Tens of thousands of Australians rallied against controversial industrial relations laws yesterday, temporarily bringing parts of the country's major cities to a halt.
Organizers estimated more than 100,000 people marched at 200 venues around the country in a national day of action against workplace laws enacted by Prime Minister John Howard's conservative government.
Critics say the laws passed 12 months ago strip power from unions and erode job security, wages and conditions.
PHOTO: AP
The largest rally was in the southern city of Melbourne, where an estimated 45,000 people crowded into the Melbourne Cricket Ground before marching on the city centre.
Australian Labor Party leader Kim Beazley promised to repeal the laws if he won national elections due late next year.
"Friends, I'm here to tell you that today we're going to rip up these laws," Beazley told the rally.
The Melbourne turnout was well below the 100,000 anticipated by unions, with Australian Council of Trade Unions secretary Greg Combet saying many workers stayed away because they feared being sacked if they took part.
"We're very confident that we have the support of the people though and numbers around the country were very strong," he said.
In New South Wales, state political and union leaders led around 40,000 marchers through central Sydney, calling for the prime minister's removal from office and bringing traffic to a halt.
Some 20,000 people rallied in the west coast city of Perth, while more than 1,000 took to the streets in the national capital Canberra.
The day of action followed a High Court decision earlier this month to reject an attempt by the states and the union movement to have the "Work Choices" legislation declared unconstitutional.
"Because the High Court has said Work Choices is legal, John Howard thinks he has got away with it," the Labor premier of New South Wales, Morris Iemma, told crowds in Sydney. "The message for John Howard is that the fight begins today. The High Court might have said it's legal, but no way is it fair."
However, Workplace Relations Minister Kevin Andrews was unmoved by the protests and disputed union estimates on crowd numbers, saying a lower than expected turnout showed voters were not concerned with his reforms.
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