wages and demands of workers, while protecting the privilege and interests of the wealthy minority. Don’t be fooled by these hollow words and empty platitudes. All Labor brings with this piss-weak bill is better optics for the next election.
COAL WORKERS GEAR UP FOR WAR
There have been two pressing developments this week in the coal industry. Firstly, Mining and Energy Union members working across BHP Queensland coal mines have voted overwhelmingly in favour of taking strong action for job security protections.
More than 75% of workers participated, with upwards of 90% voting in favour on a range of industrial actions ranging from stoppages to bans on non-rostered overtime. The members are fighting to protect job conditions awarded on Enterprise Agreements, as well as maintaining a multi-skilled workforce with consistent pay rates. Furthermore, they are fighting to protect permanent jobs that are increasingly casualised with worse conditions.
While fighting in this traditional industrial battlefield of workplace conditions and pay, the MEU is also fighting a much more complex war. With the announcement in Victoria of fast-tracked targets for shifts to renewable energy and emissions reductions, the MEU has called for the establishment of a national Energy Transition Authority to “work co-operatively with state and regional bodies to plan and support a fair and orderly transition”.
MEU General President Tony Maher highlighted the danger of leaving this in the hands of the capitalist state and its allies in business, saying that “the scale and complexity of the change can’t be left to businesses and to states to manage alone. We need an overarching plan to co-ordinate closures, drive real industry diversification in energy regions and develop industry-wide schemes to support workers through this profound technological and economic change.”
Furthermore, he emphasised the need for workers to be included in making decisions about their own future, stating that “The workers and communities who have powered Australia for decades deserve a place at the centre of policy-making at this time of rapid change. Announcements about job creation must be underpinned by genuine planning and commitment to ensure that affected workers in regions like the Latrobe Valley have a pathway into future employment.”
As the climate crisis escalates and the forces of the capitalist state sit idly by, workers must lead their communities in fighting for a just future. This must not be done from above, but from below, using the knowledge, skills and individuals that are key to securing a fair transition. This must not be left in the hands of those who prioritise profit over lives, communities and the environment. Workers must take the lead. It is our future, and we must be willing to fight for it.
10 DAYS PAID FAMILY AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE LEAVE BECOMES LAW
This week, the Albanese Government passed a bill that protects 10 days of paid Family and Domestic Violence Leave in the National Employment Standards. After creeping into many awards through the years, this benefit has now been extended to another 8.44 million workers across the country.
However, despite being lauded as an overarching victory, much remains to be done. The minimum wage in Australia is currently $812.60 per week. On average, it costs $18,000 to escape a violent relationship in Australia. So while this new minimum standard provides a handful of time and funds to attempt to flee domestic violence, it must be recognised that this is still a minimum standard.
With 1 in 4 women having experienced some form of violence since 15, with these statistics increasing for those who are more marginalised such as the poor and First Nations people, this is a wide reaching issue impacting millions. Yet these vulnerable people are dealing with a society and political landscape under capitalism that sets their value as a human being solely in their ability to work.
When they need more time to address the issue, they can lose their jobs. When they can’t find an affordable home, they are forced into homelessness. When they can’t rely on the legal institutions of the capitalist state, they can end up dead. 10 days paid leave is a step in the right direction. But there is a marathon to be run if we wish to truly address this issue. That means building a society that provides safe, affordable housing for all in need. That means creating a new state and legal system that sees the value of the individual in being a human being, rather than a vessel to exploit for private profit. That means fighting against the system of capitalism that dehumanises and alienates individuals and destroys communities. Once again, that means fighting against capitalism. It is good we have moved forward an inch with this law. But we have miles to go.
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Image 1: fair-work-commission by Scott Lewis is licensed under CC BY 2.0