Thousands of supporters of the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union marched through Melbourne’s central business district today disrupting traffic and public transport. A massive protest meeting for the rejection of changes to some industrial relation laws paralysed the city center.
The demonstration took place early in the morning after union members and supporters displaced themselves at strategic places in the CBD. Like all informal gatherings, the major roads and inter-sections became chock-block as the crowd would gain momentum. Some of the protestors brought chaos to Flinders Street Station, a major transport terminal, which led to closure of operations for a while.
Victoria Police were present to supervise the event but most of them became target of protesters due to their incapability in handling some goofs in the crowd. There was information that police officers were stoned, as a result of which there were several extremely tense clashes between the police and the protesters. However, the crowd was mostly composed of civil protesters carrying banners and chanting for better working conditions for employees and fair treatment at the work place.
Many Queensland industrial unions including the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Engineering Union of Australia (CFMEU) which is a very powerful union in construction industry has been very critical of proposed changes in industrial relations legislation. These measures, according to the union executives, would undermine workers’ freedom as well as weaken safety regulations in the workplaces. Consequently, the high turnout that has been received today for the protest indicates the level of concern among the union masses as well as the supporters.
This started as the day went on and the effects of the protest were being felt across the city. A lot of firms in the CBD were either shut down or run by a limited workforce due to people’s inability to get to work stations. This also made a great impact on the tourism sector because recreations destinations and shopping malls recorded fewer people than before.
Mayors, businessmen and businesswomen criticized the size of disruption citing economic losses and damage to Melbourne’s brand image. However, union representatives countered that since the protest is massive the action must be commensurate to issues at stake.
The protest has restorted discussons over the freedom of assembly and rights to disrupt civil business in the city. The opponents say that such large scale disturbances are excessive and affect persons who are unsuspecting and law-abiding citizens while the proponents say it is one of the ways to convince authorities to change their ways.
When the sun set in Melbourne, the protesters started to leave, and the city was left to wrestle with the consequences of one of the largest protests in recent years. Cleansing squads were quite active the following morning clearing the debris and making order out of the chaos on the streets.
As the events of today unfold what it holds for the future is something that nobody can point a finger at. For the CFMEU and allied unions, the protest signifies the strength of worker outcry against the changes, however, critics argue that thus actions may actually deter public support and embolden the reformist side further.
In the future, the union and its leadership together with federal government officials have expressed their intentions of going back to the bargaining table. However, it is evident that with such polarised positions in the industrial relations debate the search for a common ground that would satisfy both employers and employees might be rather difficult.
Melbourne, or rather Australian city of Melbourne wakes up from today’s turmoil at a crossroads to the future. This is more true in the coming weeks and months as discussions about the future of labor relations in Australia are set to be highly charged, with incidents like this protest re available indications of the emotions that define this discussion.
