By June McKay
CANBERRA — Simon Jarman, the secretary of the ACT branch of the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU), announced his resignation on July 1. Jarman had been elected in November 1996, narrowly defeating the incumbent, Cath Garvan.
Jarman, from the left faction of the ACT ALP (CPSU national secretary Wendy Caird is also a member), lost the support even of his factional allies after displaying what many branch members considered spectacular ineptitude in the position.
Jarman tried to blame his resignation on the ACT CPSU branch executive and in particular on the decisions made by the recently elected members of the progressive BEST coalition, which holds a large majority on the ACT branch executive.
Jarman went to the media after his resignation in an attempt to whip up hysteria, referring to the recently re-elected branch executive as "Trotskyists" and "loony lefts". However, his media stunt was a one-day drama, and the few media interviews he gave revealed his lack of understanding of the issues facing CPSU members.
The new branch executive has taken progressive stands on several issues that were opposed by Jarman and the CPSU's national leadership. The branch executive has opposed the current push by the CPSU national leadership towards agency level certified agreements and away from maintaining conditions on an Australian Public Service-wide level.
The new ACT leadership ensured that positions in the ACT CPSU office were filled through a fair and equitable selection process, reminded Caird of her responsibility to keep members of the CPSU national executive informed of decisions made by the CPSU national management committee, supported the national day of action called by the education sector and opposed the outsourcing and privatisation of information technology jobs in the APS.
The branch executive also opposed the current racist offensive by sponsoring the recent Justice Tour against Hanson and Howard's racism.
It is unclear which of these decisions prompted Jarman to resign and walk out of the office without notice. Members in the CPSU felt they were not being adequately represented by Jarman, who failed to distribute national information to union members, failed to follow the direction of ACT CPSU branch conference and branch executive, and failed to consult with members on a range of issues.
Jarman also failed to reactivate the senior officers' network and the information technology network, which, under former secretary Cath Garvan's administration, had campaigned to support senior officer and information technology members.
The branch executive has appointed assistant secretary Jenni Eccles, elected on a platform of campaigning to protect jobs and conditions, as acting branch secretary until the next election. Nominations open in September.