Red Report Back - Week Ending 10/04/2022

Fighting Back Against the Housing Crisis

Over the weekend, members of the Australian Communist Party were out on the streets in the urban fringe of Adelaide to speak to community members about their experiences of the housing crisis. They were joined by allies from the Anti-Poverty Network to both educate and be educated by residents who were suffering from the crisis first hand. The outreach event worked to provide a voice to those who are disgusted with the shameful situation where so many vulnerable people are abandoned to fend for themselves.

All across Australia, on the urban fringes, working class communities are being beaten to a pulp. They are being priced out of living a fulfilling, enriching life. The issues they are suffering from will not be fixed by meekly begging the government for relief. The working class has no saviour but itself, so the ACP and its allies are working to empower those who are suffering and being exploited. It is the organised action of working people that will save communities and ultimately win a new kind of society where housing crises will be a thing of the past.

Find out how you can get involved at: https://auscp.org.au/join-us/

Election Reflection

The federal election has been called for the 21st of May, and many Australians are eager to vote out the Morrison LNP government. Many see this as a chance for working class Australians to address critical problems like wage stagnation, housing unaffordability and climate change. Yet, we must not forget that these problems have been left to fester for decades under both LNP and ALP governments.

Only when forced through direct action, have governments reluctantly given concessions to the working class. But these concessions have never been permanent, and they are always eroded at the first opportunity. If voting brought about substantial change in favour of the working class, it would be made illegal. Direct action on the other hand, has been essential in wringing much needed concessions for the working class, from the capitalist class. This is precisely why we have seen fierce and repeated attacks on the right to strike and the right to protest. For example, the LNP and ALP recently passed legislation that will see activists fined up to $22,000 and jailed for up to 2 years if they block major roads or disrupt major facilities.

Additionally, the trade union movement is no stranger to this level of oppression. Workers are only legally permitted to take industrial action at the expiry of their workplace EBA (Enterprise Bargaining Agreement), and this industrial action must first be approved by the Fair Work Commission. Failure to comply with these repressive industrial relations laws can see striking workers face fines of up to $13,320 each.

The solutions to critical working class issues such as wage stagnation, housing unaffordability and climate change, won’t come through the ballot box - they will come through direct action and the struggle for socialism. Only when capitalism is abolished will we be able to truly solve these issues for good! Until then, everything is a game of tug-of-war between the working class and the ruling capitalist class. That being said, we will take every opportunity to wrangle every concession we can in the meantime in the interest of workers’ wellbeing. But we must never forget that these concessions are not the end goal.

Health Care Workers Hit the Town

Early last week, thousands of paramedics, hospital cleaners and other healthcare workers took part in strike action over the terrible working conditions they have endured throughout the pandemic. Members of the Health Services Union (HSU) are targeting the 2.5% public sector wage cap, demanding pay increases to match the grueling conditions of their work. The HSU is calling for a 5.5% pay rise to at least match the rise in inflation and cost of living.

Healthcare workers are suffering from exhaustion due to the work they have endured since the beginning of the pandemic. Yet, despite increased workloads and endless amounts of ‘thoughts and prayers’ from the government, they have not been compensated for the vital services they have provided the community. Once again, the neoliberal government has shown how capitalism views workers. These healthcare workers are viewed as replaceable and expendable cogs in a machine. They can be flogged to breaking point and then cast aside. What is needed is a system that recognises not just the contributions of these key workers, but their needs as well. The need to live in accessible, affordable housing, the need to rest, and the need to live as human beings, rather than being degraded by this government.

Cleaners Tell Council to Stick It

Council workers at Shoalhaven City Council walked off the job last week in protest over plans to contract out cleaners’ jobs. As has been the case in other such conflicts, the general manager of the Council refused to meet with workers or the union to discuss his decision to casualise the jobs of these hard-working people. Members of the United Services Union braved the pouring rain to express their disgust at the callous behaviour of the Council.

A brief interview with Aaron Vann from the United Services Union.

This issue is symptomatic of wider trends, reflected in the transport and healthcare industries as seen in this week’s news, wherein management undertakes action to increase casualisation and job insecurity. In doing so, this process undermines the rights and entitlements that workers in the past have fought hard to secure, and throws future workers in these industries back into the position of their forebears a hundred years ago. Workers must resist this war on their rights that the ruling class is relentlessly waging. To protect not only the interests of themselves and their fellow workers, but those who are to come in the future, we have an obligation to not just join, but be active participants in our unions.

If divided, an isolated worker on their own is no stronger than a finger. If united and organised, the workers become a fist with which to smash bosses. Solidarity with the Shoalhaven City Council workers. Hold the bastards accountable. 

Bus Drivers on the Move

On Monday the 11th of April in Sydney, hundreds of bus drivers from the Transport Workers’ Union and Rail Tram and Bus Union walked off the job to strike over unfair conditions. This latest action in a long running dispute saw bus drivers descend on the State Parliament over unfair pay to workers and unsafe working conditions. The unions took the joint action in the interest of members that have been exposed to unsafe conditions and shameful pay in the wake of Sydney’s bus privatisation.

Members are demanding that driving shifts be capped to address exhaustion, along with mandated breaks, violence training and pay standards that are equal across the board for those performing the same work.

The NSW Secretary of the Transport Workers Union, Richard Olsen, stated that

“Drivers are driving buses owned by the NSW government, the bus routes and the bus stops are set up by the NSW government, yet the government claims no responsibility for safety and the conditions of the workers who operate the buses”.

So long as public services are gifted to corporations to be run for profit, workers’ and communities will continue to suffer. Workers must take away from this action the need to be active members in their unions, so that when they are subject to the unfair conditions that dominate the capitalist workspace, they can fight back with the support they need. All power to the bussies!

Gomeroi Say No to Gas

The ongoing David and Goliath battle in north-western New South Wales developed further this week. Gomeroi traditional custodians voted 162 to 2 against entering an agreement with Santons, a company that embodies neoliberal colonialism. Santos are attempting to unleash its Narrabri gas project without the consent of the Gomeroi people in the area, which would see them sink 850 poisonous gas wells into the landscape.

Despite not receiving consent to drill on Gomeroi land, the colonial legal system, through native title legislation has loopholes big enough to drive a bus through. Santos may ignore community wishes and instead get the project approved in the native title tribunal. Unfortunately, even if the Gomeroi people win upcoming legal battles, the forces of capital will find another way.

The Australian colonial project was built on and is sustained by the curtailing of the public interest to those of corporations. Unless power is taken out of the hands of this transnational capitalist class, they will continue to trample whatever rights the state pretends to award the Australian public.