Workers and youth protest against CFMEU administration at AKP meeting (Australia)

The Socialist Equality Party (SEP) held a successful public meeting on Sunday, promoting an independent workers’ point of view to fight Labour’s imposition of administrators on the Construction, Forestry and Maritime Union (CFMEU). The event took place in Sydney and Melbourne and was broadcast live on Zoom.

The speakers explained that the introduction of state control has nothing to do with unfounded accusations of corruption, but is aimed at reducing wages and working conditions for workers. They made a connection between this attack on workers’ rights and the global context of escalating imperialist militarism and authoritarianism in the context of capitalist crisis.

Speakers exposed the complicity of the CFMEU bureaucracy itself in imposing the administration and called on builders to form independent rank-and-file committees to continue their fight.

A full report of the meeting, including all presentations, is available here. Workers and youth then spoke on the issues raised.

Arthurconstruction worker and CFMEU member in Melbourne, said: “Workers need to rise up and not just be part of the union. Simply following the union leaders makes them sheep and they just do whatever they are told until they can no longer afford to do what they are told. They need to take control of what is happening and not just feed stories. I think that’s what I took away from the meeting.”

Arthur said there was growing dissatisfaction and confusion among CFMEU members. “There is a feeling within the rank and file that the union has become too big for its strength, that they think they are better than us workers. They don’t tell us anything. They do whatever they like. They walk around, act tough, talk about the big game, and then leave. We really need a union, but I think many of them are keeping us in the dark, just as the AKP points out. They don’t give us information.”

Speaking about the wider situation, he added: “I think capitalism is failing people, but that’s what capitalism wants. He simply continues to feed the hungry machine and suppress the workers. Now it has come to war after war.”

Oliver joined the public meeting via Zoom. He works as an electrician in the regional city of Victoria.

On the government placing an administrator under the control of the CFMEU, he said: “In my opinion this shows the true colors of the Labor Party. Some say the unions control the Labor Party, but the opposite is true. Especially at the top of the unions, especially among the state and national secretaries, it is simply a revolving door for Labor Party officials and politicians. They are more interested in their own career than any leftist ideology at all. Also, as a member of the Cbus (pension fund), I am sick of the fact that the bureaucracy believes that the pension fund is some kind of job guarantee for officials. So typical of this layer.”

He continued: “The government is deliberately, for the sake of strategy, supporting the strongest part of the trade unions. I think the goal is for them to end neoliberalism, and now we get direct austerity against the working class, and that’s part of it. Now they are literally just shutting down government services, without any decent justification. He moves from the argument that privatization is more efficient to simple austerity policies, arguing that the government cannot afford to fund all these basic services such as education. This is completely contrary to my values.”

At the AKP public meeting, Oliver responded: “This is the second public meeting I have attended, I was at the Julian Assange meeting that you organized before. It was really great to hear from some of your senior members who have worked in the construction industry this time around. It was good to hear about their experiences – you can read the WSWS and read all about the rank and file committees – but to hear the experiences of the workers who took part in this work would have been helpful. One of the guys was talking about corporatism, and that really struck me. Here’s how I feel about it: Union officials exist only to get people to support the government, especially with the wars going on now.

“I feel like during the Iraq War, Labor was in opposition, and although they were all for it, they were very much identified as right-wing, in the spirit of George Bush and John Howard, but now Labor is really the party of George Bush and John Howard.”

Jerryregistered nurse, told the WSWS: “I see union leaders being paid hundreds of thousands of dollars while rank and file members work day and night to earn pennies. I see EBAs (enterprise bargaining agreements) that are grossly unfair and exploitative, and I see union organizers working with employers to the detriment of ordinary workers. The current situation with the CFMEU is the thin edge of the wedge. Who are they going to go to after they are done with the CFMEU? What happened to “stand up, fight back” or “touch one, touch all”? Where are the red lines in this debate and how bad does it have to get before someone says enough is enough?

“The trade union movement and the ALP have failed working people time and time again. We cannot allow this dispute to further divide the working class. I agree that rank-and-file committees are a great idea and one way we can collectively push for livable wages and decent, safe working conditions.”

RafiA 17-year-old high school student, attending his first September-IMSSR public meeting. He told the WSWS: “The measures that the Labor Government are taking, replacing CFMEU leaders with someone who will carry out their wishes, are quite dictatorial measures and I agree that they are an attack on the working class. This is an impediment to free speech to ensure control of the working class to prevent any uprising or revolution against what the Labor government is about to do. The government is working with America on conflicts in the Middle East, Ukraine and potential conflict with China.”

Rafi spoke about the danger of a world war: “We are on the verge of a global conflict that will involve all the major powers. If Israel and Iran go to war, America will be drawn into it, and China and Russia will be drawn into it. to be drawn into it. Since Israel has already launched missiles at Tehran, at this point it appears as if someone has lit a fuse and at some point that fuse will blow. This will drag all these countries into a global conflict that will devastate the international community.

“In terms of what we can do, I think we need to be proactive, maybe a little more radical. The government doesn’t seem interested in a peaceful world, they seem interested in destroying their enemies and working with America. They support literal genocide in Palestine. The AUKUS submarine deal shows that the Australian government is not going to take the peaceful route. There must be a full-fledged revolution of the working class against the government.”

In Sydney, Johnplumber, said: “I decided to attend today’s meeting because as soon as I heard that the government was taking over the CFMEU, I knew it was not about corruption. Corruption exists in all governments and extends to the police and judiciary, but people must understand that this is a government policy.

“I agree with what people said at the meeting about the Labor government and how it cares about big business. The takeover must have been part of a pre-arranged plan and will definitely worsen the situation with wages and working conditions for construction workers. The meeting helped me understand much more about how it all happened and its history, and showed me that we do not live in a democracy in Australia.”

Vaitheeswaran

Vaitheeswaranworker from Sydney, said: “The media and the government say the problem with the CFMEU is corruption. They are deliberately confusing the issue and you can’t trust what they say.” He agreed with the AKP’s analysis that the real goal was to attack wages and working conditions.

“It happens everywhere. Where I come from, in Sri Lanka, poor people are facing a huge crisis. Prices have increased at a huge rate, people cannot afford basic necessities and this has been going on for many years. There are differences in different countries, different levels of difficulty, but workers face the same problems all over the world.”

Workers and youth protest against CFMEU administration at AKP meeting (Australia)

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