Maritime Union of Australia: Campaigns: General: Elections 07

National Secretary Paddy Crumlin calls on all members to finish off the Howard conspiracy against organised labour

Paddy Crumlin said it was crucial for the future of the industry and for working families that the union movement mobilised in the countdown to the election on November 24 to ensure a Labor victory.

"The Patrick lockout was the biggest dispute in the history of our unions," Paddy Crumlin told national council in October. "I don't think there is any other dispute in our history that had the risk of finishing the union up. That's what Reith's laws were designed to do -- finish the union completely. We won in 1998 but there is an ongoing conspiracy against organised labour in this country under the Howard Government."

Julia Gillard, IR and Martin Ferguson, Transport and Bill Shorten, outgoing AWA national secretary and a Labor candidate were special guests at Council.

All three pledged their support to seeing off Work Choices and to support Australian shipping.

"This union has a proud history of standing up to the Howard Government," JULIA GILLARD told council. "You can look back with pride on how you stood up in 1998."

Demonstrating her understanding of the union and the maritime industry, the future IR minister said she noted the positive role the maritime industry plays in national security, war and combating climate change.

"All of these things I know are important to you and your members," she said. "But the single most important thing is industrial relations. You have been at war with the Howard Government. To be at war with a government is not where you want to be. The policy we have adopted on IR is not everything the union movement wants, but it gives working people a fair balance in their workplace."

MARTIN FERGUSON, who holds Labor's transport portfolio derided the Howard Government for trying to deny we are a shipping nation and undermining the industry from an ideological point of view.

"Shipping is part of a freight task and that is going to double over next couple of years," he said. "This government is denying local shipping the opportunity to carry the freight task so they can give foreign shipping the leg up."

Bill Shorten said while a Labor government may not be in the position to reverse the shameful neglect of so many years, it would see the Australian merchant fleet grow.

"We'll have a better climate under a Labor Government, a ray of sunshine, an ability to organise," he said. "And in future I hope that when a minister visits a ship or a job site he or she will also ask to see the delegate not just the CEO."

JEFF LAWRENCE, ACTU secretary told council there were enough union members in marginal seats across the country to swing the votes.

"The right to collectively bargain is one of the key differences between Labor and Liberal," he said. "Never before in Australian history have we had this right in law. Freedom of association is integral in a free and democratic country."

"We have to get out there and inspire our people to have that last race to the line and deliver all those swinging votes," said Paddy Crumlin. "The great thing about Australians is that they might not be in love with unions but they hate the boss. Australians aren't scared of unions. They see us as important in saving some basic democracies out there in the community."

Full council reports and resolutions will be published next MWJ with the financial report and mailed out to members before the Annual General Meetings of members in November.

Meanwhile copies of the unions' financial report have been made available to members on the MUA website and through the branches.

Contact	:	Maritime Union of Australia
Phone	:	+61 2 9267 9134
Fax	:	+61 2 9261 3481
Email	:	muano@mua.org.au
WWW	:	http://mua.org.au/

Public Campaigns: You can view MUA's publicly available campaign information in a variety of ways. Please select one of our public campaigns indexes.

View All Latest Campaigns | View Campaigns Archive by Date | View Campaigns Archive by Subject ]