Unionists send fair trade message

Date: 12 September 2000

Over 7000 trade unionists took their fair trade message to the World Economic Forum at Crown Casino in Melbourne today.

PEACEFUL UNION RALLY SENDS WEF FAIR TRADE MESSAGE

Over 7000 trade unionists took their fair trade message to the World Economic Forum at Crown Casino in Melbourne today.

"Our peaceful rally sent a clear message from Australian workers to delegates at the WEF. We want fair trade and a fair deal for workers not only in Australia, but internationally," said Leigh Hubbard, Victorian Trades Hall Council Secretary.

"In this era of globalisation, we want new standards for workers, not no standards," said Mr Hubbard.

Workers from manufacturing, building and construction industries, plus health care, education and finance sectors marched from Trades Hall to Southbank. They stopped en route outside the Nike Store in Bourke St and chanted: "A fair deal for workers, - just do it."

"Nike pays its workers in Indonesia $2 a day in sweatshops, when the cost of living is $3," Mr Hubbard told the march.

Mr Hubbard said the organisers and delegates to the WEF were wrong to portray the protesters and unionists as fearful of change. " We have coped with enormous change and know that we can't go back to the 1950s. Workers are sick and tired of being at the mercy of transnational companies who make decisions about employees from headquarters in New York and move their businesses in search of cheap labour, cutting jobs in the process," he said. "We need a code of conduct to govern the behaviour of Australian corporations operating overseas."

For further information

Contact:	Leigh Hubbard
Union:	Victorian Trades Hall Council - OHS Unit
Phone:	0396629833
Email:	info@vthc.org.au
WWW:	http://www.vthc.org.au

LaborNET is proudly created, designed and programmed
by Social Change Online for the Labor Council of NSW
[Credits] [Site Matters]