Canberra's union movement has been a sleeping giant for too long, unionists say, but they think that looming public sector job cuts could be the wake-up call it needs.
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The city's trade unionists, from bureaucrats to boiler makers, are being asked to rally on Saturday in the first big May Day event the movement has held since the late 1990s.
Unions ACT member Ben Halliday and some of his colleagues were on the streets on Thursday drumming up support for the rally.
Mr Halliday said it had been a long time since Canberra's union movement gathered in large numbers in the city, so the attendance at Saturday's event was difficult to predict.
"This is all pretty new, doing it again, but we're quietly confident of at least 300-odd,'' he said.
"It's hard to tell at this stage what sort of crowd we'll get but we've been giving it a good crack these past few weeks."
The family friendly rally will be on a familiar theme; that public sector job losses have a knock-on effect on jobs and Canberra's economy.
"Unions ACT will be inviting workers and their families to attend the rally in support for secure jobs for the Canberra community," Mr Halliday said.
"The theme is; standing up for our jobs and our city and our future.
"The rally is partly about taking a stand for secure work. Currently there are about 40 per cent of workers nationwide who are in part-time or non-ongoing employment and it affects both the private and public sector."
Mr Halliday said that Saturday's event should act as a riposte to "Canberra bashing" of both the city and its workers by politicians and out-of-town commentators.
The other reason for the rally was that Unions ACT is asking people to come out and stand up for the jobs they have and their city, he said.
''The fact is we often get demonised and bashed despite all the hard work done by the people in the community and public sector," Mr Halliday
said.
"We're asking people to come and stand up for the jobs that are under threat." The unionists will gather at Old Parliament House at 11.30am on Saturday before a short march to Federation Mall for speeches and a family friendly picnic.