Labour Rights Newsletter

NEWS, VIEWS AND ANALYSIS FOR INTERNATIONAL WORKING CLASS UNITY

MAY 2018 • ISSN 13XX XXXX

New agenda for labour movement

Two events suggest we need a New Agenda for the Labour Movement; falling wages and outlawing strikes.
Wages are being cut right across the globe. According to the ILO and ACTU this has occurred ever since
the 1970’s. This is how ACTU researchers see it:

This is why workers are finding it

harder to purchase homes. Excess
wealth is being diverted to boost
executive incomes and profits.
Wages must increase to the levels
they were previously as a fair share
of the wealth workers produce.
You cannot have a stable economy
if the population cannot buy all the
goods and services they produce.
Something has gone terribly wrong
with Australia’s wage setting
principles.

FOR MORE INFORMATION GO TO:

www.LabourRights.net

Fair Work Australia – Unfair Labour Regime

When Sydney train drivers tried to take action to
defend their rights by organising the only power they
have had in the past – the right to withdraw labour,
they found that the Government has removed this
right. As ACTU says – the system is stacked against
workers.
But these trends have been present for 50 years. We
need to change the system.

FOR MORE INFO SEE

www.LabourRights.net

IN THIS ISSUE New Agenda • Wage cuts • Fairwork? • International • Donald Trump
 Labour Rights Newsletter MAY 2018 • ISSN 13XX XXXX

Trade – good and bad

Good trade is based on fair competition and can be used to lift
wages of workers in less developed economies, but only if the
gains from trade are not captured by others.
Australian workers need to know that when imports arrive that
they have been produced by workers with the same wages and
conditions as we have in Australia. Otherwise our conditions,
and those in other countries, will fall to the lowest common
denominator. We have to lift overseas labour rates.
Bad trade is artifical trade that only occurs because overseas
workers have been oppressed more than others.
In 1982, Deputy Prime Minister Lionel Bowen promised that a
Labour Government would install labour attaches overseas.
Workers could then ensure that trade was fair on not based
on oppressed labour, long hours, precarious employment and
cheap working conditions. This never happened. We need a
new relationship between the labour movement and political
parties.

Donald Trump Insults Global Workers

The United States, and other developed economies, grew wealthy
by obtaining cheap raw materials and cheap labour from the Third
World. This prevented the Third World building their own econ-
omies. As so much wealth and productivity was taken out of the
Third World and their political systems manipulated, remaining
resources cannot serve the local people as they should.
This is no reason for Donald Trump to label African nations as “shit
hole” countries when this description better fits the many de-
pressed areas spreading across the United States.
The World Federation of Trade Unions has condemned Trumps ap-
palling statements and hit the nail on the head when they declared:
“These xenophobic, racist and discrediting descriptions have become an “ordinary practice” of the imperi-
alist U.S. government, which at the same moment when it shows contempt for these peoples with its words,
keeps bombing, murdering and sowing death with its imperialist interventions.
The WFTU supports “class conscious” unionism. This explains the mechanism forcing capitalist firms to
constantly cut wages and which, over time, generates widespread inequality and financial crises. For
more information see: www.LabourRights.net

The views expressed by contributors are not necessarily the views of the Editors.
Responsibility for comment resides with authors.
LABOUR RIGHTS Newsletter
N E W S , V I E W S A N D A N A LY S I S F O R I N T E R N AT I O N A L W O R K I N G C L A S S U N I T Y
New agenda
for labour movement
Two events suggest we need a New Agenda for
the Labour Movement; falling wages and outlaw-
ing strikes.
Wages are being cut right across the globe.
According to the ILO and ACTU this has occurred
ever since the 1970’s. This is how ACTU re-
searchers see it:
This is why workers are finding it harder to
purchase homes. Excess wealth is being di-
verted to boost executive incomes and profits.
Wages must increase to the levels they were
previously as a fair share of the wealth work-
ers produce.
You cannot have a stable economy if the pop-
ulation cannot buy all the goods and services
they produce. Something has gone terribly
wrong with Australia’s wage setting
principles.
FOR MORE INFO SEE
www.LabourRights.net
IN THIS ISSUE
New Agenda • Wage cuts • Fairwork?
International • Donald Trump
New agenda
for labour movement
Good trade is based on fair competition and can
be used to lift wages of workers in less devel-
oped economies, but only if the gains from trade
are not captured by others.
Australian workers need to know that when
imports arrive that they have been produced by
workers with the same wages and conditions as
we have in Australia. Otherwise our conditions,
and those in other countries, will fall to the
lowest common denominator. We have to lift
overseas labour rates.
Bad trade is artifical trade that only occurs
MAY 2018 • ISSN 13XX XXXX
because overseas workers have been oppressed
more than others.
In 1982, Deputy Prime Minister Lionel Bowen
promised that a Labour Government would
install labour attaches overseas. Workers could
then ensure that trade was fair on not based on
oppressed labour, long hours, precarious em-
ployment and cheap working conditions. This
never happened. We need a new relationship
between the labour movement and political
parties.
LABOUR RIGHTS Newsletter
N E W S , V I E W S A N D A N A LY S I S F O R I N T E R N AT I O N A L W O R K I N G C L A S S U N I T Y
Fair Work Australia –
Unfair Labour Regime
When Sydney train drivers tried to take action
to defend their rights by organising the only
power they have had in the past – the right to
withdraw labour, they found that the Govern-
ment has removed this right. As ACTU says –
the system is stacked against workers.
But these trends have been present for 50
years. We need to change the system.
FOR MORE INFO SEE
www.LabourRights.net
The views expressed by contributors
are not necessarily the views of the
Editors.
Responsibility for comment resides
with authors.
Donald Trump Insults
Global Workers
The United States, and other developed econo-
mies, grew wealthy by obtaining cheap raw ma-
terials and cheap labour from the Third World.
This prevented the Third World building their
own economies. As so much wealth and pro-
ductivity was taken out of the Third World and
their political systems manipulated, remaining
resources cannot serve the local people as they
should.
This is no reason for Donald Trump to label
African nations as “shit hole” countries when
this description better fits the many depressed
areas spreading across the United States.
The World Federation of Trade Unions has con-
demned Trumps appalling statements and hit
the nail on the head when they declared:
“These xenophobic, racist and discrediting de-
scriptions have become an “ordinary practice”
of the imperialist U.S. government, which at the
same moment when it shows contempt for these
peoples with its words, keeps bombing, murder-
ing and sowing death with its imperialist inter-
ventions.
The WFTU supports “class conscious” unionism.
This explains the mechanism forcing capitalist
firms to constantly cut wages and which, over
time, generates widespread inequality and
financial crises. For more information see: www.
LabourRights.net
MAY 2018 • ISSN 13XX XXXX
 LABOUR RIGHTS
Donald Trump
N E W S , V I E W S A N D A N A LY S I S F O R I N T E R N AT I O N A L W O R K I N G C L A S S U N I T Y

Insults
Global Workers

Newsletter
The United States, and
other developed economies,
grew wealthy by obtaining
cheap raw materials and
cheap labour from the Third
World. This prevented the
Third World building their
own economies. As so much
wealth and productivity was

New agenda for labour movement taken out of the Third World
and their political systems
manipulated, remaining
Two events suggest we need a New Agenda for the Labour Movement; fall- resources cannot serve the
local people as they should.
ing wages and outlawing strikes.
This is no reason for Donald
Wages are being cut right across the globe. According to the ILO and ACTU Trump to label African na-
this has occurred ever since the 1970’s. This is how ACTU researchers see tions as “shit hole” countries
it: when this description better
fits the many depressed
areas spreading across the
United States.
The World Federation of
Trade Unions has con-
demned Trumps appalling
statements and hit the nail
on the head when they
declared:
“These xenophobic, racist
and discrediting descriptions
have become an “ordinary
practice” of the imperialist
U.S. government, which at the
same moment when it shows
contempt for these peoples
with its words, keeps bomb-
ing, murdering and sowing
death with its imperialist
interventions.
The WFTU supports “class
This is why workers are finding it harder to purchase homes. Excess conscious” unionism. This
wealth is being diverted to boost executive incomes and profits. Wages explains the mechanism
forcing capitalist firms to
must increase to the levels they were previously as a fair share of the
constantly cut wages and
wealth workers produce. which, over time, generates
You cannot have a stable economy if the population cannot buy all the widespread inequality and
financial crises. For more
goods and services they produce. Something has gone terribly wrong
information see: www.La-
with Australia’s wage setting bourRights.net
principles.
MAY 2018 • ISSN 13XX XXXX

FOR MORE INFO SEE

www.LabourRights.net

New Agenda • Wage cuts • Fairwork?

IN THIS ISSUE International • Donald Trump
 Fair Work Australia – Unfair Labour Regime
N E W S , V I E W S A N D A N A LY S I S F O R I N T E R N AT I O N A L W O R K I N G C L A S S U N I T Y

When Sydney train drivers tried to take action

to defend their rights by organising the only
power they have had in the past – the right to
withdraw labour, they found that the Govern-
ment has removed this right. As ACTU says –
the system is stacked against workers.
But these trends have been present for 50
years. We need to change the system.

FOR MORE INFO SEE

www.LabourRights.net

New agenda for labour movement

Good trade is based on fair competition and can be used to lift wages of workers in less developed econ-
omies, but only if the gains from trade are not captured by others.
Australian workers need to know that when imports arrive that they have been produced by workers with
the same wages and conditions as we have in Australia. Otherwise our conditions, and those in other
countries, will fall to the lowest common denominator. We have to lift overseas labour rates.
Bad trade is artifical trade that only occurs because overseas workers have been oppressed more than
others.
In 1982, Deputy Prime Minister Lionel Bowen promised that a Labour Government would install labour
attaches overseas. Workers could then ensure that trade was fair on not based on oppressed labour,
long hours, precarious employment and cheap working conditions. This never happened. We need a new
relationship between the labour movement and political parties.
MAY 2018 • ISSN 13XX XXXX

The views expressed by contributors are not necessarily the views of the Editors.
Responsibility for comment resides with authors.