
Issue No 40		19 November 1999

Piers Watch

In Historical Perspective

CFMEU organiser Paul True has released a fantastic book "It must be true ... it's in the papers - 160 Years of Anti-Union Propaganda' that puts the work of Piers into some historical perspective.

As True a former builder who now does special projects for the CFMEU, points out, the Daily Telegraph in particular has opposed every union campaign in support of their members for the past 150 years.

The 47 page booklet is the first publication in the Wal Liddle Series, in honour of a CFMEU rank and file activist who bequest $30,000 to the CFMEU for workers education before dying from mesothelioma.

On a day when the Daily Telegraph ran a vintage "No Class" headline to berate striking teachers, we reproduce some extracts from True's book:

The 44-hour week - The Daily Telegraph declared that housewives would have to pay for it and in the increasingly hysterical tone that was to become the paper's trademark, "...it is simply a question of the life or death of our industries."(1926)

The 40-hour week - told workers it would lead to "... a considerable fall in your standards of living" and that "... the house you have been looking forward to" will be "beyond your reach". (1947).

The 35-hour week - it would "...deal a mortal blow to every council, municipality and shire in the State." (1960)

Union badges - "... the latest devised instrument of unionistic aggressiveness against liberty." ... "it typifies the kind of tyranny to be expected under socialism" (1940).

Workers Compensation - Described by a Telegraph editorial as "A spurious political bribe" - "The 'Workers Employment Prevention Act' would be a more accurate title for it ... employers will be compelled to reduce hands wherever they can, with the result that many men will be thrown out of work. And in the industries that do survive .. it is the public who will ultimately have to pay the premium." (1926).

Long Service Leave The Daily Mirror under the title "How to Build an Empire Without Footing the Cost" declared the scheme "a scandalous waste of money" (1978)

Green Bans Telegraph editorial titles "seeing Red Over Green Bans" - "we are totally fed up with being dictated to" ... "let Mr Mundey and his merry men look after the affairs of their union and stop meddling in the running of this State." (1973)

Child Endowment Under an editorial titled "Political Robbery With violence" it called the reform an ." outrage upon the people" .. "the country is compelled to dive into industrial and financial chaos, the depth of which cannot be known until the bottom is reached."

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While True's book looks at all the papers, it is the Telegraph masthead which has always led the way in vilifying workers - whether under the ownership of Packer or Murdoch.

It's a tradition that continues to today. "For all it's 21st Century rhetoric, its attitudes to unions is essentially a direct throwback to the 1840s," True writes.

"The Telegraph likes you fine if you have a 'yes sir, no sir, three bags full sir' attitude and accept whatever pay and conditions the boss sees fit to pay you - but if you stand up for yourself - well that's another matter!"

As he said at the book's launch in Trades Hall this week - "The Telegraph should have a disclaimer under its banner - 'in the interests of big business in particular and the Murdoch empire in particular."

So next time Piers gets under your skin, just remember he's merely a player in a much bigger drama that has been playing for some 160 years.

Copies of "It must be true ... it's in the papers!" are available from the Union Shop, 377 Sussex Street, Sydney

View entire issue - print all of the articles!

Issue 40 contents

Interview: No Quick Fix
Online pioneer Marc Belanger explains why the Internet, on its own, will not save the union movement.

Unions: Organising With A Mission
Entries are beginning to trickle in for the Labor Council Organiser of the Year. With just two weeks to deadline, we look at the TWU's nominee.

History: Rhyme and Reason
Poems written by workers provide us with an insight into their experiences and also how they felt about their work and working conditions.

Health: The Food Police
Three times a day you take your life in your hands. How? When you sit down to eat a meal.

Politics: East Timor: Defeat or Victory for the Left?
John Passant's "Requiem for the Left" advances some rather extravagant charges regarding the left and East Timor.

International: Kiwi Unions Rebuild from Ground Up
After fifteen years as a right wing laboratory New Zealand is about to change tack. New NZCTU chief Paul Goulter outlines the challenge ahead.

Satire: Australian Democrats Revealed as Student Hoax
The Chaser has obtained an exclusive background report on the extraordinary story which reveals how and why Cheryl Kernot defected from the Democrats.

Review: The Best of the Best
Once again Channel Nine has out done itself with itï¿½s new Ray Martin program ï¿½Simply the Bestï¿½.

Labour Review: What's New at the Information Centre
View the latest issue of Labour review, our resource for officials and students.

Deface a Face: 25,000 Teachers Canï¿½t Be Wrong!
Angry teachers yesterday voted overwhelmingly for Education minister John Aquilina to take the mantle of this weekï¿½s face to deface.

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