National Union of Workers

NUW members’ opposition to IR changes grows

Thursday August 04, 2005

Support is growing for the campaign against the Howard Government's IR reforms

Opposition to the Howard Government’s Industrial Relations agenda continues to mount, with workers across the country voicing their concerns to the radical changes.

Just this week the NUW received a letter from a former employee of the Department of Housing and Construction (Assett Services), Tom Hutchinson, from NSW, stating his concerns about the changes, and urging the NUW to continue its campaign against them.

Tom included a generous donation to the cause, which will be used to help fund the ACTU/NUW’s continued advertising campaign against the so-called reforms.

We would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank Tom for his generosity and kind words about the NUW and the support we gave him during his career at the Department of Housing and Construction (Assett Services).

This kind of generosity demonstrates the depth of feeling all working Australians have against these changes, and gives all of those working on the campaign a real boost.

And there are many ways everyone can play a role in the campaign too.

Like Tom – and so many of you who have contributed $20 to the advertising campaign following mass meetings at your worksites – there is a financial contribution you can make.

But more importantly, you can all act as ambassadors, informing your friends and family of the changes which are coming, and just how these might affect them.

As soon as Australian working families realise the possible implications of these changes they are overwhelmingly against them.

Each day more possible consequences of the ‘reforms’ are being discussed in the media and no matter how you look at it, these changes are bad for Australian working families.

For those of you wanting to become even more active in the campaign, the NUW is setting up a database of volunteers to take part in a variety of activities, including letterbox drops, lobbying local politicians and taking part in community protests.

If you would like to volunteer for these activities, please register now, via the form in the ‘Campaigns’ section of this website.

This is going to be a long campaign, but one which is crucial to Australian working families.

With your support, and the support of people like Tom Hutchinson, it is a campaign we can win.

For further information on what the NUW is doing to protect its members, and working families’ reactions to the proposed changes, see the ‘Campaigns’ section of this website.

To read Tom Hutchinson’s letter to the NUW, please click on the link below.

To download the volunteer form, please click on the link below.

Downloads