There's an interesting discussion at Larvatus Prodeo about proposals for a new Industrial Relations policy for the Australian Labor Party (ALP). The proposals are
from a speech yesterday by Mr Kevin Rudd, the ALP's leader.What is interesting is the way that people who loathe Prime Minister Mr John Howard are prepared to welcome an IR system that is almost as bad the Government's
WorkChoices scheme.
Mr Rudd's proposals, which in theory have to be approved by the soon-to-be-held ALP National Conference, include:
- Banning most strikes, and enforcing a secret ballot (presumably by mail) before a strike can be held.
- Making strike pay by employers illegal.
- Retaining non-collective agreements (although they are making a big show of saying that Australian Workplace Agreements will be ended).
- Allowing dismissal for any reason in the first year of employment for businesses employing more than 15 workers, and 'streamlining' the process for dismissals so that it is easier to sack people outside that time. The current system of 2 warnings before dismissal appears to be on the way out.
The mainly social-democratic (or rather, pro-ALP) slant at Larvatus Prodeo means that people there are trying to find ways to convince themselves that Mr Rudd's plans are acceptable. In their worldview, Mr Howard must be defeated in the election that is likely to be held later this year, and therefore any compromises that must be made by the Labor Party need to be accepted and justified.
The idea of building a militant workforce,
even just to strengthen the bargaining position of a social-democratic union movement, is rejected. Of course, there's little point expecting social democrats to be revolutionaries, but the position taken is not even tough enough to count as mild reformism.
This makes me ask: how can we help, publicise and support Australians who are on strike, rebelling against their employers? The official union movement will do its best to end any such strike as soon as possible, despite the wishes of the workers involved, so we should be thinking about how to fill that gap.