- by Peter Farmer
- The Guardian
- Issue #2110
Photo: Thegreenj – Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
There’s a classic Australian ad for toothpaste that shows the back of a man who’s brushing his teeth, looking at the bathroom mirror. He’s a dentist, the voice-over tells us, so he’s not allowed to show us his face on TV, because dentists aren’t allowed to show their faces in commercials. The anonymous dentist waves as the voice over goes on to rave about the toothpaste he’s using.
Well the back is back.
The Electrical Trades Union has revamped the ad for its Facebook page.
A man is brushing his teeth. ‘Rob’ is a wharfie. He can’t show his face because his boss will sack him.
Rob waves.
Wharfies, the ad goes on to say, keep Australia moving with punishing 21 different start times. Throughout COVID, wharfies kept Australia moving, and without wharfies, Australia stops.
Over the period of the last three-year agreement with its workers, Qube profits went up by 116 per cent.
On the other hand, Rob and wharfies like him have had their standard of living smashed by 14 per cent thanks to inflation.
Thanks Rob, says the voiceover.
Rob gives a thumbs-up.
The ad finishes by urging MUA members to vote YES to every question on the protected action ballot. That means YES to 4, 8, and 24 hour unlimited work bans, as the only way to make sure that Qube gets the message.
Rob gives the raised fist of solidarity.
The ad is funny, but the message is a lot more important than choosing between toothpaste brands. Solidarity to the anonymous Rob and well done to the MUA. ϑ
