Angry workers march for rights
WHEN the people are happy, the turn out to a Labour Day march isn’t so great.
But when the people are angry, they hit the streets and march for their rights in record numbers said Queensland Council of Unions Toowoomba president Chris McGaw.
And that’s exactly what happened during the 2017 Toowoomba Labour Day March and Festival.
He said what was making workers mad this time around was the attack on penalty rates.
Mr McGaw said holding the Labour Day march on a Saturday had long been a tradition in Toowoomba, allowing people the freedom to travel to Brisbane to march there if they desired.
He said about 800 people marched through the CBD to the Irish Club Hotel for a Family Fun Day and lunch.
Queensland Council of Unions general secretary Ros McLennan said the cut to penalty rates would be the biggest cut to wages since the Great Depression.
She described the cuts as the “height of stupidity” and said it was a pay cut Australians “didn’t deserve” and “couldn’t afford”.
“In order for the cuts, two things have to happen,” she said.
“The workers have to let them and the businesses have to let them”
She said a poll showed that more than half of Australians believed those who worked on weekends deserved to be fairly compensated.
Marches will be held around the state today.