Sharan Burrow, ACTU Support Climate Change Initiative

President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), Sharan Burrow, recently said that that is “no question” that climate change will eventually become a standard clause in a union log of claims (a claim is something that a union would bargain to have included in a collective workplace agreement).  Ms Burrow said “We are confident you can reduce energy and water use by enormous amounts just by looking at the nature of the work practice…we also think you can generate healthier workplaces … and the nature of the working environment’s design.  “We know that we have a long way to go by way of recycling and the products that are used can be examined for their energy efficiencies.” (The Australian, March 06).  

The Union of Greens and Workers

Dr Carla Lipsig-Mummi published a very interesting article in The Age recently. Lipsig-Mummi clear identifies the importance of trade unions in effectively tackling climate change. Trade unions are source of people power which can be leveraged to force companies to introduce environmental best practice. However, the story of conflict between environmentalists and trade unionists in Australia has to this point been needlessly acrimonious.

Unite (UK) and the USW to Merge

Reports from LabourStart today highlight the imminent creation of truely international trade union, with Unite, which has 2 million members in the UK and Ireland, and the Unites Steel Workers, which represents 1 million workers in the USA, Canada and the Carribean, announcing their plans to merge. One cannot help but compare the formidable prospect of a 3 million strong trans-Atlantic union with the sorry state of union fiefdoms in Australia and New Zealand.

Unite Working Students (Part II)

Unite’s Working Students Campaign (‘WSC’) is a positive and innovative development which can be built upon and improved by the Australian trade union movement with the leadership of the ACTU. Many organisations are working very hard to organise young people, for instance the Youth Unionist Network in Victoria, Unite (Australia) in the fast food and retail sectors, and the work of the National Union of Workers in market research. However, what each of these efforts lacks is the ability to comprehensively organise young workers across many industries.

Unite’s Working Students Campaign (Part I)

The Unite, the largest United Kingdom trade union, is campaigning directly to organise thousands of student workers across tertiary campuses in the UK. The Working Students Campaign (‘WSC’) is an innovative way of  organising a new generation of workers, and is something that should be implemented by the Australian Council of Trade Unions. The campaign basically involves allowing students to join Unite on-line for £10 per year, and organising students into campus societies who can campaign for respect, rights and better conditions in the workplace while using the collective resources of Unite.

Monbiot is Right: Keep the Big $ Out of Politics

George Monbiot, British journalist and activist, advocated recently for fundamental reform to political donations in Britain (“Death of the Noble Idea“, The Guardian 5/2/2008). The political malaise which Monbiot touches upon is also present within Australia; political parties are desperately reliant on corporate donations. In fact, recent figures published by the Australian Electoral Commission indicate that the ALP received $14.9million in donations for the 2006/07 financial year.

Response to Eric Lee: How the Internet Makes Organising Harder

All round web guy for the trade union movement, Eric Lee (www.labourstart.org) has written a blog piece about some of the drawbacks of the internet for organising. You can read the piece here at his blog.

I really respect Eric Lee and like the work he is doing, however, I would like to make the point that while the internet is tactically mixed for the union movement, strategically it is a gain.

Kevin Rudd’s 20/20 Summit

The great thing about Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s planned summit is that it represents an opportunity for the trade union movement to shape the politico-economic landscape of Australia. An opportunity which has not been present for at least a generation. I have a policy proposal which combines workign rights with our ongoing sustainability, prosperity, and empowering the most disadvantaged within our community. I call it the Sustainable Development Investment Bank (SDIB).

Coalition drops WorkChoices: an opportunity for unions

One must wonder how Julie Bishop, Deputy Leader of the Opposition and Opposition Spokesperson for Industrial Relations and Mining Interests, felt about the Liberal Party strategy paper on IR. Ms Bishop is known to be an anti-union IR hardliner yet her party is now seriously considering making Forward with Fairness a bipartisan keystone of Australian politics. The very fact that it was leaked to the Australian highlights the discension within Coalition ranks about how to deal with the extremist policy. However, the moderate element of the Liberal Party’s struggle to retain political relevance represents a real opportunity for the union movement to shake itself of the ALP headlock.

Paul Howes: a lesson in not what to do

Paul Howes, national secretary of the Australian Workers Union (AWU), was recently reported advocating setting up a portable long service scheme. Personally, I would be in favour of such a scheme, however, the way in which Mr Howes announced the scheme, and also the way in which it was reported serves the union movement two constructive lessons.