Vic unions plan mass May Day rally

Date: 05 April 2001

The anti worker behaviour of major companies will be focus of this year's May Day rally by Victorian unions who are working cooperatively with the M1 alliance to stage a massive protest in central Melbourne on 1 May.

For the first time in since the second world war Victorian trade unions will hold events to celebrate May Day on the actual day (Tuesday 1 May). Affiliates have endorsed a march from the Trades Hall to the CBD, including the Melbourne Stock Exchange, to protest against the anti-worker tactics of major companies and to call on multi-national corporations to act more responsibly. Likely targets include Rio Tinto, BHP, Nike and the Commonwealth Bank.

The Trades Hall is working cooperatively with M1 Alliance organisers who will hold an event from 7.30 am at the Stock Exchange. The union rally will start at 10.30 am outside Trades Hall and march to the Stock Exchange. Key unions involved include the AMWU, AWU, CFMEU and TCFUA. At that point M1 will end its action and join unionists in protests outside major corporations in Collins Street. The union rally will finish at 12.45 pm.

Victorian Trades Hall Council Secretary, Leigh Hubbard, said union members realise the importance of acting in solidarity with other May Day activities in Australia and overseas. "Victorian workers will be joining workers around Asia and the rest of the world on 1 May to highlight continuing exploitation and abuse of workers, particularly in Asia, but increasingly in our own backyards."

"May Day is a workers' day and was started in the late 1880s as a world wide campaign for the 8 hour day. Melbourne workers joined the first march held on an international scale in 1889. Now the day is quite rightly being used to highlight anti-worker policies and lack of corporate responsibility by major multinational companies," he said. "In addition, the day will highlight the increasing pressure on workers in Australia through increasing casualisation, the contracting out of work and intensification of work through down-sizing. These are issues common to workers around the world."

"As capital globalises, so must unions and linking with union members in Jakarta or Manila makes sense for us as a movement." Protests will be held throughout Asia on 1 May, particularly in Indonesia, the Philippines and Korea.

As with S11, the union movement will not participate in a blockade at the Stock Exchange building and will liaise with police to ensure that the event runs without incident.

Leigh Hubbard said that the union movement still called on workers to attend the traditional May Day March on Sunday 6 May, starting at Trades Hall at 2 pm. The Victorian Trades Hall will also call this week for the Victorian government to declare May 1 a public holiday, given the reduction in public holidays during the Kennett era.

For further information

Contact:	Leigh Hubbard
Union:	Victorian Trades Hall Council - OHS Unit
Phone:	Ph: 9662 3511
WWW:	http://www.vthc.org.au

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