Unions, human rights and God

The spirit of individualism thrives on fear. It thrives on turning one against another. It thrives on keeping secrets in individual contracts and keeping workers looking over their shoulders.

There’s nothing about that in what Pope John Paul II and Archbishop Pell had to say about working life and unions. There’s clearly nothing like that in what the mostly conservative-centre governments had to say in the Declaration of Human Rights. And there’s certainly no hint of it when Jesus said, “When ever two or three of you gather, there I am with you”.

In other words something special happens when humans gather and work together - not alone.

But make no mistake the Howard government understood collectivism very well. In fact it supported it. No problem it seems with the Australian Medical Association - a collective for doctors; no problem it seems with the Law Society - a collective for lawyers; no problem it seems with the Business Council of Australia and Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry - both collectives for Australian business; no problem it seems with the various farming co-operatives and the National Farmers’ Federation - collectives for farmers and agricultural conglomerates.

So, there’s not a problem with collectivism as such - it’s all good for doctors, lawyers, businesses and farming conglomerates. It’s just a certain type of collectivism that’s a problem. It’s collectives for ordinary, everyday working people that it doesn’t like. Why are collectives OK for doctors, lawyers and businesses, but not miners, truckies, construction workers, casual women cleaners, child care workers, shop assistants, clerks, teachers, nurses, government workers and the like?

Collectives work alright - that’s why union workers are paid on average more than those on individual contracts. That’s why about half the new AWAs have been found to be unfair - even by the government’s own unfair standards.

Collectives work because we are human beings. We do our best work when we act together.

We always have and we always will.