The Socialist Alliance national trade union committee held its second phone hook-up on July 20. The meeting discussed a range of issues and moved ahead on some immediate campaigns.
These included endorsing a model motion opposing the proposed budget attacks on Medicare for use in trade unions and workplaces. Click here to read the motion.
Red Pen out nowSocialist Alliance members of the National Tertiary Education Union have produced the first issue of Red Pen, a national newsletter for members.Issue No. 1 looks great and is packed with information that every self-respecting member of the NTEU, and every socialist, needs to know. There are articles on the campaign against the federal budget attacks on higher education, the good enterprise bargain results at UNSW, the need for student activists to unite with unionists, the campaign in solidarity with the Skilled Six, and the formation and activities of the NTEU SA caucus in Victoria. Red Pen also contains a list Socialist Alliance contacts in the NTEU on campuses around the country. Click here to read it. The enormous usefulness of the first issue has prompted members to start planning issue No. 2 already. To send contributions or comments to Red Pen, contact Nick Fredman on (02) 6620 3044 or click here to email him at nfredman@scu.edu.au |
It was decided to seek representation from regional branches - Geelong, Wollongong, Newcastle and Northern Rivers - on future phone hook-ups to better reflect and involve members in our union work. In Sydney and Melbourne, we are proposing to continue with district, rather than local branch, representation on the committee to keep the hook-ups from being unwieldy, but as the committee develops, we will try to get a more balanced trade union representation.
There was a lot of discussion about the call by the NSW Teachers’ Federation for a national teachers’ strike in September in support of their claims over wages and conditions. The idea of producing a national SA leaflet supporting teachers’ industrial action was discussed.
Socialist Alliance has quite a few teacher members, covering at least five states, so the prospect of effective nationwide collaboration among teacher members is very good. The national trade union committee is asking all SA branches to identify any teacher members and supporters who might want to join a national teachers’ caucus in the Alliance - in Melbourne, some Alliance members who haven’t yet become involved in local branches have been keen to be active in the AEU and NTEU caucuses.
To subscribe to the national teachers’ email list, contact Alex Bainbridge in Hobart branch on 0413 976 638 or click here to email him at alexb@dsp.org.au
To be put in touch with teacher members in other states, contact Sue Bolton on (03) 9639 8622, 0413 377 978 or click here to email her at sue_bolton@hotmail.com
Phil Andrews reported on how the education caucus, and the National Tertiary Education Union caucus, have been working in Victoria. NTEU and student members of SA in Victoria have been meeting as an education caucus to organise a coordinated response to the current attacks on higher education. Sydney district has also called a meeting of NTEU members and students to discuss the education campaign, and other branches should consider whether a similar caucus would work in you city.
During the ACTU congress in Melbourne on August 18-21, a picket-line solidarity fundraiser will be held, jointly organised or sponsored by Socialist Alliance, the Skilled Six Campaign and key left unions.
The event aims to both raise some much-needed money for ongoing picket lines and create an opportunity for militant unionists from Melbourne to meet up with progressive unionists from interstate. If you know of any progressive unionists coming to the ACTU congress as part of their union’s delegation, let Sue Bolton know so they can be invited to this event.
The next national trade union committee phone hook-up will be on August 17. Agenda items haven’t yet been finalised but will probably include a discussion about the campaign against the federal government’s attacks on the CFMEU and the September teachers’ strike.