Friday, July 07, 2006

Charged For Taking A Stand � A New Attack On Workers Rights

The decision by the Howard Government to personally prosecute 107 building workers and fine them up to $28,0000 each opened a new front in the attack on workers rights, the CFMEU warned today.

The workers, employed on the Perth to Mandurah railway project, were charged by the Australian Building and Construction Commission last night for taking industrial action after a union delegate was sacked.

CFMEU Construction national secretary John Sutton said the charges, the first under harsh and punitive anti-union laws, should be of concern to all Australians who care about democratic rights.

"This is not a case of workers taking industrial action being docked paid or even about the employer attempting to recover for economic loss.

"It is about the Howard Government launching prosecutions that could see ordinary working Australian families lose their homes as punishment for standing up for their rights.

"We have been warning these building laws were extreme even by the standards of the Howard Government. These prosecutions show our fears were well-founded.

"These laws can see workers jailed for refusing to answer questions about what is said in union meetings to government investigators."

"And the Howard government has been quite open in stating they would like to see the same laws spread across the entire workforce.

"The 107 WA workers are the first union members to face political persecution in more than 50 years - Australians should be concerned they will not be the last."

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