Chants of 鈥淲hen I say union, you say power! Union! Power!鈥 rang out through the city streets as more than 5000 unionists marched from Belmore Park to Hyde Park calling for 鈥渏ustice鈥, 鈥渁 better future鈥 and to 鈥渟how the bosses we mean business鈥 on May 1 for May Day.
The rally was led by the Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU), the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA), the Electrical Trades Union (ETU) and the Plumbers and Pipe Trades Employees Union.
Contingents from the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union, National Tertiary Education Union, Retail and Fast Food Workers Union, United Workers Union and the Independent Education Union were prominent, as well as APHEDA, Workers for Climate Action and Sydney Anti-AUKUS Coalition.
Darren Greenfield, CFMEU New South Wales聽secretary, told the rally that unions had to hold governments to account. 鈥淲e need to make sure that they are changing systems to suit workers,聽union members and unions.
鈥淲e still have laws in this state, industrial laws, around the ABCC [Australian Building and Construction Commission] 鈥 and we鈥檙e calling on Labor again today go get rid of them,鈥 he said.
鈥淭here鈥檚 the 鈥楩air Work Ombudsman鈥 鈥 you have to be kidding me. Anything these bastards put in with the words 鈥榝air work鈥 is unfair. We鈥檝e all learned over the last 12 years that these laws, these organisations 鈥 are anti-union and anti-worker.
鈥淭hey are there to defeat unions, so we 鈥 don鈥檛 walk out, so we don鈥檛 protect our members, so we don鈥檛 fight for better wages and conditions: they need to go. They need to go now!
鈥淲e call on Albanese and the rest of his people to move now and get it done. We鈥檙e not waiting another year or two. We need it done now.鈥
Unions NSW assistant secretary Vanessa Seagrove called for change. 鈥淲e鈥檝e seen a number of unions go out in the lead-up to the state election [which] took action: these are the workers we rely on for the services that we depend on.鈥
She said nurses had every reason to go on strike 鈥渂ecause there is no respect, and no dignity in the work of being a nurse: it doesn鈥檛 come home in your pay packet鈥.
鈥淣ow is the time when we can actually get [a] better [deal],鈥 she said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e got to continue to work together as unions to fights for our rights and fight for a decent living and a decent pay.鈥
Paul Keating, MUA Sydney branch secretary, highlighted how important workers鈥 solidarity is and called for the anti-union and anti-protest laws to be scrapped. 鈥淲e鈥檒l continue to break their repressive laws until they remove them,鈥 he said. 鈥淭he federal Fair Work Act must go.鈥
ETU NSW & ACT secretary Allen Hicks聽called for a 鈥渦nited fight for a pathway from the fossil fuel industry to renewable projects, maintaining union-based, well-paid jobs with safe and secure conditions鈥. He called on聽NSW Labor Premier Chris Minns to repeal the draconian anti-protest laws.
Everyone was聽urged to attend the on May 6 at 12noon in Wentworth Street to protest any plan to station nuclear submarines in that harbour.
Video:聽2023 May Day march in Sydney demands Labor govts support workers' rights, climate action and peace.聽.