Victorian Trades Hall Council. The voice of Victorian workers since 1856.

ACTU Executive deliberations after two years of Rudd and Gillard

At the end of last month, 24-25 November 2009, the Australian trade union movement’s peak body, the ACTU Executive, met for the first time since the ACTU Congress (June) and the ALP National Conference (July-August).

 

The major reports put forward addressed the key issues and policy strategies for 2010 - a federal election year.

 

The ACTU President, Sharon Burrow, used the occasion to officially announce she was standing for the General Secretary’s position of the ITUC next year, a posting based in Europe.

 

ACTU Secretary, Jeff Lawrence, led the deliberations saying the movement needed to further implement the ACTU’s Growth and Campaign Plan, the  Economic and Social Policy and a revamped Political and Communications Strategy, the latter having as a theme: “Working for a Better Life”.

 

There was some debate around who should be on the ACTU Growth and Campaign Executive Committee and how to make it work better.

 

There was also some discussion on whether the Economic and Social Policy reflected previous ACTU Executive deliberations and the policies arising from the last ACTU Congress.   The VTHC put forward for example that the report on this Policy, as outlined in the Secretary’s Report, was not fully reflective of all the outstanding “unfinished business” issues concerning the Fair Work Act.

 

It was argued that describing these issues simply in terms of “ensuring the Fair Work Act delivers and there is no push back” [by employers] did not go to the core of the union movement’s ongoing concerns with the Fair Work Act.   It was put that the Policy should specifically call for the “lifting of restrictions on rights to bargain and how to bargain – including freer access to industrial action”.

 

The VTHC reminded the ACTU Executive that the May ACTU Executive meeting received a detailed report on where the Fair Work Act was in breach of key ILO conventions, as was WorkChoices. These breaches are in terms of workers’ rights generally and industrial action rights specifically.

 

In reply, the ACTU Secretary accepted that this is a key area of the “unfinished business” agenda.   By contrast one senior union official suggested the union movement had “substantial victories” at the ALP National Conference and it was a “glowing success story”!

 

The ACTU Secretary also reported on the ongoing issue of “equal rights for construction workers”.   He correctly characterised the ongoing ABCC/coercive powers issue as “a major point of difference” between the Federal government and the union movement.   This stance was acknowledged by all unions in the ACTU Executive discussion.

 

The ACTU Executive also received a detailed report on recent polling.   This showed amongst other things that many in the electorate believe the Liberal/NP conservative parties would like to bring back WorkChoices-type legislation.

 

While unions are seen in a positive light as protecting workers’ rights and promoting OHS, they are described by some, in the negative, as being “militant” on occasions.   [No attempt to explain that the ability to be militant on occasions is how protecting workers’ rights occurs!]

 

The ALP is acknowledged for getting rid of Howard’s WorkChoices laws, but the polling suggests voters also feel “more could be done to protect workers’ rights, especially during the Global Financial Crisis”.

 

The ACTU leadership interpreted the research as showing for the Federal election next year “unions should connect and work with Federal ALP MP’s”!   No mention of how that ‘relationship’ has developed over the last two years; that is, those same Federal ALP MP’s have gone out of their way to sideline unions.   Some blatantly ignore communicating with unions in either their electorates or with those affected by their portfolio responsibilities.

 

It was strongly suggested that union campaigning in the 2010 Federal election should be linked to ALP MP’s giving commitments to our ongoing workers’ rights agenda.   It will give us “political capital” for the future, it was suggested.

 

The report also suggested that the ALP “needs us”, regardless of some media speculation.

 

It was emphasised that 12 seats could change the government.  

 

However 2010 is not a 2007 scenario.   Rank and file enthusiasm, never mind much of the union movements infrastructure, is currently not visible in any organised way, as the ACTU would like.

 

There is an onus on the Federal ALP Government generally and ALP MP’s specifically to accept union support for the right reasons.   Some unions acknowledged that the enthusiasm of 2007 – ‘the fight for survival year’ - will be difficult to regenerate for 2010.   One pertinent comment was: “there needs to be a reality check”.

 

An important topic addressed at the ACTU Executive concerned   migration and Sec 457 work visas.   With unemployment levels increasing, even though the Global Financial Crisis is slowly easing, Federal Government policy in this area needs to be monitored more closely.   The concept that local labour should have the ‘first call’ on available jobs is not accepted by the Federal Government.  

 

Rudd Migration Minister, Chris Evans, has told a Senate Estimates hearing recently that the government is expanding its migration intake from skilled workers to the wider unskilled market.   Evans has been asked to take a stand in favour of local labour by some key unions, but has refused to do so.

 

Similarly, Federal Trade Minister, Simon Crean, (a former ACTU leader) takes the view of promoting unlimited overseas skilled and unskilled   labour flowing into Australia in terms of World Trade Organisation requirements.   Some ACTU Executive members expressed alarm at this evolving development stating that Australian jobs and wage levels could be threatened by this updated but little publicised Rudd government stance.

 

It was claimed that getting a meeting with Simon Crean to discuss union concerns has been very difficult.   It was agreed that the ACTU should pursue Ministers Crean and Evans in order to have some “harsh conversations”.

x x x x x x x x

The ongoing ABCC/Coercive Powers issue affecting the national building industry was given a high level of importance at the ACTU Executive meeting.   The following resolution was passed unanimously:

 

Executive condemns the imbalanced and ideologically   motivated activities of the Australian Building and Construction Commission.   Executive notes recent illustrations of is anti-union activities include the disgraceful prosecution of Ark Tribe, issuing tactical industrial advice to employers to avoid bargaining with unions, and engaging in partisan political debate about the future of regulation of the construction industry.

 

Executive notes that:

 

·                     The Rudd government was elected with a mandate to abolish the ABCC on 31 January 2010, and to transfer responsibility for compliance in the construction industry to a specialist division within the Fair Work inspectorate;

·                     The 2009 ALP Conference restated Labor’s commitment to abolish the ABCC by 1 February 2010; and

·                     Despite a clear mandate, the legislation to abolish the ABCC faces obstruction in the Senate.

 

Executive condemns the Opposition and Senator Fielding for opposing the passage of the law, and calls upon the Rudd government to use all legislative and non-legislative measures available to it to deliver its election promise.

x x x x x x x x

In the “Creating a fairer society” report, an update was given on the ACTU’s submission to the ILO Committee of Experts back in September 09, regarding the ongoing breaches of ILO Conventions by the new Fair Work Act.  These breaches were outlined in a major report to the May 09 ACTU Executive.   The Federal Government also put in a report to the ILO claiming there were no problems with compliance of ILO Conventions as far as it was concerned!   The formal reply of the Committee of Experts is expected by May 2010.

 

Discussion also occurred on Award Modernisation, there being mixed results on that front.   Some reasonable outcomes some not.

 

Overall, the mood of the ACTU Executive meeting last month was sombre and enthusiasm was not in abundance.   Attendance was down.   Some important issues were adjourned to March 2010.   The promise of “Harsh conversations” was as good as it got.


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