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170,000 rally for a pay rise
Massive rallies of union members – “aimed directly at the Morrison government” – send home the message that workers want a fair go in the workplace.
The ACTU estimated that over 150,000 rallied in Melbourne in support of its Change the Rules campaign aimed at changing Australia’s workplace laws. More than 10,000 rallied in Sydney. There were other major rallies in Darwin, Wollongong, Cairns, Townsville and other regional centres.
Addressing the Melbourne rally ACTU secretary Sally McManus blasted the Scott Morrison-led Coalition government for failing to address the decline in living standards of Australian workers.
“They are the ones that can do something about penalty rates being cut,’’ she said. “They can do something about the minimum wage … we want them to make a big change in direction.”
Victoria’s Premier, Daniel Andrews, also addressed the Melbourne rally and took aim at large private companies raking in massive profits without adequately rewarding workers for their contribution.
“There is a real imbalance between corporate profits and some of the pay rises, particularly in the private sector,” he said.
The ACTU is calling for legislation to raise the minimum wage to 60 per cent of the median income and expand rights to bargain across sectors to address persistent low-wage growth.
“We can’t be stuck in the early 90s where there’s only one option and that’s enterprise bargaining,” said Sally McManus.
“We’re one of the few countries in the OECD that doesn’t give workers options to bargain across the sector – it’s actually quite normal for that to happen.”
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