By Geoff Spencer
PERTH — Thousands of workers in WA demonstrated their anger at the proposed Coalition industrial relations policy in meetings around the state on November 30.
In the north-west and the goldfields, some 3-4000 thousand stopped work to participate in the National Day of Action. In Fremantle, 500 workers marched to the Town Hall to hear speakers attacking the Liberal Party policy before making their way to the rally in Perth.
Eight to ten thousand workers gathered in Perth's Forrest Place to vent their feelings. The crowd listened to a number of speakers describing conditions in Victoria and attacking the Liberal Party.
The demonstrators then marched on Parliament House to demand answers from WA Liberal leader Richard Court on aspects of his party's policy, for example, on the ability of workers to take strike action. Court did not appear but sent out WA Liberal industrial relations spokesperson Graham Kierath and federal Liberal MP Wilson Tuckey to address the crowd. Tuckey did his best to antagonise the workers.
The rally organisers were in a state of near panic as substantial 91×ÔÅÄÂÛ̳ of the demonstration began to move toward the platform to more vigorously pursue the "debate" with Tuckey.
The rally was coordinated by the WA TLC around a theme of "Kennett happen here, only if we get Court."
Given that the TLC did not authorise stop work meetings, let alone a strike, but urged workers to attend the rally, the large turnout was impressive. Some affiliates of the TLC, for example, the meatworkers (AMIEU), did call a strike to mobilise their members and must be congratulated on their stand.