As part of London IWW's Learning Circle talk series, Dr Emily Foley discusses recent events in Australia, where the government legislated to remove democratic control from one of the country's most powerful unions. We have uploaded a recording of the talk here.
In August 2024, the Australian government rushed through anti-worker and anti-union legislation to remove the democratic control of the country's most powerful construction union from its members.
In response to media allegations of criminality and corruption, the Australian Labor Party legislated to put all branches of the Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union (CFMEU) into administration. Before these allegations were tried in court, the legislation resulted in the removal of 270 union officers from their elected positions and the sacking of 11 paid workers.
On December 9th in the May Day Rooms in London, Emily Foley, lecturer in politics and unionist living on unceded Wurundjeri Land in Naarm/Melbourne, discussed the implications of the administration for construction workers and the precedent it sets for attacking unions by undermining their organising power. An active member in the Defend the Unions-Defend the CFMEU community campaign, Emily examined the Australian Labor Party’s attack on the CFMEU alongside the deregistration of the Builders’ Labourers Federation in the 1980s. She also discussed the ongoing efforts of Australian Labor Governments to weaken left-wing unions and their implications for labour movements in Australia and beyond.
Listen to the talk here:
If you would like to join other unions in showing solidarity with rank and file members of the CFMEU, we encourage you to pass a motion of solidarity with the campaign against the administration at your next union meeting.
The event took place as part of London IWW's Learning Circle series.
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