Labor Sweeps to Power: Now It’s Time to Deliver for Workers

Written by: D. Sand on 16 May 2025

Boorloo — In a historic political shift, the Australian Labor Party has stormed back into government with an unprecedented majority of over 90 seats in the House of Representatives, cementing its mandate to enact bold reforms. This landslide victory is more than just a repudiation of the Coalition — it’s a call to action. It’s time for Labor to stop being afraid of the Liberals and deliver long-lasting, transformative change for Australian workers.

At the heart of this agenda must be workplace reform — and specifically, the restoration of union-led collective bargaining.

For decades, union density in Australia has been in freefall, a trend that began during the Howard era when changes to the Workplace Relations Act allowed workers to nominate anyone — not just unions — to represent them in Enterprise Bargaining Agreement (EBA) negotiations. This shift undermined the power and legitimacy of unions at the bargaining table, enabling employers to bypass collective negotiations in favour of individual or token representative deals.

When Labor returned to power previously, there were signals of a crackdown on these practices. But employer associations, led by right-wing extremists like the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Minerals Council of Australia, acted swiftly and ruthlessly. In a legal grey zone, they orchestrated a rush of so-called “baseline agreements” — minimalist EBAs that tied wages to the award, locking workers into stagnant pay and conditions.

These baseline agreements, often signed with minimal consultation, left union organisers arriving on-site to find the door already closed. Workers, trapped in subpar deals for years, saw their bargaining power gutted before negotiations even began.

This time, Labor must not flinch.

It is fundamentally a party of capitalism, but its electoral base largely resides in the working class. Its electoral campaigning depends very much on the support given to it by unions and their ability to organise mass doorknocking to persuade people to vote for it.

The huge majority it has won in parliament almost assures it of success in the next election as well. It can take either one of two paths: feel obliged to reward its electoral base with the repeal of anti-union frameworks embedded by the Coalition and re-empower unions as the exclusive representatives in enterprise bargaining. Unions were built to defend wages, protect safety, and push back against corporate exploitation. Preventing companies from gaming the system through dodgy EBAs isn’t just good policy — it’s a moral imperative.

Or it can feel so secure in office that it feels no need to take on the big end of town in order to extend the rights of workers at work and in the community.

Nothing should be taken for granted.

With a majority this strong, Labor has no excuse for timidity. The electorate has granted them the numbers, the authority, and the moment. Now they must use it — to put more money in the pockets of working Australians, to lift standards across industries, and to restore collective power to where it belongs: with the workers and their unions.

Dare to struggle, Dare to Win

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