En Passant

In light of the return to work and then exclusion of some Hutchison workers, comrades in Solidarity in Sydney have written an article about the way forward for Hutchison workers to beat the boss and defend every job. They say among other things:

The union has to be able to negotiate from a position of strength. The only sensible approach is to keep the workforce united; restart the strike action, and maximise the pressure on Hutchison’s.’

To read the whole article in Solidarity magazine click here.

The MUA Has set up a Hutchison fund to donate to to support the sacked wharfies. Here are the details.

The Maritime Union of Australia was fined $200000 for this poster quoting Jack London telling the truth about scabs. Freedom of speech Commissioner where are you? The alternative might be to refuse to pay the fine and close the ports if the state takes any enforcement action.

Donate to support the sacked and striking Hutchison wharfies. The account details are here.

The union movement is rallying around the sacked workers at Hutchison’s on the wharves in Sydney and Brisbane. We will not be intimidated by Hutchison’s tactics – we’ve seen it all before.

Sacking employees by email and SMS has the approval of the Liberal Government. Politicians are servants of the people, right? They are our employees. So here is my Hutchison style email to our beloved Prime Minister Tony Abbott.

Solidarity Magazine sets out the reasons for the picket at Hutchisons in Port Botany. Get down there if you can to lend support and solidarity to the sacked workers.

On Monday 11 February rank and file unionist and community activist Bob Carnegie is being hauled in front of the Federal Magistrates Court in Brisbane on 54 charges of contempt. These charges arise from his steadfast leadership of the community protest accompanying the nine-week strike by 650 workers at the Queensland Children’s Hospital construction site late last year writes Tom Bramble in Socialist Alternative.

Something interesting happened yesterday. Strikes won Maritime Union members at Total Marine Services a 30 percent pay increase.