First published on The Drum: 01/11/2011

Protest about corporate giants holding the nation to ransom and you’ll get hauled away by police under cover of darkness.

Be a corporate giant and actually hold the nation to ransom and you’ll get a $2 million pay rise and a pat on the back from your mates.

Only slightly less bizarre than Qantas CEO Allan Joyce’s decision to ground his fleet over the weekend, stranding thousands of innocent punters, has been the muted response by the nation’s media.

Imagine a union leader taking wildcat industrial action and grounding an airline, with no thought of the implications. The tabloids would scream “industrial thuggery” and “un-Australian bastardry”; there would be calls for deregistration of the union, possibly jail for the rogue official.

Read more »

South Australian unions are campaigning to pressure the State Government into reversing its Budget decisions which will cut more 3,700 jobs and have attacked the negotiated working conditions of South Australian public sector workers.

The unions’ believe that South Australia needs a real Labor Government that will put the interests of working people first, not one which legislates away the entitlements of its workforce.

The unions believe they have an important role to play in the community and in the wider political debate by advocating on behalf of workers when governments make decisions.

EMC was engaged late last year to run the campaign for SA Unions, using digital, advertising and a free media strategy

EMC has developed two television ads, the first of which began screening in early March. This sets the scene for the campaign, with SA Unions State Secretary Janet Giles talking to camera, outlining exactly what the government has done and saying, “It’s time the government put working people first.”

Read more »