Protest in Melbourne against WorkChoices

September 26, 2007

Up to 20,000 people have protested against the Australian governments industrial relations legislation (WorkChoices in central Melbourne today. Protestors, including children wearing hardhats and holding anti-Work Choices signs, blocked traffic for up to two hours.

Victorian Trades Hall Council secretary Brian Boyd linked the WorkChoices legislation to the upcoming election. “The key thing we have to do is make sure that John Howard is not re-elected, that is our number one task over the next coming weeks and months," he said.

"As the workers' kids leave school, they're getting ripped off straight away by AWA (Australian Workplace Agreement) individual contracts - that's what we've found out over the last 12 months," Mr Boyd added.

Employers were warned before the protests that they should not pay employees who took time off work to attend.