107 building workers and their families face $28,600 fines under the new IR laws .....

Dear friend,

107 Western Australian building workers face jail and personal fines of up to $28,600. Their crime? Participating in a stoppage in support of a sacked workmate and refusing to accept persistent safety breaches in their workplace.

This is the largest prosecution to date of individual workers under the Federal Government's harsh new laws for building workers, part of its radical industrial relations changes.

The workers have their first court appearance on Tuesday. Send a message of support to the workers at the Rights at Work website now.

The workers are being prosecuted for taking part in industrial action in support of a sacked health and safety representative. The Government claims the strike was illegal and therefore under its new IR laws for building workers, the individual employees can be charged and fined up to $28,600 each.

The individual workers stand to lose their family homes and everything they've worked for if the Government's prosecution succeeds. When ordinary working Australians can be fined up to $28,600, the impact of the Federal Government's IR laws on working families becomes very stark.

The Federal Government is taking them to court in Perth on Tuesday. These workers need our support. Together with their families, they need to know that across the country, concerned workers and community members stand beside them.

www.rightsatwork.com.au/campaigns/supportthe107 

Rallies in support of the WA workers, Tuesday August 29

Sydney: 10am, Trades Hall, 377 Sussex Street
Melbourne: 12 noon Federal Court, corner of Latrobe and William Streets, Melbourne CBD
Adelaide: 12 noon Rally in Victoria Square
Wollongong: 12 noon, Corner of Kembla and Crown Streets
Newcastle: 1pm, Civic Park, King Street
Perth: 8.30am. Assemble at the Esplanade (cnr Barrack St), walking to the Perth Concert Hall on St Georges Terrace, just west of Victoria Avenue. Join ACTU President Sharan Burrow in walking with the workers and their families. Show your support for them on this critical day as they defend their civil rights.

Many thanks, 

Sharan Burrow, Greg Combet and
The Rights at Work campaign team