To chants of “union, power”, more than 20,000 union members gathered at Sydney’s Belmore Park, near Central station, to march to Hyde Park marking May Day for International Workers Day.
Federation joined unions from across the industrial and professional spectrum to commemorate May Day and celebrate union solidarity and activism, and promote the Australian Council of Trade Unions’ Change the Rules campaign ahead of this month’s federal election.
The message from the campaign is that workers’ pay isn’t keeping up with the cost of living while companies are posting record profits. The Morrison Government has told workers to wait for pay rises to trickle down from their employers, and voted eight times to cut penalty rates.
Also, too many workers are in casual or fixed-term work, with Australia having one of the highest rates of insecure work in the world.
Working women are more likely to be in insecure and low paid work and do far more work raising a family or caring for others. On average they earn 15 per cent less than men and retire with 47 per cent less superannuation.
May Day marks the international day of workers, born from the demonstration undertaken by American workers in Chicago’s Haymarket in 1886. The day continues to be celebrated around the world when we honour those who have, and continue to commit themselves to fighting for the rights of fellow workers.
Wednesday’s march also promoted Sunday’s Family Fun Day, which will commence at Hyde Park North at 11am with a parade to Prince Alfred Park in Surry Hills.
Organiser Theo Bougatsas will have flags and banners at Hyde Park for the march to Prince Alfred Park, where each union will have stalls with free merchandise and eight barbeques pumping out free food, as well as a number of free rides for kids.
Details: May Day March and Family Fun Day
11am Sunday, 5 May, 11am, Hyde Park North
Wollongong
Friday, 3 May – May Day Toast
6pm City Diggers Club
Saturday, 4 May, 10am – May Day march starting Lowden Square 10am
— Scott Coomber