Terry Costello, Melbourne
At a Your Rights at Work forum on October 17, Community and Public Sector Union assistant national secretaries Margaret Gillespie and Stephen Jones signaled their intention not to mobilise members against the federal government's industrial relations agenda.
The Gillespie faction of the split CPSU leadership, which is seeking re-election on the Jones-Gillespie ticket in the CPSU national office elections, is faithfully following the ACTU's public relations campaign instead of mobilising its members to take industrial action to fight the new workplace attacks.
Gillespie told the forum, "The only way to defeat the laws is to get rid of the government". "The union needs to pin the blame on the government", she added. Jones said the CPSU will not be "dragging people out on strike".
The CPSU leadership is not calling on its members to take industrial action to attend the ACTU-called meetings and protests on November 15. Gillespie said the union would not "risk the fines". "We want members to go, but it would be wrong for us to get workers to do things illegally", she said.
It also appears that Centrelink members will not strike on November 15, despite being in a bargaining period and thus being able to take protected industrial action.
Jones related how Australian Workplace Agreements (AWAs) have reduced the number of Telstra workers on collective bargaining agreements to 18,000 of the 42,000 employees. Yet the CPSU leadership has not campaigned against AWAs.
Since 1999, all new employees at Telstra and many government departments, must agree to sign an AWA to get the job. The union leadership's inaction over this means that less staff are on the EBA, and less are likely to join the union.
The CPSU leadership's unwillingness to wage an industrial campaign is a cop-out and will give PM John Howard free reign to implement his agenda. By contrast, the CPSU Members First rank-and-file group, which is contesting the CPSU elections, is calling for the CPSU to unite with other unions to fight the new anti-worker laws, and to maximise attendance at November 15 rallies.
If elected, the Members First team will hold membership mass meetings to seek support for a campaign, including industrial action, to defeat Howard's IR agenda. Members First is also campaigning against AWAs, casualisation and outsourcing, the privatisation of Telstra, and in defence of delegates' rights to organise. It is calling for more CPSU organisers, the restoration of democracy in the union and for the CPSU to play a more active role in social justice campaigns.
[Terry Costello is the Members First candidate for CPSU national president. For more information visit <http://www.members-first.org>. The ballot opens on November 18 and closes on December 7.]
From Green Left Weekly, October 26, 2005.
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