University academics and BlueScope steelworkers may seem strange bedfellows.
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But they were united in Wollongong Mall on Tuesday when they rallied in support of the national union movement Change the Rules.
And they were not alone, with hundreds of workers from a range of industries coming out in force to change the rules that govern workplaces in Australia.
Workers united will never be defeated was one of the many chants heard at the rally which saw speaker after speaker call on the federal government to give “Australia a pay rise” and “change the rules”.
South Coast Labour Council secretary Arthur Rorris said the successful rally was one of many similar events held across the country.
“We’ve seen a picture of unity, defiance and solidarity to change the rules,” he said.
“This [rally] is a sure indication to everybody in this region and across the country that working people will no longer put up with the crumbs.
“We want our fair slice of that economic pie. And if the bosses won’t give it to us, we will be changing the rules to take it ourselves.”
Mr Rorris was not surprised BlueScope and UOW staff were battling the same struggles and challenges with job security and wage justice.
He added the Mercury front page showing workers from the Illawarra’s two biggest employers united in their campaign for fair pay and job security, had reverberated around the country”.
“They say a picture paints a thousand words..well that picture tells us that the current rules that are suppressing wages and conditions are hitting everybody,” Mr Rorris said.
“But it is telling us something just as important and that is workers across industries have got strong solidarity and they are prepared to express it and it’s what we’ve seen today.”
University professors, associate professors, lecturers and tutors are striking as part of a campaign against the increasing trend of casualisation, while steelworkers are engaged in their own campaign to retrieve some of the pay and conditions given up in 2015 as part of a deal to help BlueScope keep the gates at Port Kembla open.
Mark Spence, the president of the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) NSW UOW branch, said he was sick and tired of the university continually crying poor every time workers asked for a pay rises.
Mr Spence said management excuses that university funding cuts was the reason they couldn’t give workers pay rises, did not sit well with him.
“This is a university that has got two buildings under construction at the moment at a cost of $180 million, yet they continually cry poor,” he said.
“We can’t afford a decent pay rise is the song we continually here. Well it is time for a new song to be chanted, and that song is Australia needs a pay rise.”
Australian Workers Union national secretary Daniel Walton added it was also time for BlueScope to reward the steelworkers whose selfless actions in 2015 kept the gates at Port Kembla open in 2015.
“Our members made a decision to take some $30,000 pay cut. They made a decision to sacrifice around 200 plus jobs,” he said.
“They did this to ensure the steelworks remained open so future generations of steelworkers in the Illawarra could have a job they’d be proud of.
“Now, more than three years later the company is refusing to give workers a fair deal.
“How is it fair to make $354 million profit and offer zero wage rises to your employees.”
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