Standing outside Australia House in London, union safety campaigners handed out flyers to passers by, some of whom were attending a concert by the Sydney Philharmonia Choir who were in town at the time. Imagine their surprise when they found out that not everything coming out of Australia is music to the ears. The protesters also handed a letter in support of Ark to the Australian High Commission.
Trade unions represented at the protest included the TSSA, UCU, NUJ, UNITE, UCATT. Members from other organisations such as the HAZARDS Safety Campaign, Labour Lawyers from International Centre for Trade Union Rights (ICTUR) and the Blacklist Support Group were also on hand to support spread the message about the ABCC and their charges against the rank and file worker, Ark Tribe.
Follow this link to a fantastic video of the protest
We were proud to be part of the campaign - we've been following Ark's case on the internet and thought it was about time we did something about it.
ReplyDeleteVictimisation of building workers who stand up for better safety takes place all around the globe. The struggle for union rights doesn't have any borders.
THe old gentleman in the video recieving a flyer is Lord Carrington. Like many of the high flyers going into Australia House he took the leaflet in with him. No doubt Ark was discussed that night.
ReplyDeleteCarrington The Eton-educated Conservative politician was defence secretary between 1970 and 1974 in Edward Heath's administration.
In Margaret Thatcher's government he was foreign secretary from 1979 until April 1982, when he resigned for failing to anticipate the Falklands invasion.
He was secretary general of Nato between 1984 and 1988, and chaired peace talks on Yugoslavia in 1991. He was born in 1919.