ETU to challenge Labor's industrial policy
By Ben Reid
MELBOURNE — The leadership of one of Victoria's more militant unions, the state branch of the Electrical Trades Union, is attempting to force the state Labor Party to endorse an alternative industrial relations policy.
The union's leaders are planning to move the document at the Victorian ALP's December conference.
The policy document, which was compiled in consultation with other unions in the state, is a response to the ALP's acceptance of some of the Coalition government's attacks on workers' rights.
In the recent federal election, the ALP deliberately avoided campaigning around trade union rights.
The only time in the campaign the ALP paid any attention to workers' rights was at a Melbourne delegates' meeting. Federal opposition leader Kim Beazley launched a "10-point plan", but this did not tackle any substantive issues, such as repeal of the Coalition's Workplace Relations Act.
Dean Mighells, state secretary of the ETU, explained the policy:
"Before the 1996 election, the ETU Victorian conference considered and debated ... ALP affiliation at length. We'd put up with all the Accord years, the Hawkes, Keatings and Ralph Willises, and I think we'd all had a gutful. We'd seen Laurie Brereton introduce the new Industrial Relations Act with enterprise bargaining and a whole lot of things that were never thought possible under a Labor government."
The resolution to remain affiliated was passed by only three votes.
"Affiliation got up with very strong conditions about the performance of the ALP", Mighells said. "It needs to represent our and working people's interests ...
"There's now the Tony Blairites saying the ALP shouldn't be a union-based party. Think about the last election and the Melbourne delegates' meeting. Beazley was there and presented this '10 point plan'.
"It didn't mention trade unions or workers' rights. They didn't talk about collective rights and just pandered to individual rights and bullshit. Trade unions are about political organisation.
"We drafted, in conjunction with some other left unions, a quite comprehensive policy: the right to strike, removal of secondary boycotts, the right to belong to unions — very core things.
"We sent it to every ALP candidate and only received three responses.
"One was from my 'old friend' and the 'workers' friend' Martin Ferguson. He talked about corruption in the union movement and accused us of all sorts of things. The message was: affiliated unions don't have the right to question policy.
"Well, we say watch this space. At the upcoming ALP state conference, I'm going to put that policy up for endorsement, and there isn't a faction in hell that will stop me. We're going to say to them and all the right-wing and so-called left-wing unions that the policy is about your members' rights and not about seats.
"The answer is going to be some wishy-washy bullshit, and then we'll get the opportunity ask the other unions, 'Is this the way forward?'"