Image: Photo: supplied
By CHRISTINE LAI
Socialist Alternative hosted a public forum on 4th August where a panel of speakers discussed the cost-of-living crisis that has left workers struggling to keep up with inflation and how worker demands could be won through rank-and-file action.
The forum heard from leading trade unionists at the front of the most recent round of strikes and industrial action across public sectors in NSW. Members of the panel included Rail, Tram, and Bus Union (RTBU) delegate Damian Ridgewell, NSW Nurses, and Midwives Association (NSWNMA) delegate Nathaniel Mitchell and University of Sydney National Tertiary Education Union ( USyd NTEU) Branch Committee member Alma Torlakovic.
RTBU delegate Damian Ridgewell described the current economic state of Australia as experiencing the “worst inflation crisis since the 1990s”, where the current wages are equivalent to what they were in 2012. Ridgewell stated that there was a “sharpening class war” occurring where workers were refusing to have their wages “gutted”.
He recalled railway workers “walking off the job” three times in the last twelve months, where a single-day strike cost the state over $100 million. Ridgewell condemned Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers who recently made a public statement declaring that workers should not expect any wage rises for the next few years.
“Fighting to deliver real wage increases and winning back the world as workers.”
He asserted that taking strike action was the “only way to win political change” and looked at the current RMIT strikes in Britain to reject the popular argument that taking industrial action would result in public outrage. Ridgewell stated that every time British rail workers have gone on strike, public support has increased. Railway workers will be embarking on another round of industrial action, with four stoppages occurring over the next three weeks. Some actions include workers not issuing fines from August 7 and train gates across Sydney stations remaining open from August 13.
NSWNMA Prince of Wales delegate Nathaniel Mitchell criticised union officials’ line which argued for members to “accept the state government’s 3 per cent offer”- which is below the current inflation rate of 6.1% and forecast to hit 7.75% by December this year. He recalled how he and a fellow nurse moved an amendment to reject the offer and fight for an above-inflation pay rise of “at least 7 per cent”, which won by nine votes in a general mass members meeting.
Another vote was called following the mass meeting as union officials were “displeased” with the “close call” and sought to discredit their case, but the vote was reaffirmed by members across the 120 branches in the state.
USyd NTEU branch committee member Alma Torlakovic gave examples of victories and union organising led in the workplace. These actions included protesting the occupational health and safety issue (OHS) of hazardous air quality in buildings and the recent petition that she organised to protest management’s attempt to divide up one-hour lunch breaks into two, half-hour sessions for Student Centre staff. Torlakovic asserted that these recent examples may be “small”, but they were “essential to building long-term union presence and power.”
USyd staff have undergone mass wage theft, disproportionate workloads, unpaid overtime and hyper casualisation in the workforce. Torlakovic declared that Student Centre staff undergo immense pressure and must deal with “hundreds of enquiries per day”. She added that union meetings occur during lunchtimes so separate breaks would prevent staff from attending, reduce organising action, and was an “attack, especially during our coming strike campaign.” Torlakovic said that the open letter gained over 100 signatures within hours and forced “management to back down.”
Torlakovic is a member of the NTEU caucus, Fightback which began in 2020, in protest of the Jobs Protection Framework (2020) whereby university management had planned “shamefully with union officials” to offer wage cuts of up to 15 per cent to staff in a bid to “protect jobs.” Fightback members led a movement to reject the concession with ‘vote no’ campaigns at a local and national level and quashed the JPA at USyd.
USyd branch members recently voted to take a 24-hour strike action on 17th August. The upcoming strike will be the third set of strikes held during this year’s renegotiation of the Enterprise Bargaining Agreement (EBA), which has entered its thirteenth month. Over 93 per cent of 350 attending members also endorsed taking additional action on 27th August during Open Day if management failed to agree to the NTEU’s log of demands.
Panellists unanimously agreed on the need to replicate rank-and-file action in every union across the public sector, arguing for militancy to fight for increased wage claims and better working conditions.
There was a petition directed at organising a widespread public sector strike where attendees could sign to show their support.
“We need to build oppositional forces, to fan the flames of discontent and force their hand. No struggle is won without a fight, and it’s going to take militancy and organising to get there,” an attendee said.
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