The Socialist Alliance Western Australia election launch on February 14 heard from candidates Marianne Mackay and Dirk Kelly for South Metropolitan (Legislative Council) and Sam Wainwright for Fremantle.
Socialist Alliance is the only voice in the WA election to challenge the logic of the capitalist system, which always seeks to maximise growth and profits at the expense of people’s lives and the environment.
The campaign focuses on five main themes: Black Lives Matter; It’s a Climate Emergency; Housing is a Human Right Take Back the Wealth; and Save Fremantle Port.
Get in touch if you can put up a front-yard sign; letterbox; hand out how-to-votes at an early voting centre (from February 24 to March 12); join a banner drop team; or help out on polling day on March 13. Phone 0412 751 508 or email wacontact@socialist-alliance.org
Coles’ approach stands in stark contrast to its rival Woolworths, which recently set aside $50 million to help transition its employees.
Workers at Smeaton Grange recently narrowly voted against a Coles agreement offer for the sixth time. This was despite the company putting forward a $1000 sign-on payment as an enticement for support.
United Workers Union members (the main union covering Coles workers) are urgently calling on the union to activate a strike fund to help them and their families survive against Coles’ blatant attempt to starve them out.
One Smeaton Grange warehouse worker told a rally against gas in Sydney on February 5: “Giant corporations like HSBC, JP Morgan, Citigroup and National Nominees, which own Coles, are the same mob which own the Big Four [banks]. They also have money entrenched in the gas industry.
Coles’ approach stands in stark contrast to its rival Woolworths, which recently set aside $50 million to help transition its employees.
Workers at Smeaton Grange recently narrowly voted against a Coles agreement offer for the sixth time. This was despite the company putting forward a $1000 sign-on payment as an enticement for support.
United Workers Union members (the main union covering Coles workers) are urgently calling on the union to activate a strike fund to help them and their families survive against Coles’ blatant attempt to starve them out.
One Smeaton Grange warehouse worker told a rally against gas in Sydney on February 5: “Giant corporations like HSBC, JP Morgan, Citigroup and National Nominees, which own Coles, are the same mob which own the Big Four [banks]. They also have money entrenched in the gas industry.
Under immense pressure from a greedy employer, 350 workers have returned to work after being locked out of the Coles Smeaton Grange warehouse in Western Sydney for 12 weeks. Jim McIlroy reports.
About 50 people participated in an online meeting, organised by Australia Asia Worker Links. They included unionists and solidarity activists from Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Nepal and Australia.
Union leader Dasantha Jayalath, who worked in the Ansell factory until he was sacked in 2013, said earlier that year the company increased its production targets which meant that workers had no time to relieve themselves. Workplace protests were organised and the company sacked the union president, then 10 more union leaders, including Jayalath.
Eventually, the company sacked about 300 workers for participating in strike action.
Janaka, another sacked Ansell worker, spoke about the long struggle for better pay and conditions at the factory. He said three of his comrades had lost their lives in this struggle, including a unionist who was shot dead by police during a strike in 1994.