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

Recent Victorian ALP Conference

- Industrial issues dominated agenda and call for the ABCC abolition unanimous

By Brian Boyd, VTHC Secretary, 2nd June 2008

The ALP Victorian Branch held its biennial Conference recently on Saturday 24 May.  Although addresses by Victorian Premier Brumby and Prime Minister Rudd were dominate ‘set pieces’, it was the content of a series of “urgency resolutions” that went to the core of the conference deliberations.

 

The call by conference on both the Victorian and Federal Governments to move expeditiously to abolish the Australian Building Construction Commission was the principal resolution dealt with (see below).  It was adopted unanimously and attracted the most speakers in the debate.

 

Other issues discussed and debated included:  Temporary Work Visas, Government Procurement Policy, Preventing Discrimination against OHS delegates, Protection of Employee Entitlements, Victorian Government’s Abuse of Howard’s Work Choices laws during P.S EBA Rounds, Superannuation to go to 15% by 2015, Reform of Workers Compensation, and State Government Bargaining Policy.

 

These issues should be seen in the light of much unfinished business on the IR front as the Federal Government continues to develop its substantive IR laws.

 

Recent ACTU research shows that many in the wider public believe that since the November 2007 federal election, Howard’s draconian Industrial Relation laws are finished.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  Most of Howard’s Work Choices and other Industrial Relation laws are still in place and being used by employers everyday.

 

In his farewell speech to the ALP conference Victorian ALP President, former AWU Secretary and now new Federal MP Bill Shorten, paid tribute to the trade union movements crucial contribution to the last federal election result.  Prime Minister Rudd acknowledged that the biggest percentage vote swing against Howard occurred in Victoria.  This can be clearly attributed to our Your Rights@Work contribution between 2005 – 2007.

 

The detail of the proposed new IR bill will be closely watched by trade unions.  Will Howard’s IR legacy be “ripped – up” or will a ‘Work Choices – lite’ version be the result.  Concerns are growing because of the strong, persistent “push – back” campaign being mounted by employer associations.

 

ABCC Conference Resolution:

Conference welcomes the historic national meeting of Construction Industry unions, their Branches, the Victorian, New South Wales and Queensland Labour Councils and the ACTU, and supports their national campaign to have the Building Industry (Improvement) Act repealed, the Australian Building and Construction Commission abolished, and the restoration of I.L.O and human rights to construction workers and their unions.

 

Conference Notes:

·         The building Industry (Improvement) Act, the interim Building Industry Taskforce and the A.B.C.C, arose from the politically motivated Cole Royal Commission, set up by the now defunct Howard Government.

·         The powers of the A.B.C.C are those used by the intelligence agencies to pursue terrorists, and those powers have been used to intimidate and harass over fifty union officials, shop stewards and rank and file workers.

·         The campaign against the Building Industry (Improvement) Act and the A.B.C.C is based on the need to turn back the inroads on workers rights under the anti-union Howard Government and continues the Rights at work campaign that brought the ALP to government.

·         This campaign will be taken to a higher and more intense level if workers and their union officials are prosecuted and subjected to goal terms for pursuing workers ‘rights in the workplace’.

 

Conference calls on the Australian and Victorian Labour Governments to move against the powers given to the A.B.C.C and the discriminatory guidelines of the National Industry Code, which the Victorian Labour Government never formally endorsed.  These actions would constitute a first step to repealing the Building Industry (Improvement) Act and abolishing the A.B.C.C.  While given construction workers and their unions the same rights as other workers, and recognising Australia’s obligations under I.L.O treaty, and the ALP National Conference resolution of 2007.

 

 

   


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