RIGHT TO STRIKE – AUSTRALIA

Strike laws like apartheid: union boss

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Original article by Rachel Baxendale
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 4-Feb-19

ACTU secretary Sally McManus claims that Australia has the most restrictive strike laws among developed nations. In a 100-page essay published by Melbourne University Press, she also likens Australia’s strike laws to the apartheid system in South Africa, the British Raj and racial segregation in the US. McManus also defends her 2017 comments in which she said it is acceptable to break unjust laws, while she criticises the trade union royal commission, privatisation and executive bonuses.

CORPORATES
ACTU, MELBOURNE UNIVERSITY PRESS, UNIVERSITY OF MEDICINE AND DENTISTRY OF NEW JERSEY, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA

Business rails against union bid to remove secret strike ballots

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 2 : 19-Jul-18

Delegates at the ACTU Congress have passed a resolution calling for workers to be given the right to take legally protected industrial action without the need to hold a secret ballot. The congress also endorsed resolutions on the right to strike during enterprise bargaining talks across industries or sectors and the abolition of the Australian Building & Construction Commission. Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry CEO James Pearson has warned that the ACTU’s push for industrial relations reform would result in job losses.

CORPORATES
ACTU, AUSTRALIAN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, MEDIA, ENTERTAINMENT AND ARTS ALLIANCE, LABOUR PARTY (GREAT BRITAIN), AUSTRALIA. ROAD SAFETY REMUNERATION TRIBUNAL

Militant to strike tough line for ACTU

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 18-Jul-18

Michele O’Neil has called for changes to Australia’s laws on the right to strike in her first speech as the newly-elected president of the ACTU. She has told the peak union body’s congress that the right to strike is a basic human right that is now highly regulated and restricted. O’Neil also favours changes to workplace laws to allow enterprise bargaining to occur at industry-wide level. O’Neil was the only contender to succeed Ged Kearney. Meanwhile, ACTU secretary Sally McManus has urged the union movement to step up its campaign for industrial relations reform.

CORPORATES
ACTU, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, TEXTILE, CLOTHING AND FOOTWEAR UNION OF AUSTRALIA, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP

Strike limits may extend to service sector – expert

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 29-Jan-18

Unions NSW secretary Mark Morey says the Fair Work Commission’s decision to suspend strike action by Sydney train drivers has set a "worrying precedent". The ruling was based on a section of the Fair Work Act which allows protected industrial action to be suspended if the welfare of the public could be at risk. The University of Sydney’s Professor Shae McCrystal says the ruling could potentially apply to a broad range of service industries, such as schools, childcare centres and medical clinics. The Rail, Tram & Bus Union’s national secretary Bob Nanva claims that the FWC ruling signals the "death of the right to strike" in Australia.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, UNIONS NSW, AUSTRALIAN RAIL, TRAM AND BUS INDUSTRY UNION, UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY, SYDNEY TRAINS, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP

Unions to urge ALP to ease anti-strike rules

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 6 : 8-Dec-17

ACTU secretary Sally McManus has warned that a landmark High Court ruling will make it more difficult for unions to take protected industrial action. The court ruled that lawful industrial action during enterprise bargaining negotiations is not permissible if previous orders of the Fair Work Commission had been breached during the bargaining process. McManus says Australia’s rules on the right to strike are "complex and onerous", and she argues that reforms are needed to make them consistent with the International Labour Organisation’s standards. The ACTU will lobby the Australian Labor Party to pursue changes to the right-to-strike regime.

CORPORATES
ACTU, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANIZATION, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIAN WORKERS’ UNION-FEDERATION OF INDUSTRIAL, MANUFACTURING AND ENGINEERING EMPLOYEES, VICTORIAN INTERNATIONAL CONTAINER TERMINAL PTY LTD, MARITIME UNION OF AUSTRALIA, SUPREME COURT OF VICTORIA, VICTORIAN TRANSPORT ASSOCIATION INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN, CALTEX AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX CTX

Overwhelming majority of Australians support the right to strike

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Morgan Poll Update – Page: Online : 19-Oct-15

A special Roy Morgan telephone survey has found that 83 per cent of Australians aged 14+ believe that it should be legal for workers in private industry to go on strike. The survey, which was carried out from 13-15 October 2015, also shows that 80 per cent of Australians support the legal right of workers in public utilities such as trains, trams, and buses to strike. Meanwhile, 81 per cent support the right of professionals such as teachers and nurses working for the Government to strike, and 74 per cent support the rights of emergency services workers such as police, ambulance drivers and firefighters to strike. Roy Morgan Research executive chairman Gary Morgan says that analysis by demographics reveals that clear majorities of supporters of all major political parties, respondents of all age groups, residents from every State, and both men and women all believe that workers have a legal right to strike.

CORPORATES
MORGAN POLL, ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED