Cowra Meatworkers Survive, For Now

Workers shouldn't take too much comfort from the recent events at the Cowra Meatworks. Sure, the company backed down, but the issue of whether the action they were taking is legal has yet to be resolved. I don't think this will be clarified by a court case for a while yet.

The company must have been subjected to a lot of pressure to reverse its decision. Government inspectors investigated the matter, but I suspect the lobbying of employer groups (prompted by the government?) had more to do with the company's decision to back down. The employers know had badly this issue is playing with the public at large, and are mindful that the measures won't survive if the government loses the nest election.

What this matter has shown is that employees who are covered under current agreements are relatively safe for now. The real action will start when those agreements are up for renegotiation, as new agreements only have to contain the minimum conditions.

Most EBAs and AWAs won't expire until after the next election, and the employers will be on their best behaviour until then. The real difficulty for the Labor Party and the unions is to keep the issue alive in the minds of the voters over the next 18 months.