Strikes: Why We Need to Defy Rudd’s Workplace Laws

For over a decade or more, instances of strikes and industrial action have steadily declined as government’s around the world strangle workers from the right to strike, legal systems make it so hard for actions to be ‘approved’ and union leaderships cave in and refuse to break the law to take a stand.

But this week has shown that short and unexpected spikes in action are still possible and we need to be ready to come out in full support of workers fighting for their rights and better living standards.

Australia Post workers have been negotiating for over 3 years for a fair deal that doesn’t mean having to trade job security and safety for a decent pay rise. They’ve wanted to strike for ages, even tried sending out unstamped mail instead in order to avoid disruption, and this has really been the last straw.

I went down to the picket on Wednesday night and found their stand inspiring even though they had stopped blocking trucks from entering due to, as I reported for Socialist Alternative, Rudd’s new workplace laws being used to ban strike action.

And in Britain at the moment, their Labour government seems to be lending a helping hand to British Airways in their attempt to smash the union and restore profitability to the airline by banning a strike around Christmas time of flight attendants. Bullshit legal gibberish and bureaucracy meant that even though over 90% voted to strike, they couldn’t.

Right-wingers always go on about democracy and pickets infringing on people’s right to work, and this myth about having the choice to work (work or starve is not a choice) but always have a problem when masses of workers exercise the right not to work and walk out on mass.

As the case of Australia Post and British Airways show, the State (the government, police and court systems) do not take an impartial and neutral position in these disputes between bosses and workers.

And Rudd is certainly not on the side of workers and protecting their right to strike but instead, unless there’s a mass movement threatening their rule, the State always protects the interest of business in forcing workers to work, will not protect workers in their democratic right to refuse to work, and will actively send in the cops to smash up picket lines.

So unions and workers need to defy Rudd’s laws, not work with them, in order to wage successful industrial action. The union leadership won’t do this of their own will because they’re tied up within capitalism and mediating between workers and bosses, so have an interest in not rocking the boat too much and giving workers a push to destroy the system once and for all.

The push to defy pro-boss union laws needs to come within the rank and file of the union itself, from ordinary members and then we can show capitalism that the power and wealth lies in the working class and we don’t need bosses to run society, but we can run it democratically and humanely our bloody selves.