Right to withdraw labour is a human right

GetUp! would be an ideal vehicle for any campaign, and readers should write to the organisers of that body requesting a campaign to promote a more worker-friendly approach from all political parties.

The US-based group LabourStart has also expressed interest in organising an email campaign: if only they are formally approached by an Australian union or peak union body first. Ultimately, the ACTU should be aiming to move from the defensive and onto the front foot: campaigning for progressive reforms such as the introduction of Swedish-style wage earner funds. A campaign for labour rights could even take place within the broader context of a campaign for a Human Rights Act.

For once, then, Labor delegates need simply to stand up for what’s right, instead of remaining silent for the sake of “unity”. Let’s see a conference that’s a robust, engaging vehicle for debate and real democracy. And if a compromise is reached between Labor’s factions: an effort to reach “consensus”, for once let it be on the broader labour movement’s terms, rather than on the terms of the employer lobby and Rupert Murdoch.

Finally, let’s see an ongoing campaign for worker’s rights that’s more than an ALP electoral vehicle: a campaign that does not compromise on issues that go to the heart of fundamental human rights.