On Wednesday, the largest union rally in more than a decade marched through the center of Melbourne, Australia’s second-largest city.

The demonstration was part of the “Change the Rules” campaign coordinated by Australia’s top union body, the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU). The campaign targets insecure work, below-inflation wage rises, and Australia’s restrictive industrial laws — some of the most repressive in the advanced capitalist world. Australian unions have no right to strike outside the bargaining period: the main construction union, for instance, was recently handed $2.4 million in fines for a two-day strike to protect an unjustly fired delegate and a $240,000 fine for a stoppage of “approximately ten minutes” on a Melbourne construction site.

The campaign also highlights corporate power and tax avoidance (one in three major corporations in Australia paid no tax last year) in what is most likely to be an election year. ExxonMobil’s local subsidiary, Esso, has become a high-profile target of the campaign, after an attempt to slash the pay and conditions of maintenance workers sparked an industrial dispute that has been running for almost a year. Esso has paid no taxes in Australia for three years.