unions - senate - 1970

Contexts in which the word unions was used in the Senate during the 1970s

Has the Leader of the Government in the Senate seen the request which was made by Mr Hawke, the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, for an independent commission of inquiry into steel and petrol prices? [More…]
B. Holmes of the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Commission, in a judgment handed down on the application by certain trade unions for a public holiday to celebrate the Captain Cook bi-centenary, said thai he found it difficult to believe that Canberra would not proclaim a day to celebrate the Cook bicentenary? [More…]
In view of the numerous suggestions emanating from Government senators on how the trade unions should operate in accordance with the principles of elementary justice and the national interest, how does he reconcile those objectives with the type of natural justice that exists iu the commercial world, as exemplified by last Friday’s meeting of Associated Portland Cement Manufacturers Ltd at which the majority of Australian resident shareholders who sought to slop this industrial giant ravishing the Colong Caves region of New South Wales were crushed by a large group of overseas shareholders who regard Australia as only a mineral harlot? [More…]
Is the Leader of the Government in the Senate aware that the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, Mr Hawke, has written to the Prime Minister seeking 4 weeks annual leave for Commonwealth public servants? [More…]
I appreciate what the Leader of the Government in the Senate (Senator Sir Kenneth Anderson) said about consultation with the unions. [More…]
The trend overseas is not to impose penalties on ordinary members of unions who may be involved in disputes but rather to give them the maximum protection to ensure that their functions in representing workers in a plant can be carried out without victimisation. [More…]
The repeal of section 109a was requested by the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
In view of the savage charges to be imposed by the Government on a number of organisations by the proposed increase in postal charges, which will cost the National Roads and Motorists Association an additional $100,000 per annum and the Australian Workers Union more than $26,000 per annum to post their free newspapers to their members, as well as adding to the costs of numerous religious organisations, friendly societies and trade unions which will be similarly affected but which are too numerous to mention individually, will the PostmasterGeneral reconsider the huge increase in charges to be made on journals or newspapers which are posted free to members of such organisations? [More…]
Is it a fact that a substantial section of the Commonwealth Public Service and the Commonwealth statutory offices have for many years been working a minimum of less than 40 hours and close to 35 hours a week, and that these conditions have been agreed upon between the agencies representing the Government which negotiate hours and working conditions with the unions and associations of the Public Service? [More…]
Has the Leader of the Government in the Senate seen a Press report that Mr Whitlam and Mr Hawke, the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, spoke from the same platform to open the Senate election campaign last night? [More…]
We therefore call upon the Commonwealth Government to increase the base pension rate to 30 per cent of the Average Weekly Male Earnings for all States, as ascertained by the Commonwealth Statistician, plus supplementary assistance and allowances in accordance with Australian Council of Trade Unions policy and adopted as the policy of the Australian Commonwealth Pensioners’ Federation, and by doing so give a reasonably moderate pension. [More…]
ls the Government fully informed as to the purpose of the amalgamation of these 3 unions? [More…]
How many members of the Communist Party or parties belong to the national staffs of these 3 unions, including the Federal office and the State offices, and what are their names? [More…]
What percentage of membership of the 3 unions voted in the recent ballot dealing with amalgamation? [More…]
I recognise that the honourable senator’s question is directed to a field of great significance in the trade union movement involving, as it does, the proposed merger of 3 of the largest unions in Australia. [More…]
In the light of this statement of the Government’s attitude that the industrial law should be enforced impartially against unions and employers, is the Minister in favour of the imposition of sanctions, including fines, on the employers who are at present imposing a lockout on miners at Broken Hill? [More…]
As I understand it,’ he says that the action by Bourke’s Melbourne Ltd in collaboration with the Australian Council of Trade Unions produced a situation which was of advantage only to themselves and that Dunlop Australia Ltd would still be maintaining resale price maintenance in other stores. [More…]
I am not aware of this, but I might say that if Mr Hawke continues all the time to intervene for the Australian Council of Trade Unions to stop industrial anarchy he will have my warm support. [More…]
I would hope to share their confidence but, I hope, not blindly so, because I am reminded that in my early days of studying the history of the great industrial movements of the world 1 read that in the establishment of the labour unions in France one of the great industrial strikes was the strike of 50,000 silk weavers in the city of Lyon in France. [More…]
I accept, as the Opposition and the Australian Democratic Labor Party accepts, that this is an amendment which is necessitated by the change in the membership and the amalgamation of unions in the Northern Territory. [More…]
It is important that unions have their proper function within the community and that they be given their proper status and recognition. [More…]
As stated by the Attorney;General (Senator Greenwood) in the absence of a Bill of this character and the redefinition of the word ‘union’ there would have been a void in this area and a body of trade unions would have found no trade union home with the right to audience which goes with an embracing of union membership. [More…]
For these unions the legislation is timely. [More…]
I remind him that in the Act of 1970 we included provisions that would enable credit unions to be approved on certain conditions. [More…]
I can’ assure Senator Georges that there is a great deal of sympathy for the encouragement of credit unions which, in many cases, are the banks of the working man. [More…]
I seek an opportunity in the committee stage, following on the earlier contributions, to ask whether the homes savings grant is available, has been made available or will be made available to those who save with credit unions. [More…]
To assist the Minister, I recall that certain conditions were laid down last year which would enable credit unions to obtain such entitlement. [More…]
The question 1 would like to ask is this: Have credit unions or has ony one credit union been able to take advantage of the conditions for the granting of this home savings subsidy? [More…]
Can the Minister tell us where there is even-handedness and social justice in the situation whereby the Government fails to do anything effective to oppose price increases, such as those imposed by Broken Hill Pty Co. Ltd, and yet intervenes actively in cases in which the unions seek wage increases because the real value of wages is being eroded by the price increases which the Government fails to do anything about? [More…]
My question to the Minister representing the Minister for Labour and National service relates to what Senator Wright has explained to be the traditional role of the Commonwealth Government in opposing cases brought by the Australian Council of Trade Unions where it decides that it should intervene. [More…]
I ask: Has the Minister’s attention been drawn to a statement attributed to the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions in which he threatened to boycott the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Commission if the Commonwealth openly backed employers in cases before the Commission? [More…]
Did the Minister for Labour and National Service state in his speech to an employers’ organisation last week that the applications of the unions seeking to de-register to join the much publicised amalgamation were lodged with the Registrar on 7th January? [More…]
Was the contrary advice on the date given to the Minister because the union’s case would have been adversely affected if fines had not been paid on 22nd December when the unions lodged their applications. [More…]
Will the AttorneyGeneral supply a list of persons who have been assisted financially over the last 5 years in arbitration court actions after application to the Registrar, and also the names of the trade unions concerned? [More…]
I think that this Committee and the unions which are involved are entitled to an answer. [More…]
This is an important matter which is now the subject of contention between the unions concerned, the Public Service and the Government. [More…]
My question is directed to the Minister for Civil Aviation and relates to his current statements regarding dismissals from Qantas Airways Ltd and the recent deputation from trade unions representing workers employed by Qantas. [More…]
I ask: Since the joint deputation to him of those unions has it been possible to obtain information from Qantas or other sources which would indicate that the position of the Qantas workforce will be more stable in the future? [More…]
Ballots, in accordance with the existing arbitration Act were carried out by the Metal Trade Unions. [More…]
I think it is an important point that ballots in accordance with the current arbitration Act were substantially carried by all unions and that the Federal and State Registrars accepted the validity of the ballots carried out. [More…]
In the case of the 3 groups which I repeat - the metal trades, the building trades and the maritime unions - they would have a membership of about 367,000 and an annual income of over $8m. [More…]
The Australian Workers Union is one of the largest unions in the country. [More…]
We are entitled to know from the Attorney-General what unions he has in mind. [More…]
Relative to the last 2 questions asked by honourable senators opposite I ask: Can the Attorney-General inform the Senate whether he has any knowledge of any information flowing from the plush headquarters of the Australian Council of Trade Unions or any other trade union to the Commonwealth or Victoria Police to help them solve the crimes allegedly committed within Painters and Dockers Union circles? [More…]
As the Federal Government is investing$80m in a super-powerhouse at Gladstone to help expand alumina production, will the Minister make it quite clear to the unions concerned that their action could jeopardise the whole aluminium refinery industry in Australia by forcing the companies to do the work elsewhere and so cause the loss of jobs to many thousands of Australian workers? [More…]
The Minister must have had some knowledge when he made such a statement, which is an accusation against individuals and unions. [More…]
That the proposal of the Labor Government to direct Commonwealth Government departments and authorities to grant contracts for work and for the supply of goods to firms considered to be good union firms is indicative of the prejudiced tactics of the Labor Government to bring special benefits to unions and union officials. [More…]
The answer I gave yesterday was thatI am opposed to employees taking the benefits gained by trade unions when they will not contribute to the trade unions. [More…]
If they are opposed to joining trade unions I believe that they have complete freedom to refuse to join, but if they do refuse they have no more right to continue to work in an industry that has benefited from the activity of trade unions than a person entering primary production has to ignore a board set upto market his product.If persons are honest in refusing to join a trade union they have complete freedom to enter industries that are not covered by trade unions. [More…]
I take no objection to their remaining outside trade unions if they seek their employment in industries that do not have the benefit of trade union coverage. [More…]
Is the Minister for Works aware that the Canberra branch of the Young Liberal Party recently carried a resolution stating that those who’ benefit from unionism should join unions and contribute to the costs of achieving union benefits? [More…]
Whether it comes from that quarter or from some other quarter,I am sure it will be put before the Commission, as will the trade unions’ case. [More…]
Government has taken to have the trade unions defer their demands for a 35-hour working week and what response it has received from the unions? [More…]
I refer to the Prime Minister’s statement that the present Australian Council of Trade Unions and union ban on French shipping and trade is contrary to the national interest. [More…]
ls there not legislation making it an offence for unions or union officials to impose such a ban or boycott? [More…]
The Government supported a claim by metal trades unions for a $14 increase in the minimum wage. [More…]
Did the Acting Minister for Labour have a conference yesterday with a section or with all the representatives of the building workers unions from New South Wales? [More…]
I can say only that the Minister for Labour before he left for overseas put forward proposals to settle the differences between the Federated Clerks Union of Australia and the airlines, a settlement which in the opinion of the Minister would be reasonable and based upon the submissions of the Australian Council of Trade Unions on equal pay. [More…]
The position now is that the matter has been submitted by the union to the ACTU and unless the ACTU and the unions request the Government to take some action, the matter will be subject to the ordinary processes of the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission. [More…]
All I can say in reply to Senator Mulvihill’s question is that he and the unions can be assured that the officers of the Department will always be available to help in settling industrial disputes. [More…]
Does it rest with the Prime Minister, does it rest with Cabinet, does it rest with the Caucus of the Australian Labor Party or does it rest with the gentleman who holds the positions of President of the Australian Labor Party and President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, who castigates his Party’s decisions as political insanity, politically crazy or political imbecility? [More…]
In union affairs, do not the unions agitate for the right to nominate their people? [More…]
Naturally, it is the desire of this Government to confer with the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
If so, why is it necessary for a meeting of the Prime Minister, 2 Cabinet Ministers and representatives of the Australian Council of Trade Unions to determine the Government’s action on its own policy? [More…]
Require trade unions to conduct Court supervised, secret ballot of its members before resorting to strike actions. [More…]
To allay the concern of social security recipients as to their future when in 1975 the means test has been abolished and replaced by a National Superannuation Act that there be an assurance by the Australian Government that the said Act will provide a guaranteed minimum income to social security recipients based on the policy of the Australian Commonwealth Pensioners’ Federation and that of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, namely, the payment of 30 per cent of average weekly earnings adjusted from time to time in accordance with figures issued by the Commonwealth Statistician and published quarterly. [More…]
Is it not a fact that senior officials of trade unions on strike, unlike the rank and file members, still receive payment which on some occasions amounts to more than they normally receive when their union is not on strike? [More…]
Turning to that part of the question which referred to the 35-hour week, it is a studied program of the Australian Labor Party that in respect of the power industry a proposal to introduce a 35-hour week would be supported where it can be demonstrated by the unions that no excessive overtime would arise from the adoption of such a reduction in working hours. [More…]
It would seem to me that arising from that pro forma it is a matter for the Commission and the parties to argue whether in substance the claim by the unions that a shorter working week might be adopted should be tested. [More…]
I think that whilst we have people like Senator Bishop in the Ministry no fears need be held by anyone in regard to what we are trying to do in bringing a new charter of democracy to trade unions. [More…]
That trade unions do not represent their members when the views of those members cannot be expressed without fear of retribution. [More…]
Lower personal income tax giving the working man more money in his pocket and the trade unions less reason for high wage demands. [More…]
Introduce secret ballots for trade unions so that each member can express his or her view honestly without the fear of retribution or victimisation. [More…]
I have not seen the statement by the trade unions which was referred to by Senator Maunsell. [More…]
In fact Mr Rigby of my staff was involved on my behalf in consultation with the unions concerned. [More…]
1 ) Is the Minister aware that the controversial telecast by American entertainer, Mr F. Sinatra appeared on the Nine Network on 16 July 1974, in spite of forecasts that it would not get to air because of the attitude of unions associated with the entertainment industry. [More…]
What action was taken by the unions and the television stations concerned to ensure that the telecast went to air. [More…]
Does the Australian Book Society, in regard to any recent loan made to it, have any outstanding liabilities to certain trade unions; if so, what are the details of such liabilities. [More…]
Did the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions travel from Perth; if so, (a) by what means did he travel (b) what was the cost of the travel, and (c) did the Reserve Bank Board meet the cost of the travel. [More…]
-Before replying to the honourable senator I would like to express my gratification at his stand as defender of the unions and his displeasure at any suggestion that there might be such a thing as union bashing. [More…]
I refer to the Prime Minister’s assertion that it is garbage to say that Australia’s record unemployment is the result of tariff cuts, and also to the reaction this has brought from some of the unions he continues to bash. [More…]
I understand that the unions involved in the entertainment industry assert that the commercial television stations do not pay a residual fee, although I have been given to understand that the commercial stations claim at the same time that set out or embodied in the fee that they pay for the original performance is a sort of payment for a residual fee. [More…]
However, I know that they have had discussions with the other industrial unions involved. [More…]
We are told that the purpose of this Bill is to facilitate amalgamations of trade unions. [More…]
I think there are many instances which can be demonstrated where small unions might serve the interests of their members better if they combined with larger unions. [More…]
I understand that some statement has been issued which implies at least either that members of trade unions would be encouraged not to insure with the Australian Mutual Provident Society or, alternatively, that those who already have done so should remove that insurance from that company. [More…]
Has the Leader of the Government noted that the executive of the Australian Council of Trade Unions has been asked to use all the processes of duress and intimidation of which the union movement is capable to aid the political activities of the Government? [More…]
A fixed term might have been possible but the experience has been that unions usually have annual elections and often change their nominees more frequently than every 3 years. [More…]
I notice in paragraph (a) (i) of the definition of trade union training’ the words ‘objectives of trade unions’, as has been mentioned by Senator Wright and by the Postmaster-General (Senator Bishop) in reply. [More…]
I would like to know whether the training refers to the political objective of a union which, of course, is regarded as a legitimate objective of unions themselves. [More…]
So I do not think one argues that there is no political objective in most unions in Australia and as the objectives are quite baldly stated does that then encompass, as I take it to be, political objectives as there is no gradation of objectives in the definition? [More…]
capable of advancing and developing an understanding of the functions and objectives of trade unions in Australian society; [More…]
That would relate to a training course which would provide historical information about trade unions and what they are doing today. [More…]
It would take into account the activities of unions in the field of arbitration. [More…]
capable of advancing and developing knowledge and skills in fields connected with the powers and functions of trade unions or the powers, functions and duties of officers or officials of trade unions; [More…]
educational, technical and practical training for members of trade unions in any other fields approved by the Australian Council. [More…]
In the old days unions used to send before the national wage hearing people like Bill Evans, who was for many years the Federal Secretary of the Federated Enginedrivers and Firemen’s Union, and Terry Winter who on their own account were not economists but who had to develop the skills of an economist to present cases at national wage hearings. [More…]
capable of advancing and developing an understanding of the functions and objectives of trade unions in Australian society; or [More…]
Will the Minister please advert to the words objectives of trade unions’? [More…]
capable of advancing and developing knowledge and skills in fields connected with the powers and functions of trade unions or the powers, functions and duties of officers . [More…]
The third thing that I note is contained in paragraph (b) where the content of the definition is ‘training for members of trade unions in any other fields’. [More…]
My first point relates to the objectives of trade unions; my second point refers to the knowledge and skills in fields connected with the functions of trade unions, and my third point relates to the words ‘any other fields’. [More…]
For the information of honourable senators I present the interim report of the Royal Commission into Alleged Payments to Maritime Unions. [More…]
Is the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, Mr Hawke, correct when he asserts that further unemployment will come about as a result of the Budget’s failure to give a significant stimulus to business and industry? [More…]
Fees for university unions, sports unions and student organisations remain payable by students. [More…]
the decisions which are taken by trade unions to affiliate with the Australian Labor Party and to contribute to the funds of the Australian Labor Party are done publicly. [More…]
Will the Minister provide a list covering the past 2 years specifying (a) the names of the trade unions who have made monetary or other donations to the Australian Labor Party; (b) the amount of the donation in each case; (c) the date each donation was made; (d) the date on which each ballot was held preceding the donation; and (e) the result of each ballot. [More…]
Mr President, I draw to your attention the fact that on 7 October there was a discussion in the other place on a matter of public importance: The failure of the Government to take account of doubts expressed by the Secretary and the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions about the findings of the Royal Commission on Petroleum in relation to the contract between Allied Petrochemicals Pty Ltd and ACTU-Solo Enterprises Pty Ltd for the supply of crude oil ‘. [More…]
This is because of the considerable success achieved by the Department of Labor and Immigration in finding alternative work opponunities for the employees who otherwise would have been retrenched on 10 March 1975.I must acknowledge the considerable assistance and co-operation of the company and the unions concerned in carrying out the Agreement. [More…]
I am given to understand that with amendments by the trade unions and the employers the log of claims has been re-presented and once again it was the premature proroguing of this Parliament in November of last year that prevented signatures from being applied to the claims that were felt to be justified. [More…]
Is it clear now that it is the Government’s intention that where the staff is to be reduced this will be done on the basis of the criterion the Minister reported last week, which was that the reduction has to be achieved by retirement, wastage, etc; or will the reduction occur, as the unions expect, through a number of retrenchments? [More…]
I am aware that some federal unions during the debate on where the college was to be established were not in favour of its being established in Launceston. [More…]
Needless to say, the unions in Tasmania were very much in favour of it and supported those who were seeking to have it established in Launceston. [More…]
However, by simply referring to just those categories mentioned by Senator Carrick I can see some of the unions that will be involved. [More…]
We can add to that list the marine cooks and marine stewards unions. [More…]
I suggest that consideration be given to making contact with the Australian Council of Trade Unions and its State branch, the Tasmanian Trades and Labor Council, when the interim council and any of its committees are established. [More…]
1 ) How many and which trade unions in Australia enforce compulsory membership for all those persons who work in particular industries. [More…]
Which trade unions are known to be affiliated with and, therefore, make financial contributions to various political parties and, in each case, with which parties are they affiliated, and to which parties do they make financial contributions. [More…]
The Government is aware that a number of trade unions have a policy of 100 per cent membership ofthe employees who work in the industry for which the union has coverage. [More…]
However unions are under no obligation to disclose their policies in this regard and information is not available as to the incidence of union membership of employees in particular industries. [More…]
There is no official information available as to affiliations of trade unions with political parties or as to financial contributions associated with such affiliations. [More…]
The publication “A Handbook of Australian Trade Unions and Employees Associations” by D. W. Rawson contains results of private research into the question of affiliation of trade unions with political parties. [More…]
Has the Government cancelled a meeting with the Australian Council of Trade Unions that was to be held next week? [More…]
The legislation will apply to trade unions and employer organisations. [More…]
Will the necessary legislation refer to both trade unions and employer organisations. [More…]
Has the Minister, or officers of his Department, officially discussed these proposals, with representatives of the trade unions and representatives of employer organisations; if so, when have these discussions occurred, and with whom. [More…]
The Waterside Workers Federation elects these people in its ballot situation, which is exactly the same sort of ballot situation as this legislation is designed to arrive at with all unions. [More…]
It came under pressure from trade unions and it retreated. [More…]
I draw to the attention of the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs (Senator Durack) the fact that in the States various organisations- in particular, the trade unions, the musicians and actors’ equityare dependent on Federal source for these documents. [More…]
I have great pleasure in supporting the Bill because I believe that it, along with our system of secret postal voting, will do great things for the unions of this country. [More…]
The honourable senator may be surprised to know that I have files on various unions going back to 1959, so I am not beholden to anybody for my information. [More…]
He challenged the Opposition to indicate whether we supported the statement made by Premier Wran the other day about the need to amalgamate unions and to reduce the multiplicity and fragmentation of trade unions in Australia. [More…]
I remind Senator Hall that the Australian Council of Trade Unions, which was formed in 1926, had as one of its major objectives industrial unionism, which meant inevitably the amalgamation of unions. [More…]
It is proposed that the Conciliation and Arbitration Act and Regulations be amended to enable, among other things, a speedy method of amalgamation of unions subject to its endorsement by a majority of members who vote in a plebiscite. [More…]
proposed legislation which would have facilitated the very matter about which he was challenging us this eveningthe amalgamation of trade unions. [More…]
Before legislation could be discussed in the House of Representatives certain individuals from certain trade unions visited Canberra and spoke to Mr Lynch. [More…]
The other question which I can perhaps put at the same time is this: Will the Minister make available figures showing how many Federal unions registered under the Conciliation and Arbitration Act, and the number of their members have complied with the provisions of the Cameron amendments? [More…]
The Minister has already mentioned only a few insignificant unions with very small memberships. [More…]
I ask those questions so that a comparison can be made between those unions that have not complied and those unions that have complied. [More…]
What is the Government’s view regarding increasing support throughout Australia for suggestions that the number of trade unions operating in Australia should be drastically reduced in the interests of industrial relations? [More…]
Probably there will have to be some further amendment to the legislation to cope with that problem but at this stage negotiations are taking place between my Department and the Public Service unions who are concerned with the staff. [More…]
I ask the Minister representing the Minister for Employment and Industrial Relations: In the light of the increase in the consumer price index for the December quarter, will the Government review its policy of opposing award increases and thus honour an agreement made between the Government and the trade unions last June? [More…]
Apparently the secretaries of the 2 unions concerned are amicably discussing these matters. [More…]
If so, (a) why were Australia Post and Telecom Australia not consulted, (b) will Australia Post and Telecom Australia be consulted, (c) will the relevant trade unions be consulted; and (d) when is it expected that the new policy will take effect. [More…]
1 think that broadly the terms and conditions were worked out between the Public Service unions and the Public Service Board. [More…]
Senator Jessop raised the question whether the multiplicity of unions involved in this matter had delayed, or otherwise, the settlement. [More…]
I am not brave or foolhardy enough to open up the question whether one industrial union of an umbrella type would have been better than a series of craft or other unions. [More…]
The unions, the management and the Australian Council of Trade Unions are to be commended for the destination that they have arrived at. [More…]
I am happy to say that fortunately there are no such criticisms of Australian laws and practices in relation to trade unions. [More…]
I think we should allow the employers and the unions to consider what is proposed in this legislation. [More…]
In my opinion the Postal Commission issue is a matter which should be for the Minister for Post and Telecommunications (Mr Eric Robinson), the head of the Postal Commission and the unions. [More…]
I do not need to remind honourable senators that the Australian community has been subjected to great inconvenience and hardship through the industrial actions of some government employees and their trade unions. [More…]
Certainly it recognises that the very great majority of government employees and their unions have acted, and do act, responsibly. [More…]
The Government believes that every employee should have the right to join a union and it encourages employees not only to join unions but to participate fully in their affairs. [More…]
If so, has any action been taken under these sections against trade unions? [More…]
I think the Minister will agree that we have an obligation to defend people, whether they be the Queen’s representative, trade unions or their leaders. [More…]
They certainly have been reconciled between the Minister for Transport (Mr Nixon), the State Minister, Mr Virgo, the unions and the management. [More…]
I have indicated already to the Committee that the particular problem of officers who work in a Public Service union is the subject of discussion between the Public Service Board and the unions concerned. [More…]
Is the Minister aware of a degree of concern which has been expressed by at least some Public Service unions, in particular the Professional Officers Association, as to the possible use of these provisions to embarrass and generally make life difficult for those unattached officers of the Service who are in fact employed as full time public service union officials? [More…]
Trade Unions in Peru (Question No. [More…]
It is something of an understatement to say that I find the rules and actions of the unions incongruous as well as disturbing. [More…]
The Australian Council of Trade Unions and many other unions are on record as being vehemently opposed io penal provisions being applied against them. [More…]
1 take it that in matters relating to trade unions or the Public Service the AttorneyGeneral (Senator Durack) has in mind seeking the assistance of people who have had trade union or Public Service membership. [More…]
What will happen in the future will be that the unions will settle the disputes directly with the employer. [More…]
Furthermore, since in the eyes of the unions the presidential members will make the decisions, does the Minister consider that the unions will continue to put cases before the commissioners? [More…]
The unions will try to overcome this problem the best way, and any way, that they can. [More…]
All the time the commissioners would be losing authority in the eyes of the unions. [More…]
For some time past I have been concerned that credit unions were not included in the scheme. [More…]
It seems to me that credit unions play a valuable and very real part in the everyday life of many Australians. [More…]
These unions serve a very useful purpose. [More…]
The value of credit unions is undoubted, and I trust the recognition given to them will help them to gain in strength and independence. [More…]
The decision by certain unions to place a black ban on the export of merino rams has reached the height of impertinence. [More…]
This is purely a matter for the wool industry, and the unions have no more right to interfere in the policies of the wool industry . [More…]
than the graziers have to interfere in the policies of the unions concerned. [More…]
I wonder what would be the reaction of the unions and their supporters here if the Graziers Association were to give financial support to a minority group in the unions to bring about a change in union policies. [More…]
To be branded by the Peking bosses as Fascist unions must have hurt considerably some of these union people unless, of course, they belong to the Moscow mob. [More…]
While there are always charges of contempt of court levelled at trade unions which try to exercise the right of labour, nothing was done about that employer. [More…]
For 5 years numerous trade unions in New South Wales have complained about the fate of the Victa aircraft. [More…]
I am glad that the Government has brought credit unions into the home loans scheme. [More…]
The Australian Labor Party and the Australian Democratic Labor Party sought to include credit unions in the relevant legislation but the Government refused to accept the proposal and held up the Bill. [More…]
Discussions are to take place between Bob Hawke, President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, and the Yugoslav Ambassador in Canberra, in an effort to bridge some of these difficulties, lt is more than possible that when Mr Hawke attends the International Labour Organisation Conference this year he will be able to visit the Yugoslav trade unions leaders. [More…]
Mr Hawke will not be the first representative of the trade union movement to visit overseas trade unions. [More…]
It seems to me the time has arrived when there should be discussion between the people engaged in the industry and the trade unions as tq the need to have vessels built in Australia. [More…]
Discussions are taking place between the National Employers’ Organisations and the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the Government in an endeavour to develop more effective means of avoiding and settling industrial disputes within the framework of the Conciliation and Arbitration system. [More…]
I attended the Australian Council of Trade Unions congress held in Sydney last year from 8th to 12th September. [More…]
I wish to deal now with the proposal to permit savings with credit unions to be recognised for homes savings grant purposes. [More…]
The Minister said that the credit unions were not eligible. [More…]
Now, after pressure has been brought to bear and after the results of the last election, the Government has decided, firstly, to allow deductions from the salaries of Commonwealth public servants - which is a great service to credit unions - and, secondly, to allow the savings of credit unions to be recognised under conditions which are rather startling. [More…]
I spoke to a representative from the New South Wales credit unions. [More…]
Credit unions do carry out lending for housing. [More…]
Credit unions lend money for land, for second mortgages, for deposit gaps and for the initial purchases which make a house into a home. [More…]
Yet the Minister has decided that credit unions do not carry out lending for housing. [More…]
Ver.y few, if any, credit unions in Australia would be in a position to meet the conditions laid down by the Government. [More…]
In other words, the legislation is a confidence trick and a very cruel hoax upon the credit unions and their members. [More…]
The conditions of eligibility for credit unions are set out in the article. [More…]
So, the Government wipes out all credit unions. [More…]
Credit unions assist the Government to provide homes for young people in that they provide the extra finance necessary to turn a house into a home, to make up the deposit gap and to provide for legal expenses. [More…]
If the Government makes this interpretation and gets away from this vicious proposition then many credit unions will be able to assist the Government to house many young people. [More…]
I propose to say a word about credit unions because 1 feel that Senator Georges left the real issue somewhat in the air. [More…]
The Government is now endeavouring to bring within the ambit of the legislation relating to homes savings grants young people who save through credit unions as well as those who save through the various banking institutions in this country. [More…]
The Government has seen fit to suggest in the GovernorGeneral’s Speech that legislation will be introduced to enable credit unions to take part in this very worthwhile and admirable project. [More…]
Nor does it want it suggested that it is introducing legislation which will allow credit unions to become part and parcel of the scheme but, at the same time, is adopting proposals which will virtually exclude the greater proportion of credit unions. [More…]
A point that Senator Georges has missed is that the very enactment of the previous legislation which debarred credit unions from participating in the homes savings grants scheme has prevented them from developing in the field of lending for home ownership to an extent which the Government now suggests shall be the criterion by which they shall be adjudged as being eligible to take part in the scheme. [More…]
The limits that the Government proposes to inflict upon the credit unions will make it impossible for those organisations because they have not been able to develop this form of credit as they were excluded under the previous legislation. [More…]
I believe that the Government will be swayed when it hears the very fair arguments put on behalf of the credit unions and that it will fulfil its responsibilities as a government and try to do what it says it wants to do, that is, to bring the credit unions within the ambit of the legislation. [More…]
We have only today had the opportunity to examine the legislation and we are not sure of the full implications of its clauses, but we are already sure that one clause which I incited Senator Georges to read will exclude the great majority of credit unions, so we direct the attention of the Government to that clause. [More…]
The trade union movement of this country - the Australian Council of Trade Unions - carried resolutions supporting Australia’s commitment behind the United Nations in Korea. [More…]
All the Government can put forward is an attack upon the trade unions which have to go to the arbitration courts to get what, under the laws of the land, is deemed to be a fair remuneration. [More…]
Of course the trade unions have restrictive trade practices. [More…]
But the trade unions are the one group which is severely controlled in the community. [More…]
Trade unions cannot get increases for their members unless the increases are granted under the conciliation and arbitration laws of the community. [More…]
In view of the Government’s enthusiasm for the imposition of court controlled ballots and penal provisions upon industrial unions of workers, will it consider having a court controlled ballot within the Australian Medical Association and, in the event of the Association refusing to carry out any decisions that may be made by the Government regarding a national health scheme, will the Government consider the imposition of penal provisions upon the Australian Medical Association similar to those imposed upon the Waterside Workers Federation and other industrial organisations? [More…]
Or does the Government believe that measures of this nature should be applied only to industrial unions of workers whose members are on the lower levels of income within the community and should not be applied to professional associations whose members are on the higher levels of income? [More…]
if no wage increases have been granted, when will a review of rates take place in view of the fact that parliamentary employees if not actually forbidden to join appropriate unions are certainly discouraged from joining unions which can plead on their behalf? [More…]
The question now is whether or not the Government is strong enough to make sure that the doctors take their place in the community in the same way that members of the work force and the unions have been made to take their place in the community. [More…]
The railway unions have written to the Government and I have written to the Government about it but nothing has been done. [More…]
Although he did not mention that his statement was in any way related to Bob Hawke’s ascendency to the presidency of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, some people have suggested that this will be a reason for industrial unrest. [More…]
The meeting was variously estimated to consist of from 200 to 300 trade unionists representing 32 unions. [More…]
May I say in passing that not one of those unions would have tolerated an individual unionist who, in pursuit of what he believed to be his conscientious belief or right, chose not to go along with his colleagues. [More…]
These unions were calling on national servicemen to scab on their fellows - to use a word which I have heard used in this place - although they would not have permitted one of their unionists to do it in his own union. [More…]
He said that he chaired the meeting in his capacity as a union president or union secretary and not as president of the Victorian Branch of the Australian Labor Party; yet he owes his position in the Victorian Labor Party to the self same unions because a ticket is put up before every State Council meeting of the Victorian Labor Party and that ticket is selected not by the rank and file of the Australian Labor Party, diminishing as it is with so many expulsions, but by a group of unionists and within that group of unionists are men who owe their position to the control which is exercised by the Communists. [More…]
That leadership, together with the activities of the Australian Council of Trade Unions will be, no doubt, centered on the moratorium which is to be held in either April or May of this year. [More…]
Does the Minister representing the Minister for Labour and National Service know whether it is correct, as alleged by a South Australian trade union secretary, that the Australian Council of Trade Unions has, under its new president, invited certain Communist unionists to visit this country; that the ACTU proposes to spend union raised funds to finance this visit; and that no such invitation has been issued to non-Communist unionists from the United Kingdom or the United States of America? [More…]
In the event of the Australian Council of Trade Unions inviting such an august delegation of Communist trade union leaders from Communist countries, will the Minister make such delegation acquainted with the tourist attractions in Australia, as that may attract subsequent visits by other high ranking delegations from Communist countries? [More…]
Having regard to the robustness of the statements made by the Australian Council of Trade Unions, I would think that the ACTU could be fairly left with the responsibility of defining its actions in relation to the Moratorium. [More…]
Many trade unions have rules that minors are not permitted to take part in strikes. [More…]
Honourable senators opposite talk about people telling the trade unions what they should do. [More…]
Senator Greenwood is a gentleman who attempted to usurp the power of his own Postmaster-General, the Australian Council of Trade Unions and Mr Slater. [More…]
If no wage increases have been granted, when will a review of rates take place, in view of the fact that parliamentary employees, if not forbidden to join appropriate unions, are certainly discouraged from joining unions which can plead on their behalf? [More…]
No restriction is placed on any officer in any parliamentary department in relation to his joining any union or association, in fact, every facility is made available for staff to be interviewed by union representatives and no attempt is made to discourage staff membership of unions. [More…]
Australian trade unions, the Federal Government and the Committee for the Retention of the Merino Ram Embargo were denounced this week for their part in the merino export debacle. [More…]
lt then reproached the retention committee and the trade unions for the way in which they prevented the rams from going overseas. [More…]
However I will say that it criticised the unions, it criticised the Government and it criticised a lot of other people. [More…]
Another councillor, Mr A. P. Connell, felt resentment that the Committee’s action had lumped graziers together with unions, the DLP and the Communist Party. [More…]
He certainly referred to what Mr A. P. Connell had to say about the DLP, the Communists and the unions. [More…]
That is the procedure adopted in nil organisations and 1 believe that it is the system adopted in trade unions also. [More…]
The late Government was always prepared to, and always did, consult the unions in regard to industrial matters; but i am informed tonight that the leaders of the organisations interested in sheep-grazing have not been consulted. [More…]
I refer to the unions’ ban on the export of merino rams. [More…]
If anything is reprehensible and discreditable, it is the unions’ attempt to take the law into their own hands, almost to the point of anarchy. [More…]
1 believe that this defiance of law and order, particularly since the Labor Party supports the unions in this regard, is an attempt to take the law out of the hands of the Government of the day. [More…]
New South Wales graziers and the United Farmers and Wool Growers Association recently have unanimously condemned the unions for taking this action. [More…]
Only the week before last Riverina graziers not only reconsidered the question of the embargo and their continued support for the easing of the embargo, but also condemned the unions’ ban on the export of merino rams and the Labor Parly’s support of the unions in this regard. [More…]
I hope that ways and means will be found by which the unions will ease the ban in order that the people with whom we trade will think more of Australia and give greater consideration to trading with Australia in the future than they have done in the past, because of the imposition of this ban. [More…]
The Australian Federation of Credit Union Leagues has recently renewed its request that savings with credit unions be acceptable for purposes ot the home savings grant scheme. [More…]
Lending by credit unions is still predominantly by way of loans of less than $1,000 for such purposes as the purchase of furniture, household equipment and motor vehicles and meeting the cost of medical and educational expenses and home repairs. [More…]
However, a few credit unions are making loans of $4,000 or more over periods of up to 10 years or even longer to their members to assist them to acquire a home of their own. [More…]
These are the conditions on which the Government is willing to accept savings with credit unions for purposes of the home savings grant scheme. [More…]
It is appreciated that very few, if any, credit unions are as yet in a position to meet these conditions. [More…]
A number of employers have also entered into agreements with unions to provide severance payments, generally based on the length of service of the employees concerned. [More…]
I think he was referring to alleged takeovers by the trade unions or someone of that nature during the course of this Moratorium but in fact the points which he made were in defence of a government which itself in 1955 in South Vietnam ran away from free elections. [More…]
In the light of submissions made by the New South Wales Metal Trades Unions to the Minister for Trade and Industry when they expressed fears of growing unemployment in the railway rolling stock industry due to heavy imports of Japanese rolling stock can the Minister inform the Senate what action has been taken and how he regards continuity of employment prospects for metal trades’ employees in this sector of the metal trades industry. [More…]
Is it a fact that, following an address to the Australian Council of Trade Unions by Dr Coombs, a committee was set up for liaison between unions and the National Arts Council. [More…]
Executive, he expressed the Council’s interest in co-operating with Trade Unions to involve their members in arts activities. [More…]
The Australian Council has advertised for applications for grams in a wide range of activities in the arts, lt expects to receive some applications from trade unions seeking assistance for work in this field. [More…]
or individual unions would receive consideration on the same basis as applications from other organisations. [More…]
I do not blame the Commonwealth Government, nor do I altogether blame the unions. [More…]
If the unions have problems which they want solved, perhaps striking sometimes is essential. [More…]
As a former secretary of the Australian Labor Party in Tasmania, I can recall the number of times that very good cases were made out, presented to our State Conference and Federal Conference and, in conjunction with the Australian Council of Trade Unions, handed on to the Federal Government. [More…]
In those cases we sued for conferences with shipping interests, but the unions in particular were simply given the cold shoulder. [More…]
when it is shipped, he pays an excessive price for freight because of that industrial trouble which has been caused by certain militant unions. [More…]
the clauses of the Bill relating to credit unions should be redrafted to give credit union savings complete and’ unconditional recognition tinder the Act; [More…]
I refer to the provision giving credit unions the right to participate in this type of legislation. [More…]
This is one aspect of home building in which credit unions can be most helpful to their members. [More…]
The credit unions can lend money to their members at a rate of interest which is not as high as that charged by the lending societies. [More…]
The Government could have assisted many home builders by introducing provisions which would have enabled members of credit unions to obtain loans from those credit unions for the purchase of blocks of land on which to build homes later. [More…]
Ihe interest rates that credit unions charge, but my understanding is that their interest rale is cheaper than the normal interest rate charged by lending societies. [More…]
There is a difference between what the credit unions charge on a sliding scale of interest and what the lending societies charge on a flat rate. [More…]
If the two amounts of interest are taken into consideration - the flat rate basis and what the credit unions charge as interest - 1 think we will find that the credit union rate compares more than favourably with the flat rate charged by lending societies. [More…]
It will be recalled that when the Bill to give assistance to certain people by way of homes savings grants came before the Parliament, the credit unions were excluded. [More…]
At that time the Opposition endeavoured to have the” credit unions included in the list of organisations recognised under the Act which was to be introduced. [More…]
Now the Government has introduced a provision which will enable credit unions to become recognised organisations under the Act. [More…]
The Government has been hypocritical because the provisions which it has laid down in this Act make it almost impossible for the credit unions to participate. [More…]
I would suggest quite seriously that very few credit unions throughout the Commonwealth would have the resources to meet all of the provisions of this Bill. [More…]
That means that at least 90% of the credit unions could nol qualify. [More…]
I suggest that if the Government were genuine in its approach to this matter it would have had more regard to the amount of money which the credit unions can make available to their members. [More…]
If the Government had set a figure of about S3, 000 instead of $7,000 a larger number of credit unions could have participated under this legislation. [More…]
The credit unions do not desire this period because it will be a penalty to them. [More…]
If the Government is genuine in its desire to bring the credit unions in to assist the home builder - and it has always made a feature of this point - wherever it can it should do everything possible to assist the home builder and to assist the people who are buying their own homes. [More…]
That is one of the requirements that the credit unions have to meet to qualify to lend money to their members. [More…]
It is almost impossible for the credit unions to comply with this requirement. [More…]
As 1 said earlier probably only 10% - I think this would be the limit - of the credit unions will be able to comply with that provision and I am doubtful whether it would be as high as 10%. [More…]
Why is it necessary for the Government to put such a provision in a Bill as will prevent the credit unions from assisting their members to participate in this scheme? [More…]
I am afraid that I am at a loss to understand why the Government has introduced a Bill such as this and put such stringent provisions in it to prevent the credit unions from taking part. [More…]
I do not know whether the Government is aware that the credit unions are also limited by State legislation as to the amount of money which they can lend. [More…]
Where this provision exists in State legislation the credit unions cannot comply with the provisions which are laid down by the federal Act. [More…]
This seems to me to be trying to play the credit unions with a 2-headed penny. [More…]
In particular I ask that she give consideration - very favourable consideration - to making it much easier for credit unions lo channel more of their money iwto this field than is being channelled into it at the present time and will be channelled into it under this Bill. [More…]
In the few moments remaining to me this evening I wish to say something about the credit unions, particularly in regard to some of the remarks made by Senator Poke. [More…]
He said that he thought the credit unions lent at a lower rate than the lending societies. [More…]
I am quite sure that I am right in saying that the credit unions lend at a higher rate of interest than do the building societies. [More…]
The credit unions do not lend at rates as favourable as those of the building societies. [More…]
This thing has gone on for too long and these people are allowed to get away wilh any sort of pressure at all at a time when the Government is persistently talking about trade unions and other groups issuing ultimatums to the Government. [More…]
We call upon our Churches, Trade Unions, Universities, political parties, business houses, industries and press to support the Moratorium, and we commit ourselves to organise and promote this effort in our work places, on our campuses, and in our community. [More…]
They are the same people who supported a resolution at a meeting of industrial unions in Melbourne only a few months ago inciting Australian troops to mutiny, to lay down their arms to Communist forces. [More…]
But the part of the legislation in which I feel the Government has failed to do what it set out to do is in relation to the eligibility of credit unions for people who wish to save the amount of money prescribed to be necessary to qualify them for a home savings grant. [More…]
The credit unions are entitled to this because they have operated in this field and in the more minor fields of housing which are as necessary as the building of the house itself, that is, the equipping and the furnishing of the house. [More…]
The credit unions have lent quite considerable amounts of money - accepting that they are smaller lending institutions than the usually accepted housing loan institutions - for the purpose of purchasing land, and various subsidiary garages, fencing, sewerage and subsidiary components like that around a home. [More…]
Young people, of course, were being enticed away -from saving money with credit unions. [More…]
They would even save with credit unions for a period and then, as they approached the age of marriage, shift their savings to a recognised channel in which they could become eligible for the homes savings grant. [More…]
This, I feel, was patently unfair to the credit unions and the Government now seeks to repair it in this legislation. [More…]
My criticism is that the legislation does not do what it set out to do, that is, to make credit unions attractive for young people to continue saving with for the purpose of getting a homes savings grant because it is obvious that only one - perhaps none - of the credit unions can meet the requirements of the legislation. [More…]
I approve of the idea that the Government should place some limitations so that credit unions that are far too small to meet the responsibility of entering this field are not at this stage made part of this scheme. [More…]
That will not attract any of the young people to save their money with credit unions. [More…]
The deterioration in the numbers of their members will continue because they cannot offer a guarantee to young people immediately that they will be eligible if they save their money with credit unions. [More…]
I can understand, too, how the Government has fallen into the trap of making the conditions too stringent to be met by the great majority of credit unions. [More…]
What it has apparently done is to take the general ratio of lending of some of the larger banking institutions in relation to housing and the specific amount of individual loans as being the general criteria on which credit unions must seek to work if they wish to be recognised institutions for the purposes of the young people saving money to become eligible for a grant, lt has reduced these amounts by a small percentage. [More…]
But would it not have been a more solid basis to examine the practices and the general capabilities of the credit unions and, if necessary, increase the amounts a little above what is usual to make them reach for something if the Government desires to get them to lend more money in the larger housing field rather than in the small housing field in which they are at present engaged? [More…]
not have been more logical - if we genuinely want to make some of the credit unions eligible in this field - to take what was their usual standard, not the usual standard of the big banking institutions, and increase it by a certain amount so that at least they would have something to strive and reach for? [More…]
The legislation makes it mandatory for credit unions to make a housing loan of an amount not less than $7,000 repayable over a period of not less than 12 years. [More…]
This, of course, is probably the most difficult of all of the provisions for the credit unions to meet. [More…]
People have not been placing their money with credit unions for the purpose of borrowing for home building. [More…]
It could be argued that ultimately the credit unions could become eligible. [More…]
I believe that, whilst the legislation as it stands would make eligible possibly one of the hundreds of credit unions that operate in this country - they say that in actual administration none at all will be eligible - if the amount of $7,000 could be reduced to some degree, although the door still would not be wide open it would be possible for 1, 2, 3 or 4 or perhaps even 5% of the total number to get through. [More…]
That would be a beginning and would build up in people confidence that credit unions could make the grade. [More…]
The credit unions are very close to young people when they make their first savings. [More…]
But unless the figure of 7,000 can be reduced to some extent the credit unions are debarred by the very legislation that, is said to admit-them. [More…]
What has been the purpose of the legislation its far as the credit unions are concerned? [More…]
There must be something wrong when a piece of legislation is said to assist the credit unions and they themselves say: ‘Baloney, lt does not assist us at all and it will not make a scrap of difference’. [More…]
It is an amendment with which we cannot agree at this stage because we believe that it opens the door completely in admitting credit unions, contains no restraints whatsoever and therefore could easily lead to very considerable abuses not necessarily by the credit unions that exist today but by people seeing opportu.nities to form very small credit unions with no other purpose than to make a particular person eligible for a homes savings grant.That would bc most undesirable. [More…]
We also believe that the section of the legislation that makes it mandatory for credit unions to provide by way of housing loans $50,000 in any one financial year and in every subsequent financial year is an impossible condition to place upon credit unions at this time. [More…]
I believe that, at least for a start, these very stringent conditions on the credit unions, which would be easy conditions for the major banking institutions of this country to meet, should be reduced to levels that are more possible for the larger credit unions to meet. [More…]
We hope that by the time we reach the Committee stage of the Bill we will be able to agree on something that will open the door just a little wider and allow a reasonable number of credit unions to participate in the legislation - something that I for one am prepared to say was the intention of the Government when it formulated the idea of this legislation. [More…]
Deductions for association/union dues are increasing as more unions take advantage of this new facility. [More…]
The Director-General, Posts and Telegraphs, has recently invited the Association/Unions concerened to participate in a Joint Department/Union Working Party to consider the proposals being immediately implemented and to examine what else can be done. [More…]
The Opposition has criticised the amendments which relate to credit unions, but I think the matters raised by Senator Poke prove conclusively the point that the Government has been making all along, that the credit unions are not established for the purpose of providing money for housing and, therefore, they do not in their present form come within the scope of the purpose of the legislation. [More…]
On the other hand, what is being suggested in the amendments is to give an opportunity for the credit unions to restructure their organisations so that they will become a useful source of credit for housing and a useful source of funds for housing. [More…]
1 feel that the Government is doing the right thing with these amendments in respect of Ihe credit unions in suggesting to the credit unions that they alter their organisations so that they can comply with the legislation. [More…]
When the Opposition opened the debate on my motion that the Bill be read a second time, Senator Poke moved an amendment which, in effect, welcomed the extended scope for grants offered by the Bill; but also the honourable senator asked the Senate to accept, among other things, the Opposition view that the clauses of the Bill relating to credit unions be redrafted to give savings with credit unions complete and unconditional recognition. [More…]
Honourable senators will recall that the amendment was moved on Tuesday and that when the debate was resumed yesterday Senator Poke sought and obtained leave to amend his amendment, but only after he had heard the views on the admission of savings with credit unions as enunciated by representatives of other parties. [More…]
This is entirely different from the original proposition that all savings with credit unions be given complete and unconditional recognition for the purposes of the home savings grant scheme. [More…]
Why was it proposed by the Opposition only yesterday that credit unions should perhaps - it does not seem very certain - be required to make loans for the acquisition of a home up to some minimum annual amount before savings with them may be approved? [More…]
The first, as I mentioned, relates to the unconditional recognition of savings with credit unions. [More…]
But the Government is faced with the fact that credit unions make few, if any, large and long term loans for the acquisition of homes. [More…]
I wish to make it quite clear that the Government does not question the fact that a significant proportion of the loans made by some of the larger credit unions is for purposes associated with housing. [More…]
However until recently a majority of the loans made by credit unions for housing purposes were of relatively small amounts and for relatively short periods. [More…]
However, a number of credit unions have recently been making larger loans for longer periods. [More…]
Senator Little said that he would like to see 5% or more of the credit unions approved in the near future. [More…]
But I refer again to my second reading speech in which I showed that I agree with Senator Little in that I would like in the future to see credit unions complying with the proposed conditions and becoming approved. [More…]
We initiated all of the ideas that are now contained in the amendment that is before the Senate as to the necessity for compromise particularly on the question of the stringent conditions applied to the credit unions. [More…]
I should think that what trade unions have secured for their members over the years is something which draftsmen could secure for themselves by much the same method of organisation. [More…]
1 am well aware of the submissions made by meat employees unions in the past in regard to these matters. [More…]
It relates to the conditions under which individual credit unions may seek and obtain approval for the purposes of the homes savings grant scheme. [More…]
Its purpose is to help credit unions while not losing sight of one of the basic objectives of the homes savings grant scheme, namely, to help to increase the volume of savings available for lending for home ownership. [More…]
The attitude of the Government to the conditions for acceptance of the savings of credit unions set out in the amending Bill now before the Committee has not been entirely inflexible. [More…]
I have listened with interest to arguments put on behalf of the credit unions for an easing of the proposed requirement. [More…]
In particular I have been impressed by the thought that the objective of adding to the volume of savings for home ownership could in fact be advanced by setting a minimum amount for the prescribed housing loan which is perhaps more readily attainable by credit unions. [More…]
In speaking on the second reading of the Bill I indicated that I had moved the amendment following representations which had been made to the Australian Labor Party by members of credit unions. [More…]
According to the Minister, Senator Little approached her and introduced representatives of some of the credit unions. [More…]
Apparently she received from the credit unions information which prompted an amendment which would be of assistance not only to the credit unions but also to the legislation which is brought forward by the Government on this occasion. [More…]
I recall quite vividly that ever since the Homes Savings Grant Act was put on the statute book by this Government, we of the Labor Party have endeavoured to have the credit unions recognised for the purposes of this legislation. [More…]
Unfortunately, if the Bill now before the Committee is given effect to, even in the amended form as requested by the Minister, it will not bring within its provisions the number of credit unions which the Labor Party would desire to have participate under this legislation. [More…]
I should think that the Minister probably would have covered some of the ground for this proposal with representatives of the credit union and would have believed that if she deleted the words ‘Seven thousand dollars’ and inserted in lieu ‘Five thousand dollars’ this would have brought quite a number of other credit unions within the provisions of the Bill. [More…]
The time factor is just as important to the credit union movement as a lesser prescribed amount because whilst it might be desirable in some cases to have a loan repayable over a period of 12 years, it is the wish of the credit unions that their loans should not be repayable over a long period. [More…]
Surely to goodness in 1970 we have grown up sufficiently to try to bring in legislation which will benefit the great number of people who will be able to participate in the scheme under this legislation and also benefit members of the various credit unions. [More…]
But to move quickly to the matter before the Senate, the Government has in this clause realised that the original legislation was restrictive and excluded practically all credit unions in Australia from the scheme. [More…]
Reducing the amount of a prescribed housing loan from $7,000 to $5,000 is an improvement, but it sti!l excludes many credit unions which exist under State legislation, lt excludes them not by reason of the amount only but by reason of ability and depth of finance, lt excludes many of the very small credit unions, lt must be appreciated that it is the small credit union which forms the backbone of the credit union movement. [More…]
I believe that the Government has not really appreciated the amount of work which these small credit unions do and the amount of assistance which they provide. [More…]
Credit unions often lend $1,000 or $2,000 in order to allow somebody to clear a mortgage on a block of land so that the title of the land is free and a house can be erected on it. [More…]
But there is another reason why credit unions want the amount of the prescribed housing loan reduced and a shorter term provided for repayment of the loan. [More…]
The shorter the term for which credit unions can lend, the better it is for the members of the credit unions because money becomes available for lending to other members within the group. [More…]
Why does not the Government accept the tremendous amount of work that credit unions, especially the smaller ones, are doing and reduce the amount of the prescribed housing loan to $3,000? [More…]
I appeal to those who support, in principle, the reduction in the amount of the prescribed housing loan from 7,000 to $5,000 to consider reducing it further to $3,000 in order to assist the small credit unions. [More…]
I will give Senator Devitt an explanation concerning the repayment period, because it is quite clear to me now that the Australian Labor Party has always been a long way behind in understanding what the credit unions want and, in effect, what the Democratic Labor Party has been proposing. [More…]
Now the Australian Labor Party is prosecuting something on which the credit unions have had a full explanation and which they no longer require. [More…]
Of course, this legislation does not have only one purpose in mind, that of allowing credit unions to participate in the lending of homes savings finance. [More…]
That is why credit unions are embodied in the legislation. [More…]
If the honourable senator gets a list of the registered credit unions he will find some with as few as 9 members. [More…]
The point I am really making is that if the amendment which was moved in another place had been accepted it would virtually have meant that all credit unions were in, irrespective of the amount of money or the number of members in them. [More…]
It would financially embarrass many small credit unions. [More…]
After 2 speakers from the Labor Party had made contributions to the debate - and neither of them mentioned the areas to which I directed the whole of my attention in my speech - Senator Poke then sought leave to amend his amendment, to introduce the very question which I have been discussing in order to try to obtain some benefit for people in credit unions. [More…]
I am one of those who, recognising the good things that are in the legislation, do not want to see it delayed further by futile political manoeuvres which may add to the political aggrandisement of a party when it talks to the people, or when it tries to sustain a case, but which will do nothing practical to get for people in credit unions the very things that they want. [More…]
It is prepared to move this far away from its original intention so that more credit unions are allowed to participate in this legislation now. [More…]
The credit unions now have a knowledge that none of us had before. [More…]
We should make sure that we do not run away with the idea that this legislation is only for the benefit of the credit unions. [More…]
The credit unions, like cooperative housing societies - wonderful is they are and no matter how much I support them - exist only to serve and function in the interests of the borrower. [More…]
The interpretation we now have of this clause seems to be acceptable to the credit unions, if not to the Labor Party. [More…]
If the Labor Party is not up to date with its information from the credit unions, I suggest that it is no worse off than it was the other night when it lagged a long way behind everybody else with its information. [More…]
In their amendment, Labor senators have not considered the practical effects on the interests of the little people that they want to represent - not the credit unions as such but the people who make the credit unions, the ones who put their money into the credit unions. [More…]
For the first time the possibility of credit unions being accepted as eligible organisations for savings for homes savings grants is introduced. [More…]
In the past we would not accept credit unions because, in the main, they did not lend their money for housing. [More…]
Nevertheless, certain people, particularly those in the Public Service, subscribe to credit unions as an easy and convenient method of saving money. [More…]
Now we are prepared to accept credit unions under certain conditions. [More…]
provides that credit unions have to meet 3 conditions in order to qualify under this scheme. [More…]
While the credit unions have to lend a larger amount for housing the Bill imposes the added restriction that 15% of the loans must be for prescribed housing loans. [More…]
It is not a restriction which helps the borrower and.it is not a restriction which helps the Government’s policy of a reserve for housing; it is purely a restriction to debar credit unions from participating in this scheme. [More…]
It serves the Government’s purpose for the credit unions to lend the money for housing purposes. [More…]
This restriction can serve one purpose and one purpose only and that is to disqualify certain credit unions. [More…]
However, the credit unions provide a service and the Australian Labor Party is worried about ensuring that they are encouraged to continue to provide this service. [More…]
The restriction is not designed to help the borrower and it is not designed to achieve the Government’s purpose; it has no other purpose but to disqualify some credit unions. [More…]
The Australian Labor Party regardless of whether it has copied the policy of the Australian Democratic Labor Party, is seeking to ease the restriction to the extent that credit unions are able to participate in the scheme. [More…]
If the Government’s Interest is in making money available for housing and not in debarring credit unions from participating in the scheme it cannot object to the Labor Party’s amendment. [More…]
Obviously he does not know how the credit unions operate. [More…]
But the amount of interest that the credit unions have to charge on their loans is, as has been stated previously in this chamber, lc for each $1 for each month, which is 6% flat or 12% simple interest. [More…]
It is in this field that the credit unions assist. [More…]
The very policy of the Government has made it necessary for the establishment of credit unions and the banding together of people to save together to be able to assist one another to take advantage of finance which is available. [More…]
If the Government did know, it would do everything possible to assist credit unions, rather than hinder them. [More…]
The other portion which requires that credit unions lend a minimum of $50,000 in home lending is to be considered later. [More…]
Here is another imposition which makes it patently impossible for the credit union movement, or the bulk of the credit unions, to take advantage of this scheme. [More…]
The credit unions do not impose any burden upon those who, for some reason such as illness, unemployment, or even strikes are unable to meet their commitments. [More…]
The so-called champion of the credit unions, the DLP, is prepared to go along with the Government. [More…]
The DLP is no more a supporter of the credit unions than are some of the Government supporters who have not heard the term before. [More…]
I heard one Government member say: ‘We cannot support these credit unions. [More…]
But again I refer, when considering this, to what might reasonably be done to permit savings with credit unions to be acceptable under the Homes Savings Grant Act. [More…]
It becomes necessary to fix conditions which, while not unduly burdensome for the credit unions, nevertheless pay proper regard to the overall intention of the legislation. [More…]
The Government already makes some concessions to the credit unions in that the amount of $5,000 which I have moved tonight and to which objection is being taken by the Opposition is rather below the norm for maximum loans available from the major institutional lenders. [More…]
He will have noted that the Opposition amendments concentrate on the aspirations of the credit unions but we must remember, however, that the legislation is not for the benefit of the lending institutions but is meant to benefit the individual couples and the community at large. [More…]
All that Senator Georges was trying to do was to show the workings of credit unions anc! [More…]
He obviously has a knowledge of credit unions. [More…]
At the present time when people are saving with credit unions the Minister does a disservice to them by insisting that young people withdraw their savings from credit unions to put them into a recognised establishment for the purpose of qualifying for a grant. [More…]
I think we can concede Senator Georges’ point if the credit unions will meet the 2 objectives that the Government seeks to achieve by this Act. [More…]
The condition that the Minister imposes on credit unions - I think it is legitimate - is that they must subscribe a certain amount of their income to home loans. [More…]
The obvious reason why not less than 15% of the total amount lent by the credit union to its members during each subsequent financial year will be lent by way of prescribed housing loans is that this will cover those credit unions which are perhaps very large and where the $50,000 will not amount to that proportion of their lending for a particular year. [More…]
From talking to credit unions I have learned that many of them can manage their $50,000 quite comfortably. [More…]
I think Senator Cavanagh would realise, when he understands that there are some credit unions which can lend more than $50,000, that the clauses are there for the sole purpose of seeing that the bigger credit unions lend still more for prescribed housing loans. [More…]
The only part of his argument with which I agree wholeheartedly refers to the wonderful work that the credit unions are doing. [More…]
I, for one, am prepared to accept the Government’s reasons although, perhaps, they are not completely acceptable to the credit unions. [More…]
I would like to have in the Bill everything that the credit unions want. [More…]
I am prepared to admit that the credit unions are a specific type of organisation, and they are prepared to admit that if they want to enter the field of housing they will have to change some of the things which have stood them in good stead in the past. [More…]
The credit unions recognise that they have to amend some of their previous practices and the manner in which they have charged and have paid interest. [More…]
I said that it was a guarantee that the credit unions would be investing in homes. [More…]
Great benefit could be conferred on young people seeking homes if they could utilise their credit unions for the purpose of obtaining a second mortgage. [More…]
The only purpose in imposing restrictions on the form of housing loan is to restrict the credit unions. [More…]
This represents the Government’s opposition to credit unions. [More…]
It would make money available for housing because the credit unions have to lend at least$50,000 a year by way of housing loans and, if they are bigger organisations, 20% of their lending must be by way of housing loans, irrespective of the conditions of those loans. [More…]
Each refers to the limit of $50,000 to be placed on credit unions for housing loans. [More…]
I do not have much to add in explanation of why we seek the proposed amendments but 1 do wish to say that we have had consultations with the credit unions. [More…]
Senator Little said that we are not up lo dale with our information on this Bill or on its provisions which relate to credit unions. [More…]
I advise the Committee that representatives of the credit unions suggested to the Labor Party that it would be in the interests of both the credit unions and persons seeking loans covered by the Homes Savings Grant Act to delete the limit of $50,000 to enable credit unions to advance a certain amount of money in bridging finance. [More…]
We mentioned in the amendment we proposed that the limitation of $50,000 by way of housing loans made and undertaken by credit unions should be eliminated or reduced. [More…]
That is true, lt affects credit unions and their members. [More…]
One would think that the Government would welcome the participation of the credit unions in this type of legislation. [More…]
I may be wrong because I am not an authority on credit unions, but I have had discussions with a number of representatives of credit unions in Tasmania who have told me, when we have discussed this type of legislation, that it was their opinion that there was not a credit union in Tasmania which would be able to qualify under the conditions laid down in this legislation. [More…]
I suggest that the Government should appreciate the participation of the credit unions in this scheme and the benefits which may flow, not only to the credit unions themselves but also to the members because the office bearers and employees of the credit unions are interested only in giving their members service. [More…]
22nd and 23rd April - although our first amendment had been moved we had not been approached by the credit unions to bring forward an amendment lo the proposed legislation. [More…]
Before the debate on the Homes Savings Grant Bill resumed in this place we were approached by the credit unions to amend our amendment. [More…]
This is where Senator Little says that we are not in touch with the feelings and desires of the credit unions. [More…]
This is the reason why, after consultation with the credit unions, we brought forward our amendment lo the amendment! [More…]
It became a matter of which political party could get in first to gain the greatest advantage for the credit unions - not for themselves. [More…]
However, we did want to assist the credit unions. [More…]
We move the amendments now in Committee to get a wider participation of the credit unions in the scheme operated under this piece of legislation. [More…]
Senator Poke was probably right when he said that the credit unions canvassed all political parties. [More…]
Representatives of the credit unions came to me. [More…]
For Senator Poke’s information, the credit unions have not been out of touch with me since. [More…]
If the credit unions are big enough to do that they will probably reach the 15% proposed in > the clause and automatically would have the amount necessary for prescribed housing loans. [More…]
The Government has shown its good faith in reducing the original amount of the prescribed housing loan from $7,000 to $5,000, which, according to the credit unions, was the biggest bar to their participation in the scheme. [More…]
It includes a whole new field of credit unions as organisations that are acceptable for the purposes of the homes savings grant scheme. [More…]
I am confident that the Government will extend the scheme further if it proves necessary to include a greater number of credit unions. [More…]
Credit unions seek to have their savings accepted for the purposes of the homes savings grant scheme so that their members can share in the benefits of the scheme. [More…]
It is for this reason, 1 believe, that credit unions should be fairly asked to understand the scheme’s objectives, which have been discussed tonight. [More…]
Credit unions are asked to contribute to the scheme by making loans available for housing, lt is also reasonable to ask the credit unions, if they are willing to contribute to the scheme’s objectives, to do so in a practical way. [More…]
This is a practical way in which credit unions could make loans available for housing and so achieve the requirement. [More…]
The $50,000 barrier - and I call it a barrier - which has been placed on credit unions is not a condition that is imposed for 1 year. [More…]
But it must be realised that credit unions must maintain this rate for, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 years. [More…]
That is beyond the ability of the small credit unions. [More…]
I say again that the Government’s action, together with that of the DLP, denies justice to the small credit unions that are providing a service to the community. [More…]
We would be prepared to accept the proposition which was indicated in passing by Senator Little, that perhaps this clause ought to indicate that 15% of the amount of money held by credit unions should be channelled in the direction of housing or prescribed housing. [More…]
If this were done, having made credit unions eligible to accept the savings of youngsters, the credit unions would grow rapidly to the stage at which they would be lending $50,000 a year for housing. [More…]
But by imposing this $50,000 barrier, it excludes the smaller credit unions and, what is more, it prohibits them from ever reaching the position where they would be able to lend $50,000 a year for housing. [More…]
By doing this 1 think we would show that we properly appreciate the role of credit unions in our society, and it would place no limitation on them, if you invest in a credit union you will find that its lending is directed in some means towards the home. [More…]
I have said this before and 1 say it again: Funds of credit unions are not used for the establishment of businesses or profit making concerns. [More…]
In the debate on the motion for the second reading of the Bill it was said that there were many credit unions whose 20% of tendings to their members was in excess of $50,000. [More…]
Sub-paragraph (iii) will have no application to those credit unions. [More…]
The smaller credit unions whose 20% of tendings did not exceed $50,000 will have to lend a bigger percentage to qualify under the scheme. [More…]
Again it is an attack upon the small credit unions. [More…]
No matter what percentage they lend or how many loans they make, the small credit unions cannot participate under this scheme. [More…]
These sub-paragraphs which are sought to be deleted have no purpose other than keeping out of the scheme the small credit unions. [More…]
The Australian Labor Party thinks the credit unions play an essential part in contributing to home building and that they should be in the scheme. [More…]
We think we owe an obligation to the small credit unions. [More…]
He seemed to think that now is the time to consider whether we should sacrifice the Bill by insisting on this principle for the protection of small credit unions. [More…]
At present, whatever the other benefits of the Bill are, we think that it could be delayed a further 3 weeks so that small credit unions, which are deliberately excluded by the subparagraphs, which are sought to be deleted, can be included in the scheme. [More…]
When one looks at events which have been occurring in the past year or two one can understand how certain trade unions which have stuck to arbitration are becoming disillusioned with it, particularly when they see how the unions which do not stick to arbitration but which threaten or use strike action appear to be profiting thereby. [More…]
In my view they chased a fantasy because the object of the meeting was to form a farmers union and affiliate with the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
The Government listens to representations by the Returned Services League, the spokesman for all ex-service organisations; the Australian Council of Trade Unions for the trade union movement; the Associated Chambers of Commerce for the business people; and the Associated Chambers of Manufactures for the manufacturing interests. [More…]
In addition to the Governor-General and his party considerable attention was paid to extending an invitation to as representative a group as possible of persons representing Governments and Oppositions of All Australian Parliaments, trade unions and the customers of Railways of Australia. [More…]
In my association with the Australian Council of Trade Unions and various trade unions I cannot remember an occasion when a union has threatened industrial trouble because it was dissatisfied with the salary being paid to Mr Justice Kirby or Mr Justice Dunphy. [More…]
Before 1 do that, some honourable senators opposite have injected into the discussion - why I will never know - suggestions about trade unions. [More…]
Honourable senators opposite have said that trade unions are compulsory organisations. [More…]
Honourable senators opposite should not try to inject into the discussion something about trade unions because obviously they know nothing whatever about them. [More…]
Senator Milliner referred to trade unions. [More…]
The very reason why workers join trade unions - and I shall deal with the question of compulsion in a moment - is consideration for the welfare of themselves and their fellow workers, and also for their own families, because of industrial aspects. [More…]
I remind honourable senators that in the days of the friendly societies and the participation of trade unions in such organisations the members had some say in their administration. [More…]
We seek to put these funds on the same basis as other organisations such as trade unions. [More…]
Ever since the Bill was introduced in the Senate I have argued that the regulations controlling the funds should be the same as those controlling trade unions. [More…]
That the members of the Board be drawn, amongst others, from manufacturing, commerce, education, rural industry, trade unions, the National Standards Commission and the Standards Association of Australia. [More…]
not affiliated with other Australian unions represent. [More…]
In South Australia, according to the policy of the Trades and Labor Council, when a dispute occurs and it is reported to the Council, the Council calls a disputes committee together on which all unions involved in or likely to be affected by the dispute are represented equally. [More…]
As cement is an important item in the building industry, the Amalgamated Society of Carpenters and Joiners was included among the trade unions which comprised the disputes committee. [More…]
The Government already has under consideration at this time a number of suggestions from the Council of Commonwealth Public Service Organisations and also expects to receive suggestions from other sources such as the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
In 1967, an agreement was reached by a national conference, consisting of representatives of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, the Waterside Workers’ Federation, the Association of Employers of Waterside Labour, the Australian Stevedoring Industry Authority and the Department of Labour and National Service on a scheme for permanent employment in the stevedoring industry. [More…]
However, there can be no doubt that this Conference, under Mr Woodward’s capable chairmanship, has been one of the most successful exercises in co-operation between employers, unions and government in any industry, let alone this most difficult and volatile stevedoring industry, lt has brought about a significant change in employment relationships in the industry and it is largely because of its existence that the introduction of the revolutionary container shipping system to Australia has been possible without the industrial upheavals that have occurred in most other countries. [More…]
I refer to the irresponsible action of trade unions, supported by the Australian Labor Party, in placing a ban on the export of merino rams. [More…]
In view of the encouragement and support given by some members of the Victorian branch of the Australian Labor Party to the North Vietnamese, Vietcong and aggressive Communist imperialism, and acknowledging that China and Romania have purchased rams and that the Soviet Union has expressed interest in purchasing rams, will the Minister draw the attention of trade unions to the fact that the ban is opposed to the principle of solidarity of Communist powers expressed by some members of the Australian Labor Party and sections of the Australian trade union movement? [More…]
I do not think it would be right for me to draw the attention of trade, unions to the matter raised by the honourable senator. [More…]
They have more recently been the subject of long and searching discussions between the Minister for Labour and National Service (Mr Snedden) and the Attorney-General (Mr Hughes) and representatives of the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the National Employers Policy Committee. [More…]
In framing the legislation, account was taken of ACTU submissions that penalties imposed by the Industrial Court under seclion 111 could be accentuated because, on occasions, the Court imposed fines for each day on which contempt was found lo have been committed; unions could be fined up to $1,000 a day. [More…]
When these Bills were introduced the trade unions - and I refer to the Australian Council of Trade Unions, the Council of Commonwealth Public Service Associations and the Australian Council of Salaried and Professional Associations - took the time to analyse the code and they very shortly came down with very strong criticism of what it contained. [More…]
Whilst we do not oppose this’ Bill we put it to the Government that it should not have relied, as it is purposed to have done, on letters from the Australian Council of Trade Unions, the Council of Commonwealth Public Service Organisations, the Australian Council of Salaried and Professional Associations and other unions. [More…]
As one would recognise from looking at the Bill, which makes very complicated prescriptions, it is obviously necessary to consult lawyers and specialists in workers’ compensation, which is what the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the Commonwealth Council of Public Service Organisations have done to a large extern. [More…]
As honourable senators have no doubt read in the daily Press, the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the Commonwealth Council of Public Service Organisations have publicised strong criticism of the code and the proposed increased rates. [More…]
The Government should take note of the proposal carried by the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
I have a communication from the Secretary of the Australian Council of Trade Unions dated 30th April 1970, which reads: [More…]
The ACTU affiliated unions with members affected by the Commonwealth Workers’ Compensation Acts, met in Sydney on 23rd April 1970, and the decision of the unions is as follows: [More…]
This meeting of unions representing a great proportion of workers and dependants affected by the Commonwealth Compensation Acts expresses its strongest opposition lo the pernicious proposals in the Bills for new Commonwealth Acts as submitted by the Commonwealth Government and we urge the ACTU Officers to call on the Federal Parliamentary Labor Committee to co-ordinate wilh the ACTU to secure trade union objectives for adequate workers compensation. [More…]
At ne present time they are conferring with the Labor Party and the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
The Australian Council of Trade Unions has said for many years - and in one or two States the principle has been applied - that a man who is injured at work should receive what he was earning before the accident. [More…]
I trust that the comments 1 have made about conferences with the unions who represent about 400,000 employees will take place soon and that the Government will not rely only upon representations made to it in the form of letters. [More…]
It should hold a conference with the unions to consider the sorts of problems which will arise. [More…]
1 would say to those who are interested in the passing of good Commonwealth workers’ compensation legislation that although we have had representations at a personal level from trade unions, some of which are affiliated with my Party and some of which are not, we have heard nothing from the official trade union movement throughout Australia, in view of the situation that exists in ‘his chamber we would like it to be known that we would prefer to hear officially from the trade union movement so that we may know its views before considering further amendments to the Act. [More…]
and copies of the Opposition’s proposal in that form are already in the hands of interested organisations, including the Secretary of the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
Will they become the subject of private arbitration arrangements such as exist at the present time between the Authority and the unions - His Honour Mr Justice Taylor, the former President of the New South Wales Industrial Commission, has done an outstanding job in maintaining industrial peace and harmony on the Snowy Mountains project - or will the workers who are transferred from the Authority of the Snowy Mountains Council become the subject of Public Service arbitration determinations? [More…]
The smalt concerns such as friendly societies and credit unions are required to pay this kind of duly, not only when members put money in but also when they take it out. [More…]
They were the representatives of the Government, Mr Woodward, and representatives of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, the Waterside Workers Federation and the Department of Labour and National Service. [More…]
Some people say that the National Stevedoring Industry Conference simply brought down a recommendation to suit the unions, but it did more than that. [More…]
The Australian Labor Party is very concerned that such an important piece of legislation as the Conciliation and Arbitration Bill should be dealt with in the dying hours of a session of the Parliament, lt is of very great importance to the economy and the unions, and it is of great concern to the employers. [More…]
Because of the protest made about the legislation when it was debated in the other place the Australian Labor Party hoped that the Government might withdraw the legislation and convert the proposal lo a tripartite discussion with employers and the Austraiian Council of Trade Unions to evaluate the recommendations which the Government had proposed. [More…]
The Australian Labor Parly feels that the legislation will not be satisfactory in providing the cure which the unions want. [More…]
Another very important point is that if the Government proposal to amend section 109 is carried, a presidential member of the Commission will have the opportunity of considering whether he should certify that some action should be taken against unions. [More…]
Many unions have been fined heavily in lhe.se circumstances. [More…]
Honourable senators will remember that a large part of the modern examination of the sanctions provisions arises from the fines which were imposed upon the Tramways Union and in the so-called O’Shea case as a result of which some S68.O0O in fines has not yet been paid by a number of unions for offences under the Act. [More…]
To be quite frank, 1 do not think the unions will ever pay the fines. [More…]
The employers and unions have shown, through the new agreements between them, a willingness to avoid trouble. [More…]
He said that from that time on - 1 agreed with him at the time - we would have a situation where relations between the employers and unions would worsen. [More…]
that in the national interest, it is essential thai there be an effective and respected Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration system: that the decision given by the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Commission in the professional engineers case on 3rd December 1969, which has followed lo the letter in both magnitude and dale of operation the salary increases for engineers employed in the Commonwealth Public Service which were announced before he arbitration hearing had concluded, has given rise lo imer dismay and has indicated a lack of independent assessment; that recent statements made al the Australian Workers Union Conference and by the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions have indicated disillusionment with the federal arbitration system and have particularly referred lo the professional engineers case: that an unacceptable arbitration system must inevitably lead lo industrial unrest throughout Australia. [More…]
If the economy is unbalanced, if the thrust is upon workers in relation to COWS then there will be much more activity from the unions to establish a system which will give them belter conditions. [More…]
In view of this basic agreement between the national employers, the trade union movement and the Government which established these principles for guidance in avoiding and settling industrial disputes, it was to be expected that the Government would go on to discuss with them the kind of alterations to the Conciliation and Arbitration Act that might be necessary to avoid the continuing complaints of unions about the punitive clauses in the Act. [More…]
We come back to the question as to whether or not the industrial system in Australia is going to be the system we have seen operating over the years, in which very savage penalties have been imposed on trade unions for taking action which was largely related to wages, margins and conditions. [More…]
So we have a system under which the courts have accepted that they prescribe only minimum wages and that employers and unions can argue about higher rates. [More…]
It would seem lo me that the most satisfactory way to deal with the people who are out to upset the economy or to create disputes in the work force is lo provide an arbitration system which will allow unions and workers to get the maximum from the economy. [More…]
The unions are pushing for improved conditions in a situation where the economy is able to grant them. [More…]
This makes an interesting comparison with the penalties and costs initialed on the metal trades unions in February 1968 in actions which stemmed from attempts by those unions to gain some advantage from the conditions prevailing following the unfortunate decision of the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission to reject the application by the unions for a basic wage increase. [More…]
The unions on which penalties were imposed included the major unions like the Amalgamated Engineering Union, Australasian Society of Engineers, Boilermakers and Blacksmiths Society of Australia. [More…]
Sheet Metal Working, Agricultural Implement and Stove Making Industrial Union of Australia, Federated Ironworkers Association of Australia and many mining unions. [More…]
The penalties had lo be paid by the metal workers and members of many unions who were only incidentally affected by the actions taken. [More…]
The fines imposed on the group of unions totalled $26,680, plus costs of $15,892. [More…]
Mr Woodward, Q.C., in the July edition of ‘Industrial Relations’ said that during 1968-69 fines totalling about $100,000 were imposed on unions. [More…]
We would have accepted that suggestion had it been left on that basis, but the Government has included in the Conciliation and Arbitration Act a number of new provisions which make it mandatory that penalties shall be imposed on unions in circumstances where a bans clause might be included in an award by a presidential member, and where an award already contains a bans clause. [More…]
I believe that the system has been good for Australia and has conferred many benefits upon the trade unions. [More…]
An examination of the situation shows that the arbitration system has been a big factor in encouraging membership of trade unions to such a degree that membership of trade unions in Australia as averaged against the population was the highest in the world. [More…]
The arbitration system has conferred a benefit also in that it has protected the small unions, which, in a system of collective bargaining, will always lack industrial power and are therefore at a serious disadvantage. [More…]
All those factors made the Australian trade unions strongly in favour of the arbitration system. [More…]
Although the people who were associated with the Communist Party in the 1930s and 1940s strongly attacked the arbitration system at Australian Council of Trade Unions congresses, a number of which I attended, any motions that they moved with the endeavour of severing the Australian Council of Trade Unions from the arbitration system were always soundly defeated. [More…]
In recent years we have seen a steady drift in the direction of direct action and a steady drift away from that old loyalty to the arbitration system which was a characteristic of Australian trade unions. [More…]
I mentioned the serious anomaly in regard to the question of costs and day to day penalties that were being inflicted on unions. [More…]
Obviously, since then, there have been discussions - apparently long drawn out discussions - between the trade unions and the national body of the employers organisation. [More…]
It has been suggested that the proposals in the Bill do not meet the wishes of the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
I have the feeling that the provisions might have met the wishes of the Australian Council of Trade Unions a couple of years ago. [More…]
I have spoken to representatives of unions affiliated with the Australian Council of Trade Unions who have said that the provisions do not meet the wishes of that organisation. [More…]
There have been long discussions between the national employers committee and the Australian Council of Trade Unions at which they worked out suggestions which, I emphasise, neither side endorsed but which they were prepared to submit to their own bodies. [More…]
I have been very interested, for example, in a new idea which has been adopted in respect of New Zealand unions. [More…]
There are serious faults on the part of trade unions in respect of the number of cases where industrial disputes occur on demarcation issues. [More…]
Fundamentally the fault lies with a number of trade unions which, on demarcation issues, seem to be unable to get together. [More…]
The present system, with its delays, is a straight out inducement to trade unions not to go to arbitration but to resort to direct action. [More…]
I am pessimistic about the future of the arbitration system because I believe that trade unions are being led to believe that if they resort to direct action people will try to appease them but that if they go to arbitration their claims will be delayed. [More…]
Under those circumstances, what will happen other than that the unions will resort to collective bargaining? [More…]
During that period all kinds of complaints were made by unions because they could not get before the court because of the delays produced by thai situation. [More…]
should examine it with the employers and the trade unions and should produce something infinitely better than this Bill. [More…]
For approximately 65 years we have had an arbitration system which was largely the result of consideration, effort and work by the original Labor Party and the unions and unionists who founded that Party. [More…]
By a middle area’ I mean the area in which we have a basic award that is imposed through an arbitration system and on top of that we have the ability for a group of employers and a group of unions to bargain collectively for particular benefits in the area in which they are mutually concerned. [More…]
The Australian Council of Trade Unions believes in some sort of arbitration system; but no-one is quite sure what Mr Hawke, its current President, really believes in this area. [More…]
The Bill was initiated by the Government after long consideration, many discussions and prolonged negotiations with the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the National Employers Policy Committee, that is, the employers’ body. [More…]
Amongst those reasons was the fact that the existing penal clause provisions worked unfairly against the unions, lt was said that the bans clauses, which are part of the operation of the existing penal clauses, could operate indefinitely with a wide application: that these bans clauses and the orders which were made when a bans clause was not observed could be made in relation to one set of circumstances when originally the bans clause was imposed with regard to another set of circumstances: and that the penal clauses provisions did nol allow the merits of matters lo be considered when actions under those provisions were being heard, lt was further urged that the use of these sanctions could have an exacerbating effect on a dispute and finally that contempt proceedings in conn were not an appropriate form of sanction. [More…]
if a certain industry has a history of industrial disruption and apparent refusal by unions - or, if it matters, by an employer - to observe the provisions of an award which has been made, it has been open to a party to apply to a conciliation commissioner lo have inserted in that award a clause which would enjoin any party from acting in such a way that amounted to a breach of that award. [More…]
But equally there were a lot of unions which were not concerned enough to put their own house in order. [More…]
It endeavours to meet the objections which unions have raised and I think the Government has gone out of its way to meet objections raised by the ACTU and others who support the ACTU case. [More…]
If the certificate is given then, of course, application may be made not for an injunction as was the pre-existing position but to a court for penalties and the provision under which this application is made is the same provision as that under which for generations unions have taken employers to court for failure to observe provisions of an award. [More…]
It is this same provision which may be availed of by the employers - if they want to avail themselves of the provisions of the Act - to have penalties imposed upon unions for a breach of their awards. [More…]
At the moment we have a dispute going on between a couple of postal unions and the Public Service Board, and here in Canberra there is a dispute between nurses and a hospital board. [More…]
Mr Temporary Chairman, as has been stated in speeches by myself and by members of the Opposition and as has been long stated by the trade union movement, the Australian Council of Trade Unions and by declarations of the Australian Labor Party we are opposed to section 109 of the Conciliation and Arbitration Act and we believe that this section should be repealed. [More…]
The fact remains, however, that the Government’s insistence on imposing sanctions and penal provisions on trade unions will not resolve the crisis which developed last year. [More…]
I think it would be as well for me to point out to the Government at this late stage that not only has the Australian Council of Trade Unions rejected the imposition of the penal provisions but also the white collar organisations, namely the Australian Council of Salaried and Professional Associations and the High Council of Commonwealth Public Service Organisations, have recently joined forces with the ACTU. [More…]
The Government has come a certain way towards meeting the unions in this matter. [More…]
If the unions have been fined so many thousands of dollars under section 109 and have not paid the fines lo date we are only fooling ourselves to think they will pay them in the future. [More…]
lt has met the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the employers. [More…]
As we know there are many unions, particularly the metal trades unions, that today owe penalties, that have been imposed. [More…]
The Trades and Labour Council, which was successful in stopping the collection of the money from the Tramways Union and possible attempts to collect from other unions, which was admitted by the Minister when we held negotiations, cannot now say that it is defeated on the question or that Clarrie O’Shea was greater than the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
Rather than this question being settled between the Government and the unions, there will bc a continuous campaign because of this festering sore. [More…]
So with those sections being deleted from the Act, it is obvious to me that the Government is adopting a very obstinate attitude by trying to maintain that at least it had its own way and would not delete from the Act what had been suggested by the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the other unions. [More…]
In 1968 the court applied the penalties under section 111 on at least 165 occasions against the unions for alleged failure to observe an order of the court made under section 109(1.) [More…]
On each occasion the court imposed very severe penalties and ordered the unions to pay the costs of both sides. [More…]
Although in 1968 the unions were fined on at least 165 times, the employer organisations were before the court on only 5 occasions for breaches of the Act. [More…]
We do not accept that this Bill is a result of negotiations between the Australian Council of Trade Unions, the employer organisations and the Government, because the provisions of the Bill are not acceptable to the trade union movement and never will be. [More…]
Senator Greenwood mentioned earlier tonight that the action adopted by the unions in taking direct action is not the proper approach for getting industrial wage justice. [More…]
The amendments put forward by Senator Bishop to delete section 109 and the other provision will mean that any fines previously imposed on the unions will have no effect. [More…]
I understand that fines amounting to $38,000 are owing by the unions. [More…]
A fairly snide reference was made tonight to Mr Hawke, the new President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
However, when the ACTU decided to advise the unions not to pay any fines imposed under the Conciliation and Arbitration Act the President of that body was Mr Albert Monk. [More…]
I am sure that the people who offer the criticism of Mr Hawke that he is too militant would not say the same of Mr Albert Monk, lt has been suggested tonight that the influence of Mr Hawke has caused the unions to adopt their present policy towards the payment of fines. [More…]
Leaders of trade unions are fined. [More…]
Honourable senators will find in the records that when Sir Henry was with the Department of Labour and National Service in 1967 he warned the Government that the white collar unions were becoming restive and that there would be serious difficulties because those unions knew that they were going to face the same consequences as the blue collar workers. [More…]
It was feared that they would be used as a weapon against the trade unions, and that fear was realised. [More…]
There were legitimate industrial grievances and the merits were on the side of the unions, but because of the existence of the bans clause together with the contempt power there was the opportunity for some employer organisations to go straight into court and obtain injunctions and then have fines imposed on the unions. [More…]
As a result of these multiple proceedings which were brought, very heavy orders for costs were made against the unions concerned. [More…]
I think the unions are quite justified in their complaints. [More…]
The same applies to other trade unions. [More…]
If in fact (here has been an abuse of these proceedings in the past - that is generally conceded and is a pretty charitable way of stating the position - that abuse has led to an awareness that this law should be changed and the trade unions have been driven to a position in which they say that they are finished with this provision and that they will not pay the fines and costs. [More…]
1 believe that there is a very strong case, not only from the point of view of the trade unions but also in the national interest, for seeing that the slate is cleaned and thai we do not leave a situation in which this provision can be used to provoke an industrial upsurge. [More…]
The position of the trade unions has been made clear. [More…]
We cooperated with the Government in relation to other important matters and now we are dealing with an industrial measure of extreme importance to the Australian Council of Trade Unions, to the employers and to other people, and it is not right thatthis important matter should be dealt with at this hour of the morning. [More…]
The Government is being aided and abetted in its attempt to stifle democracy, to tread the trade unions into the dust and to treat with contempt the laws of this country. [More…]
Then we have had that garrulous little group led by 2 aging ulcer-ridden leaders continually interrupting the debate and continually voting with the Government in order to bash the trade unions and every member of trade unions into the ground. [More…]
If the Government is to do the right thing by Australia, by the trade unions and by the millions of members of trade unions, it will do as we request. [More…]
This type of provision has been opposed even by the most conservative American trade unions, including the International Association of Machinists, a conservative craft union and a union which by its policy - seeing that the question of North Vietnam has been raised- [More…]
If there is to be conciliation, if there is to be industrial peace and if we are to accept the Government’s proposition that it wants to have industrial peace - I do not believe that it wants industrial peace at all; I bel’ieve that it wants to have penal powers to impose on the unions whether that will produce peace or not - then surely one of the essential requirements of industrial peace is conciliation. [More…]
lt is notorious that he was very active at one time in actions against trade unions. [More…]
As I said when we were considering clause 13, while we have the continuation of the right to fine and prosecute for the collection of fines imposed on previous occasions there will be animosity from the trade unions, which will continue the fight. [More…]
The Australian Council of Trade Unions requested that the penal provisions contained in sections 109 and 111 be deleted. [More…]
For some months thc Government has been considering proposals made by the Australian Council of Trade Unions relating to the sanctions provisions contained in sections ‘09 and 1 1 1 of the Conciliation and Arbitration Aci. [More…]
The Government’s attitude to this problem should bc seen against the background causes of a large number of recent industrial disputes, lt is deeply concerned with the irresponsible behaviour of unofficial groups in factories and plants which are usurping the legitimate functions of trade unions particularly on mailers concerning wage rales and conditions of employment covered by awards and agreements The ACTU is just as concerned about this problem. [More…]
I have also frequently referred to the blatant attempts by some unions to exploit the severe labour shortage, especially the shortage of skilled workers. [More…]
Unions have the right, even the duly, to seek lo improve the wages and conditions of employment of their members. [More…]
This is particularly so in a community where there is highly developed machinery for the determination of wages and conditions of employment and where the unions use that system to secure the maximum benefits for their members. [More…]
Frequently unions have doubts about an employer’s intentions and it is only when the employer resorts to section 109 procedures that the union realises thai the employer meant what he said. [More…]
Indeed, employers used the penal powers quite capriciously in an endeavour finally to break the trade union movement - not only the craft unions but also the professional unions. [More…]
I rise to support the remarks of the Leader of the Opposition when Senator Wright explained to Senator Cavanagh, as a result of Senator Cavanagh’s interrogation, that section 109 a is being repealed because of the objection to it over the years by the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the Australian Labor Party. [More…]
As Senator Murphy said, not only the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the Australian Labor Party have been opposed to the provisions of this legislation. [More…]
I was saying, Mr Temporary Chairman, that it is not only the Australian Labor Party and the Australian Council of Trade Unions that have been lodging objection to this type of legislation. [More…]
Had the Government heeded the advice of Senator Wright at that stage this section would not have io be repealed today at the request of the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the Labor movement. [More…]
It is not only the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the Labor movement which have lodged objections and queried the authenticity of this section over the years but also the present Minister for Works when the Bill was before the House in 1965. [More…]
Earlier I mentioned that not only were craft unions involved so far as this section was concerned but also professional organisations and industrial unions. [More…]
The association said that the reaction of its members had been one of overwhelming hostility to the existence of sections in an Act which permitted the employers to drain the resources of the trade unions through a move which might be based on mere apprehension. [More…]
It was one of the matters raised by the Australian Council of Trade Unions when it approached the Government in 1964 and asked for sections 111 and 114 to be repealed. [More…]
1 quickly restate our argument by saying that under that section heavy penalties have been imposed on the trade unions, but at the same time very minor penalties have been imposed on employers. [More…]
In addition to the fines of about 560,000 imposed on trade unions during the 1968 metal trades actions, Mr Woodward Q.C. [More…]
has stated that in his opinion fines totalling $100,000 were imposed on the unions in 1968-69. [More…]
In regard to the penal clauses in particular, I suppose these awards of costs have been the aspect that has maddened the trade unions more than anything else because of their unjust record. [More…]
In fact, I would say that the way in which costs have been awarded against the unions has been scandalous. [More…]
The bodies concerned with this legislation are principally public bodies - trade unions and organisations of employers - created, as was said by Mr Justice Isaacs in the Australian Shipbuilding Board case, for great public purposes. [More…]
If the trade unions have to go before the Commission, the Registrar or the Court they will pay their own way. [More…]
But trade unions are engaged daily before tribunals and these orders should not be made. [More…]
This is a very important matter because in its practical application the unions or for that matter the employers organisations often take to the High Court questions challenging the awards or orders of the Commission. [More…]
Senator Murphy referred to the second reading speech which was made in the other place by the Minister for Labour and National Service (Mr Snedden), who said that the usual provision would be modified in favour of the unions to give them an unusual benefit whereby, in proceedings tinder sections 109 and 111, the costs of a Queen’s Counsel or a second counsel would not be allowed unless the tribunal before which the proceedings are heard specifically directs that the nature of the case warrants the employment of such counsel. [More…]
-I appreciate that that happens, but there is less democracy for the trade unions under this Bill. [More…]
We have seen a performance again tonight by the Minister for Works (Senator Wright) who has shown throughout his whole career a violent hatred of the trade union movement and of members of trade unions. [More…]
The sort of conciliation which he has shown tonight is the sort of conciliation that he wants to see shown towards the trade unions in their dealings with the employers. [More…]
But there are honourable senators on this side of the House who have a close association with the ACTU - which is an important party to proceedings relating to the Conciliation and Arbitration Bill - and who have a contribution to make to this debate as have people who are officials of trade unions and people who have had a long association with and speak for the ACTU. [More…]
Mr Aarons who, I think, is Secretary of the Communist Party, indicated in the ‘Tribune’ in the early part of 1969 that the pattern in 1969 would be an escalation of strike activity throughout the union movement; a militant attack on the arbitration system aimed at its destruction; special emphasis on white collar union involvement in strike action; and the embroiling of moderate unions in joint action. [More…]
It was suggested that an industrial showdown was to take place that year with the ultimate objective of gaining control of the executive of the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
I do not say he was elected by the members of the Union because, as I understand the position, a fraction of the members of certain unions vote in the election of office bearers. [More…]
If we could persuade the bulk or the majority of the members of unions, or all of them to vote for their office bearers we would have a better idea of the thinking of these bodies, but this is a difficult task. [More…]
The editorial refers to adoption by the executive of the Australian Council of Trade Unions of the new disputes procedures which were formulated by the Government. [More…]
The editorial castigated these new methods for settling industrial disputes, describing them as political treachery, lt said that all workers will repudiate the Government’s proposition, which the editorial described as being part of the monopoly capitalist class attack on the workers, and said that they will repudiate the trade union leaders and trade unions who subscribe to them. [More…]
Unions which observe the system have to be supported, and those which would try lo overthrow the system, have to be met in only one way, that is, with the recognition that they are opposing the law and what the Parliament has decreed, and that law, if it is worth having, has to be enforced. [More…]
1 assure Senator Greenwood that none of the top echelons of the unions is subjected to any MarxistLeninist influence. [More…]
We resume as from midnight tonight, and avail ourselves of the offer by the Unions to negotiate on the question. [More…]
There has been a lot of talk about militancy and the ability of the metal and building trades unions to get action. [More…]
I can assure Mr Bondy if he is listening tonight - tomorrow he may read what I have said - that as far as I am concerned, if unions have difficult areas to organise, I will take action. [More…]
There may be rare cases where 2 unions claim a particular job and unemployment is not a serious factor. [More…]
Whether it is the craft unions or industrial unions, it is inevitable that these clashes between employer and employee wm occur. [More…]
But the point I am making is that unions that are not always involved in these disputes are getting high batting averages, as it were. [More…]
I concede the fact that trade unions want all they can get out of an award. [More…]
I am not inciting people but 1 could say to the unions that are regarded as moderate, such as the Shop Assistants Union: “You parade banners at the airport and say the Minister for Civil Aviation will do nothing’. [More…]
If when we come back in August this is not working very well, we will find the 3 unions to which 1 have referred and which are moderate in their outlook will nol continue to take this sort of thing, because it is not good enough. [More…]
Costs against the unions amounting to $53,000 were awarded in 93 cases. [More…]
Answers given to questions asked in the other place show that in the period 1957 to 1968 the metal trades group of unions was fined a total of $167,310 on 601 charges; the transport group $82,100 on 126 charges; the building group $2,200 on 6 charges; and so on down to lesser amounts. [More…]
The trade unions could not exert their power as a movement without taking action. [More…]
He was placed in gaol and spontaneously the majority of trade unions throughout Australia went on strike. [More…]
No attempt has been made to collect other fines imposed on the unions. [More…]
While the Act slates that fines are still payable, everyone knows that payment will not be insisted upon, lt is realised that the solidarity of the trade union movement and its power are such that the unions are finished with the penal provisions of the Act. [More…]
On 6th November 1969 Mr Bury, when Minister for Labour and National Service, made public a letter that he had sent to Mr Monk, President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, and to the Secretary of the National Employers Policy Committee. [More…]
It is considered that whatever procedures are adopted for avoiding and settling disputes they are not likely to be fully effective unless they are based on acceptance of the need for effective communication and consultation between employers and unions. [More…]
This will prolong disputes and it will absolve from prosecution the big, strong unions. [More…]
But it will not prevent the prosecution of weak unions or of individual members of weak unions, because such prosecutions would not be against the terms of settlement and would not prevent the settlement of the dispute. [More…]
It is necessary for the unions to show their solidarity and to insist that one of the terms of settlement is that a certificate will not be given, otherwise this provision will have the effect of prolonging disputes and of sacrificing a small section of the unions and of protecting the privileged, large unions. [More…]
He was known to attack unions as dupes, but at the same time he argued fervently for equal pay for female public servants. [More…]
It reported that Mr Hawke, President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, had declared that his organisation would strongly resist further efforts by employers and the Government to use arguments about the cost-price squeeze. [More…]
The major part of that time was devoted to reading to the Senate extracts from statements made by the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, Mr Hawke, when he declared that the trade union movement would strongly resist efforts by employers to use arguments on the cost price squeeze to stop workers getting wage justice. [More…]
In typical fashion and according to conservative thinking the Minister seemed to adopt the attitude that when something goes wrong with one section of the community or some economic area the blame has to be cast on the Australian Council of Trade Unions or the working class generally because of their attempts to get wage justice from the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Commission. [More…]
Are they marching because of statements made by the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions? [More…]
I have the greatest of sympathy and respect for the wage earner but I want to say that the militant trade unions - unfortunately there are many of them in this country - are endeavouring the whole time to increase the wage structure at a far greater rate than the increase in the gross national product, which does encourage inflation. [More…]
We read that last week the Premier of New South Wales criticised suggestions - in some cases they were more than suggestions - that some trade unions were fighting for a 35-hour week. [More…]
The President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, Mr Hawke, declared that his organisation would strongly resist further efforts by employers and the Government to use arguments about the cost/price squeeze and its impact on farmers as a reason to hold down wage levels. [More…]
As regards the call by the Australian Council of Trade Unions for a strike over the Budget, I cannot see how this could advance either the general welfare of the community or the welfare of that section of the community represented by the ACTU. [More…]
The unions may have different criteria from the Regulations and Ordinances Committee. [More…]
So that it would be common knowledge, even to Mr Hawke and the Australian Council of Trade Unions, that the Leader of the Opposition will be making his speech on the Budget tonight. [More…]
The Leader of the Government in the Senate suggested that the Australian Council of Trade Unions should be criticised because the rallies had nothing to do with employment. [More…]
Does the Leader of the Government in the Senate acknowledge that any political decision by the Government which reduces the purchasing power of wages and salaries received by employees and consequently reduces their standards of living is a matter of concern to the trade union movement and is a matter upon which the unions are entitled to take action to protect their interests? [More…]
In spite of calls by unions and certain political parties for workers to stop work for disruptive strikes, rallies and every other device which disrupts industry, has not this antiSocialist Government maintained a world low in unemployment? [More…]
The real threat to our Australian way of life is here inside this country - the destruction of our living standards, the intimidation of our trade unions and the intimidation of all those people who dare to speak against the rotten, corrupt war in Vietnam which every day increasing evidence is indicating we are losing. [More…]
It ought to be noted that he says: ‘Pressurised by industrial unions’. [More…]
In this community we have workers organised into trade unions which are trying to do their best to obtain justice for those workers. [More…]
Union organisers have admitted publicly their disappointment at the response to the call which was made by the Australian Council of Trade Unions to hold nationwide stop work meetings. [More…]
Perhaps the Opposition is prepared to do this; perhaps the Australian Council of Trade Unions is prepared to do this. [More…]
It came from the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
The white collar unions also put advertisements in the Press and brought out some very good documentation. [More…]
It feels that it is not here to govern for the ordinary common man and it is cheek on the part of the unions to come forward and put documents before the Government. [More…]
The Australian Council of Trade Unions is systematically extracting greater and greater rates of pay, allowances, overtime and overaward payments from employers. [More…]
He said that we should have a look at the submissions of the Australian Council of Trade Unions on this matter. [More…]
The emotional and hysterical screaming that has been indulged in by certain people in the unions and in the Australian Labor Party in relation to this subject is most unfortunate. [More…]
But not one honourable senator opposite has done anything but, in his embarrassment, try to pass the blame for the public’s opinion of the Government from the Government to the Australian Council of Trade Unions because it has engaged in political demonstrations. [More…]
The trade unions have been fighting for wage increases for their members, and only now, despite Federal Government opposition, have they established their right to have the profits of a company examined for the purpose of fixing wages. [More…]
I suggest that it would be a particularly good idea if the Minister brought into consultation the unions and the employers to ascertain whether the printing industry is being geared tq the 1970s. [More…]
1 believe that fruitful discussions could be held if the unions, the employers associations and the Minister were to meet on this aspect. [More…]
I hope that the Minister will bring into consultation with him the unions and the employers to ensure that the industry is gearing itself for the 1970s. [More…]
There have been protests from the Australian Council of Trade Unions, the pensioners’ association, the manufacturers’ association and the wine industry. [More…]
This is a matter of concern to the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
The section of the work force represented by the Australian Council of Trade Unions is to receive a 10 per cent reduction in income tax. [More…]
I refer to the emergence of a new President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
I am the first to say that I support trade unions. [More…]
The President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, Mr Hawke, declared that his organisation would strongly resist further efforts by employers and the Government to use arguments about the cost/price squeeze and its impact on farmers as a reason to hold down wage levels. [More…]
The small numbers who went out in protest showed clearly that people were not prepared to accept this blatant attempt by the leader of the Australian Council of Trade Unions to oppose parliamentary democracy, and this was basically what Mr Hawke was doing. [More…]
The plain fact of the matter is that when one equates the Australian Council of Trade Unions economic demands with the Budget one finds that people feel they have been tricked. [More…]
I, backed up by the unions, put the viewpoint to the Director-General of Taxation that these people should be able to obtain some taxation concession. [More…]
In dealing with trade unions I recall a very illustrious member of this Parliament, Captain Sam Benson. [More…]
Honourable senators opposite look for militancy and when the trade unions step out of line they want to quote the provisions of the Grimes Act. [More…]
I would not mind so much if Senator Young, Senator Laucke or Senator Maunsell would say: ‘We do not agree with trade unions but they are no worse than the rich and greedy shipping companies’. [More…]
The Government has in a very limited fashion expanded the Australian National Line but this was done only because people like Senator Bishop and the ACTU and the maritime unions have been hammering the Government for the last 10 years on this matter. [More…]
Regardless of what honourable senators opposite may think about the terrible man who is the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions - Bob Hawke - the plain fact is that he has taken the oil industry on in relation to its capacity to pay. [More…]
In their contributions in support of the Budget most honourable senators on the Government side have criticised the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions claiming that he organised employees and initially called a strike last week in protest against the Budget. [More…]
If a claim like this can be rejected in mid-1970 can (he unions be expected to show confidence in the system? [More…]
unions will jeopardise what they consider lo be vital interests by approaching the commission? [More…]
Although this was supported by the Commonwealth Government in 1936, for 34 years the Government still had done nothing to implement the decision of the International Labour Conference until a strong campaign was initiated by (he Australian Council of Trade Unions and supported by the Australian Workers Union in regard to pastoral workers. [More…]
United militant action by unions to implement the International Labour Conference decision for a 40-hour week was ultimately recognised by the New South Wales Labor Government which introduced legislation to give all workers under State awards a 40-hour week as from 1st July 1947. [More…]
After a prolonged hearing and the usual unnecessary delays the Commonwealth Industrial Court delivered judgment on 8th September 1947 granting the unions’ claim for a 40-hour standard working week. [More…]
What- ever one may say about demonstrations - my friend Senator Webster interjected tonight when Senator Cameron was speaking about the demonstration organised by the Australian Council of Trade Unions in protest against the Budget - there is no doubt that people are entitled to protest. [More…]
If we are to seek a basis for the problems which exist in our great primary industries or for the problems which are very evident in the business sector and which are expressed in the very many disruptive actions of unions, then it is to be found in the rate of inflation that we are experiencing. [More…]
When there is a demand for labour we find that unions and employees demand higher wages. [More…]
One matter which 1 thought was regrettable in the weeks preceding the formulation of the Budget was the attempt to involve trade unions and professional organisations in a political campaign against the Budget. [More…]
I make it clear that I. with everybody in trade unions and professional organisations, am seeking to improve the working conditions of employees. [More…]
When this Budget was first brought down it was reported in the Press and the Australian Council of Trade Unions called for at least a stoppage or a demonstration. [More…]
If the arbitration system as we know it in this country is to be bypassed and repeatedly is to give way to tactics adopted by the militant trade unions, I wonder what our ultimate future will be. [More…]
One is Mr Bob Hawke of the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
One knows very well where the Senator Greenwoods and Senator McManuses would have stood had they been in the United States during the time of that great movement of liberation which I suppose reached its peak in the demonstration which took place in the early 1960s outside the White House when the late President Kennedy, Walter Reuther, Martin Luther King, leaders of the trade unions and the churches and people like Dick Gregory demonstrated. [More…]
The campaign would be conducted, of course, through the agency of the Communist dominated trade unions. [More…]
If a relatively small union could successfully mount such an attack, what could be achieved by the more powerful unions with more resources if they acted in a similar way? [More…]
If this Government after 20 years in power can allow this right to overseas shipping lines which have a far greater influence on the welfare of primary industry than the sort of thing Senator Lillico was concerned about, then quite obviously I cannot see why he should be emphasising so much the activities of certain trade unions. [More…]
Apart from matters of pay and conditions of service, most of the unions have been concerned wilh improving efficiency of departmental operations in the interest of the public as well as to provide a more satisfying work environment for their members. [More…]
I am afraid that certain elements which are working their way into some of the unions are eating into the vitals of trade unionism and are spoiling what has become a very great and valuable body of working people. [More…]
1 have a very high regard for the unions which represent employees here. [More…]
I do not think it is right for the newspaper people to come in over the heads of unions. [More…]
I would much prefer these matters to be discussed with the unions themselves, not with representatives of the Press. [More…]
Are facilities available to appropriate union organisers to visit and speak to Parliament House staff about union membership and employees’ wages and conditions?If not, in view of your high regard for these unions, will such facilities be made available? [More…]
The relationships between the unions, Mr Speaker and myself are very happy and there is no question of any union representative being denied access to members of his union - none at all. [More…]
Subsequently, on 8th July, my representatives and representatives of the Acting Minister for Labour and National Service and of the Canberra Community Hospital Management Board met with the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the Federal Secretary of the Hospital Employees Federation of Australia. [More…]
The Government has put proposals to the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
This telegram was not from the trade unions but from the Chamber of Manufactures, an association of employers. [More…]
Senator Mulvihill had occasion to mention recently that the metal trades unions and manufacturers in New South Wales had complained to the Government about the amount of railway rolling stock which was being brought into Australia while the railway workshops and private manufacturers of heavy equipment were not being employed to the extent that they should be employed. [More…]
Like all other honourable senators no doubt, I have received letters from Public Service unions, teachers unions, bank officers organisations and others suggesting that the Prime Minister (Mr Gorton) was trying to avoid the promise that he made in October of last year. [More…]
The Government was expected to throw overboard all regard for the economy of the state and any responsible conduct just to answer the dictates and the directions of the people in control of trade unions and a political party. [More…]
In my opinion it is a great pity that some unions - T am not saying that all of them do thU - discourage this sort of prosperity in Australia. [More…]
When I refer to the unions I mean the people who make them tick because, as far as I can see, all they can understand is that if they stir up strife they will hold their own jobs in the unions, regardless of the prosperity of the country. [More…]
Senator Sir KENNETH ANDERSONI have not had the advantage of seeing the advertisement in the newspaper, but I have had the advantage of reading in the Press, for instance, that the Labor movement in South Australia has dissociated itself from this Moratorium Campaign, and that other unions have indicated that they are not supporting it. [More…]
There was unity between the local councils, members of the Legislative Assembly, the 26 rebel unions and the Melbourne Trades Hall Council. [More…]
Was the Prime Minister correctly reported as saying that the 1970 Budget would turn out to be one of the best budgets of recent years if the trade unions exercised wage restraint? [More…]
Trade unions have protested. [More…]
For example, tonight there was a news item to the effect that the employers had offered the trade unions involved in the national wage case a 2 per cent increase. [More…]
At least in Victoria we have seen the growth of a Labor movement dominated by unions in which there is a tremendously strong Communist influence and in which the policies of the Australian Labor Party in Victoria have been oriented to a Communist viewpoint. [More…]
Over a period of almost 3 years it has taken evidence from 84 witnesses, including representatives of Commonwealth and State Government departments, oil companies, unions, contractors engaged in the off-shore oil industry, economists, geologists, marine biologists, lawyers and others. [More…]
Is the Cattle Station Industry (Northern Territory) Award applicable to all aborigines employed by pastoralists, or does it apply only to those aboriginal stockmen who are members of the appropriate unions. [More…]
1 know that I will not be telling the Minister anything new, but I want to put into the record the situation of the printing industry and the trade unions on the question of bulk postage. [More…]
Those are a couple of publications of the white collar unions which have been brought to my notice. [More…]
The trade unions have a vital interest in the Post Office because it is the greatest employer of labour in Australia. [More…]
The voices of the unions of white collar workers as well as blue collar workers should be heard. [More…]
I point out to him that the rest of the unions covering post office employees - at least those of which I am aware - are all for the move. [More…]
The organisations connected with the Post Office - both the white collar organisations and trade unions - have looked at this matter very deeply. [More…]
The increased postage charges on these journals will impose a burden on a substantial number of trade unions. [More…]
unions should be penalised to the extent that will be the case if this legislation is passed. [More…]
I suppose that it relates to a very large degree to industrial relations matters, when the unions have negotiations with the industrial section of the Postmaster-General’s Department and it, as a matter of administration and to keep pace with all aspects of other government departments and to keep in line with the like with like industrial principle, refers the industrial matter to the Commonwealth Public Service Board. [More…]
Represented by their unions - and the company. [More…]
I have a number from organisations of the highest reputes - not only from trade unions but from people in the printing and publishing world. [More…]
Interjections last night from Government members and, to some extent, from the Minister herself, indicate to me strongly that the Government does not want the business that has been flowing to it from the trade unions. [More…]
I mentioned last night, and I repeat now, the charge that has been levelled at the Government by a number of trade unions that the Government wants to stifle criticism. [More…]
I ask honourable senators to look at the position of elderly people who have given a lifetime of service to an industry and who, for many years, have been active and responsible members of trade unions. [More…]
On behalf of myself, the people of the State I represent, the political party and the trade unions which I represent I lodge very strong objection to the anomalous and unjust provisions of these schedules. [More…]
Senator McClelland mentioned certain trade unions’ internal dilemmas which will arise from these increases. [More…]
A lot of these unions have newcomers to Australia as members. [More…]
These unions have their members in scattered areas. [More…]
Some of the learned gentlemen opposite talk about the trade unions. [More…]
I can pay a pretty sound tribute here to the present President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, Bob Hawke. [More…]
The first reaction of honourable senators opposite was to say: ‘Look at the multiplicity of journals of artists, trade unions and all the other people who produce little papers’. [More…]
I want to deny comments made tonight inferring that the Government is attacking trade unions by means of these various postal rates. [More…]
I inform the Senate that at a meeting on Monday with the union representatives, led by Mr Souter of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, the Postmaster-General’s Department offered and the unions accepted that the Department would give the unions the benefit of its expertise to assist them in minimising the production and distribution costs of their journals and that it would make this a special project handled by an experienced and knowledgeable officer. [More…]
The trade unions are entitled to communicate with their members. [More…]
Apart altogether from the trade unions there are various organisations which produce publications of interest to various people containing the latest knowledge in many fields, such as managerial knowledge of which it is known that we are hopelessly deficient in this country. [More…]
I have had letters and telegrams as have the Deputy Leader of the Opposition and all other honourable senators, from the Chamber of Manufactures of New South Wales, from an organisation in New South Wales known as Thomson Publications, from Pacific Publications Australia Pty Ltd, from Australian Trade Publications Pty Ltd, from Bell Publications Pty Ltd, from Page Publications Pty Ltd, from Building Publishing Co. Pty Ltd, from the National Roads and Motorists Association, and from a great number of trade unions, complaining about the punitive and severe increases that are being imposed upon them by this legislation. [More…]
Hardly one of the unions represented in the Post Office has not complained about the relationship. [More…]
I could go on to refer to great numbers of journals of associations and trade unions. [More…]
It is true, as Senator Gair has indicated, that the Government was pressured into promising reductions in income tax by the trade unions and others. [More…]
The trade unions said - and quite rightly - that the income tax scale was unfair. [More…]
One was the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the other two were professional or white collar organisations. [More…]
Today one hundred and eighty members of unions in theInnisfail area met to discuss the inequality of the budget, particularly with regard to pensioners. [More…]
In the ‘Australian Financial Review1 of 19fh February 1970, Mr Hawke, the President of the Austraiian Council of Trade Unions, is reported as having had something to say about this matter. [More…]
In speaking on the Budget papers I expressed the view that I believed that the Prime Minister (Mr Gorton), in giving effect to promises he made prior to the House of Representatives election 12 months ago, and in response to the campaign carried out by many big unions for tax reduction on the lower and middle range of incomes, had exceeded what I would have expected in his taxation remissions. [More…]
I know that the unions have to be rather careful with the employers and that there is a lack of dialogue with the female employees because of language difficulties. [More…]
A tradesman’s ability was assessed by representatives of the Education Department, an employers’ organisation and the trade unions. [More…]
Does the Minister know whether the Australian Labor Party supports the policy of the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, Mr Hawke, for the introduction of a 35-hour week? [More…]
The Institute also makes the point that the new generation of people in business, in trade unions and elsewhere are not in awe of inflation. [More…]
Firstly, the Australian Council of Trade Unions has to go . [More…]
Nevertheless, these people were allied in running the moratorium campaigns and in urging members of trade unions to take a day off to participate in them. [More…]
Or are the strikes caused because unions are body snatching? [More…]
Of course, honourable senators opposite have not referred to the harmful practice of feather-bedding in unions. [More…]
Anyone who knows much about the transport unions is familiar with the bus driver and conductor situation. [More…]
There is feather-bedding in the unions and honourable senators opposite know it. [More…]
One would imagine that if the trade union movement is the beautiful lily white organisation that members of the Opposition would have us believe it is, it would be only too anxious to have the Commissioner of Trade Practices investigate whether the unions are engaged in restrictive trade practices. [More…]
Do members of the Opposition support Mr Hawke in his contentions as President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
Does the Government intend to take any action on this matter or is it the Government’s opinion that it should only resist charges for labour which are made by members of industrial unions and not by members of professions which traditionally support the conservative parties? [More…]
Does the Minister know of any reason why Mr Whitlam omitted to mention the 35-hour week issue whereas Mr Hawke of the Australian Council of Trade Unions speaking from the same platform made it his main issue? [More…]
Gifts of $2 and upwards to the Free Kindergarten Unions of the various States and free kindergartens associated therewith are also deductible under the provisions of the law which authorise deductions for gifts to a public benevolent institution. [More…]
We members of the Opposition have a responsibility to a large number of unions, and when unions request us to seek information of this nature, and it is not readily forthcoming, one can understand the reasons for suspicion on the part of unions and union members. [More…]
I wonder whether the Minister could indicate at this stage whether there has been any clear cut instruction given to the Australian Council of Trade Unions about future delegations. [More…]
I have heard Government supporters criticise the conduct of trade unions in relation to their ballots and in the conduct of their affairs. [More…]
These bodies consisted of trade unions and employers organisations working in a voluntary capacity. [More…]
I have every confidence that the Department will keep that well in mind and that the whole scheme will be one in consonance with the spirit of the trade unions. [More…]
Of course, we of the Opposition also should like to see representatives of the trade unions involved in the industry on the Corporation. [More…]
ls Australia to submil to the judgment of the unions and Senator Georges on Australia’s obligations in matters of international trade? [More…]
But the point that I want to make tonight is that everybody appears to be able to improve his own salary and the trade unions are able to get recognition from the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission, but nobody seems to be concerned about the pensioners, the poorest section of our community, particularly those who rely wholly and solely on the pensions that they receive. [More…]
But who blew the stomach out of trade unions there? [More…]
In the interim, to ascertain whether or not these boys were exaggerating the situation, I discussed the conditions of Greek tanker crews with the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions which, as honourable senators know, is the major world trade union body. [More…]
But one of the unions concerned - namely, the Professional Radio Employees Institute - has written to me indicating that it has received information that RTN-8 will cease ali operations from its studios at Goonellabah on 1st March 1971 and, after that date, will take programmes on relay from NRN-11. [More…]
Recently representatives of the Australian Council of Trade Unions came with a body of other people to talk to the Government about their ideas on what should be done in the community to keep economic conditions under control. [More…]
If we want people to have confidence in our wage fixing system, under which the trade unions have to present a mass of statistics and various witnesses, when they make a wage gain it must be something positive and must not be eroded within 3 months. [More…]
It preferred to go behind the door and have the unions come out on strike in an attempt to defer the implementation of the decision. [More…]
We and the Australian Council of Trade Unions say that if the Parliament expresses its view and if the industry expresses its view through a referendum everyone will be satisfied and this matter will be resolved. [More…]
I am a member of two unions and I think I am entitled to be critical of the trade union movement if I think that the ACTU is embarking upon a completely futile and stupid action which will only prove not the strength but the weakness of the trade union movement. [More…]
If Senator Cavanagh regards me as having been only a ticket holder I suggest that he should put his record alongside mine and see who has the confidence of the unions. [More…]
But the Australian Council of Trade Unions is suggesting that the people vitally concerned in this matter are the people in the Australian Federated Union of Locomotive Enginemen, the Transport Worker’s Union, and the Storemen and Packers Union. [More…]
What we have seen is the imposition of a black ban by a variety of unions. [More…]
They have not said so but it would be surprising if these various unions were capable of expressing a more valid opinion than the Australian Wool Industry Conference or the Australian Government as to whether or not the wool industry was in’ jeopardy. [More…]
Let me mention the names of the unions who consulted with the Australian : Council of Trade Unions to impose” this black ban. [More…]
They were the Australian Railways Union, the Waterside Workers’ Federation, the Storemen and Packers Union, the Transport Workers’ Unions the Federated Clerks Union, the Wool and Basil Workers’ Federation and the” Australian Federated Union of- Locomotive Enginemen. [More…]
But on this issue I believe the people of Australia prefer the judgment of the Australian Government to the judgment of that group of unions. [More…]
lt may be the sort of situation that could require drastic action, but it is up to these unions to indicate the type of danger the economy is facing. [More…]
The reasons why the ACTU and these unions have decided to impose a black ban is because they have been asked to do so by leading graziers. [More…]
The Federal Secretary (Mr Ted Harris) announced ihi, last night after a plea by leading Victorian and New South Wales graziers to unions to help slop the export. [More…]
lt would appear that that was the motivation for the unions to act. [More…]
The meeting was called following an’ appeal to the unions by the Victorian and New South Wales graziers. [More…]
The Australian- Council of Trade Unions yesterday imposed a Rational black ban on the export of merino rams from Australia. [More…]
I appreciate the point made by Senator Prowse but I do feel that he cannot seriously expect the trade union movement to have a referendum on any issue, because this is one area in which referendums are absolutely abhorrent to what trade unions are prepared to adhere. [More…]
What basis is that for a union or a group of unions of this country to say that they will take industrial action which could bring this country to a standstill in particular circumstances just because that union or that group of unions suggests that it believes the Government has not consulted or listened to a wide cross section of the community? [More…]
The newspaper reports have said it was that body which called upon the Labor Council in New South Wales to take action and it was from that that individual unions imposed their bans and obtained the ACTU support. [More…]
But it may be that some member of the Labor Party opposite will be able to confirm or deny that, if Labor has the courage to indicate where it stands on this issue of whether unions outside the Parliament should be in a position to dictate to the Government- and to the people of this country; [More…]
If this Government ever allows the country to get to a stage where unions determine what policies are to take effect then it is a stage at which the Government is abnegating the task which it has been elected to perform. [More…]
If honourable senators opposite do not recognise the AWIC as being representative of the wool -industry of Australia, how the devil can they recognise the Australian Council of Trade Unions as being representative of the unions of this country? [More…]
They want to substitute thetrade union movement for the Parliament of this country and they want to substitute the law, or lack of law, of the trade unions for the law of the Parliament. [More…]
Honourable senators might as well repudiate the Australian Council of Trade Unions as to repudiate the Australian Wool Industry Conference. [More…]
Can the Minister representing the Minister for Labour and National Service visualise anything but industrial chaos arising from the determination of the Government to attempt to collect $38,000 in fines imposed on unions under the penal provisions of the Conciliation and Arbitration Act. [More…]
The unions in Victoria are associated with retail trade because of the gross and unfair exploitation by existing retailers of the workers in that State and other States. [More…]
The stations that are sympathetic to these groups allow spokesmen from the Party to go on under the name of Josie’ ‘Daisy’, etc., and they attack the Labor Party and the trade unions hour after hour, day after day. [More…]
Speakers who phone to defend the trade unions or the Labor Party are cut off, and under the delay system, the announcer has complete control over what is said. [More…]
Greg O’Dwyer, who was a Liberal candidate against Manfred Cross, and his blasts against the Labor Party and the Unions are as vicious as one would expect from such a candidate. [More…]
I think it is sufficient to say that it refers to bad relations with the International Labor Organisation and the general opinion of the International Federation of Christian Trade Unions on this subject. [More…]
ls the Leader of the Government aware, that the executive of the Australian Council of Trade Unions is considering, a national 24-hour strike to bring to the Government’s attention the plight and difficulties of pensioners? [More…]
Trade Unions was considering a 24-hour, strike. [More…]
I am not like the Minister for Works (Senator Wright) who believes thai ‘ certain trade unions will pay money that they were fined prior to an amendment to’ ‘the Conciliation and Arbitration Act relating to the matter on which those unions were fined. [More…]
I have named deliberately, with the approval of Senator Hendrickson, a couple of trade union officials because the unions to which they belong have many female members. [More…]
Nevertheless the Department of Immigration has had useful discussions with representatives of employer federations and the trade unions. [More…]
But the fact is that Australian artists, writers, producers, actors, the unions and the production houses engaged in the industry all tell me that the situation today is in fact worse than it has ever been and that urgent and drastic action has to be taken by someone to protect the livelihood of those who work in the industry. [More…]
At the time I pointed out that the normal procedure we adopt in relation to this situation is to do all these things through the Australian Council of Trade Unions which has been tremendously helpful in any problems which we have in the aircraft industry. [More…]
In dealing with inflationary pressures, the Government does not seek a reduction in salaries and wages but rather restraint on the part of all concerned - unions, employers and wage fixing authorities - in future increases. [More…]
My question, which is directed either to the Minister representing the Minister for Social Services or the Minister representing the Minister for Labour and National Service, relates to the legislation which was introduced many months ago to amend the Commonwealth Employees’ Compensation Act and what has been reported to be current consideration by Cabinet of further suggestions on this matter from the unions concerned and the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
1 know that a number of unions instead of posting their journals once a month now post them once in 6 months. [More…]
However, I suggest that it is unusual for a government to say that growers should be obliged to pay a levy for purposes of research, or for any other matter, and then criticise trade unions because they require their members to pay a levy or because they object strenuously when someone who takes up employment in an industry fails to join the appropriate trade union. [More…]
I make a comparison between that and what happens to trade unions which are in a position in which they may fail to observe some provision of the Conciliation and Arbitration Act 1904-1970. [More…]
This shows the discriminatory nature of Acts of this Parliament when such acts are directed against workers and trade unions. [More…]
Nevertheless I felt compelled to stale the Opposition’s views when I learned that the penalty for failure to observe the provisions of the Bill was the minimum amount of $200 in view of the penalties which can be imposed on trade unions and workers tinder the provisions of the Conciliation and Arbitration Act. [More…]
Senator Milliner referred to the penalties imposed under this legislation and contrasted those penalties with the penalties imposed on unions for certain offences. [More…]
At this time in our history the friends of the Australian Labor Party and those people whom they appoint to the Australian Council of Trade Unions are wielding mighty power over this land: I would point out to them that their influence could be and should be for the good of the country. [More…]
In the era through which we are passing 1 believe that there is a duty - I think the country is calling for it - for the Australian Labor Party and those people who are in charge of trade unions to try and bring peace to the industrial world so that more work will be done, more production will take place and more money will be able to be paid out of Consolidated Revenue to those in need. [More…]
He was trying to give us a description of what would happen if the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions or the President of the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Commission or somebody else made a certain decision in relation to this matter. [More…]
Any struggles that have happened in the .industrial sphere have been manipulated and brought about not by people in the trade- unions but by those who employ trade unionists. [More…]
Workers generally, through the good offices and representations of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, have been able to get regular increases in the national wage. [More…]
Can it veto decisions by industrial unions to merge in the common interest of their members? [More…]
Of course, there are others - people who lack the powerful industrial strength of members of the mighty unions. [More…]
They do not have the power which the larger unions have exercised to secure benefits for their members. [More…]
Members of trade unions who find the value of their wages eroded have their trade union organisations which can take employers to the court and have adjustments made in wages in accordance with the rise in the level of prices. [More…]
Additionally, a factor of some consequence in determining what the earnings shall be are consent awards which are made as a result of industrial action, or threatened industrial action, in which case occasionally there will be an employer who feels that he cannot stand the cost of a strike and so simply agrees to what the unions ask for. [More…]
I ask the Minister representing the Minister for Foreign Affairs whether he has seen reports that leading South African unionists including the President of the South African Council of Mining Unions, the Secretary of the South African Confederation of Labour and the Secretary of South Africa’s trade union council have severely criticised those Australian trade unionists who are threatening to disrupt and boycott the proposed South African cricket tour, stating that trade unions should not meddle in things like this at all? [More…]
I also ask the Minister whether he has seen reports of an alliance between the Australian Labor Party and trade unions to prevent the proposed tour? [More…]
Australian trade unions is to force politics into those Australian ways of life which we, as Australians^ have always proudly boasted are completely divorced from politics? [More…]
I have seen reports that trade union leaders and Labor leaders in South Africa have strongly deprecated the intervention of the Australian Labor Party combined with trade unions . [More…]
I say to Senator Young that trade unions are afforded privileges in the law of this country for purposes of industrial advancement and for no other reason. [More…]
The article also said that the Labor: Party and the trade unions in Australia were rewarding South African cricketers-: - , : . [More…]
It stated that the trade unions are rewarding South African cricketers for their courage in speaking out against racialism by threatening to wreck the tour. [More…]
I again express the view that I expressed earlier today in question time and also 2 weeks ago, that is, that it would be very much better for the external relations of this country, not only with South Africa but also elsewhere, if trade unions did not assert the right to veto visits by international sporting teams on the ground of their politics. [More…]
Labor organisations, that because of its particularly vulnerable position Tasmania should be exempt by the unions concerned from the repeated stoppages of the past few years? [More…]
the Australian Council of Trade Unions; as a partner entitled to a share of net profits from the company’s business operations, are liable to pay income tax? [More…]
The Returned Services League looks after the interests of returned servicemen; the taxpayer associations look after the interests of taxpayers; the Australian Medical Association looks after the interests of medical practitioners; and the trade unions look after the interests of their members insofar as wages are concerned. [More…]
I come to the point of the attitude that has been taken by the newly elected President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions in Melbourne, Mr Hawke. [More…]
Just prior to allthis,MrBob Hawke, on behalf of the Australian Council of Trades Unions, which he represents, entered the retail trade and had a slight altercation with the biggest manufacturing firm in Australia, British Tobacco Co. [More…]
I can remember some unions affiliated with the Australian Labor Party - they were miners and transport workers - meeting at the Labor Party office in Sydney at times when they felt that certain Labor Ministers were moving a little slowly. [More…]
On receipt of a copy of the code I sent circulars to the building trade unions in South Australia and the federal branch of the Building Workers Industrial Union. [More…]
I was of the opinion that those unions would offer very strong criticism of the code because I did not think that it conformed with sound building practice. [More…]
Discussions are currently taking place between the Commonwealth, the States, employers and trade unions on possible action to improve the training of skilled workers who form such an important part of the Australian workforce. [More…]
When the parties to the National Conference - the Australian Council of Trade Unions, the Waterside Workers Federation, the Association of Employers of Waterside Labour and the Australian Stevedoring Industry Authority - endorsed the report, the Government agreed to provide legislative authority to cover these and other matters. [More…]
As part of that consent 2-year award both the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the Waterside Workers Federation gave a written undertaking there would be no stoppages of work in respect of those matters which were the subject of that agreement. [More…]
It is to be regretted that the Federation in some branches has also become the vehicle, along with certain other maritime unions, whereby minority elements within the trade union movement have sought to convert industrial power into political action. [More…]
Does this indicate a case for either the Federal Government or the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, Mr Hawke, to intervene to prevent Mr Dunstan’s retail price maintenance plans being implemented? [More…]
As to whether it is a matter for the Federal Government or the Australian Council of Trade Unions, I will refer the question to the Attorney-General for his consideration. [More…]
I would very much doubt whether it is a matter for the Australian Council of Trade Unions because, after all, it has no commercial interest in petrol stations at the moment. [More…]
In the event, representations about the Bill were received from the Council of Commonwealth Public Service Organisations, the Australian Council of Trade Unions and other sources and suggestions for amendment of the Bill were made by honourable members in the House of Representatives and honourable senators here during the debates on the Commonwealth Employees’ Compensation Bill 1970 which provided for increases in the monetary benefits payable under this legislation. [More…]
It has been said by way of interjection that this is what unions do. [More…]
It seems to me that unless Qantas embarks on the sort of charter operations which the unions are putting to the company it will not succeed. [More…]
I can recall receiving a deputation from 11 representatives of the metal trade unions about job security. [More…]
The other two instances are the lack of co-operation with the DLP on amendments to the Homes Savings Grant Bill, as it affected credit unions, on 7th May 1970 and the opposition to the urgency motion “ on child endowment, moved by my colleague, Senator Byrne, on 21st April 1971. [More…]
I understand that there is a vacancy at the present time, After all, over the years the trade unions have produced some of the finest brains in the Commonwealth, having a background knowledge of the needs, the hopes and the aspirations of the ordinary working men and the salaried people of this country. [More…]
As part of that consent 2-year award both the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the Waterside Workers Federation gave a written undertaking there would be no stoppages of work in respect of those matters which were the subject of that agreement. [More…]
The passage of time has shown the wisdom of what we were proposing and the dramatic events of a couple of months ago when the Australian Council of Trade Unions, under the leadership of Mr Hawke, forced Dunlop Australia Ltd to abandon resale price maintenance as it was operating in regard to Bourke’s Melbourne Pty Ltd with which the ACTU is associated and so highlighted the fact that this resale price maintenance was against the public interest and could not really be justified when it was brought under intense public examination, as it was by the incidents at that time. [More…]
Of course, the interest that has been shown in this matter perhaps has been prompted by the action Mr Hawke took in relation to the Australian Council of Trade Unions store in Melbourne. [More…]
A great deal has been said about the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions and his engagement with a certain firm in Melbourne in order to bring about the end of resale price maintenance. [More…]
In early February this year when the annual conference took place between the Prime Minister and representatives of the Australian Council of Trade Unions there were Press reports that the ACTU had requested the Prime Minister to undertake legislation to abolish resale price maintenance. [More…]
The Minister took up some time in speaking about industrial blackmail which had been imposed by the Australian Council of Trade Unions on particular firms so as to enable a certain store in Melbourne to obtain the supply of goods. [More…]
Trade Unions and Bourke’s Melbourne Pty Ltd. After all, this is not an isolated case, and’ ;I would have thought if that was a good enough justification through history for industrial blackmail we would have a vastly’ different sort of society from what we. [More…]
legislation be pigeonholed and forgotten until the Australian Council of Trade Unions takes action to force the Government into doing something about its election backers who are making a profit out of the consuming public? [More…]
I reply initially to Senator Willesee who was concerned to dispute my assertion that what the Australian Council of Trade Unions had secured in conjunction with Bourkes Melbourne Pry Ltd had been secured for itself alone. [More…]
The first argument that we put forward is this: Now is the time for the Government to agree to the request of the unions for ah annual review of compensation principles and of the amounts paid. [More…]
When a model Bill was introduced in March of last year, we saw that it had been very hastily conceived and as a result of the criticisms of the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the Council of Commonwealth Public Service Organisations the legislation was withdrawn. [More…]
Looking at the position of Commonwealth public servants generally we see that the situation is good in that unions represent them in making submissions to the Commissioner and may take those submissions further to the courts. [More…]
In the current building dispute in New South Wales, members of the building unions are in contest with their employers- in respect of not only pay but also’ compensation. [More…]
About 200 small building companies have signed private agreements with the unions in respect of workmen’s compensation payments. [More…]
As is well known the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the Commonwealth Council of Public Service Unions already have sent a written submission to the Minister for Labour and National Service (Mr Lynch). [More…]
They also discussed this matter with organisations such as the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the Council of Commonwealth Public Service Organisations. [More…]
They would be nominated by either the Australian Council of Trade Unions or the Council of Commonwealth Public Service Organisations. [More…]
I am aware that during the discussions by the Government in reference to this Bill special attention was given to the amendment proposed by the unions and that for the first time the Government set up a [More…]
The Minister for Health (Senator Greenwood) said that representations had been received from the Council of Commonwealth Public Service Organisations, the Australian Council of Trade Unions and other sources and that a contribution towards the Bill in its present form had also been made by members of the Opposition in both the Senate and the other place. [More…]
The Council of Commonwealth Public Ser vice Organisations and the Australian Council of Trade Unions may each nominate persons in writing and one of the members of each Compensation Tribunal other than the Chairman shall be appointed from the persons so nominated. [More…]
We in this place received representations from the unions regarding the long delay in bringing forward the legislation. [More…]
I appreciate full well the circumstances in which the Australian Council of Trade Unions has decided to go into a commercial venture. [More…]
As I said yesterday, members of unions who depend upon unions should reflect upon their position. [More…]
It will be noted that the Public Service unions have pointed out that this is a very small sum in view of the amounts which would be required to modify a worker’s home if he became a paraplegic. [More…]
There is a basic list of diseases which members of ILO - governments, unions and employees - have agreed to. [More…]
Labour Council submitted that although there were good features in the Ontario and New York systems - I think he referred to what was said by Paul Kruger at the end of the Boer War - the trade unions should take the best of the past and build on that. [More…]
I have pointed out to him that in the other place the model Bill which was put forward by the honourable member for Hindmarsh, Mr Clyde Cameron, and which had been worked on not only by members of the Australian Labor Party’s Industrial Relations Committee, the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the Council of Commonwealth Public Service Organisations but also by some officers of the Parliament, in fact was moved as an amendment, and it contains more beneficial provisions than the code introduced into the Parliament by the Government. [More…]
We accept, and so do the unions, this compensation legislation as an urgent piece of legislation which is long overdue. [More…]
A lot of amendments were put forward by the Australian Council of Trade Unions, the unions, the Australian Labor Party and other people who are interested. [More…]
On examining the unanswered questions on the notice paper I find that on 7th April this year I asked, questions in relation to actions which, it was implied, could be taken against the trade union movement of this country because certain trade unions, as of right, held a ballot among their own members for the purpose of deciding whether they would amalgamate. [More…]
It seemed to indicate that there was something radically wrong with trade unions wanting to amalgamate because they had common interests. [More…]
The amalgamation referred to was based on a ballot of members of the unions concerned. [More…]
I asked where they stood in relation to this matter and if, as was implied in the question asked by Senator Kane, the Commonwealth Government could interfere in the decisions of unions made democratically by the rank and file, why did it not or could it not equally interfere in the amalgamations of these great monolithic organisations, such as the banks and other companies that have amalgamated not only with organisations in this country but also with overseas organisations. [More…]
The Committee to which the honourable senator referred in his question is constituted by the Employers Federation Policy Committee, the Australian Council of Trade Unions and 2 Commonwealth Public Service organisations, the Commonwealth Council of Public Service Organisations and the Australian Council of Salaried and Professional Associations. [More…]
How many members of the Communist Party or parties belong to the national staffs of the three unions, including the Federal office and State offices; and what are their names? [More…]
three unions voted in the recent ballot dealing with amalgamation, who counted the ballot, and was the ballot counted by persons actively supporting one side, or persons representing both sides? [More…]
According to ‘A Handbook of Australian Trade Unions and Employees’ Association’ published in 1970 after a survey by D. W. Rawson and Suzanne Wrightson of the Department of Political Science, Australian National University, the total membership of the new union should be approximately 150,000. [More…]
Several officials of these three unions have from time to time declared themselves to be Communists.I have no information beyond this. [More…]
The following figures were released by the unions of the numbers who voted in connection with the proposed merger: [More…]
The only organisations which need to be approved’ under the Homes Savings Grant legislation are credit unions. [More…]
Formed in the wake of the Industrial Revolution at a time when the human dignity of the worker had no champion or organised strength to defend it, the trade unions within a century achieved a transformation no less dramatic than the Industrial Revolution which gave them birth. [More…]
Unions today are highly industrialised in a country such as Australia and they have enormous power for influence on the national economy and the lives and living standards of all our citizens. [More…]
I have spent almost a lifetime in the Labor movement and in the unions, and nobody appreciates mont than I the necessity for the unionist to have the right to strike in order to better his working conditions and improve his wage earnings. [More…]
But the use of political strikes is outside the role of trade unions. [More…]
On 18th September 1970 the maritime and building groups of unions ceased work in support of the Victorian moratorium. [More…]
On 14th February 1971 and again on 25th March 1971 the seamens and waterside workers unions held stoppages of various types to protest against the Greek Government. [More…]
Clearly, then, political stoppages and bans of the kind I mentioned amount to trade unions and their officials attempting to ursurp or impede the constitutional powers of this Parliament. [More…]
It is said that the Act is aimed against the Trade Unions and the right of unionists to organise and if necessary to strike for improved conditions. [More…]
The proposition contained in the motion reveals a lack of understanding of the role of trade unions in society. [More…]
Not only in Australia but all over the world trade unions take part in the political decisions which are made, including those which are not related immediate.ly to wages and conditions. [More…]
The right of the trade unions to engage in political decision making and to pursue political purposes was the subject of challenge in this community not so long ago. [More…]
In a case in which one of our colleagues figured very prominently, the High Court decided that trade unions had the right to pursue political purposes and to impose political levies on their members in order to pursue those political purposes. [More…]
I suggest that those members who heard the suggestions that the trade unions cannot and should not do this refer to the case of Williams and Hursey, which’ is reported in 103 Commonwealth Law Reports. [More…]
Delegates are sent by the trade unions to the Australian Labor Party conferences. [More…]
The delegates are sent by the trade unions to the Australian Labor Party conferences. [More…]
That is part of the duty of the trade unions which help to formulate the social and economic policies. [More…]
That is the role of the trade unions in Australia. [More…]
The High Court rejected the proposition that for trade unions to engage in these political activities was in some way illegal. [More…]
It has been suggested here that in some way the trade unions must retreat and be concerned only with wages and conditions. [More…]
Not only do the trade unions affiliate with the Australian Labor Party but - and it may well still be so - there was a very small number of trade unions actually affiliated with the Democratic Labor Party. [More…]
It is clear that it is pari of the traditional role of the trade unions to be concerned with political matters, even those unassociated with wages and conditions. [More…]
They are all entitled to do it but somehow the trade unions are not, that this is unthinkable and there should be some limitation upon them. [More…]
The trade unions have found that very often they have to engage in these political drives. [More…]
How can one describe Queensland as being a democratic State when there is a gerrymander which makes it practically impossible for the political party associated with the trade unions to win government? [More…]
The debate here is not introduced merely in order to say that unions are not to engage in stoppages and strikes. [More…]
This is a motion designed to encourage the Government to somehow bring in legislation or to invoke legislation which will prevent the trade unions from carrying out a part of the great democratic political process, and it should not be accepted by the Senate. [More…]
It is true that in recent times the trade unions have complained about the failure of governments to provide properly for social services in this community. [More…]
In addition there has been a tremendous amount of propaganda of a political type directed by the trade unions against the Federal Government for its failure to do what is rightly conceived to be social justice. [More…]
ls it wrong that trade unions should join with the other groups in the community, the churches - not all the churches but a number of them - to protest against something which is against their social conscience and which is important enough for them to say to their members: ‘We ask you to stop work, to lose wages and to show how much you disapprove of this evil war, this genocide being committed against the Vietnamese people’. [More…]
It is said that the trade unions ask their members to protest in various ways against the Springbok tour here. [More…]
When that call comes from the United Nations why are not the trade unions, as representatives of their members, entitled to respond to that call and do what the Government of Australia has failed to do - that is, to heed the international call? [More…]
I always feel greatly heartened when 1 remind myself how at the end of the last century great industrial agitation took place when the unions finally achieved representation in Parliament and a political party which represented their general purposes became a political unit in the country. [More…]
However, the purpose pf my reference to this matter is to show that when the Australian Council of Trade Unions, the supreme industrial organisation conference in the country, passes a resolution inviting coercion by organised labour, that is the point where we deny that the ACTU is still acting within the ambit of its proper purposes. [More…]
We do not deny to trade unions participation in proper, democratic, lawful processes. [More…]
The Australian trade unions, apparently having lost faith in the party which claims that it espouses their cause - that is to say, the Australian Labor Party - are resorting more and more to direct and unlawful action which, I believe, will be a great detriment to industrial organisations if they persist in it. [More…]
Yet we have the Australian Council of Trade Unions organising its forces to prevent the facilities of trade from being made available for the export of merino rams. [More…]
Seamen’s, waterside workers and firemen’s unions have restricted the operation in Australian waters of Greek vessels. [More…]
The Democratic Labour Party makes the point that a lot of the stoppages are occasioned by political motives and that that should not bc the role of the trade unions. [More…]
I suppose when Senator Little speaks in a little while he will have forgotten those great arguments in the Australian Council of Trade Unions when the great Trades Union Congress, which represents today something like 2 million trade unionists, debated whether it would have international . [More…]
It decided to’ affiliate with the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, which is a moderate organisation. [More…]
It then disowned the move which was then made that it should have some sort of affiliation with the World Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
That is the Internation Confederation of Free Trade Unions, an international body which finds acceptance by both right and left of the trade union movement - to re-examine the question as to whether a world boycott could be instituted by all Trade Unions throughout the world, to boycott the handling of South African goods. [More…]
They are in the Conciliation and Arbitration Act, but in the years subsequent to their introduction the Government, because of the case put up by the unions and also because of militant action by the union - action in the workshops, in the factories and on the waterfront - conceded that some alteration should be made. [More…]
The Government talks about this new technique of the trade unions. [More…]
The trade unions are trying to buck it. [More…]
Now it is proposed by the same people, or at least the militants among them, and the Communist dominated trade unions to circumvent the political weapon they forged and to circumvent even this Parliament. [More…]
He said, relative to trade unions in [More…]
Senator Murphy went on to say that he thought it was quite right for trade unions to indulge in political strikes and to express their opinions in that way. [More…]
If this is to be the pattern, why should not any organisation go on the rampage and give expression to its political views in the same fashion as some trade unions are doing today? [More…]
The unions went on strike because they did not agree with the Budget, particularly with the pension increases. [More…]
The mover of this motion, who wants to condemn some trade unions for what he calls illegal acts, in my opinion defied the highest of the judicial tribunals of Australia. [More…]
At the time of the foundation of the unions in England and Australia the founders had a very important choice to make. [More…]
This great man, Senator Kane, the leader in the condemnation of the unions, does not know his history well enough to know that in Britain the people had no choice. [More…]
They affect not the bosses but the very people and their wives and families that the trade unions claim to defend. [More…]
We will forget the political strikes of the Chifley era, when the Chifley Labor Government was prepared to introduce legislation to deal with the unions which intended to use their industrial power politically. [More…]
We have heard from Senator Kane and Senator Wright the many instances of political strikes’, of the trade unions which would call stoppages because they disagreed with a decision of a court that a person was not eligible, because of a criminal conviction, to sit in the Legislative Council of Victoria. [More…]
We have heard of the political strikes over social service issues and because the Australian Council of Trade Unions did not like what was in the Budget. [More…]
But no, some unions in Australia will do nothing whatever to facilitate the movement of overseas Australians back to Australia. [More…]
It prefers to acknowledge the mandates and dictates of a few union bosses who through the solidarity concept can bring a number of unions behind them. [More…]
Or perhaps I should say he is answerable to members of the unions, and members of the unions are not representative of the people of Australia. ‘ [More…]
Decreasingly over the last few years the numbers of the Australian work force who are members of unions have diminished so that we have at the present time approximately only 50 per cent of the total work force who are members of the unions. [More…]
The Austraiian Labor Party says that it does not matter about them, if the unions say what is to be in their interests and for their benefit that is the final determination. [More…]
But what did an unrepresentative group of people headed by Mr Hawke and the Australian Council of Trade Unions executive say? [More…]
Every now and then we read in the editorial columns of the daily papers pious exhortations to the unions to develop from their old-fashioned basis of merely being concerned with the wages and conditions of their members and to advance into the 70s with new ideas and a more broadly based programme for their members. [More…]
When an attempt is made by the unions to act on this advice we get this sort of reaction: Get back to your old simple narrow operations of concerning yourselves merely with wages and conditions. [More…]
Let us look at some of the things which the unions not only here but in other countries have been concerning themselves with in recent years. [More…]
Let us decide whether the unions are stepping outside their legitimate sphere of interesting themselves in these matters. [More…]
Is it not permissible for unions to be interested in the matter of credit banking and co-operative societies? [More…]
Is it not permissible for unions to be interested in matters of transport? [More…]
But that also would surely be outside the unions’ sphere of interest. [More…]
But according to the framers of this proposition that is something which the unions are not permitted to do. [More…]
Are not the unions permitted to be interested in the subject of environment? [More…]
But according to the words of this submission that is something with which unions should not concern themselves. [More…]
The same remarks apply to the agitation which is engaged in by unions and others over the iniquitous and scandalous Clutha development, which was approved of by the Attorney-General’s associates in New South Wales. [More…]
But if we listen to the framers and supporters of this proposition these things are beyond the charter of trade unions. [More…]
Do the unions do Australia any ill by taking a stand against this sort of thing? [More…]
As Senator Murphy mentioned earlier, there are many unions affiliated to the Australian Labor Party and there are a few - a very, few - affiliated to the Democratic Labor Party. [More…]
They are proud of the fact that they have one or two small unions affiliated to them. [More…]
They would obviously like to have more unions affiliated to them. [More…]
If they did one could imagine Senator Gair, Senator Little and Senator Kane coming into this chamber and boasting about the great groundswell of feeling fir certain issues instanced by demonstrations and perhaps even strikes by unions that were affiliated to them. [More…]
One can imagine them boasting about some demonstration by one of their unions against the recognition of China; for the continuation of the Vietnam war; or in favour of the Springbok tour or if we believe the sentiments of Senator Gair, in favour of apartheid itself. [More…]
But, of course, they cannot boast about these things because, except for a. tiny few unions affiliated to them, they do not have unions. [More…]
If they ever seriously hope to take the reins of office in this federal Parliament, as they so aptly proclaim across the chamber every day or so, they will have put to them the points that they have argued for this evening, namely, that unions should have the right to take political action and so force a government into taking actions which the elected majority of individuals would not desire. [More…]
In the political area we find unions have held strikes relating to the moratorium, the merino ram exports ban, the results of civil and criminal actions, the exclusion of brothers from [More…]
The position is that there has not been one comment by any member of the Opposition, no matter from which unions they may claim to come and no matter which sections of the working class they may suggest they support, against he actions of lying down in the street or prohibiting other individuals from going about their duties. [More…]
I am attempting to put to the Senate the fact that wc do not hear from the once wonderful Labor Party a proposition in support of even some of those leaders of unions who have opposed this deprivation of the freedom of the individual which occurs by forcing strikes. [More…]
I mention to you, Mr President, that members of the Labor Party in this chamber are laughing at leaders of unions which they attempt to represent. [More…]
Unions are traditionally involved in politics, but this does not mean they have to take political action or even have a right to take political action. [More…]
We have a peculiar situation in which an attempt is made to deny me the opportunity to quote the statements of leaders of various unions who oppose political strikes in our community. [More…]
Unions and unionists would have to call a halt to political strikes and bans if unionism in Australia was not to be threatened, said Mr J. Maynes, Federal President of the Federated Clerks Union of Australia. [More…]
In speaking to this motion, I congratulate Senator Webster on quoting one of the powerful trade unions of this country which happens to be led by a member of the Australian Democratic Labor Party. [More…]
But I cannot understand why members of the Australian Labor Party do not exhibit exactly the same disappointment when they realise that a great many of the most powerful unions which were once led by Labor men are now led by members of the Communist Party. [More…]
Is this a matter to be decided in the factories, in the workshops, in the trade unions, on the streets, at the football matches or at the cricket, or is Australian policy to be decided by the elected members of Parliament? [More…]
The legislation to which my colleague Senator Kane referred was brought down by the Chifley Labor Government not to stop trade unions from taking an interest in political activities or expressing opinions but to stop the use of industrial power to interfere with the rights of the Government to govern. [More…]
Is the Minister aware that it has been proposed, on the recommendation of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, that the new Australian National Line ship ‘Echuca’, which was purchased at least partly for the Tasmanian trade, be not manned on its arrival in Melbourne because of a dispute as to the necessity for a radio operator on that vessel? [More…]
In the face of assurances given by Sir John McEwen to the trade unions concerned, is the Minister aware that the fears of the trade unions have been rekindled by the recent announcement that Hamersley Iron Pty Ltd has recently given a substantial order for 584 100-ton capacity ore wagons to the Canadian firm of National Steel Car Corporation of Hamilton. [More…]
Will the Minister make available to the Senate a copy of that section of the transcript which deals with safety in the stevedoring industry, particularly the section outlining the submissions of the unions concerning the employment of a safety officer when ships are being worked in Australian ports? [More…]
I ask the Minister: Recognising the great and enduring contribution which industrial trade unionism has made to Australia and to the general standard of working conditions, is it not a fact that effective industrial unionism depends vitally upon the active participation of all unionists in the bona fide affairs of their unions; and is it not further a fact that intimidation and apathy are the twin destructive elements of unionism? [More…]
Will the Government give active leadership in encouraging all eligible persons to join their unions voluntarily and to participate actively in union affairs? [More…]
But not only is it important to put that democratic conception into the unions; it is also important to ensure that unions use their power for industrial purposes and do not presume to use their power for political and other purposes. [More…]
Is it a fact that the National Labour Advisory Committee, comprising representatives of the Government, the employers and the Australian Council of Trade Unions, is currently negotiating a review of the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Act and that at a meeting on 12th August it was agreed to recommence on 20th September its examinations of the Commonwealth Act, following the ACTU congress? [More…]
The facts are that the Government, the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the employers federation have representatives who are engaged in a series of conferences designed to review the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Act. [More…]
At a time when the Government is canvassing the issue of secret ballots within trade unions before strikes, I ask the Leader of the Government in the Senate whether he will agree that Australia’s record for strikes is not at all alarming when compared with that of other advanced industrial countries. [More…]
It has taken up this matter with the Public Service Board, the Department of Labour and National Service and the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
In the Government view the wage earner is always the villain, and the big companies are always battling against unreasonable wage demands and militant unions. [More…]
Trade unions are organisations and institutions which, if managed by their leaders, can be of great value for the great body of their members. [More…]
I put it squarely to Senator Wright that I know there will be a lot more discussion in relation to trade unions or employers in the industrial field. [More…]
In the present situation this small group of workers could probably say what the trade unions should do. [More…]
I believe it reflects the views of trade unionists in general that there should be an element of consultation in the management of trade unions in this day and age instead of dominance and coercion by union bosses. [More…]
and Mr Bob Hawke, President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, to settle the industrial dispute surrounding the sailing of the [More…]
This is my maiden speech in the Parliament and in it I propose to deal with 4 main subjects - poverty, the trade unions, tourism and sport. [More…]
As the organised strength of the lower and middle income workers, trade unions have an obligation to exercise their civic responsibility. [More…]
The standard of living of the Australian people depends upon the strong demands of the unions for improved conditions, social services, education, housing and a host of other things. [More…]
Trade unions initiate the demands and they need to have the Australian Labor Party in government to implement their policies. [More…]
Which agricultural organisations is it intended will be invited to participate in the conference and will representatives of trade unions vitally interested in agricultural matters, such as the Australian Worker’s Union, be invited to attend the conference. [More…]
I noted that when the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission handed out the 6 per cent increase in wages and salaries last December, after devoting pages of its determination to a justification for the increase, it pleaded to unions to be moderate in their demands in future. [More…]
I believe it is unfortunate that the control of some unions is in the hands of people who have a vested interest in the breakdown of the Australian economy. [More…]
Certain people heaped abuse on the Australian Council of Trade Unions but practically everybody has said that retail price maintenance is a form of price fixing aimed at the purchaser in Australia. [More…]
Wage increases have to be proved to be necessary before an independent tribunal and the whole weight of the Commonwealth Government is thrown against the unions whenever they take action in the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission. [More…]
1 am very interested to hear his comment because that is a proposition which the Australian Council of Trade Unions advanced. [More…]
Mr Hawke was involved in putting before the public the general proposition that pices were the problem and that what the unions should do was to get into that activity themselves by getting into the ACTU store. [More…]
I believe this not to be the case and indeed I think that in the system which we have in Australia we have found that industry generally has acted in a proper fashion and that profit ratios are not extreme compared with those in other countries.I believe that the unions generally, and particularly the activities of the leader of the Australian Council of Trade Unions enforcing his views and the views of some of those who support him in respect of industrial matters, have certainly been of disadvantage to the community. [More…]
Another factor which is against the interests of the community is the demand by unions that the employees of certain firms shall become members of unions. [More…]
This organisation was given an indication that unless every employee was a member of one of the unions the ACTU would in actual fact stop all goods going in or out of its stores. [More…]
I believe that the general proposition which has been put forward by the unions is that they believe they should get into the retail business and they hope - this was indicated at a recent conference” - to extent into the areas of insurance, finance and house building. [More…]
However, I do know, as do other senators, that the unions intend to purchase out of profits a partnership in this organisation. [More…]
He comments that the unions which represent mostly the lower income people in the community are compelled, as a result of this pattern, to seek increased wages through the arbitration system. [More…]
1 have heard honourable senators opposite during this Budget debate making comments about people in the trade unions. [More…]
Sufficient to say that this is the very point made by Professor Downing, that this trend forces the unions to make increased demands for wages. [More…]
Mr John Ducker, a senior trade union official who has figured prominently in the Australian Council of Trade Unions Congress was born in Hull in Yorkshire. [More…]
These additional charges will be passed on to the public by manufacturing and service industries’, said Mr Gill, ‘and will certainly lead to demands by Trade Unions for further wage increases’. [More…]
Again we see an example of the type of criticism that is levelled against trade unions. [More…]
Did Mr Polites also accuse the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission of ineptitude in handling some cases, quoting examples of the Commission actually causing strikes by refusing to listen to submissions by employers and unions? [More…]
Was consideration given to my remarks at a recent Citizenship Convention that membership of the Immigration Planning Council should be conferred on post-war migrants in the trade union movement in addition to Australian Council of Trade Unions personnel? [More…]
The trade unions have condemned the Budget; employers’ organisations have condemned the Budget; and, what is more, the Associated Chambers of Commerce has made remarks about it. [More…]
It was also criticised by the trade unions, Surely no supporter of the Government would dispute that the trade unions are an important part of the society of Australia. [More…]
If anyone disputes that, let him get to his feet and say that the trade unions are not an important segment of the community. [More…]
Was the Government under pressure when it awarded wage and salary increases to members of organisations, associations or trade unions in its employ? [More…]
But let us not have the Government complaining about trade unions putting pressure on employers. [More…]
I know for a positive fact that no pressure was put on the Government when the increased figure to which I have referred was arrived at during a conference between representatives of the Government and the unions. [More…]
It is always trying to pick on the trade unions and the workers of this country. [More…]
I hope he returns because I wish to direct the remaining period of my time to remarks he made on Wednesday evening in a most unwarranted and unjustified attack on the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
I am very interested to hear his comment because thai is a proposition which the Australian Council of Trade Unions advanced. [More…]
Mr Hawke was involved in putting before the public the general proposition that prices were the problem and that what the unions should do was to get into the activity themselves by getting into the ACTU store. [More…]
There is a real irony in the Australian Council of Trade Unions’ ‘victory’ over Dunlop Australia Ltd. [More…]
His case for an increase in the price of his labour is argued in the Commission by his representatives - the respective trade unions - against skilled lawyers employed by the wealthy employers who also have on the:” side on numerous occasions skilled representatives of this Government instructed to oppose any increase in wages or betterment of working conditions. [More…]
To compile and present a case to arbitration is a lengthy and costly exercise for the unions. [More…]
The present tactics being used by the Government and the Press in their attempt to crucify Mr Hawke, the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, are nothing new. [More…]
Only a few days ago in the Press he accused the Australian Council of Trade Unions of attempting to pressure the Federal Government on social services commitments in the Budget that was then to be presented. [More…]
Is the AttorneyGeneral aware that a statement was made by Senator Gair that Soviet diplomats are connected with a lot of sabotage in Australia and that there is sabotage in the trade unions and the Public Service? [More…]
As was the case this year, invitations will be issued to primary producer organisations, marketing boards, State and Commonwealth departments, scientific groups, universities and business firms associated with agriculture, and also to the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
Are Commonwealth moneys paid to such student unions on behalf of the holders of Commonwealth scholarships? [More…]
I refer to a recent statement by the Minister for the Navy that certain unions were demanding the right to put persons in positions of employment in our naval dockyards without the management having the right of scrutiny or to say who is to be employed. [More…]
I ask the Minister: What are the unions concerned? [More…]
Are any of the officers of these unions members of the Communist parties? [More…]
In view of the number of spies who have been around the chamber this morning, I preface my question to the Attorney-General by referring to the answer which he gave to my question on Tuesday last, 28th September, regarding the allegations by Senator Gair that there were Soviet spies and sabotage in the trade unions and the Public Service. [More…]
They have to resort to art unions and other forms of raising money. [More…]
The need for such an inquiry has been proved by the actions of members of the various associations and unions in the Post Office. [More…]
Is he able to say whether this is contrary to the wishes of the Australian Council of Trade Unions? [More…]
Secondly, has he also noted that a leading Victorian trade union official is reported to have issued the warning that if Mr Clyde Cameron’s views were made mandatory Victorian trade unions would not provide finance for the Australian Labor Party at the next Federal election? [More…]
He referred to a section of the Australian community which happens to be banded together under the name of the Australian Labor Party - although Mr Bowen forbore to give its name - which, with the support of highly influential Communist led unions constituted in Australia a body of opinion which that audience might not wish to subserve. [More…]
Those persons might be lucky enough to get one of the Australian Labor Party presidents, like the man in Victoria, to say: ‘I will get the unions to provide a bodyguard for you.’ [More…]
Has the Minister representing the Minister for Labour and National Service seen the statement that Mr Barnard, Deputy Leader of the Opposition in another place, is in favour of secret ballots in trade unions? [More…]
Can the Minister say how that statement aligns itself with the policiesof the governments of New South Wales and certain other States which propose to legislate for the introduction of secret ballots in trade unions? [More…]
Mr Barnard, Deputy Leader of the Opposition in another place, is in favour of secret ballots in trade unions. [More…]
Can the Minister say how that statement aligns itself with the policies of the governments of New South Wales and certain other States which propose to legislate for the introduction of secret ballots in trade unions? [More…]
I think the appropriate answer is that I shall ask my colleague, the Minister for Labour and National Service, to invite the Deputy Leader of the Opposition to give the Minister his views on the matter so that they may assist in advancing a consideration of acceptance of secret ballots in trade unions. [More…]
Has the Minister also seen a report in which the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions is reported to have said that the entire resources of that organisation will be made available to the South Australian trade union movement to oppose the proposed legislation in Parliament? [More…]
In the light of that action, has the Minister yet told the Australian Council of Trade Unions which is represented on the National Labour Advisory Council that the Government is against any recommendations which this Advisory Council might make? [More…]
I preface my question to the Attorney-General by reminding him that on 28th September and earlier he promised to discuss with Senator Gair the latter’s allegation that Soviet spies were sabotaging the trade unions and the Public Service. [More…]
T pay a very great tribute, and 1 acknowledge the tribute paid by Senator Webster, to those members of the Waterside Workers- Federation and associated industrial organisations and trade unions in Tasmania who, during the past season, have enabled a rate of handling of the crop such that the industry received a very substantial rebate. [More…]
Irrespective of what government has been in office in New South Wales it has, when determining housing allotments in country areas, sought advice from the local Country Women’s Association, the Returned Services League, trade unions and so on. [More…]
People talk about the power of the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
But if we have to live with these funds it would be much easier if we had this check off system in a number of trade unions, which even employers are prepared to accept. [More…]
Is the fact, as reported in the ‘Australian Financial Review’ of 22nd October 1971, that the Government recently brought pressure to bear on the Metal Trades Industry Association to resist moves to have collective bargaining agreements with unions? [More…]
If so, is such an action a contribution to industrial peace or an unwarranted interference with the rights of employers and unions to negotiate freely in the spirit of conciliation for the fixation of just wage rates? [More…]
Can the Government veto decisions of industrial unions to merge together in the common interests of its members; if so, under what legislation does this right of veto exist. [More…]
Under existing legislation the Government cannot veto decisions of industrial unions to merge together. [More…]
Are there any cases where the Commonwealth Government has vetoed mergers agreed upon between industrial unions after a ballot of rank and file members has been held and carried in favour of such mergers. [More…]
What unions have demanded the right to place persons in employment in naval dockyards without management having an.y right of decision in such matters? [More…]
Are any officials of these unions members of the Communist Parlies of Australia? [More…]
Other Unions occasionally attempt to force dockyard managements to employ their members and sometimes exert direct industrial pressure to achieve this objective. [More…]
Although no official of the Shipwrights Association is known to be a Communist, there are indications that there is some communist influence active within the rank and file; this could also be said of many of the Unions with members employed in the dockyards whether Naval or otherwise. [More…]
I rise at the behest of the Seamen’s Union of Australia and Mr Souter of the Australian Council of Trade Unions to speak about the undue delay by the Government in signing the Refugee Seamen’s Convention. [More…]
Appointments to the Council are made by the Minister for Immigration on the basis of nominations sought from representative organisations.In relation to the trade union representation, the Australian Council of Trade Unions was invited to submit 3 nominations. [More…]
The only figures that I have before me deal with New South Wales because the unions which have given these papers to me have not had time to go through the various States to establish the position in each of them. [More…]
The proposed reorganisation was a shock to those people in the trade unions within the Post Office who are concerned with this matter. [More…]
So I put it to the Minister that very obviously a breakdown occurred between the organisation and the unions and the people concerned. [More…]
There was no consultation with the unions or the people concerned as to what was to happen to their homes, what was to happen in regard to the education of their children, or that type of thing. [More…]
I do hope that on this occasion the personnel communication has not broken down and that the unions and the people concerned are very clear about what is to be done. [More…]
Has the Minister’s attention been drawn to the reported statement made yesterday by the national secretary of the Federated Ironworkers Association, Mr Laurie Short, to the effect that Australians would have fewer and shorter strikes if unions held secret ballots on industrial problems; that there were too many strikes in Australia ir the past few years, and that political strikes are wrong? [More…]
I believe that the fact that we have called it the Common Market, the fact that we have called it the European Economic Community, the fact that we have talked of customs unions has obscured the truth. [More…]
The Government recognises, as I think most Australians do, the tremendous value that trade unions have been in the development of working conditions in Australia, which are without peer in any other country. [More…]
Is the Attorney-General aware that a statement has been made by Senator Gair that Union of Soviet Socialist Republics diplomats are connected with sabotage in Australia and that there is sabotage in the trade unions and the public service. [More…]
Has the Attorney-General, as promised on 28th September 1971, discussed with Senator Gair the allegations made by him regarding Union of Soviet Socialist Republics inspired sabotage in the trade unions and public service, and has Senator Gair provided any evidence to support his allegations? [More…]
Instead of giving attention to the amendment of the Act the Government has concentrated all its fire in answering the public’s indignation about constantly rising prices by blaming the demands of the unions for ever-increasing rises. [More…]
The suggestion which has gone out to the world has been that the constant increase in prices and the cost of living is something which has to be laid entirely or at least almost entirely at the door of the unions. [More…]
Nonetheless 1 think it is commonly agreed that the persistent propaganda which comes from the Government is that this situation is at the root of the problems of inflation and that strong measures to curb the constant demands of the unions for wage rises which will merely enable them to keep pace with the price rises will go a long way towards answering the problem of inflation. [More…]
We believe that a government which was really responsible, which really wanted to do something about prices and which had found in the unions a ready scapegoat for all price increases, would already have been giving consideration to what should be done and would have its amendments ready now. [More…]
Surely if this Government believed, as Sir Garfield Barwick was pointing out in 1963, that trade practices legislation is one of the most potent weapons for genuine competition and for some sort of control over price rises and it wanted to do something about inflation it would not have contented itself over the last year or two with diatribes against the unions but would have amending legislation well along the way. [More…]
I refer to agreements made by certain unions. [More…]
Represented on the Council are the employers and the unions, and from time to time it examines the overall immigration programme. [More…]
Since then a number of questions have been asked of the Minister about whether the information was correct, whether discussions between the staff unions affected and Qantas were held, and broadly what the Minister thought about the situation. [More…]
I have asked whether they have been retrenched, whether there have been negotiations between the unions covering the flight engineers, the crews, the pilots, etc., and Qantas and whether the negotiations were being conducted in a way which would satisfy everybody that the retrenchments might be averted or the position corrected. [More…]
It seems lo me that it is an issue about which in another department the Minister or the Government would intervene or assist the unions and management to come to terms around the table. [More…]
lt emanated from one of the unions in Burnie; I think it was the Printing and Kindred Industries Union, but I do not wish to be held to that because I may be wrong. [More…]
Publications produced by students are in part supported by funds from the Students’ Unions and, to the extent that there are compulsory fees attached to membership of the Students’ Unions, those fees are paid by the Commonwealth for holders of Commonwealth scholarships; that is the only way in which there could be said to be any Commonwealth support or Commonwealth link in support of the publications. [More…]
Did the trade unions of Australia play a major role in bringing into existence the ‘white Australia policy’. [More…]
Is the Minister representing the Minister for Primary Industry aware that 5 farmers on Kangaroo Island in South Australia have been black listed, with a ban placed on their wool, by trade unions because non-union shearers and shed hands were employed during shearing? [More…]
As this black ban is a clear case of compulsory unionism by threat and virtual blackmail, will the Minister point out to the trade unions the financial harm that they are doing to these people on Kangaroo Island who are already under great financial stress, in the hope that some semblance of decency and respect for the rights ot the individual might be shown by the trade unions lifting this most undemocratic black ban? [More…]
1 am disappointed indeed to hear that the unions should see fit on this occasion, particularly when primary industries are going through a period of such low returns for their produce, when some farmers band together to do each other’s shearing - [More…]
To that body of information must be added the ability of the Australian community and its leaders, which embraces an extremely wide range of people, lt includes the Australian Council of Trade Unions, the Employers Federation, the Australian Woolgrowers and Graziers Council, the Wool and Meat Producers Federation, the bankers, chambers of commerce, and chambers of manufactures. [More…]
As the rights of the individual are being ignored by trade unions in their demands to enforce compulsory trade unionism on some farmers on Kangaroo Island by imposing a black ban on their wool, does this mean that any farmer who employs non-union labour on his property will be similarly black-listed, thus preventing the delivery of wheat and livestock? [More…]
Will the Minister seek the support of the leaders of the Australian Labor Party in order to change this dominant attitude of trade unions which could bring economic disaster to farmers as well as to rural dwellers and the economy generally? [More…]
I find it scandalous that, on an island like Kangaroo Island where there are people with small holdings whose income from rural commodities has diminished considerably and whose sons find that they have to go out and take jobs with neighbours to supplement that income, the unions should see fit to black ban their produce. [More…]
As a black ban has been placed upon 5 farmers on Kangaroo Island by some trade unions because nonunion labour was employed during shearing, will the Attorney-General make inquiries to see whether any legal action can be taken to assist these farmers to defend their rights and freedoms against the militant actions of these trade unions? [More…]
I know that persons at law have civil remedies which have been used successfully in the case of unions which have imposed boycotts and black bans in recent times. [More…]
In many cases access to the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission is not available to people who are suffering as a result of black bans and boycotts which are imposed by unions. [More…]
The high cost of houses is caused by nothing more or less than piece work, which the unions allow. [More…]
Yet the unions or the tradesmen apply for more wages. [More…]
ls it a fact that the left wing majority on the Australian Council of Trade Unions has been strongly attacked as a result of the postponement of the hearing of the 1971 national wage case? [More…]
Is it a fact, as reported in the ‘Australian Financial Review’ of 22nd October 1971, that the Government recently brought pressure to bear on the Metal Trades Industry Association to resist moves to have collective bargaining agreements wilh unions? [More…]
If so, is such an action a contribution to industrial peace or an unwarranted interference wilh the rights of employers and unions to negotiate freely in the spirit of conciliation for the fixation of just wage rales? [More…]
The Government has nol attempted to influence the Metal Trades Industry Association to resist any tendency towards collective bargaining agreements with unions. [More…]
Minister whether he knows that the building trade unions in the West are now pressing for the introduction of the 40- hour week and the banning of all overtime. [More…]
The questions appear in the Senate Hansard at page 2150 under the headings ‘Wool Growers on Kangaroo Island’ and ‘Trade Unions’, Is the AttorneyGeneral now aware, following his investigation, that a wool grower on Kang;voc Island who is involved in an industrial dispute over employing non-unionists is respondent to the Federal pastoral industry award? [More…]
Will the Minister also request the Federal Government to make representations to the South Australian Prices Commissioner opposing any increase above one-ninth of a cent per loaf, along the lines followed by the Federal Government when it appears before the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission opposing applications by the trade unions for increases in wages? [More…]
The point I am getting at is that the Department of Immigration and its Ministers have always had the problem of balancing relations between trade unions and employer groups and the State governments. [More…]
Senator Bishop is aware of the problems of maritime unions in respect of the containerisation of cargoes. [More…]
Perhaps I could go further and say that some of the migrants who have come here are working their way into positions in the unions and are causing trouble in Australia, but T do not want to go into that subject. [More…]
I do not want to get into an argument about the hierarchy of the trade union movement and nominees of the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
I thought, he was quite unfair about the role of migrants in trade unions. [More…]
If we go back in history we find the part that the unions played in Australia having this policy. [More…]
Can the Minister representing the Minister for Social Services give me any indication that the shoal of petitions from ethnic groups and trade unions seeking the acceptance by the Government of the principle of social service entitlement transferability submitted to the Senate by me recently is likely to bear fruit? [More…]
To me they are nothing less than parasites - there is no other name for them - because they would not be necessary if all job opportunities were made known to the major unions. [More…]
One of the features that struck me most, about the Government’s proposals in this field is that, while advocating an increase in and a greater emphasis on the conciliation aspect of conciliation and arbitration, the Government has also proposed that even though parties - unions and employers - should manage in the conciliation process to reach some agreement as to appropriate wage rates there should still be a power in the Commonwealth to intervene and appeal to the presidential members of the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Commission against such an negotiated agreement on the justification of the public interest being affected. [More…]
Will the Government also make representations to ;he South Australian Prices Commissiner opposing any increase above one ninth of a cent in the price of a loaf of bread, as this would be consistent with Government action in the Arbitration Court when it opposes applications by trade unions for increased wages. [More…]
Since the decision in February 1970, delivery of the rams has been severely disrupted by the ‘black ban’ imposed by the Australian Council of Trade Unions on the handling of merino rams sold for export with a view to preventing their export from Australia. [More…]
The intervention of the unions is all the more deplorable as the export of merino rams is in no sense an industrial issue. [More…]
Did Mr Polites also accuse the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Commission of ineptitude in handling some cases by quoting examples of the Commission actually causing strikes by refusing to listen to submissions by employers and unions [More…]
Are Commonwealth funds paid to university student unions on behalf of the holders of Commonwealth scholarships; if so, will the Minister take steps to have the Joint Committee of Public Accounts investigate the use of public moneys for such non-academic purposes. [More…]
In view of the admitted unemployment existing ali over Australia, has the Government given any serious consideration to the proposal of the Australian Council of Trade Unions for a moratorium or legislation to protect those out of work from losing their purchases made under current hire purchase agreements? [More…]
But honourable senators opposite are always very happy to have a dig at the trade unions and point out that there is a demarcation dispute between say, the boilermakers and the fitters. [More…]
We had a demarcation dispute involving not the trade unions but no less a person than the New South Wales Liberal-Country Party Minister for Works, Mr Davis Hughes, and the Commonwealth Government. [More…]
I should think that anybody who brought a reasonable judgment to bear as to the operation of the arbitration system in Australia and New Zealand in comparison with the mediaeval alternatives that exist elsewhere, such as collective bargaining, either controlled or uncontrolled, would find that our system has yielded incomparable advantages to the trade unions. [More…]
In other words, at that time while the Budget was still in the process of being dealt with by the national Parliament, every responsible individual and organisation, including the Australian Council of Trade Unions - or at least a great range of people and organisations - was critical of the Budget. [More…]
Stoppages such as that have aggravated our unemployment position and until the trade unions, particularly their leaders, act as if they are genuinely concerned about their members and realise– [More…]
I refer to his colleague Mr Hawke and to those members of various unions who have been concerned to create unemployment and who have been unconcerned about the consequences of that unemployment. [More…]
Because some unions in Victoria were prepared to continue with their striking or not doing the work that they were required to do. [More…]
If the Opposition’ is determined to blame the Government for unemployment and if it is determined to accuse the Government of being responsible for the vicissitudes which hit people because they are unemployed, let the Labor Party be consistent and let it come down hard on those, people in the unions over whom it has some influence. [More…]
It is a Party which draws strength from the unions. [More…]
Is it a fact that the recent Teheran Conference of the International Labour Organisation very clearly affirmed the right of unions to organise and the right of freedom of association? [More…]
Would attempts by reactionary groups within the Parliament to interfere in the internal affairs of the trade union movement, particularly in regard to amalgamation of unions, give the impression overseas that we in Australia are opposed to ILO conventions? [More…]
1 think it would be well known that the resolution of the International Labour Organisation to which reference has been made affirms the right of free association of trade unions and organisations set up for other purposes in regard to social, political or industrial life. [More…]
Is it a fact that, in the process of the amalgamation of the metal trades group of unions, ballots in accordance with the current Conciliation and Arbitration Act were substantially carried by those unions with a majority of well over 3 to 1? [More…]
It is a fact that ballots were conducted by each of those unions. [More…]
1 do not have in front of me the figures as to the results of the ballots, but it is true to say that the percentage of the ballot papers returned represented only a proportion of the total membership and ;hat the majority of the members who voted were in favour of the unions’ request for the cancellation of their registrations, which is the subject upon which the regulations require the ballots to take place. [More…]
However, there was a ballot majority of something like, from memory, twothirds of those voting doing so in favour of the cancellation of the unions. [More…]
There have been complaints from the unions about this matter but it has never been satisfactorily cleared up. [More…]
There is the question of arbitration procedures and the protracted delay that is involved on the part of the Commonwealth Public Service in handling applications by industrial unions of employees for determinations. [More…]
The Presbyterian Assembly, the Australian Council of Churches and the Methodist Church of Australasia, amongst others, as well as the Australian Council of Trade Unions, have all called for the repeal of conscription. [More…]
What about the records of the fairness of trade unions in dealing with their members? [More…]
I do not think it is sufficient to leave the matter on the basis that there is discontent among his fellow employees and that, if satisfaction is not gained, the Minister for Labour and National Service (Mr Lynch) and his Department will be responsible for any action the unions lake and that action will be supported by Senator Milliner. [More…]
It is also relevant to note that the Special Committee on Problems of the Environment (SCOPE), a high-level international body established in 1968 by the international Council of Scientific Unions, has appointed an ad hoc Committee on Man-made Lakes, so that the subject is by no means being neglected internationally. [More…]
Unions display a great centripetal tendency. [More…]
When somebody says to me that the trade unions are asking for too much or something like that I always look at these other fields where, to my way of thinking, some of these economies could be effected. [More…]
I believe that the Government is being totally unfair because every time that the maritime unions have agreed to changes there has been no visible change in the price structure. [More…]
It is no longer acceptable for the Government to say to the community that the reason for price increases is that the trade unions are villains, that they are asking for increases in wages and this is the sole or only substantial cause of price rises, or that if only the trade unions could be told not to ask for any wage increases there would be no further trouble. [More…]
Instead the Government certainly has taken the trade unions as scapegoats for all the problems which beset us. [More…]
The whole strategy of the Gorton and McMahon Governments was to put the blame on the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Commission and especially on the trade unions, the white collar unions and the Public Service associations that made approaches to the Commission. [More…]
It is apparent that wage and salary earners and their unions are to be made the scapegoats. [More…]
The decisions of the Arbitration Court may make some difference to some public employees and not others who do nol have strong unions, but generally speaking the Court does no more than follow what would have been the movement of the labour market in any case. [More…]
I invite honourable senators to consider the case of the trade unions. [More…]
It is these companies, not the trade unions or wage earners, that control inflation. [More…]
It is the companies and not the trade unions or wage earners that control inflation. [More…]
Let me make this perfectly clear right at the outset: I do not stand here attacking trade unions or blaming unionists for all the evils in this country. [More…]
As a former unionist let me say that unions are quite keen to make this evil thing called profits. [More…]
At the moment the Government is sponsoring an amalgamation of 3 of the largest unions in the country. [More…]
Today these amalgamated unions announced their intention of asking for further wage increases and improved conditions. [More…]
The Australian Council of Trade Unions will become redundant with the development of still more amalgamations and the creation of bigger unions. [More…]
The amalgamated unions have announced ‘hat outside the arbitration system they intend to place pressure on the metal trades employers for the increases they are demanding. [More…]
Recently, when unions in those industries asked for and received a 9 per cent wage increase outside the arbitration system I did not hear anything from anybody on the Labor side or the Liberal side of this chamber. [More…]
Because the unions’ demands were being met, Labor was strangely silen*. [More…]
The Government says that the unions must work through arbitration. [More…]
It came down with a proposition that the ideal was to take the unions back to the arbitration system and that it would permit, on a vote of the membership of the unions which was no more ‘nan an average of 16 per cent of the membership, an amalgamation of those unions into an industrial colossus that will be the greatest threat to the stability of the economy of this nation that we have yet faced. [More…]
We should stand up here and exchange our ideas as people with an interest in Australia, not as people just trying to gain a political advantage over each other or sing a song that will be welcomed by the unions on one side, or on the other side sing a song that may defend the Prime Minister (Mr McMahon) who has agreed to the evils that I have just outlined in the trade union movement and who, indeed, had an entirely different policy on the Broken Hill Pty Co. Ltd from that of his representative in this chamber, Senator Carrick. [More…]
Many of that 84 per cent of the membership of those unions that did not vote would have a very valid reason for not voting. [More…]
The Australian Council of Trade Unions is cajoled into putting its faith in arbitration and putting its submissions in a national wage case. [More…]
The trade unions cannot be blamed for that because they have argued in the court on productivity and all of the other factors that go to determine the living wage. [More…]
I say respectfully that in the steel industry members of the Federated Ironworkers’ Association and the craft unions at Newcastle and Wollongong earned any wage gain that they got. [More…]
The point I am making is this: If the trade unions or the work force as a whole could see some positive action and stabilising effect when they get a wage rise we would not get these sky-rocketing claims about which so much has been said. [More…]
But the Government cannot expect the trade unions to remain docile in the face of job insecurity. [More…]
A tirade of hysteria has been raised about the amalgamation of certain unions. [More…]
This is one of the hazards of trade unions. [More…]
When we speak about the metal trades unions, let us be realistic. [More…]
But to be honest about it, most of these unions have members working on sites in distant areas and in hot climates. [More…]
If honourable senators argue with me that in a foundry in Sydney or Melbourne a number of these people receive over award payments and systematic overtime, 1 would point out that this was a product of the employers and not of the trade unions. [More…]
trade unions would have preferred a higher hourly rate than to have the sop of overtime. [More…]
The economic lessons of the day are such that it is inevitable, whatever we may say about it, that amalgamation of the metal trades unions will take place. [More…]
Without naming them, we can think of what has hapened with respect to various manufacturing unions. [More…]
Honourable senators should look at unions that deal with biscuit makers and pastrycooks. [More…]
If those unions merged their members with workers in confectionery industries they would serve their members better. [More…]
I do not know what the situation is with respect to unions with memberships below 1,000 such as the union representing tarpaulin workers which has a membership of approximately 700. [More…]
Manufacturers, trade unions, consumers and intermediaries can put a point of view to that committee and possibly we can evolve some system. [More…]
Mr Gorton also called for the setting up of a national council of trade unions, employers, consumers, and the Government to check wages and prices. [More…]
The Minister for Labour and National Service, Mr Lynch, in adumbrating the amendments to the Conciliation and Arbitration Act towards the close of the previous session of Parliament suggested that if unions and employers negotiated agreements with which the Government did not approve the Government would go behind those negotiations and would appeal to a full bench of the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission to sei them aside. [More…]
If the unions show any muscle by striking they are threatened with penalties - something different to the pious regret which is the worst that unilaterial price rises by great monopolies get from the Government and. [More…]
I refer to your request of 29th February for details of union dues payable in four large Australian industrial unions, including an engineering union, currently and 10 years ago. [More…]
The following information was obtained from the New South Wales branches of the unions selected for this exercise. [More…]
Senate criticising companies which demonstrate a 1.4 per cent increase in prices - perhaps over a 10-year period it would represent approximately 11 per cent - while not putting forward the situation in relation to the unions to which they belong, the unions which they support and the policies which those unions support. [More…]
Payment of unemployment benefit to members of unions participating in the State Electricity Commission strike was refused in accordance with the procedures laid down under the Labor Government on the instructions of Mr Chifley, Dr [More…]
That was approximately the duration of the dispute- will depend upon whether they lost their employment because of the strike and belonged to one of the unions sponsoring it. [More…]
He was a member of the Library Committee from 2nd March 1950, of the Serrate Standing Orders Committee from 11th November 1953, of the Senate Select Committee on Payments to Maritime Unions in 1958, and of the Joint Committee on the Australian Capital Territory from 14th August 1962. [More…]
What consultation is there between the Commonwealth Employment Service and the Northern Territory trade unions, and how frequent is such consultation. [More…]
I do not mind whether the store involved happens to be one of the large stores in Melbourne or even the store run by the Australian Council of Trade Unions in Victoria. [More…]
I refer to the fact that trade unions have agreed that in highly specialised diving in the pearling industry we have agreed to the employment of some Japanese divers. [More…]
Has the AttorneyGeneral received a letter from the Australian Federation of Police Associations and Unions? [More…]
Members of the unions who sponsored this strike are ineligible for unemployment benefit for any period of unemployment resulting from that sponsorship. [More…]
The community is entitled to expect this when repeated efforts are made by a number of unions with members employed by Commonwealth agencies to interfere with the activities of those agencies. [More…]
In recent years, too many situations have developed in which unions with employees in the Public Service have declined to take their claims before the Public Service Arbitrator in the normal and proper manner. [More…]
Moveover, industrial situations have arisen in which the claims by the unions have already been the subject of close and detailed examination by the Public Service Board including discussions and negotiations with the unions. [More…]
The unions have then declined to use the normal arbitration process. [More…]
Most unions with employees in the Public Service do, in fact, follow this course of action but there are some with members employed in key areas of Commonwealth activity which reject the proper processes open to them under this Act and resort to intimidatory tactics by way of strikes or bans on work. [More…]
As 1 have emphasised, instances have arisen in which unions refuse to lodge claims with the Arbitrator. [More…]
With all the avenues by which unions in Commonwealth employment may seek to have their claims resolved there ought not to be any resort to direct action. [More…]
In some instances, these have resulted in unions finally agreeing to process their claims before the Public Service Arbitrator. [More…]
I refer to the improper use of Commonwealth Government funds paid by the universities to student unions and used for the payment of fines or otherwise to assist those who might be in breach of the law. [More…]
I believe that the Government’s” actions in seeking to strengthen this legislation is in accordance with its policy of” imposing further restrictions on the ability of trade unions in Australia to bargain with employers for an improvement in working conditions. [More…]
As was stated by the Minister in his second reading speech, this legislation is directed primarily at employees and unions in the Post Office. [More…]
For some years Post Office employees and the unions representing them have been frustrated by the Public Service Board. [More…]
The Government discussed its proposed amendments to the Conciliation and Arbitration Act with the Australian Council of Trade Unions, the Council of Commonwealth Public Service Organisations, the Australian Council of Salaried and Professional Associations and other organisations and undertook that the discussions would be resumed. [More…]
First of all I want to say that it is evident to me that what is involved in the matter of industrial relations in a situation where the economy is rapidly expanding and where inflation has taken over and is rising very sharply every year is the ability or non-ability of trade unions to secure for their members that to which they are rightly entitled, that is, their share of the wage increases which flow from national wage cases or determinations made outside the arbitration tribunals. [More…]
It is clear that the Government has decided to amend the Public Service Act not only to impose some new restrictions on Commonwealth public servants but also because it is a part of the Government’s long range policy to hamstring the trade unions. [More…]
Unions in those countries of the world which constitute the International Labour Organisation have, over the years not had more restrictions placed upon them; they have had restrictions taken off them. [More…]
What we are surprised about is that the Government, having set upon a course of dealing with restrictions in a general industrial position where it could not enforce the punitive clauses of the Arbitration Act, has also engaged in discussions with the ACTU, ACSPA, CCPSO and other related unions. [More…]
During these discussions it was agreed between the parties, Mr Lynch being the Minister for Labour and National Service and the head of his Department being present, that there would be further discussions in respect of the Public Service Arbitration Act between the Minister, his officers and the Public Service unions. [More…]
While this correspondence was being exchanged, and in view of the fact that the central organisation of the Commonwealth Public Service unions would be able to take this matter up and consider what might be appropriately altered within the purview of the Commonwealth Public Service Act, they sent out to their members a letter believing that they had a complete understanding with the Minister that they would be given the opportunity to discuss what might be done. [More…]
Variation to the mode of appointment and tenure of office of Arbitrators by providing for a system whereby in future there is agreement between the unions, employers and Government on who should be appointed as Public Service Arbitrators; upon appointment the term of office should be the same as for a Commissioner or Presidential member of the C. & A. [More…]
Early this year - in March - Mr Cook of the Department of Labour and National Service and the Minister, Mr Lynch, invited the unions to discuss the matter. [More…]
But the Minister presented to the unions the final draft of the Bill which is now before the Senate. [More…]
So, having undertaken to consider what the unions might think about necessary amendments, the Minister came along with the completed draft of the Bill. [More…]
This Public Service inquiry had been agreed upon and the unions said they would support it. [More…]
In a communication which has been sent to me and to some other unions Paul Munro, Secretary of the CCPSO, pointed out that it might have been possible to consider - it would have been preferable from the point of view of the unions - inserting directly and strictly the provisions of sections 28 and 29 of the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Act which they considered would be better and certainly less onerous than what is now proposed in the Bill before the Senate. [More…]
At present resort can be made by Public Service unions and management to the conciliation and dispute settling procedures under section 28 of the Conciliation and Arbitration Act. [More…]
The Government should properly have continued its discussions with the unions if it felt that new procedures were necessary. [More…]
We suggest that step by step this Government has set out to impose restrictions on unions in an effort to restrain the economic drives it commenced in its Budget. [More…]
Those increases resulted from the heavy duties the Government imposed at Budget time yet it blames the unions for the escalation of costs. [More…]
In recent months we have become used to regular attacks on unions by the Prime Minister (Mr McMahon), the previous Prime Minister and by leaders of the Government parties. [More…]
There was concentrated action by the Government to attack, on every occasion possible the Australian Council of Trade Unions, the national voice of the labour movement. [More…]
On many occasions the Government failed to consider the propositions of the ACTU and the unions. [More…]
In these situations what else do you think the unions would do but engage more actively in campaigns to secure wage justice? [More…]
That claim for the industry allowance took 2 years for the unions to process and it took a long time for the Public Service Board and the Public Service Arbitrator to deal with it. [More…]
In relation to the negotiations to which I have referred it was fortunate that, in some of the circumstances, the Australian Council of Trade Unions was able to come along and assist the Amalgamated Postal Workers Union settle the negotiations. [More…]
It can accept very clear pro formas which are well known to industrial relations people, unions and management. [More…]
The first is to try to build up within the Australian community a notion that the only cause of rising costs is the militant unions - the over-active unions - and not Government policy. [More…]
Management and unions should have been allowed to decide in what respect it might be modified. [More…]
Public Service unions but it catches all the other people in the Public Service who, in many circumstances, are able to negotiate very quickly. [More…]
Looking at the sorts of unions involved, how does the Government expect to encourage the settlement of disputes? [More…]
The number of unions involved in the Public Service are set out in the Public Service Board annual report for 1971. [More…]
Unions and staff associations with membership confined to the Commonwealth Service . [More…]
Unions and staff associations with membership confined to the Commonwealth Service and to Commonwealth authorities- - [More…]
Unions and staff associations with membership in the Commonwealth Service and in private employment, etc and, in some cases, in Commonwealth authorities - [More…]
The list goes on with large groups of unions. [More…]
Unions and staff associations with membership confined to Commonwealth authorities with which the Board is in statutory relationship - [More…]
A perusal of the history of the threats by the Government and the reports made to the unions shows that the legislation was drafted at a time when the Government intended to carry out a large electoral campaign against Labor. [More…]
The Government should take the first opportunity to do what the Public Service unions ask, that is, to consult them as to whether modifications in respect of both sides of the employment scale might be considered. [More…]
There is no doubt in my mind that prior to the election the Minister will initiate actions against unions by standing down their members. [More…]
At present in the Commonwealth Public Service there are campaigns by some unions in respect of these matters. [More…]
We support the opposition of the CCPSO, of the unions generally and certainly of the ACTU. [More…]
Meeting of the Joint Councils comprising of representatives of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, Australian Council of Salaried and Professional Associations and Council of Commonwealth Public Service Organisations meeting in Melbourne today expressed strong opposition to and decided to seek the defeat of amendments to the Public Service Arbitration Bill due to come before the Senate when it resumes on 11th April. [More…]
The whole matter should be reconsidered and new legislation introduced after proper consultation with the unions and organisations affected.’ [More…]
We were always warning those in the trade union movement, who were endeavouring to destroy the processes of conciliation and arbitration which the Labor movement had established in this country in the interests of the unions of that fact. [More…]
The record of the postal service unions over the past 10 years, in my view, is what has brought about the introduction of this piece of legislation. [More…]
Until those who are interested in labour, the Labor movement and the trade unions are prepared to recognise that an abuse of that philosophy must ultimately bring the repercussions that it is bringing now, not only the current Government but also whatever government replaces it will be forced, if it is the government elected by the people for the people, to resort to action to ensure that public moneys are not thrown away because people use what I describe as industrial blackmail. [More…]
The unions involved mainly are the Amalgamated Postal Workers Union and the Postal Telecommunications and Technicians Association. [More…]
I think that it mostly has done so, under the national auspices of the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
To my mind it can be clearly established that the unions I mentioned, like the Postal Workers Union, and Mr Slater’s activities, have in some measure been responsible for the introduction of this legislation. [More…]
They were then enjoying certain friendly relationships with the unions, but these have since been disrupted. [More…]
Trade unions are composed of ordinary, normal human beings; our trade union officials are no better and no worse than other members of the community. [More…]
The unions should not aspire to the situation that seems to have been reached in some of the universities today; they must not suppose that they are above the laws that apply to everybody else. [More…]
If this legislation is used for the purpose that the Government has defined and if it is not misused in accordance with the fears which are being expressed by the unions - we see no intent on the part of the Government at this point to misuse it and I am conscious of the fact that any government that did so misuse it would very rapidly cease to be a government in a community such as ours - we feel that at this point of time it should pass. [More…]
In recent years, a completely different approach has been taken, particularly by some of the postal workers’ unions, in regard to this method of changing the conditions of employment and in regard to salaries and wages. [More…]
The work of the Post Office and indeed, one might say, the policy of the Post Office were being dictated by the unions which had placed limitations on work of various kinds. [More…]
No action can be directed at the trade unions under the Public Service Act as it now stands. [More…]
It is clear enough that the Opposition wants to perpetuate the present system whereby the militant unions in the Public Service have a free and open go because the salutary provisions of this legislation, which exist in the ordinary industrial legislation of this country, are not available in the Public Service legislation. [More…]
We all recall the sordid display in that intervening period by members of this group who sit on the cross benches applying pressure to the Commonwealth Government to introduce new penal provisions and restrictive measures on the trade unions generally not only in this Bill but also in the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Act. [More…]
The DLP was insisting that 2 of its members, who happened to be members of the Boilermakers and Blacksmiths Society and the Sheet Metal Workers Union had been refused the right to challenge the amalgamation of the metal trade unions. [More…]
Since then applications for assistance by two members of unions- [More…]
This is the important thing - involved in the current amalgamation of Metal Trades Unions have revealed some shortcomings in the existing provisions for financial assistance in Industrial Court proceedings. [More…]
In reality, of course, the system operates basically to penalise trade unions and workers. [More…]
The amendment projected by the Bill can really only operate one way and that is against the unions and their members and public servants generally. [More…]
It would seem to me that the reality of this Bill is to lay the foundation for still more far reaching penal provisions against the Public Service unions, organisations and members. [More…]
It contains a resolution - I think the Government should be aware of this - that was passed by the ACTU Federal Unions Conference in Sydney on Wednesday, 12th April 1972, which reads as follows: [More…]
This conference of federal unions condemns the anti-union legislation introduced into the Federal Parliament, by the Minister for Labour and National Service, Mr Lynch, which has as its objective the emasculation of trade unionism in the Commonwealth Public Service. [More…]
Clearly, the amending legislation is directed against unions which have asserted their democratic right to take industrial action against the reactionary and hostile anti-union government. [More…]
This conference applauds the action of 46 white collar unions and councils meeting in Sydney on 9th March, which condemns the Federal Government’s policies over discriminatory legislation and wage-salary demands, and called for political action in the electorates, starting with the Lowe electorate, to defeat candidates supporting such legislation as that proposed for public servants. [More…]
That resolution was carried unanimously, which means that it represents the opinion of not only the physical grades in the organised trade union movement concerned with government - that is, the Australian Council of Trade Unions - but also about a quarter of a million employees employed directly in the Public Service of the Commonwealth of Australia. [More…]
The unions have rejected that offer. [More…]
Appropriate courses of action will now be decided by the unions and this could include widespread strikes. [More…]
The Amalgamated Postal Workers’ Union of Australia has received telegrams from Unions all over the world representing 20 million Public Service and Post Office employees protesting against the McMahon Government’s Bill amending the Public Service Arbitration Act to provide for greater penal powers. [More…]
The Minister should be prepared to honour his original agreement to enter into meaningful discussions and negotiations with the public service organisations, the Australian Council of Trade Unions and other interested organisations which would be affected for the purpose of redrafting the legislation after proper consultation with those organisations. [More…]
They spoke with a lot of authority about the trade union movement, arbitration and the upsets and frustrations which beset trade unions in their struggle to obtain better terms and conditions for employees. [More…]
But honourable senators opposite are prone to follow, in all their actions, the extreme courses advocated and set by the leaders of the militant trade unions. [More…]
There was also the maritime workers strike which again continued for several months, lt involved the right to form trade unions to put the trade unionists in the stevedoring industry or maritime industry in a better position to contract their labour with the other contracting parties. [More…]
Tonight’s ‘Daily Mirror’ reports the refusal of the Public Service Board to grant Public Service unions the 9 per cent rise which Victorian public servants received. [More…]
We have found over a period of time that the decisions have not been accepted by the parties to the arbitration, mainly by the unions. [More…]
I have had associations with people in unions. [More…]
The unions have said: ‘We will not accept the decision. [More…]
The result is that the union leaders take their unions out on strike. [More…]
It is very nice to talk in an heroic way about the downtrodden workers and the rights of the worker to do this and that, including to go on strike because he does not agree with a decision given by an arbitration court, but what would the unions say if, as a result of an arbitration court giving a decision to workers or the employers were to say: ‘We think it is too tough. [More…]
What would the unions say in that case? [More…]
Employers have to accept a decision which they think is favourable to the unions. [More…]
It is up to the unions to accept the decision of the arbitration system also. [More…]
Unions cannot have it both ways. [More…]
I know that a weakness has developed in the whole system because of the lawlessness of certain unions which will not abide by decisions and which try to demand what they want irrespective of the arbitration system. [More…]
Unfortunately the view which is held on the other side of the Senate stands up for the lawlessness of unions. [More…]
In fact we have almost a law of the jungle because of the lawlessness of the unions at the present time. [More…]
When the unions go on strike whom do they strike against? [More…]
They strike against the people of this nation because every strike not only injures the unions but also it injures many other people and the welfare of this country of ours. [More…]
I think that in this 20th century for unions to be taking on the strike weapon is really getting back into the dark, dim ages. [More…]
I really think that if the Government had strength it would introduce legislation which would provide that when unions go on strike and union members are not being paid the union leaders would not receive any pay also. [More…]
Unfortunately the leaders are paid while union members have to go on the bread line for some time, lt is very nice for the unions to get a decision their way. [More…]
As I have said, if the employers did the same what would the unions say? [More…]
It is very nice for the unions to go out on strike and affect other people. [More…]
Unions involved in transport which go on strike disrupt transport and this affects people getting to and from their place of work. [More…]
What would the very unions which go on strike say if the farmers and other food producers of this nation decided to go on strike and there was no food for the union people? [More…]
What do the unions do when they go on strike? [More…]
But this is what is happening because of the lawlessness of unions today. [More…]
The unions can demand high pay. [More…]
I feel that because of the lawlessness of certain unions, this Bill is being forced on the people. [More…]
Those unions are to blame for the maintenance of penalties in this arbitration legislation. [More…]
A great number of strikes today are brought about on demarcation issues beteen unions, one union going out on strike because it says that certain work should be done by its members while the union whose members are doing the job maintains that it is the work of its members. [More…]
This is nothing whatever to do with business people or the industry affected; it is merely 2 unions engaged in a fight. [More…]
This sort of thing is going on because of lawlessness in unions. [More…]
It is a matter of 2 unions fighting, causing disruption, and it has nothing whatsoever to do with the employers. [More…]
The 2 unions engage in a fight about whether work should be done by members of their union. [More…]
The unions do these things at peak times. [More…]
The technique of these unions is evident. [More…]
1 have seen lots of things happen in unions that make one think how childish they are. [More…]
A good deal of the lawlessness in this country has been brought about by the leadership of certain unions. [More…]
I think that any person with any degree of responsibility who finds union leaders inciting unions generally and inciting them to refuse to accept the decisions of arbitration should, like the great mass of Australian people, condemn the unions for their lawlessness in not accepting the decisions of arbitration. [More…]
I am convinced that, if that strength were shown by the Government and by industry, in no time we would have peace in business and industry and we would put the left wing leaders of so many unions back where they deserve to be. [More…]
The problem is not the membership of the trade union as such; it is that if the unions do not protect, their job procedures, what will happen? [More…]
They are members of one of the smaller unions. [More…]
Some people say that when the pace setters do something the smaller unions on the smaller margins are carried along with them and suffer. [More…]
The trade unions agreed with the ship owners to institute a 35-hour working week and an $8 pay rise. [More…]
That is the reason why trade unions become somewhat active and say that they want a better deal in another field. [More…]
These are the things that are making trade unions so apprehensive. [More…]
Just as professional groups place pressure on him, and he has to live with this, I am sure that the Postmaster-General has to live with the Amalgamated Postal Workers Union and other kindred trade unions. [More…]
After representations from the Australian Council, of Trade Unions some few men were kept on. [More…]
The Australian Council of Trade Unions, I understand, has obtained other work for them. [More…]
I believe that the Government’s actions in seeking to strengthen this legislation is in accordance with its policy of imposing further restrictions on the ability of trade unions in Australia to bargain with employers for an improvement in working conditions. [More…]
The position is that fines of $1,000 can be imposed on organisations and individuals, and this Bill is but a first step in the introduction of heavier penalties against Public Service unions, organisations and individuals. [More…]
But in reality the system operates basically to penalise trade unions. [More…]
The amendment projected by the Bill really can only operate one way, and that is against the unions and their members and public servants generally. [More…]
It was condemned unanimously by a special conference of federal unions convened by the Australian Council of Trade Unions in Sydney on 12th April this year. [More…]
That was a meeting of unions of various political persuasions, including the Democratic Labor Party. [More…]
This measure has been condemned by even the Spanish trade unions as being fascist. [More…]
It has been described in the daily Press as ‘get tough’ legislation against the unions but we have not heard anything about the introduction of legislation aimed at getting tough against Broken Hill Pty Company Ltd and other big combines in this country which can freely fix their rates of profit without fear of similar legislation being directed against them. [More…]
He said that the unions had been frustrated by the Public Service Board. [More…]
It shows the very great extent to which determinations of the Arbitrator have been made by consent, that is, by agreement between the Public Service Board and the unions. [More…]
The real position is that the unions which represent the officers in the Public Service and, to some extent, ourselves on the Opposition disagree with what the Minister states to be the purpose of the Bill. [More…]
There are some very substantial differences in the interpretation of the Bill which have been given by the Minister and which have since been analysed by legal people representing the unions. [More…]
The Council of Commonwealth Public Service Organisations, the Australian Council of Salaried and Professional Associations and various unions affiliated with those bodies after consideration of the Bill - and the Minister will know that they had time to consider its provisions - met the Minister for Labour and National Service (Mr Lynch). [More…]
The point was made, as I grasped it, that the legislation casts a wide net - I think that that was the inference to be drawn from what was said - and that that ner catches the Public Service unions. [More…]
The Arbitrator is given power to (eli unions not to engage in industrial action. [More…]
The point I want to make is that equally the unions can ask that their claims be dealt with and resolved, lt is not a one way ride, as has been implied. [More…]
I ask the Minister whether it is not a fact that sections 28 and 29 of the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Act have been used either by the Public Service unions or by the Public Service Board in relation to disputes which occurred in the Commonwealth Public Service. [More…]
In many cases the unions have gone to the department concerned and said: ‘This room is no good. [More…]
If we understand that then at least the parties to disputes, the Commonwealth Parliament, the Public Service and the unions, will know exactly what was intended. [More…]
The unions say, however - and after all they are specialists in this legislation - that from their inquiries and investigations this legislation could cover a situation involving a dispute among people outside the Commonwealth Public Service. [More…]
The wide net is the general feature of the complaint by the unions to which we refer, ls it a wide net? [More…]
The unions want to know whether the Arbitrator is going to advise some malcontent group of unionists. [More…]
Can the Arbitrator speak to an odd scab or a group of people who have broken away from the unions? [More…]
1 think it is important to find out whether the unions who represent the workers are in fact right. [More…]
The point which the unions make - after all, they deal all the time with departmental heads, Ministers and the Commonwealth Public Service - is that this prescription is different. [More…]
Of course, the incidental question which arises is this: The unions say that either they or the Commonwealth Public Service Board have had recourse to sections 28 and 29 over the years in some circumstances. [More…]
Trade unions, being registered organisations, have authority to act for their members. [More…]
He is given power to tell unions not to engage in industrial actions. [More…]
If that remedy is sought from the Arbitrator, it must be the Arbitrator who decides the matter after hearing the parties, including the union or unions involved. [More…]
In defending that sort of prescription the Minister argued that the powers available under the present Conciliation and Arbitration Act were not available to the Public Service Board or to unions representing employees in the Commonwealth Public Service. [More…]
As I have pointed out before - this ought to be recognised because the unions will be asked to work with the Commonwealth in the administration of this law - under new section 12e the Arbitrator can instruct or can advise not only a party but also any person concerned. [More…]
It is claimed by the Opposition and by the unions that the legislation brings in a completely new aspect in this regard; that is, that it is now possible for a Minister who is not connected with the department in which there is an industrial situation or, as we commonly call it, an industrial dispute, to advise the Public Service Board that in fact there is an industrial situation. [More…]
The unions contend, and after reading this proposed new section I think they are right, that not only can he do these things without canvassing the propositions but he can then issue an order and also hold discussions in private and in secret. [More…]
I would like the Minister for Civil Aviation (Senator Cotton) to tell the Committee whether the complaints of the Opposition and of the unions involved in the Public Service are justified. [More…]
Can the Arbitrator forthwith, without consulting the unions concerned and without following any form of rules of evidence, decide that a situation requires some action by him and can he then go on to stand down workers? [More…]
If the powers are as wide as the unions say, there ought to be some restrictions in the legislation. [More…]
The Public Service Arbitration Act currently does not provide for industrial situations; it provides merely for the lodging of claims by unions or the lodging by managements or unions of applications for variations of determinations. [More…]
The unions, having obtained legal information, contend that this sort of discussion in relation to the orders can in fact be heard in secret. [More…]
According to the legal advisers of the unions and according to the way that we read the provision, the Arbitrator or Deputy Arbitrator can issue an order against a union which is not concerned with Commonwealth employment generally. [More…]
We agree with the unions that something ought to be done about it and if we are correct in our view there is every reason to delay the legislation, particularly if the advisers are uncertain as to what is meant. [More…]
The complaint of the unions concerns section 3 of the Public Service Arbitration Act, which includes this definition: [More…]
That is the legal advice given to the unions. [More…]
I will quickly restate the contention of the unions. [More…]
In this matter the unions are almost as well equipped as the Minister’s advisers because the unions have had legal advice. [More…]
The unions say that those orders by the Arbitrator can be issued upon the unions because of the definition of organisation in the Public Service Arbitration Act. [More…]
I think I should re-state very quickly the opinion of the unions and the Opposition, lt has been stated by the Minister for Civil Aviation (Senator Cotton) and in the other place that proposed section 12e, which applies to a compulsory conference, is the same as the provision contained in section 29 of the Conciliation and Arbitration Act. [More…]
That Act recognises the well established principle that registered unions have a status and have to be recognised. [More…]
Although the departments or the managers might not like the unions, they are forced by law to consult the officers who have the greatest authority. [More…]
In the opinion of the unions, that is a very weak sub-section because it may result in the development of relations which are not consistent with the standard of relations that have obtained until now. [More…]
It seems to me - this is so in the eyes of the unions also - that in this clause the Government is identifying too closely the role of government with the role of management in respect to industrial relations. [More…]
This provision was discriminatory against organisations which, I again repeat, I have been informed include unions. [More…]
I want to know, and certainly the unions want to know, the attitude of the Government or of any department in circumstances in which, because of the action of an arbitrator, employees are suspended so as to make them unable to meet their superannuation commitments. [More…]
For example, there are the notes of the meeting of 2nd and 3rd October 1971 which deal with such matters as President Nixon’s announcement of his projected visit to China, the world power situation, the basis of new policy orientations in China and the United States and various other strategic matters of foreign policy, including policy submissions, defence policy, foreign policy and the industrial situation, which covers such things as the Australian Council of Trade Unions Congress. [More…]
But it is common knowledge that the significant unions in the Trade Union Defence Committee were controlled by the Communist Party and were exercising a very significant influence throughout the whole of the Labor movement in Victoria. [More…]
The members of the DLP have come into the Senate day after day complaining about amalgamations and mergers of trade unions to create better organisations within the trade union movement. [More…]
He suggested that the DLP senators were trying to whitewash themselves because of their views on the amalgamation of certain trade unions. [More…]
I read with interest some time ago that even the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions has travelled overseas in an attempt to obtain advice from West German and Israeli trade unionists with the object of attracting, and even using, capital from West Germany in order to provide the trade union movement in Australia not only with expertise but also with possible ways of financing the establishment of a finance corporation designed to enable trade unionists to borrow from it for hire purchase requirements. [More…]
I ask: Is it a fact that he has acted to frustrate pay claims by Public Service unions representing 83,000 Commonwealth public servants in applications before the Public Service Arbitrator, Mr Chambers, which seek for Commonwealth public servants pay rates similar to those that have been awarded to Victorian public servants? [More…]
Did he also warn that the new measures seemed unlikely to improve industrial relations, and indeed, the potentially greater use of penalties could inflame unions rather than restrain them? [More…]
Is the Government financing the challenge in the Commonwealth Industrial Court by 2 individuals to the amalgamation of 3 metal trade unions? [More…]
Further to the question just addressed to the Minister representing the Minister for Labour and National Service by Senator Cavanagh I ask the same Minister: Is it not a fact that the legislation under which the rank and file of a trade union can be financially assisted in an endeavour to assert their rights was passed by the Chifley Government in the commendable belief that members of the rank and file of trade unions are entitled to have their ordinary rights in a union preserved? [More…]
They are working in consultation with the Department, the industry and the unions to modernise the Navigation Act. [More…]
Employers and unions simply cannot be permitted to resolve their differences without regard to the effect on those groups who are not themselves directly involved. [More…]
There are 3 parties to the industrial relationship - employers, trade unions and government, representing the community interest. [More…]
What happens in the field of industrial relations between employers and unions can be of profound significance for the community. [More…]
There is the need to ensure freedom of action by unions and employers, consistent with the need to protect the public interest. [More…]
With our system of conciliation and arbitration there need be no interruption, lt is essential that employers and trade unions resolve their differences by means which do not disrupt production. [More…]
The parties will have for guidance the principles agreed to in May 1970 by the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the National Employers’ Policy Committee. [More…]
Both unions and employers are bound to observe the settlement of the disputes which awards bring about. [More…]
The Government recognises that amalgamation of employer organisations and of unions is a characteristic of industrialised societies in the Western world and that there are benefits for the members of organisations in combining together their resources to undertake more effectively their responsibilities in the field of industrial relations. [More…]
I am sure that both employers and unions will welcome this provision. [More…]
We cannot stop inflation by just bashing the unions. [More…]
Is the Minister aware that great concern is felt about the future of the Australian textile industry by both management and textile unions? [More…]
We must look at the amount of money that the Australian taxpayer, whether he be a worker belonging to one of those terrible trade unions that we hear about from the Gov>ernment side from time to time or a capitalist in the city, is putting his hand in his pocket in order to bolster up industries which finally reach the situation where they are not viable at all. [More…]
If those documents were incorporated in Hansard I am confident that the Minister for Labour and National Service and the Minister for Trade and Industry would probe them thoroughly and, I hope, collaborate at a later stage with Mr Charles Jones, other interested people and the unions, including the major union concerned, which is the FIA. [More…]
This Bill is the second legislative step within a few weeks towards imposing reactionary laws on trade unions and their members. [More…]
Australian Council of Trade Unions and the white collar organisations to maintain the wage standards of their members. [More…]
This Bill is designed to stop the resistance by workers - the members of the socalled militant unions, as they are referred to in the other place by the Minister for Labour and National Service (Mr Lynch) - who are attempting to maintain standards in a period when costs are rising. [More…]
I think the Government intends to tie down the unions completely, to subvert the traditional role of the conciliation and arbitration tribunals and generally to make it more difficult for organised labour to maintain wage and industry standards. [More…]
Statements have been and are frequently being made by not only the present Prime Minister (Mr McMahon) and the present Minister for Labour and National Service but also by the former Prime Minister and former Ministers for Labour and National Service in which attacks are launched on unions that are out to maintain the wage rates of their members or to get something for them in a period of inflation or because of increased productivity. [More…]
Act after Act is promulgated to impede the functions of the trade unions. [More…]
After all the functions of the trade unions are primarily to protect the standards of their members and to maintain wage levels. [More…]
The Government says that it encourages the trade unions. [More…]
What the Government wants is tame cat unions; it does not want active unions. [More…]
As we know, in many countries the unions are doing that in a more militant manner than it is being done in Australia. [More…]
The Government singles out unions for harsher laws. [More…]
The Minister has said that the actions of militant unions become a threat of wage induced inflation. [More…]
In 1969 and 1970 the Government accepted the overtures of the Australian Council of Trade Unions and white collar organisations to relax penal powers. [More…]
As an example of such a code agreed upon in a particular case 1 paraphrase summarily an agreement filed under Part X this year in which a number of unions were parties. [More…]
This agreement provided that the principle of conciliation by direct negotiation should be adopted for the purpose of the prevention and settlement of any industrial dispute that might arise between the parties; that the Federal and State officials of the unions would do all in their power to prevent precipitate action by employees and would lake early and active part in discussions and negotiations aimed at preventing or settling disputes in accordance with the agreed procedure set out in the next paragraphs; that any dispute or claim should be dealt with in the following manners - [More…]
Employers and unions should be encouraged to settle their differences by these processes. [More…]
We cannot stop inflation by just bashing the unions. [More…]
Mr Snedden referred to 2 speeches he made in October this year in which he said that responsibility for controlling cost-push inflation was not one simply for the unions. [More…]
A policy of “charging-what-the-market-can-bear” is no more justifiable when practised by businesses than by unions’. [More…]
They have accepted with the Australian Council of Trade Unions and other people the need to reform that system. [More…]
On the one hand, the Minister is making use of the constructive abilities and experience of the trade union movement, including the ACTU and other unions. [More…]
It is not precise to say Bob Hawke alone; the qualification, President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, should be added to his name. [More…]
No courts can do this; if a reduction is to be achieved in the number of demarcation disputes, the unions and the employers will do it, and they will do it much better with a government which believes in industrial relations and peace in industry and conciliation. [More…]
The Australian Council of Trade Unions took part with the Government in the meetings of the National Labour Advisory Council. [More…]
The ACTU secretary (Mr H. J. Souter) said last night that the unions had been ‘double crossed’ by the Minister for Labour and National Service (Mr Lynch). [More…]
He said Mr Lynch had told the unions his review of the Conciliation and Arbitration Act in Parliament on Tuesday night would be only a statement of intent, with further talks to follow. [More…]
He made it more difficult for the public to assess the merits of those proposals by referring to curbs on political strikes, which will be dealt with in quite separate legislation, and to the collection of $4,200 in unpaid fines on unions, which is an administrative matter and will have no place in the proposed Bill. [More…]
Employers and unions may well be more inclined to adopt an ‘all-cards-on-the-table’ attitude and to go to the limit in seeking an understanding, if they know that, should negotiations fail, the arbitrator will not be aware of what happened in the conciliation stage. [More…]
As far back as December of last year the Adelaide ‘Advertiser’ hit on the real fault of this system, namely, that unions will not accept the situation. [More…]
To reject completely any attempt to limit the trade unions’ right to organise and seek the enrolment of all wage and salary earners into the trade union movement, and in accordance with the 1971 Congress decision to resist any legislative action designed to prevent unions using their industrial right to ensure that those who enjoy the benefit of award and agreements obtained by unions join with their fellow worker to help bear the costs. [More…]
Up to this time the Minister for Labour and National Service said: ‘Well, the procedures for amalgamation being engaged in by those unions are bona fide’. [More…]
It is, I believe, pertinent to note that there are safeguards in the legislation to prevent unions from having oppressive, unreasonable or unjust rules and to ensure that rules are properly observed by officials. [More…]
If any members of these three unions considered that the rules relating to the amalgamation ballots were not satisfactory, they could have taken action before the Commonwealth Industrial Court. [More…]
As to the suggestion which has been made that there is a history of ballot rigging in these 3 unions, the Minister went on to say: [More…]
The record does not hear this out and it is supported, 1 believe, by the fact that there has not been a request from the membership of any of the 3 unions for a court controlled ballot for a considerable number of years. [More…]
Guesses in newspaper reports attributed the change to threats by the Democratic Labor Party about the merger of the unions. [More…]
Anything can be so regarded which imposes strictures on the unions at a time when they are battling to achieve proper standards and when there is a great need for increased conciliation to follow the pattern in other countries. [More…]
Had the Government wanted to review in a proper fashion the Australian arbitration system it could have consulted the Australian Council of Trade Unions and employer bodies. [More…]
I agree with the provisions in the Bill which relate to the amalgamation of unions. [More…]
He said that West Germany had I think, only 16 trade unions whereas Australia had 300, and that there was no need for us to have so many trade unions. [More…]
When honourable senators opposite talk about the amalgamation of Australian unions they justify their statements by saying that West Germany has only 16 or 18 unions. [More…]
But they should take into consideration the apparent difference in outlook of those unions which operate in West Germany. [More…]
They look upon it with disquiet because most of the unions which want to amalgamate are under communist control. [More…]
If the outlook of all trade unions in this country was the same as the apparent outlook of trade unions in Western Germany and if the trade unions in this country were not controlled by men with a vested interest in a breakdown of the Australian economy no-one would have any worries about amalgamations or the number of trade unions we had. [More…]
But the experience in this country of Red dominated unions has been bitter. [More…]
Anyone who has had to go through that sort of thing must Jook askance at any proposals to make these sorts of unions bigger, easier to manipulate and therefore more threatening. [More…]
But I come from a State which was nearly brought to a standstill because of the actions of some men who influenced certain trade unions on matters which had nothing whatever to do with terms and conditions of employment Action was taken because, through some mental quirk or other, these men did not like something that was going on in their own State. [More…]
Whether or not that is contributed to by the trade unions, the honourable senator must know that incomes have been reduced since 1964 as a result of policies of the Government which he supports. [More…]
While the purpose of this legislation was the appeasement of the Australian Democratic Labor Party - I think I can show that the right wing trade unions are attacked more than the left wing trade unions - and while the political Democratic Labor Party was satisfied with its achievements, those with a bond or connection with the trade union movement could see the dangers of this action. [More…]
It was reminiscent of attempts to prevent the growth of trade unions which was unsuccessfully made in the last century. [More…]
The amalgamation of the metal trades unions cannot be prevented at this stage by the Bill. [More…]
Other requests were made for certain assistance which had to be given for the purpose of delaying the amalgamation of the unions by the Government to help what I take the liberty of saying were 2 stooges so that they might make application under section 141 of the Conciliation and Arbitration Act on complaint that the rules of the organisations were not complied with. [More…]
The Industrial Registrar decided under regulation 138 that he had no power, as he interpreted that regulation, to pay for the cost of this challenge which alleged that the rules of the unions had not been carried out. [More…]
The amalgamation of those unions now must flow through unless those people can think up some other legislation which can be made retrospective to the extent necessary. [More…]
With the change of operations in industry a lot of unions must become very small. [More…]
The smaller unions eventually must be swallowed up by the bigger unions if the members of the smaller unions are to be protected. [More…]
Under this proposed new Act, the militant unions - we have heard them referred to as the communist dominated unions - can achieve amalgamation, according to the figures that are published in Hansard. [More…]
While the clerks and ironworkers unions may be right wing and some of the other unions may be left wing, I think all unions are concerned with the benefit of their members. [More…]
If non-employment is dangerous to our economy, there are more enemies in Australia’s economy sitting in this Parliament than are sitting in the Melbourne offices of the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
Prescinding entirely from the disgrace of allowing the vessel into our ports at all, is it a fact that the Russian freighter named ‘Ho Chi Minh’ recently had a black ban placed on it by the Australian Council of Trade Unions or other organisation? [More…]
Usually in matters of this kind, if black bans are imposed, they are imposed by unions who want to use extra-legal means. [More…]
Even the 1956 amendment, which introduced penal clauses for strike action for the first time in Commonwealth Acts of Parliament, could have been prompted or promoted by the desire of the then government to impose penalties on trade unions in an effort to prevent strike action. [More…]
Australia’s industrial history probably began with the people who were refugees from the type of oppression that developed against those who dared to organise for as industrial voice and to formulate unions. [More…]
As trade unions exist today, we would not think that the type of organisation that they were trying to construct was of a particularly militant character. [More…]
In this country we moved very quickly through the stages of recognition of trade unions to the stage at which the unions were the main campaigners and the main architects of an industrial conciliation and arbitration system. [More…]
The measure which is now before the Senate has been introduced because of the attitude and actions of the unions concerned, which I can only describe as wholly unjustified, entirely unprecedented, and calculated to strike a most serious blow at the entire economy of this country. [More…]
Slavish adherence to Arbitration Courts would lead to a serious weakening of unions, since they would depend upon the decisions of judges instead of their own organ.sations.’ [More…]
There are those who say that direct bargaining is preferable to arbitration from the unions’ point of view. [More…]
They make very much of the success which can be attained by a method of direct bargaining by unions. [More…]
They never mention that in the 1930s the unions’ power of direct bargaining was practically non-existent because of the economic circumstances of the day. [More…]
1 think that it was a couple of years ago that very detailed procedures were agreed on by the Government, the employers and the Australian Council of Trade Unions to deal with industrial disputes. [More…]
Given lnc kind of atmosphere which the repeal of strike penalties would create, there would be no doubt in my mind that unions and their members would honour their agreements to the letter. [More…]
The Opposition believes that the unions would honour agreements to the letter if the sanctions were removed. [More…]
When the Minister for Labour and National Service made his statement in the House of Representatives last December in which he foreshadowed this legislation he said that the Government was very concerned with the efforts of some trade unions to bring about compulsory trade unionism in this country. [More…]
1 wholeheartedly agree and the Liberal Party agrees with the concern expressed then an efforts by some trade unions to introduce compulsory trade unionism. [More…]
The Minister foreshadowed thatth is legislation would contain some ways and means of preventing the spread of compulsory unionism by certain activities of some trade unions. [More…]
This is one of the basic situations that no doubt the Government could discuss when it meets officers of the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
On one hand the Government says to members of unions: ‘Look, do not agitate about wage increases. [More…]
The containerisation situation is a classic example of a considerable scaling down of the waterfront work force covering a number of unions including the Waterside Workers Federation, the Storemen and Packers [More…]
Union, the Federated Clerks Union, the Federated Engine Drivers and Firemens Association and one or two other unions. [More…]
Amalgamation of certain unions is inevitable. [More…]
In the United States there is a multiplicity of unions. [More…]
While the Americans believe in a minimum of government interference, this multiplicity of trade unions is getting more and more burdensome. [More…]
It is utter rubbish that the Government should impose on those unions the need to conduct a ballot. [More…]
Trade unions costs are getting a lot higher. [More…]
On numerous occasions my colleague Senator Murphy has referred to the rising trade unions costs. [More…]
I was quite surprised that he, as a member of the Opposition with great experience in the trade union movement, should have posed the argument which was apparently applauded by most members of the Opposition - at least they interrupted his speech to the extent that no-one could hear what he was saying - that where there was a small trade union and a large trade union and it appeared obvious at some stage that the larger one would take over the smaller, it was ridiculous to suggest there should be a ballot of both of those unions to decide whether the members wished amalgamation. [More…]
These benefits have been fought for by unions. [More…]
He knows that benefits have been given to employees, not necessarily on the demand of trade unions. [More…]
As 1 read it, I believe that the Commonwealth offers financial assistance to individuals in certain cases where they wish to ensure that unions are being properly controlled. [More…]
The unions have not had a chance to try to straighten out such disputes. [More…]
We reject the proposals which attack the right of trade unionists to organise effectively as being reminiscent of attempts to prevent the growth of trade unions which were unsuccessfully made in the last century. [More…]
The workers and the unions have always been the targets for these types of attacks. [More…]
In 1954 Sir Raymond Kelly, then Chief Judge of the Commonwealth Arbitration Court, made 14 points in all on what he wanted the trade unions to do. [More…]
These are the attacks on the trade unions which have been going on ever since. [More…]
What does the Government think the trade unions want to do? [More…]
Both unions have to conduct a ballot among their members to determine whether the meat employees union will accept the members of the other union. [More…]
The unions have to go to the expense of conducting a ballot. [More…]
The big strong unions and the big strong employers are able to drive the weaker workers and the weaker employer organisations to the wall. [More…]
Of course, one of the big troubles of honourable senators opposite is that they are not active trade unionists and they do not know very much about what goes on inside unions. [More…]
I know what goes on in unions. [More…]
1 have no doubt that many honourable senators opposite have been very active in their unions in the past. [More…]
Unions must make it clear that they have a right to interfere in the political movement of the nation. [More…]
We find that unfortunately this point of view is not shared completely by those who have something to do with running the industrial affairs of unions. [More…]
I refer now to a statement made by Mr P. Clancy in support of Mr R. J. Hawke’s presidency of the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
If there are provisions in this Bill which should commend themselves to honest, down to earth, rank and file members of unions and honourable senators opposite - the 7 of them with tickets - they are, firstly, superseding regulation 141, the provision that will enable financial assistance to be given to a trade unionist who believes that his executive has not carried out the real wishes of his union and who demands a secret ballot, and secondly, the very extensive provisions in the Bill governing the type of ballot to be held before an amalgamation.I want to say a little about the phoney ballot which took place before the recent metal trades amalgamation. [More…]
This is the point I want to make: Of the 35,200 members of the organisation - according to Australian Council of Trade Unions return there were 32,063; so we will accept the lower figure for the moment - of 32,063 members of the union only 21,783 received ballot papers. [More…]
They would not know that because they do not know much about trade unions. [More…]
The plain fact is that the 3 unions which have already merged themselves into an organisation tentatively called the Amalgamated Metal Workers Union have complied with the law in every respect. [More…]
The unions concerned have met, and are meeting, all legal requirements, and it would be intolerable if they were to he frustrated at this stage to serve a belatedly discovered political advantage. [More…]
One reason why these amalgamations are being sought by left wing unions is, of course, that it is an essential part of the policy of the Communist Party of Australia to destroy craft trade unionism. [More…]
Sharkey claims that the best method by which to achieve this is by means of amalgamation of existing craft unions. [More…]
While the Government has always encouraged the organisation of representative bodies of employers and employees and their registration under the Act and has encouraged workers to join their appropriate unions, it believes that coercive action to force people to join unions is wrong in principle. [More…]
We wilt amend the provisions of the Act relating to registered organisations to prevent unions from enforcing compulsory unionism. [More…]
Let me remind honourable senators that Mr Lynch’s statement of intent of 7th December 1971 was made after months of consideration and after months of consultation with the unions and employers. [More…]
In this, as in every other aspect of the Bill, we observe the Government looking over its shoulder at the employers, keeping its ear cocked to the DLP and ignoring only the unions. [More…]
Of course it has decided, as ever, that votes are to be garnered by putting the boot into the unions. [More…]
It is a scheme which is designed to intimidate the unions in the general interests that the Government has in imposing a wage freeze. [More…]
This flies in the face of the recommendations of employers who have stated that they prefer to deal with a large, powerful union rather than with a multiplicity of unions, because employers learn in the course of their experience that if they have to sit around with 15 unions instead of one the proceedings are going to be prolonged. [More…]
Of course, as everybody also knows, it is the proliferation of many unions which is the real cause of the great number of demarcation disputes which account for some 11 per cent of the disputes which occur in this country in the course of a year. [More…]
But in the face of all this, in the face of the obviously common sense tendency in the community to amalgamate, the Government has confronted unions which wish to amalgamate with what amounts to an obstacle race. [More…]
I make bold to say that any unions which are prepared to embark on the perilous, difficult and complex matter of amalgamation in the light of this code are very brave indeed. [More…]
Briefly, it deals with the obligations of unions to disclose all their banking arrangements in readiness for a pounce by the Government if and when it can impose the penalties and fines which, up to now, it has not been able to collect and which, I suggest, despite this legislation it still will not be able to collect. [More…]
By bestowing this power, governments of Liberal faith gave the trade unions their chance to establish themselves firmly. [More…]
We proudly acknowledge that governments of our faith gave the trade unions the chance to grow, to be vigorous, and to take part in authentic industrial agitation. [More…]
History will speak for the fact that under a Liberal administration, trade unions in Australia grew strong and developed faster than did unions in any other country - faster than in Britain and in the United States of America. [More…]
From being associations tolerated by the State they (the trade unions) have become semi-official associations which are given a part in the making and administration of law. [More…]
We stand firmly for strong, vigorous industrial trade unionism, not political trade unionism, not rule by trade union bosses but authentic rule by democratic process from the grass roots of the trade unions. [More…]
Contrary to the opinions of Senator James McClelland, the legislation before the Senate tonight will give the trade unions more democratic protection and democratic rights at the grass roots. [More…]
The fourth criticism is that collective bargaining destroys the small trade unions and promotes the large trade unions. [More…]
Australia has 305 trade unions of which 198, or 65 per cent, have fewer than 2,000 members. [More…]
I hope that we will nurture the small unions which have done a first class job. [More…]
He then went on to say that the history of industrial disputes since, say, 1939 did not bear out the claim that the existing penal clauses in the Act had operated particularly harshly against the unions. [More…]
He set out to prove that in that time the penal clauses overwhelmingly had weighed against the employers and had worked in favour of the unions. [More…]
Now may 1 refer to what was said by Mr Whitlam and Mr Clyde Cameron who by public announcements sought to impose the harshest penal sanctions on trade unions, sanctions which I deplore. [More…]
Need I remind the Opposition how the Australian Council of Trade Unions asked its executive to look for ways of enforcement. [More…]
I make the plea to the grass roots trade unions of this country to look towards industrial unionism rather than the anarchy of political unionism. [More…]
They will have some effect, namely, in creating injustices in relation to small unions and groups which cannot really cope with these procedural difficulties which are being created by the Government. [More…]
The second aspect of the Bill - this is the main aspect - is that it contains provisions which worsen the situation of trade unions. [More…]
This Act, as it would be amended, deals with the corporate structure of trade unions. [More…]
It deals with the internal affairs of trade unions in a way that will produce interference which. [More…]
I stated earlier that the trade unions are dealt with as corporations under this legislation. [More…]
In fact, I was challenged by a Government senator to state in this Senate that the trade unions were corporations under the provisions of the Conciliation and Arbitration Act. [More…]
I was somewhat astonished at that suggestion especially since it was said that Government senators - I find it difficult to believe that the Government itself would be proceeding on the basis that trade unions, although registered organisations, were not corporations - apparently had been advised that trade unions were not corporations. [More…]
He will find that in that case the High Court - in particular, Mr Justice Fullagar, with whom the Chief Justice and Mr Justice Kitto concurred - set out in the most clear and definite terms that the trade unions which were registered organisations under this Act were, by the very section to which I have referred, made corporations under Federal law. [More…]
This question ought to have been beyond any doubt whatever, and it is astonishing that we could be dealing with this legislation on the basis that the Attorney-General has suggested and that the thought could be in the minds of honourable senators opposite that the Federal trade unions in fact are not corporations. [More…]
It ought to dawn even on Government senators that, if it is provided that this kind of interference can be engaged in in relation to corporate bodies which happen to be trade unions, then it can be engaged in in relation to corporate bodies which happen not to be trade unions. [More…]
If there is provision for interference which is contrary to what was slated in the International Labour Organisation conventions and contrary to what has been set out as to what ought to be the rights of trade unions, if we are to have judicial decisions which interfere drastically with the affairs of trade unions and which allow no appeal to anybody, and if we are to have an amount of interference by administrative bodies such as we have in this Act and especially in the amendments which are being proposed by the Government, does anyone think it will stop there? [More…]
Leave aside the idea that it is very nice and convenient to engage in the bashing of trade unions. [More…]
Unions Query Fumigation. [More…]
It is believed that two unions will consider imposing the ban today. [More…]
The policy of the Australasian Council of Trade Unions is that this work be done by shore-based crows rather than ships’ crews. [More…]
Captain Chuyko said yesterday he could not understand why ohe unions were making an issue out of the incident - it was the result of a misunderstanding, he said. [More…]
It was a misunderstanding that was cleared up very quickly by the Melbourne Trades Hall Council in association with the unions concerned and the master of this ship. [More…]
Apart from revealing some of the problems which occur when unions impose black bans, I do not think the matter requires any answer from me. [More…]
Will the Attorney-General supply a list of persons who have been financially assisted, after application to the Registrar, in Arbitration Act actions during the past 5 years, and the trade unions concerned. [More…]
The list also sets out the respective trade unions involved in the proceedings brought by those persons. [More…]
The trade unions are engaged in restrictive practices as are the employers’ organisations. [More…]
The other aspect of the Bill - an extremely important part of it - is that dealing with the corporate structure of the trade unions to which I adverted last night. [More…]
May I take the trouble, because the matter on which we are differing here regarding the very fundamental of the nature of the trade unions which are registered organisations under the Act is so important, to read from the judgment of the High Court in the famous case of Williams and Hursey, one of the great cases in industrial law, well known, because of the facts of the case, at least to the members of this Senate, lt is reported in 33 Australian Law Journal Reports and also in the Commonwealth Law Reports. [More…]
This will be possible if the extraordinary procedures set out in this Bill to prevent amalgamations can be applied to corporations which are trade unions. [More…]
It is interfernce which goes against the principles which have been laid down in respect of trade unions. [More…]
Many statements have been made on the rights and freedoms of trade unions. [More…]
We hear in this chamber many discussions about how trade unions elsewhere are not free and about how Australia is providing freedom for its citizens. [More…]
This practice is going against the world opinion on what the rights of trade unions should be. [More…]
This Bill is directly hi contravention of that statement of the rights of trade unions. [More…]
One of the great trade unions in Australia - the Amalgamated Engineering Union - had links with its counterpart in Britain, and one of the reasons for the separation of those 2 bodies was the enormous interference in the affairs of the trade unions in Australia. [More…]
Other provisions show that what is attempted in this Bill is a worsening of the position of Federally registered trade unions. [More…]
The Government has before the chamber legislation which, in my view, presents an unwarranted interference in the affairs of the trade unions. [More…]
I do not think it is proper, for example, that there should be unappealable judicial decisions which gravely affect the rights of the members of trade unions, the officers of those bodies and the property of those bodies. [More…]
Is that the standard that the Liberal Party and the Country Party is saying ought to apply to those corporate bodies which happen to be trade unions? [More…]
Why do its members have to fight for the rule of law and for some reasonable kinds of provisions so that there will be a free exercise of their rights by citizens, whether they be members of trade unions or otherwise? [More…]
The Liberal-Country Party Government is consistently eroding the freedom of the citizens, lt is doing this right now in regard to the trade unions, lt is setting precedents of the most dangerous kind. [More…]
This legislation in its dealing with the trade unions, and in its extension of the kinds of provisions contained in the Conciliation and Arbitration Act, is extremely dangerous. [More…]
Thirdly, the legitimacy of authority within the trade union necessarily requires voting procedures which safeguard the democratic rights and proprietary interests of individual members in their unions. [More…]
Fourthly, monopoly power within the unions should be resisted, as it should be in every other aspect of national life, especially when it is sought and used for subversive purposes. [More…]
As we see the position, the Bill can be divided into 4 fields: Firstly, matters related to the constitutional position of unions concerning questions which could, in the case of a number of unions, go to their very existence; secondly, the rights of rank and file unionists within the unions; thirdly, amendments to the structure and procedure of the conciliation and arbitration system; fourthly, the question of sanctions and the responsibility of the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission. [More…]
However, to the extent that the Bill does promote measures to assist in preserving unions from the constitutional challenges of the Moore v. Doyle case, and to the extent that the Bill gives effect to a number of our views in preserving and promoting the rights of union members within their institutions, we consider that it should not be rejected. [More…]
This debate was not raginc some 7 years ago when a major union affiliated with the Australian Council of Trade Unions placed on the Congress agenda paper an item which said, amongst other things: [More…]
Congress expresses the belief that the stage has been reached when all sections of the community, and particularly the Government, employers and trade unions must decide whether the long established system of conciliation and arbitration is to be allowed to be destroyed. [More…]
By some government agencies and arbitration tribunals, by allowing a situation to develop which creates an increasing belief that decisions of certain tribunals can be influenced by factors other than the public case presented … By certain unions, in failing to objectively acknowledge the many benefits which have accrued to the vast majority of wage earners as a result of this system; And by unduly highlighting the outcome of strikes and strike action, and neglecting :he positive gains achieved by conciliation and arbitration. [More…]
Congress points out that the vast majority of wage earners are dependent upon the conciliation and arbitration system and the work of unions operating within the system, for the establishment, maintenance and improvement of minimum wages and conditions. [More…]
The tower paid, the defenceless and the handicapped, despite the declamation of the unions, have not been protected. [More…]
Portus suggested in guarded terms that one major consequence of the Australian system has been to ensure that, compared to the United States of America, members of weak unions and workers who are not members of unions have received a fairer share of the cake than they would have otherwise. [More…]
In 1942 and again in 1959 the booklet The Trade Unions’ was published by the then national secretary of the Communist Party of Australia, Mr L. L. Sharkey. [More…]
At this point I am reminded to make some reference to the amalgamation of unions, particularly those in the metal trades industry. [More…]
I think it is worth remembering, first of all, that the purpose of the amalgamation of these unions in the metal trades is not to further the interests of the workers in this field but, primarily, to extend the political power of those unions. [More…]
The next group of unions in the amalgamation process is that in the building trades group. [More…]
All the building trades unions would be joined together in one gigantic monolith. [More…]
The third group is the maritime unions. [More…]
It might be worth looking at the type of leadership which we could expect from these unions. [More…]
But it is worth looking at the type of leadership which we are likely to get from these unions. [More…]
If a relatively small union could successfully mount such an attack, what could be achieved by the more powerful unions. [More…]
Our view is that there should be a properly supervised ballot, that all of the members of the unions concerned ought to be entitled to vote in that properly supervised ballot and that a majority of the members should be required to vote affirmatively for amalgamation procedures in order for such an amalgamation to be effected. [More…]
Various proposals have received the support of the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, Mr Hawke, and the Australian Labor Party’s shadow Minister for Labour and National Service, Mr Clyde Cameron and they have met with various fates. [More…]
Senator Cavanagh ‘s argument, as I understood it, was that it was unreasonable to expect some unions to be able to muster the 50 per cent plus one required in order to make the amalgamation ballot a valid one. [More…]
I was rather surprised to hear Senator Cavanagh argue that he felt that that was unfair and unjust towards the right wing unions. [More…]
In some way or other his reading of the results gave him the impression that the right wing unions would have some difficulty in attaining the required voting number. [More…]
Even in those days standards were set which were not unlike the standards on which the modern trade unions operate. [More…]
In point of fact, in the period of 22i years that this Government has unfortunately been running the affairs of this country it has passed 185 Acts or amendments relating to the trade unions. [More…]
I was a little amused by the contribution of Senator Carrick last evening when he attempted to show some differences between the attitudes of the Australian Council of Trade Unions under the current president, Mr Robert Hawke, and those displayed when it was led by Mr Albert Monk, because most of those 23 amendments occurred when Mr Albert Monk was president of the ACTU. [More…]
It has consistently changed the means by which it can intervene and interfere in the internal affairs of the trade unions. [More…]
The Government is now attempting to write into the legislation such provisions as would make all unions resort to taking a postal ballot in respect to any question facing their members. [More…]
If we examine the composition of the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission, I think it must be conceded that any trade union organisation and particularly the Australian Council of Trade Unions, that has been able to achieve any gains for its membership from that august body must have produced strong arguments to convince it of the justice of union claims. [More…]
Honourable senators will know that he was referring to the proposed amalgamation of the metal trades unions into the Amalgamated Metal Workers Union. [More…]
There should have been ballots of the members of the three unions conducted by a public official such as the Commonwealth Electoral Officer; the amalgamation should have been approved by a majority of all the members of the unions - not by a simple majority of the members voting in the ballots: the amalgamation would bring about a large communist dominated union possessing excessive power; [More…]
However, these are not mandatory and the great majority of union elections are conducted by the unions themselves. [More…]
This is relevant to the suggestion which has been made that there is a history of ‘ballot riggings’ in these unions. [More…]
The record does not bear this out and it is supported, I believe, by the fact that there has not been a request from the membership of any of the 3 unions for a ‘court controlled ballot’ for a considerable number of years. [More…]
The Government is now seeking to amend the legislation and to hamstring the attempts of unions that wish to amalgamate. [More…]
He spoke of the fact that there are 300 unions in Australia, most of them very smalt. [More…]
He stated: lt could Facilitate the functioning of the arbitration system and relations generally between employers and unions if this number of unions decreases. [More…]
I know of situations in which employers have sal across the table with no fewer than IS unions in relation to one issue. [More…]
As this legislation sets out to create a position in which amalgamation of unions is almost impossible we are entitled to ask why the Minister for Labour and National Service has changed his point of view. [More…]
Earlier in my statement, I indicated the Government’s grave concern at the recent and continuing efforts by some trade unions to bring about compulsory unionism in this country. [More…]
We will amend the provisions of the Act relating to registered organisations to prevent unions from enforcing compulsory unionism. [More…]
It seems that the DLP has been able to blackmail the Government, stand over the Government to bring about a situation in which the trade unions are pawns in the power struggles taking place for the control of the political destinies of this country. [More…]
It has taken the Government 23 years to reach the point where it is concerned for the democratic control of the trade unions. [More…]
It is equally crystal clear that the Government and its members have absolutely no understanding of the worker and his organisations, the various trade unions. [More…]
The Conciliation and Arbitration Act was amended by the Menzies administration in the 1950s to provide that a member of a union could exercise his rights in accordance with the Act to receive financial assistance to challenge actions taken by trade unions. [More…]
We know that the Democratic Labor Party hunted throughout Australia to find somebody to act as a decoy by being game enough to go before the Commonwealth Industrial Court and seek to prevent the amalgamation of the 3 metal trades unions. [More…]
He was the man who, when put in the witness box, knew nothing of the procedures that had been followed for the past 2 years by the 3 unions which, I think it must be said, have carried out their responsibilities in accordance with the Act, the law and their rules and regulations. [More…]
In the provisions of the Conciliation and Arbitration Bill the Government is saying that trade unions, as corporate bodies, should be subject to certain government interference and certain government supervision, so that the members of the organisations shall have their rights protected. [More…]
There is no restriction on the rights of members of trade unions. [More…]
Members of trade unions have full and equal rights to participate in the management and affairs of the organisations. [More…]
So I find it somewhat hypocritical of the Government to say that it is concerned with democracy and with the rights of members of trade unions, when the members of these important organisations, which are concerned with the medical and hospital rights of contributors, have no say in the running of the organisations. [More…]
It seeks to restrict the right of unions and to reduce the incidence of negotiated agreements. [More…]
If this is good enough for companies, it is good enough for trade unions. [More…]
They dealt with them effectively and adequately, so I am prompted to speak only about that feature dealing with the amalgamation of unions or organisations. [More…]
After listening to Senator Kane and honourable senators on the Government side one would think that the amalgamation of unions was the brainchild of Mr Laurie Carmichael. [More…]
The amalgamation of trade unions has not just mushroomed in this community, nor is it something of the 1970s only. [More…]
It has been accepted always that only through a strong industrial and political movement can the unions ever expect to get the benefits that they continually pursue for their members. [More…]
Early in the history of the Australian trade union movement it was appreciated that a lot of small unions, irrespective of how strong they might be, were working independently of one another, resulted only in the weakening of the Labor movement. [More…]
Consequently, when attempts were made to amalgamate and form bigger unions and they failed, the Labor movement had to be satisfied with lesser confederations such as the Australian Council of Trade Unions, the Australian Council of Salaried and Professional Officers and the Trades and Labour Councils in the respective States. [More…]
History reveals that there is a pattern in the Australian trade movement whereby workers seek to belong to unions which have a membership of, say, 10,000 or more. [More…]
Kenneth F. Walker, in his article Australian Industrial Relations Systems’, said that in 1930 there were 28 unions which had a membership of 10,000 or more. [More…]
In 1970 the number of unions with a membership of 10,000 or more had risen to 54. [More…]
Another comparison is that in 1930 the proportion of workers in unions which had less than a membership of 2,000 was 14.7 per cent of the total workforce but in 1970 the percentage had dropped to 4.7. [More…]
I claim that those figures represent conclusive proof and show a distinct pattern and a desire on the part of workers since 1930, and possibly before if I could have obtained the statistics, to belong to big unions and for unions to amalgamate. [More…]
I want to refer now to the chronological order of the amalgamation of unions. [More…]
Through their initiative and drive they brought about in 1913 the biggest amalgamation of any unions engaged in a common field or common industry. [More…]
The sheet metal workers’ union did not proceed with the amalgamation in the 1950s because it regarded the union fees being charged by the boilermakers’ and blacksmiths’ unions as too high. [More…]
There is only one communist holding an executive position in any of the 3 metal trade unions and he will retire at any time. [More…]
I am suggesting that in future, with the larger amalgamated trade unions, it will be more difficult for the communists to be elected to office in those larger organisations which are and which will continue to be controlled by the Australian Labor Party. [More…]
Mr Denis Murphy of the Department of History at the University of Queensland - a young scholar who has made a very close and valuable political study of the amalgamation of unions - delivered a very fine paper to a conference held by the Waterside Workers Federation in Brisbane on 27th February. [More…]
He offered arguments in favour of the amalgamation of unions into larger unions. [More…]
The advantages that this young scholar, and student of political science and authority on the amalgamation of unions saw are these: [More…]
Provision of social facilities - holiday homes, clubs, credit unions, housing loans, libraries, union educational services, which union members will rightly demand from their union; [More…]
It is more likely to come from pressure from strong and significant trade unions. [More…]
Another interesting situation arises from the Government’s proposed interference - I say that it is interference - in the amalgamation of trade unions. [More…]
On the other hand, today members of the Government that is a signatory to the Convention are trying, in a hypocritical manner, to steamroll through this chamber a Bill that does nothing but interfere with the rights of trade unions and their members. [More…]
I will be very interested to hear how the Attorney-General, who is in charge of the passage of this Bill through the Senate, relates the present intentions of the Government in this Bill to the pledges it has given to the International Labour Organisation and how it relates its attitude to trade unions in this country to world wide opinion. [More…]
Senator Kane usually leans over and has something to say to me about where the Australian Council of Trade Unions stands on a particular issue and he has done so on this occasion. [More…]
I think I should advise not only Senator Kane but also other honourable senators of where the ACTU stands on the amalgamation of unions. [More…]
The inference of Senator Kane’s remark was that the ACTU could be opposed, on some technical ground, to the amalgamation of unions. [More…]
The ACTU notes the attempt by the reactionary DLP and its counterparts in the Country Party and the Liberal Party to interfere in the internal affairs of the trade union movement, particularly in regard to the amalgamation of unions - [More…]
We point out (hat amalgamation of unions has been in the objectives of the ACTU since the very inception of that body and that many unions in the intervening years have availed themselves of these provisions for the purpose of strengthening the trade union movement and providing a better service to members. [More…]
We also remind the Government of ils obligation to the 1LO and its numerous conventions, a number of which emphasise the right of unions to organise, the right of freedom of association. [More…]
The ACTU also determines that in addition to action on the Australian front, it will report the interference to the 1LO with a request that the 1LO special committee inquire into the interference by the Austraiian Government in the affairs of our workers’ organisations - the employees trade unions. [More…]
That should clear up for Senator Kane just where the Australian Council of Trade Unions stands in the matter. [More…]
Even the Government will admit that without the full co-operation and assistance of the trade union movement many of the committees it establishes would be unable to function without the support of the trade unions. [More…]
Improved working conditions, social services, health, education, housing and a host of other things are the concern of the trade unions as the organised strength of the lower and middle income groups. [More…]
Surely they are political matters and surely no-one in this chamber, whether he be on my left or immediately in front of me, as are members of the Democratic Labor Party, would deny the right of the trade unions to intercede in these matters. [More…]
The Australian Council of Trade Unions, the major white collar organisations and the Public Service bodies have combined to the extent that the 3 groups have expressed their total opposition to this legislation, as Labor members have said both here and in another place. [More…]
The trade unions have moved to industrial action only when most sorely pressed to do so. [More…]
The method has been developed through discussions and decisions instigated by the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
On the pretext of bringing together the trade union movement and employers in conciliation, the Government has deliberately introduced an amendment that will make it so much more difficult for the unions and employers to meet and to solve their problems. [More…]
Over the past 2 years or so the Government has not been able to collect the fines imposed on unions, and employers are not game now to go into the courts on that issue due to the courageous action of Clarrie O’Shea, who made the decision to go to gaol rather than pay fines imposed on members of his union. [More…]
It endeavoured to stop the amalgamation of the 3 metal trades unions, which must be to the betterment of every member associated with them. [More…]
The Government failed in its first attempt to stop the amalgamation of the metal trades unions, but it is sure that it will not fail in its second attempt. [More…]
If a small union with 2,000 or 3,000 members wants to amalgamate with a union which has 50,000 or 60,000 members, the Government will compel both unions to hold a ballot and to get a 50 per cent return of ballot papers. [More…]
I want the Senate to appreciate the position in which small unions find themselves, have found themselves and will continue to find themselves. [More…]
It is necessary for small unions to seek the assistance of major unions. [More…]
But it has been necessary in the past few yean for smaller unions to join with greater unions by way of amalgamation or affiliation for many of the reasons that Senator McAuliffe brought out, including the need to improve their methods and efficiency and the need to use sophisticated machinery and proper and modern accounting procedures including computer systems. [More…]
This has been forced upon the unions. [More…]
Unions which are small and fragmented are not in a position to pay the salaries necessary to attract skilled people and men with initiative to take up the union work and to give the leadership that unions require. [More…]
Many smaller unions find themselves in the position where their organisers and officials are being paid for their work less than the men on the job whom they represent. [More…]
This is the case even with the larger unions. [More…]
I take Gladstone as an example of a place where a pretty efficient group of unions operate. [More…]
It is impossible for the smaller unions to provide the salaries or to employ people, such as accountants or experts in specific fields, including lawyers to present their cases, with the skills needed. [More…]
If the Government wishes to see inefficiency in the trade union movement, by all means fragment the unions, keep them small and keep them poor. [More…]
Unions on a job do not wish to be at the mercy of the smallest union on that job; that union may be under the influence of an erratic shop committee. [More…]
It is in the interests of the employer, industry, trade unions and their members that these amalgamations should take place so that the unions become larger, more efficient, more capable, more skilled and more effective. [More…]
Incidentally, the DLP at the present time is in trouble with some of the unions which support it because some of those unions are in favour of amalgamation. [More…]
The DLP has been caught in its own trap because if this legislation goes through one or two unions which are seeking- [More…]
Two or three small unions are seeking the assistance of the major unions. [More…]
The major unions have been described in this chamber as monsters trying to absorb the smaller unions. [More…]
The situation is the reverse: The smaller unions are seeking the assistance, the skills, the abilities and the expertise of the larger unions. [More…]
Are the unions expected to take unilateral action and say that they will not seek extra wages because the extra wages are not of very much use? [More…]
There is evidence that the workers and the unions resent some of the decisions, attitudes and comments of the judges of the arbitration court. [More…]
Perhaps one can take some comfort from the fact that if these impositions are to be placed on trade unions and trade union corporations, similar restrictions and disciplines will be placed upon many of the other corporations in this country. [More…]
There are many of them in all organisations, whether they be shareholders, members of trade unions or others. [More…]
When use of the arbitration system does result in the granting of a little more than what is regarded as the minimum, this Government sees fit to tighten the legislation further so that more sanctions will be placed on unions if they do not abide by decisions handed down by the court. [More…]
At page 47 of the Bill there is a schedule which contains a list of the penalties that are to apply, mainly, to employees and members of unions which the courts decide are in breach of sections of the Act. [More…]
I want to reiterate what probably has been said by other senators about the attitude of the Australian Council of Trade Unions towards penalties. [More…]
We do not care how much the Government increases the penalties in the sanctions provisions of the Act because the trade unions have no intention of paying the fines. [More…]
The Government may increase them to $10,000 and 10 years imprisonment; the unions have no intention of paying fines for breaches of certain sections. [More…]
I want to read one of the decisions made at the congress of the Australian Council of Trade Unions held from 30th August to 3rd September 1971. [More…]
This 1971 ACTU Congress declares its belief in the right of organised trade unions to strike. [More…]
Congress reaffirms its opposition to continuation of penal provisions and demands the repeal of all legislation which protect employers from normal bargaining procedures yet discriminates against the unions. [More…]
whilst eliminating the Contempt proceedings, nevertheless continued Penal Provisions which can be invoked against the unions, and therefore is unacceptable to the Trade Union Movement whilst these Penal Provisions are retained. [More…]
Essentially we say that these penalties are Immoral in that they constitute a double standard which operates against wage and salary earners and their unions. [More…]
That was the ACTU speaking on behalf of over 1 million trade unionists whose unions are affiliated with that body. [More…]
The blatant interference by the Government in the internal affairs of trade unions has been referred to. [More…]
That Party made every effort through the National Civic Council to prevent the amalgamation of the 3 major metal trades unions of Australia. [More…]
This legislation has been brought down to make certain that the road to amalgamations by the trade unions is going to be pretty hard in future. [More…]
Surely members of the Government must realise that when there is an amalgamation of unions - previously where there were 2, 3 or 4 organisations they are now speaking with one voice - a lot of these demarcation disputes will be eliminated. [More…]
In Australia today over 300 unions are registered under the Conciliation and Arbitration Act. [More…]
Of these unions 298 have less than 10,000 members and 198 have less than 2,000 members. [More…]
So here in Australia, with a population of only 13 million and probably 4.5 million in the workforce, we have over 300 unions representing those workers. [More…]
There are far too many unions in Australia. [More…]
The time has come when the smaller unions have seen the wisdom of amalgamation because it will save the unions expenditure in office rentals, union officials, staff and the many other expenses which are incurred by the smaller unions. [More…]
It is prepared to take any drastic measures which will prevent further increases in gains which the unions have won over the last 2 to 3 years. [More…]
It should not be forgotten that the Australian Workers Union, as it is today, comprises a number of unions which have been incorporated over the years. [More…]
These unions amalgamated and the Australian Workers Union was formed. [More…]
No-one would knowingly insert in the Act such a prohibitive provision that would prevent unions from amalgamating. [More…]
It is obvious that this position will apply not only to the Australian Workers Union but also, equally, to many other unions whose membership is scattered throughout the States. [More…]
The table to which I have referred shows that there are many other unions in respect of which the percentage of ballot papers returned was less than 20 per cent. [More…]
The Bill places a restriction on the trade unions. [More…]
Another salient feature of the legislation is the reference to control over the unions in relation to strikes and secret ballots being conducted where they are considered necessary. [More…]
The application was lodged by the Australian Council of Trade Unions for a review of the national wage in August or September of last year, but a decision was not handed down on that application until April of this year. [More…]
It seems to me that the Government and the employers are becoming more and more concerned about the wage increases that the unions have been gaining over the last two or three years. [More…]
Trenchant attacks have been made in this chamber on many occasions on the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions and on officials of the trade unions, particularly those officials who are communists. [More…]
The average weekly earnings increased by only small amounts right through to the year 1969-70, which is just about the time that there was a change in the leadership of the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
During the last two or three years the unions have, through their efforts and submissions to the industrial tribunals and some prior activity on the job, gained increases but they have been only in keeping with cost of living increases. [More…]
It is the unions and their members who have ‘.o bear the burden when the cost of living increases are out of all proportion and inflation runs rife. [More…]
Honourable senators can rest assured that while prices keep rising and the unions have to fight their claims in the arena of the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission there will always be conflict and agitation by the workers trying to gain an increased percentage for their labour. [More…]
We oppose any interference in the amalgamation of unions when the unions themselves consider the amalgamation necessary. [More…]
The unions have ample provision in their constitutions and rules to cover any amalgamation registered in the Commission. [More…]
This is proved by the recent biggest amalgamation in the history of arbitration in Australia, namely, the amalgamation of the metal trades unions. [More…]
The Bill contains proposals for prvention of amalgamation of unions and for increased penalties on unions that do not comply with decisions of commissioners, though they may be bad decisions. [More…]
When unions, by negotiation with employers reach agreement on rates of pay, working conditions and other conditions of work, they may be thwarted by the provision that enables the Commission to prvent implementation of such agreements. [More…]
The first is the flippant rush with which the Government has approached this matter and the second is the interference which the Government is prescribing for trade unions and which it would not dream of suggesting with regard to other organisations within this country. [More…]
Eleven per cent of the industrial disputes which take place in this country are demarcation disputes between different unions. [More…]
That organisation, for example, is in favour of the mergers of unions so that it can deal with one negotiating party rather than a multiplicity of negotiating parties, and so that it will know that if an agreement is reached it will be binding on all or nearly all of the workers in that industry and not only on a fraction of them. [More…]
Possibly some small groups of rather backward employers might envy Australia’s industrial laws but certainly no groups of trade unions would envy Australian industrial laws. [More…]
I must confess that from my own conversations with American trade unionists and from reading the journals and the policies of American trade unions - organisations like the American Federation of Labor and the Confederation of Industrial Organisations and also the individual unions - I believe I would not find one American trade union that would support systems of compulsory arbitration such as those applied in this country. [More…]
The International Association of Machinists is an offshoot of the original British Amalgamated Engineering Union and is not only one of the largest unions of skilled engineering workers in the United States but also one of the most conservative craft unions in that country. [More…]
As Senator Murphy and other honourable senators from the Labor Party have pointed out already, the Government has taken a class position on this measure, namely, that mergers of trade unions shall be subject to all this scrutiny and will have to vault all these hurdles, while at the same time mergers of companies remain untouched. [More…]
What other organisations in Australia are subject to the same disabilities as the trade unions? [More…]
The Australian trade unions are singled out for this particular attention because the Government is opposed to the trade union movement, and it is opposed to the trade union movement because it knows that the trade union movement is working for the benefit of its members’ economic conditions. [More…]
This Bill and the manner in which it has been presented to the Senate indicate the flippant approach of the Government towards the trade unions and the working people, the great mass of the Australian people. [More…]
It is class legislation insofar as it imposes burdens upon the trade unions that it does not impose upon any other association or corporation. [More…]
It applies vindictive restrictions upon the trade unions insofar as their mergers are concerned that it does not apply to the mergers of companies or any other organisations. [More…]
It adds to the conflicts which, of their very nature, exist within this society the additional conflicts which result from a multiplicity of unions and which follow from the imposition of unjust laws upon the trade unions and the working people of this country. [More…]
If one deals with the question of mergers, one finds that only recently in the United States - only over the past few years - there have been mergers of very big trade unions. [More…]
These are big unions covering workers in different aspects of the meat industry. [More…]
The principle that country has followed is that if the majority of workers within those unions, the elected officials, delegates and the governing bodies of those unions decide that they wish to have a merger, that is entirely up to them and it is nobody else’s business. [More…]
In fact, the law in that country encourages mergers of unions insofar as it discourages having parallel unionism within the same work place. [More…]
It is done because American industry knows that unnecessary friction and conflict are avoided by having one union within one place of work, and not a multiplicity of unions which can be involved in disputes with each other which are irrelevant to any dispute which may be taking place between the employees and employer. [More…]
Anybody who is familiar with some of the problems that have arisen on the waterfront in Great Britain should be aware that it was recognised by Lord Devlin in his report on the stevedoring industry in Great Britain that one of the primary causes for industrial trouble in Great Britain was the fact that there are 2 unions covering dock workers - the dock section of the Transport and General Workers Union and the National Amalgamated Stevedores and [More…]
One of the recommendations of Lord Devlin was that there should be a merger of those unions. [More…]
One can imagine the reaction of this Government if it was faced with a similar situation in which 2 parallel unions operated on the Australian waterfront and a little piessure was applied by Senator Kane. [More…]
The Government restricts the organisational freedom of unions, in a way in which it does not restrict the freedom of other organisations, by imposing upon those unions all sorts of arbitrary rules which have not been agreed upon by the members of the unions. [More…]
It imposes those things upon unions in a way which it would not act in respect of other organisations. [More…]
No other group of people, no other organisation of producers, is subject to the interference, the penalties and the regulation that the Australian trade unions have to suffer. [More…]
In addition, we have the traditional trade union movement led by its national organisation, the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
He talked about sections in the Act at present which impose all sorts of restrictions on the unions. [More…]
This Bill is designed to impose added restrictions on the unions. [More…]
Perhaps it: illustrates how the trade unions are to be dealt with, lt is directed towards correcting an error in the original Act. [More…]
The drafting of the provision in the original Act which provided that certain conduct in the nature of dismissing or threatening employees because of their being members of unions or of their intending to be members of unions was seriously defective. [More…]
There is a strong feeling on the part of the trade unions that the Government is anxious at all times to do whatever it can to the disadvantage of the trade unions. [More…]
Will the Minister give consideration to the statement of Mr Morgan of the metal trades employers’ organisation that that body will negotiate direct with the amalgamated metal unions on fresh wage claims? [More…]
I ask the Minister whether, at the same time as he puts to the Minister for Labour and National Service the consideration of the statement by the national president of the metal trades employers’ organisation, he will take note of Mr Morgan’s statement that a failure to meet the unions will aggravate industrial relations and be used to justify strikes. [More…]
It would certainly be inappropriate for any employer not to engage usefully in purposeful discussions as to any wage adjustments which are claimed by unions. [More…]
I ask the Minister representing the Minister for Labour and National Service whether the Mr Morgan, the president of the metal trades employers’ organisation, referred to in Senator McManus’ question, is the same Mr Morgan who stated that the pending amalgamation of the metal trades unions would have the great advantage of eliminating demarcation disputes. [More…]
However, it is essential to keep steadily in mind the necessity for allowing unions to gain their corporate strength by their own decisions. [More…]
The view that there should be as deputy president a person other than a lawyer has commended itself to the Australian Council of Trade Unions and to the National Employers Association. [More…]
I remind the Senate that only a few weeks ago we were discussing similarly restrictive arbitration legislation which was designed to prevent the Public Service unions from becoming too active in seeking wage increases for their members. [More…]
Recently the 6 Public Service unions had applications before the Public Service Arbitrator, Mr Chambers, seeking what they claimed to be reasonable salary increases. [More…]
The Commonwealth Government opposed those applications and made an offer to the unions which was small by comparison with the claim. [More…]
I include parliamentarians in the comparison because it at least gives us a chance to compare the level of our salaries with those of a section of the Public Service whose salaries are adjusted at the same time as legislation is introduced to impose more restrictions on the freedom of unions and organisations to make collective agreements. [More…]
Mr Clyde Cameron did not pursue the matter because he received a pretty emphatic repudiation from Mr Linehan on behalf of the white collar unions, because implicit in Mr Cameron’s attitude is a rejection by the Labor Party of the claims of white collar workers, and it shows a prejudice which I regret to see. [More…]
This morning we had a Dorothy Dixer posed to the Minister for Works (Senator Wright) in relation to a conference between the metal trades unions and a Mr Morgan who is prepared to meet the unions and consider a wage increase. [More…]
He can see danger in an agreement granting a 9 per cent increase to members of metal trades unions who are getting $70 a week at the present time. [More…]
Do members of the trade unions get increases on a retrospective basis? [More…]
What would be wrong in the Government convening an objective meeting of the trade unions, the employers, the white collar unions and, if you like, representatives of the State governments to try to find out precisely where we are going in the future. [More…]
We do not agree with the proposed legislation, but especially at this stage we are pointing to what Senator Turnbull states to be the hypocrisy of the Government in providing for one classification an increase of $4,400 a year, or $84 a week, with great retrospectivity, while at the same time bringing in a Bill to stop trade unions settling their wage claims in concert with the employers. [More…]
Only this morning Senator Wright, as Minister representing the Minister for Labour and National Service, in answering a question pointed out that the president of the metal trades industries group, the main employer group, said: ‘We intend to deal with the trade unions and to make agreements’. [More…]
But this Bill is designed to restrict as far as possible the trade unions meeting on common ground with the employer to settle disputes or to agree on hours of work. [More…]
If there is some desire, to control amalgamation, I do not know why this principle should be restricted to trade unions. [More…]
Far too many disputes result from this question of demarcation and union membership, and these things disappear when unions amalgamate. [More…]
This Government saw nothing wrong with the procedures that were being adopted - they are difficult enough - by unions in this community before it introduced this code. [More…]
He went on to say that there was no such record in relation to the big unions that have amalgamated. [More…]
I have no doubt that over recent years many trade unions have been contemplating amalgamation. [More…]
I personally do not know of them but at this moment there may be certain such unions or groups of unions which are on the verge of making application for amalgamation under the old law. [More…]
The Attorney-General is telling us that if there is anything like that on foot, if any unions are on the verge of amalgamating under the old law, that is something which has to be stopped at all costs, now, today. [More…]
Yet when it comes to interfering with unions the Government wants to introduce this emergency measure to freeze things as at today. [More…]
The situation now is that some unions may be, or may be thought to be, in the process of going through an amalgamation. [More…]
I do not think that even the Democratic Labor Party, which we know has opposed the amalgamation of the metal trades unions - which is now a fact - would support this kind of despicable action by the Government. [More…]
1 propose to ask the Australian Council of Trade Unions, through the Queensland Trades and Labour Council, to report all these amendments, particularly the affiliation clauses, to the International Labour Organisation. [More…]
That is how the interests of the membership of both unions have been protected. [More…]
We did not want any legislation that the Attorney-General might force on the trade unions to guarantee the protection of the unionists in the 2 unions. [More…]
The legislation is bad enough but this proposal relating to retrospectivity will affect negotiations that unions have been engaged in for some time - negotiations for one purpose only, namely, to ensure that all members of the respective unions will be protected. [More…]
In view of the specific proposals submitted to him by delegates of the metal trades unions whom I introduced to him over 6 weeks ago, seeking to stabilise the employment of the work force on railway rolling stock in New South Wales, can the Minister expedite a positive decision by his colleague, mindful of further impending dismissals? [More…]
The Stevedoring Industry (Temporary Provisions) Act was enacted in 1967 to give legislative effect to an agreement entered into in the National Stevedoring Industry Conference, under the chairmanship of Mr A. E. Woodward, Q.C., on which the stevedoring employers, the Australian Council of Trade Unions, the Waterside Workers Federation, the Department of Labour and National Service and the Australian Stevedoring Industry Authority were represented. [More…]
Why is it said that these unions are trying to beat the gun? [More…]
The Government justifies all this in the name of crunching the unions. [More…]
It will not succeed in crunching the unions. [More…]
It is somewhat in doubt as to how the date of operation will affect the unions with which I am concerned. [More…]
Some 3 years ago a meeting of the building trade unions was held for the purpose of considering amalgamation. [More…]
The proposed amalgamation involved big unions and small unions. [More…]
The rights of small unions had to be covered, as did the rights of crafts, the settlement of demarcation disputes and other questions affecting any union going into the amalgamation. [More…]
After discussion, the only 3 unions interested in the amalgamation were the Operative Painters and Decorators Union, the Operative Plasterers and Plaster Workers Federation and the Building Workers Industrial Union. [More…]
I do not want to recapitulate the situations that confront some of the unions that were mentioned by the Attorney-General and other speakers; I simply want to give another illustration of why, in my opinion, the Government would be fully justified in spending the entire recess in conference with affected unions and the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
As I interpret the legislation in relation to overtures for amalgamation between the canvas workers and the Australian Railways Union, the Government will be prepared to assist and subsidise the unions only if they synchronise the amalgamation ballot with their triennial elections. [More…]
If honourable senators look at the balance sheet of the average trade union today they will find that if the unions are forced to conduct an additional ballot in this situation they will be in a really difficult financial position. [More…]
This is a very serious matter for the trade unions. [More…]
Really, what the Government ought to do if it intends to persist and use the weight of numbers to pass this legislation is to at least let those trade unions, which have amalgamations in progress, carry them into effect. [More…]
We believe that those unions which want to amalgamate should be given an opportunity to do so if their amalgamations are in progress. [More…]
Why should unions be prevented from pursuing amalgamations if they want to amalgamate? [More…]
It will mean that the amalgamation, instead of being an orderly process, will depend upon the raiding of members of smaller unions by the larger unions. [More…]
Changes are occurring in industry which mean that the unions should rearrange their organisation and their membership in the same way that industry has to rearrange from time to time. [More…]
If we are to have an efficient community, then those changes must be reflected in the organisation of the trade unions. [More…]
The Government should be endeavouring, as the employers as well as the trade unions would want, to achieve a procedure where the amalgamations can be made simpler instead of more difficult. [More…]
Amalgamations have been part of the labour movement ever since workers banded together to form trade unions. [More…]
While amalgamations have been part and parcel of trade union activity in the past they are even more so now because as a result of technological changes men in smaller unions are becoming redundant and those unions are finding it impossible financially to carry on. [More…]
I want to develop a point to show that this is the world-wide thinking on the right of trade unions to amalgamate. [More…]
From 16th April to 19th May 1972 at Santiago, Chile, the third United Nations Conference on Trade and Development was held and statements at that conference were made by the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions. [More…]
It is certainly an, illusion to think that restrictions on the right of working people to organise themselves in trade unions can in some way make development easier to obtain. [More…]
I am quoting from a document of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions. [More…]
I submit, for the consideration of the Attorney-General and Government senators, that Australia is out of step and out of line with its thinking on restrictive practices on trade unions. [More…]
I refer to the statements made by the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions. [More…]
If these 2 men cannot agree on the wording of something, how could one possibly expect workers on the job, secretaries of trade unions or secretaries of employers organisations to agree on the interpretation of the amendment whichtheAttorney General has submitted.I think the AttorneyGeneral would agree that it -would be a sheer impossibility. [More…]
You should have’ heard the remarks of the trade unions in relation to conciliation when that happened. [More…]
Those amalgamations had the interests at heart of the members of the unions concerned. [More…]
What happened only the other day demonstrated quite forcibly that the Attorney-General is not appreciative of the work of the trade union movement and, in particular, the secretaries and organisers of unions. [More…]
I believe that if all the unions within the Railway Department had amalgamated there would have been far greater consideration of the problem in dispute. [More…]
In 1969 and 1970 the trade unions, through the National Labour Advisory Council, discussed this matter with the Government and with the employers, and a procedure was developed from these discussions. [More…]
I personally am aware of voluntary agreements having been made by employers with employees and the unions in relation to disputes procedure. [More…]
The employer and ACTU members of NLAC agreed: l.That representative tripartite discussion concerning the operation of the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Act should begin as soon as possible and should embrace the question of sanctions, including the ACTU suggestion of the desirability of investigating the adoption of a system of voluntary agreements to regulate the relations between employers and unions outside the legislation, including, if desired by the parties, provisions for their enforcement. [More…]
These procedures were designed first of all as arrangements fully entered into between the employers and the unions. [More…]
The extension of matters which have to go before a full bench of the Commission is also of great concern to the Opposition and to the trade unions. [More…]
Obviously, the Government ought to have the responsibility of appearing before the Commission and putting its view in regard to any effect a decision might have on the national economy and negating whatever the unions or the employers may say in respect of this. [More…]
By agreement, the employers and the unions effected a basic form of long service leave which has now become almost universal. [More…]
It seems to us that this fits in with the general scheme of this Bill which is to take as many measures as possible to impose a strait jacket on industrial relations in the interests, we suggest, of imposing a wage freeze on the unions. [More…]
Here we see the alignment of the 2 forces who are facing an election which will be fought on a platform set against the activities of the trade unions. [More…]
I entered the Australian Council of Trade Unions at the time Percy Clarey was President of the ACTU. [More…]
When that situation occurs, what in form might be meaningful negotiations, as the unions have sometimes described them, in effect amounts to one party saying: ‘You give us what we want, otherwise we will never go back to work.’ [More…]
We have been told on many occasions how sections of the Conciliation and Arbitration Act can be used to punish the unions heavily by imposing a fine of Si, 000, and $500 a day for every repetition of an offence. [More…]
It was estimated in recent years by Mr Woodward, Q.C., as he was then, that up to 1968 $100,000 had been inflicted in fines on unions because of offences under the Act. [More…]
The Minister for Labour and National Service (Mr Lynch), in the statement he made in December 1971 when he indicated the intention of the Government to amend the Conciliation and Arbitration Act, said that several unions had not paid fines totalling $37,950. [More…]
These fines were legally imposed and he said that he expected the unions to pay them. [More…]
However, since 1970, when sections of the Act were relaxed, fines totalling $10,200 have been imposed on the Unions. [More…]
We had the upheaval around the metal trades award towards the end of 1968 which led to the spate of strikes in 1969, in which the employers raced to the Commonwealth Industrial Court in case after case under old sections 109 and 111 - the contempt powers - ‘and automatically had fines imposed on the unions with costs added. [More…]
I can only conclude, as I said before, that the purpose of this section is not to ensure industrial peace; it is to aggravate industrial relations in the hope that this Government can emerge before the electors as the champion of law and order, as the custodian of all the righteousness of the community and as the people who come in and clear up the chaos which has been caused by these wicked unions. [More…]
That indicates that the vast number of awards which are made in this country do not require and do not have inserted in them clauses which say that the unions will not engage in any limitation or restriction of work. [More…]
The proposed new sub-section 2 of section 39 reflects again the intention of the Government to tie down as rigidly as possible every action which might be taken by the trade unions in an attempt to obtain decent awards and agreements in order to match the escalation of inflation and prices. [More…]
What disturbed us was that the Act permitted one judge to sit in such important matters as challenges to the rules of a union and in matters which could seriously affect the career and tenure of office of office holders in trade unions. [More…]
I am referring, of course, to the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the other organisations that do not accept penalties imposed under the Conciliation and Arbitration Act. [More…]
Yesterday I referred to the fact that penalties imposed on trade unions had aggregated to between $100,000 and $200,000, whereas penalties imposed on employer organisations are quite minor. [More…]
I have already referred to the hundreds of dollars in fines imposed on employers compared with the many thousands of dollars in fines that have been imposed on trade unions. [More…]
In addition, there is continuing argument between the Government and the unions over these provisions. [More…]
The Opposition’s amendment will have the effect of ensuring that penalties will not be imposed on trade unions in respect of disputes involving general matters such as wages claims and working conditions. [More…]
Before we leave this group of clauses I should like to record the Australian Labor Party’s opposition to clause 19, which is the clause which introduces provisions for the conduct of secret ballots in unions when an industrial dispute occurs or is threatening. [More…]
But I take the view that we have high living standards in this country and that they have been secured in the past by sensible use of our arbitration system, by strong unions acting responsibly and by employer organisations which have known when to respond and on occasion when not to respond. [More…]
I think that this point should be cleared up because resignations from the membership of unions cause quite a lot of conflict between members and officials. [More…]
The fact is that trade unions have had to battle against attempts, by various devices, to prevent organisation of the workers. [More…]
In one way or another throughout the entire English-speaking world con sistent attempts have been made by legislation and through the courts to prevent the legitimate organisation of trade unions and the furtherance of their trade disputes. [More…]
Finally the Congress of the United States had to place curbs upon the various endeavours through the courts and by the use of equity procedures to prevent trade unions carrying out their legitimate functions of endeavouring by disputations, bans or limitations, or by any other weapon which they had at their disposal, to try to advance the interests of their members against the great power of those who were employing them and who were able to organise freely. [More…]
Unions and their members have been harrassed over the years by actions for conspiracy, inducing breaches of contract and so on. [More…]
For example, it was thought that when actions came before juries, the juries would not find persons guilty, even civilly, of an offence of conspiracy or of inducing breach of contract and would not have required unions or their members to pay damages. [More…]
There is a difference of opinion as to whether sanctions should be imposed upon trade unions by the Industrial Court. [More…]
The problem was to find these unions. [More…]
There should be a clear provision to the effect that none of these actions shall be commenced and that industrial disputes shall be dealt with in the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission and the Industrial Court under an industrial code and not be subjected to actions associated with the 19th century concept of the criminality of trade unions. [More…]
It is repugnant to us as being an unacceptable interference with the affairs of trade unions. [More…]
The precedents being set by this legislation for interference with corporate structures, for prevention of mergers and interference with internal affairs of corporations - which happen to be trade unions - are a sign that no-one in [More…]
What can be done to corporations which are trade unions can be done to corporations which are not trade unions. [More…]
The membership of small unions should be consulted. [More…]
Within a period of one year a major trade union could absorb as many as 10 other unions. [More…]
The effect of the amendment is that it will not interfere in any way with the right of a major organisation to seek exemption from a ballot except when over a period of 3 years it exceeds the 5 per cent level of its membership by absorbing other trade unions. [More…]
4) to make a plea on behalf of the metal trades unions in New South Wales about overdue action by the Commonwealth Government, through the Minister for Trade and Industry (Mr Anthony), to stabilise the rolling stock manufacturing industry. [More…]
At that deputation the unions put forward special proposals. [More…]
In the era when Sir John McEwen was Minister there were times when the unions had to see him. [More…]
I should point out that every week the unions concerned have been asking Mr Unsworth, the organiser of the New South Wales Trades and Labour Council, what is happening. [More…]
There has been some talk about trade unions being unreasonable in their approaches. [More…]
If I may interpolate, that seems an unusual letter from the Political Liaison Committee of the Farmers Union, which has not usually identified with trade unions. [More…]
Our views are echoed not only by the major trade unions with ethnic groups but also by all the foreign language newspapers. [More…]
In view of the situation in which we are placed I do not intend to cover much of the area except to say, of course, that the Opposition is very much concerned, not only about the statement of the Minister for Works (Senator Wright) in his second reading speech, but also in relation to the Governments’ overactive role in relation to the activities of trade unions. [More…]
The honourable senator would have had an opportunity to show me the context before he quoted one statement from what purports to be a record issuing from the Australian Council of Trade Unions on 5th July. [More…]
Senator Wriedt was referring not to the Australian Council of Trade Unions but to the Federal Executive of the Australian Labor Party which includes Mr Whitlam, the Leader of the Party, the Deputy Leader of the Party, Senator Willesee and myself, and a number of other Labor members of this Parliament. [More…]
In answer to so much of that which fell from Senator Murphy as would come under the description of a question, I would like to be forgiven for confusing in Senator Wriedt’s question his reference to the Federal Executive of the Australian Labor Party with the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
In view of the repeated agitation of maritime unions for Australia to become a signatory to the [More…]
Unions and management do not seem to understand that it is a ferry service and, as far as possible should be exempt from industrial trouble. [More…]
If any member of Parliament, the bosses of the unions or of the ANL management had been at that ferry terminal their hearts would have bled for the discomfort of the people concerned. [More…]
This is why I suggested by way of question, and I emphasise it here, that there should be some decency, courtesy and commonsense brought to bear on management and unions so that an announcement will be made that the ship next sailing after the one scheduled will be the one which will be stopped because of a strike. [More…]
I want to take no further part in this debate other than to suggest that unions and management get together for the sake of the people. [More…]
To use the Minister’s words, Mr Batt was going around Tasmania begging to the unions. [More…]
If ever a. person has risen in stature in Tasmania because of his efforts to grapple with the transport problems in that State, it has been Mr Batt, lt is Mr Batt in conjunction with the unions, who has brought a degree of industrial peace to Tasmania, something which we did not know when the ‘Liberal Party was in power in that State. [More…]
For the Minister for Works to simply condemn the unions out of hand in the way that he did indicates his bias in this matter. [More…]
Not only was there an attack on the unions. [More…]
I am not defending the unions all along the line because 1 would be the first to agree that there are times when they get out of step. [More…]
But why single out the unions and say that they are responsible for these increases? [More…]
It is curious that the only occasion on which some spokesmen for the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the Labor Party are prepared to allege communist activities is when one of their own members is hurt. [More…]
I say further that while the Labor Party has, as its policy, a programme which would exonerate from all civil consequences unions and unionists who engage in violence in the course of strikes, they can expect this sort of thing to happen. [More…]
Does this mean that the Australian Council of Trade Unions now condemns breaches of law and order in industrial disputes? [More…]
Does he now acknowledge that the Australian Council of Trade Unions, which is headed by Mr Hawke, who is also an influential member of the ALP, has condemned such acts and that that policy will be the policy of the Australian trade union movement? [More…]
Apparently, according to the report in the Sydney Morning Herald’, which seems to have the best report of the Australian Council of Trade Unions directive, people guilty of violence - I presume that means persons found guilty by the courts - should not thereafter be allowed to be members of the unions. [More…]
Apparently the Australian Labor Party is not prepared to take the sort of action that will enable people in union affairs to go about their jobs fearlessly and without risk of physical harm, and this situation is inherent in all that the unions have been putting over the last 2 years. [More…]
This principle must be asserted strongly and it must be understood because it is the principle which the Labor Party unashamedly adopts when it claims immunity for trade unions in respect of breaches of the Conciliation and Arbitration Act. [More…]
When asserting that Australian Labor Party policy and the idea of collective bargaining increased the incidence of industrial disorder, did the Minister have regard to the systems operating in the Scandinavian countries, including Sweden and also in the Republic of West Germany, where collective bargaining and national agreements are consummated between the unions and the employers and where the industrial record is one of the best in the world? [More…]
So although the criticism that has been levelled at the Waterside Workers Federation and at other unions associated with this industry has been pretty sharp, the report shows that the freight forwarders’ charges have increased progressively by approximately 50 per cent. [More…]
Multiply this a thousand times and add to it the numbers of consignees awaiting urgent cargoes which are not delivered because of industrial stoppages of this nature and we have some idea of the inconvenience and hardships caused by irresponsible actions on the part of maritime unions. [More…]
When he is asked a question on anything to do with the requirements of trade unions he gets very upset indeed. [More…]
He starts attacking the Australian Labor Party, trade unions, Bob Hawke and everybody in sight who may be a worker. [More…]
It was unfortunate that when Mr Hawke was elected President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions he said that he was going to take strike action. [More…]
The much criticised President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, Mr Bob Hawke, has pointed out to the Government the capacity of industries to pay and all the other situations that can and will arise. [More…]
I thought the Government would canonise both of them for saying that the trade union movement believes, as it always has, that there should be law and order within the unions. [More…]
Government supporters should not think that union leaders can go back to the unions they represent and say that they cannot get anything. [More…]
However, Mr Bob Hawke has to convince a group of unions that he thinks he can get something for them in the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission despite the fact that the Government is trying to nobble him. [More…]
What other avenue is open to the unions, and how much harder does the Government make it for Mr Hawke to negotiate? [More…]
In Australia, the training of pre-school teachers ls carried out in colleges which, as I have said earlier, are run by the voluntary kindergarten unions and organisations all of which are associated and affiliated with the Australian Pre-school Association. [More…]
Is he aware that Mr Calnan was a member of the 4-man Australian Council of Trade Unions team which attended the International Labor Organisation in Geneva and also the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions in London? [More…]
The Liberal and Country Party Government, employer bodies and other groups have attempted to lay the blame for inflation at the feet of the Australian trade unions. [More…]
Let us face it, the major factors causing inflation today are the extravagant wage demands of the unions and the request for a 35-hour week, which members of the Labor Party support. [More…]
One sits here and listens to attacks made on workers, on the trade union movement, on the President and the Secretary of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, by Senator Wright and Senator Greenwood who are 2 of the most vicious men in this chamber for attacks on the workers. [More…]
I cannot recall precisely what Mr Clyde Cameron said, except that in broad terms he sought to justify by way of historical example the case which is being put up by the Labor Party to give unions and unionists immunity from civil action for certain wrongs they may commit in the course and in furtherance of industrial disputes. [More…]
It would be putting unions and unionists above the law because it would be excusing them, when they took certain action in the course of industrial disputes, from the consequences of their wrong doing - consequences that apply to every other citizen in the land. [More…]
It would put unions above the law and that, I believe, Australian people will not tolerate. [More…]
The use of the phrase ‘no action in the nature of breach of contract or other action’ is a wholesale declaration for the enthronement of trade unions completely free from responsibility or liability for anything arising in any way in the course of an industrial dispute. [More…]
I was only going to add that this is a remarkable privilege to be claimed by a Party claiming to be a democratic party, to give to one class in our community - organisations, trade unions - freedom from any responsibility whatever in law or any action for anything in any way done in the course of an industrial dispute. [More…]
This has been a contention since the Taff Vale case in 1890, vehemently propounded in the United Kingdom until, by a despicable political compromise in 1906, England gave a partial immunity in this field which Heath’s Government modified and almost abrogated - certainly abrogated last year in respect of all unregistered trade unions. [More…]
We on this side of the chamber and the members who occupy the Opposition benches in the other place know only too well that the only device that the Government has for explaining the situation is to blame the wicked trade unions. [More…]
On every hand, whether in reference to inflation, spiralling prices, unemployment or any other ill from which the economy is suffering, we hear the cry from the Government, in a monotonous repetition, that these things have been caused by the wicked trade unions through their persuasion for increased wages. [More…]
If the trade unions are not being blamed it is suggested that high wage increases are the cause. [More…]
I did not thinkI would ever live to see the day when a responsible Minister of the Crown in the national Parliament would make such a ludicrous statement as to appeal to the trade union movement to throw overboard one of its main objectives, that is, to seek wage increases for the workers that the unions represent. [More…]
1 hope it will stimulate some interest and that the Government will cease to blame the wicked trade unions and increasing wages for the unemployment position that exists in Australia today. [More…]
I feel that in our contribution we have given an effective answer to the continual blaming of the trade unions and high wages for the cause of unemployment. [More…]
It has been unable to cope with the situation, yet in this chamber and in the other place it has kept up a continual attack, blaming the trade unions, wages and everything connected with the working class. [More…]
I do not know what some of the trade unions think of this figure or, for that matter, what the Australian electorate thinks. [More…]
I am sure that the voters are getting sick and tired of hearing Ministers of this Government referring to what the unions want, such as the 35-hour-week and civil rights. [More…]
The unions have to be told not to make extravagant wage claims. [More…]
Its actions have been centred largely against the trade unions and workers. [More…]
On 2 occasions this Government has introduced extraordinary laws against unions, not only against the traditional unions such as the metal workers and the railway workers but also against its own public servants. [More…]
The Act was amended following repeated petitions by the Minister for Labour and National Service (Mr Lynch), the Prime Minister (Mr McMahon) and many other Ministers who attacked the unions for their wage claims. [More…]
We have said that the Labor Party believes in settling disputes between employers and unions across the board, around the table. [More…]
What happened in relation to the waterfront industry is that we had a situation where the employers, the unions and the court finally said to the Government: ‘Mind your own business, because the matter has been settled. [More…]
There was a proposition by the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, Mr Hawke, who now becomes infamous from the point of view of the Government. [More…]
What this community needs is the relationship between the unions, the employers and the Government which existed years ago when any dispute which arose was instantly the subject of investigation. [More…]
Is it not a fact that the principle that unions and unionists should be immune from prosecution except in the Commonwealth Industrial Court for acts done in* the furtherance of industrial objectives is enshrined already in section 147 of the Conciliation and Arbitration Act, which reads: [More…]
Since these words have been in the Act since its inception in 1904 and successive Liberal governments have taken no steps to repeal them, may we take it that the Government agrees with the Australian Labour Party that the traditional immunity of trade unions and their officers from actions for damages for conspiracy arising out of industrial dispute should be maintained? [More…]
The honourable senator returns to this issue in which the Australian Labor Party propounds a proposition that there should be complete privilege from civil action and from penalties for unions and unionists in relation to acts done in the course of an industrial dispute. [More…]
Of course it is now proposed by the Labor Party that trade unions should have complete immunity from penalties for all offences within the arbitration system too. [More…]
It is a demented distortion of section 147 to suggest that its retention in the legislation represents an acceptance by the Liberal-Country Party Government of the claim by the Labor Party for ultraprivilege on the part of the trade unions. [More…]
Can he tell me whether it has ever been suggested, in the long years during which there has been this traditional immunity of trade unions and their officers from action for conspiracy and so on arising out of an industrial dispute, that this would stop a person bringing an action where injury was caused by a motor vehicle accident? [More…]
This was followed not by legislation giving total immunity to trade unions, as the Leader of the Opposition suggests, but by a quasi immunity of a limited nature which had its origin in perhaps one of the most despicable political compromises in this field of law. [More…]
Now that he has applauded and quoted the words of Mr John Ducker, the Assistant Secretary of the Trades and Labour Council of New South Wales, will the Minister tell us whether that book of pregnant information that he has before him also contains the information that Mr John Ducker is a member of the Federal Executive of the Australian Labor Party which only a few weeks ago said that the traditional immunity of the trade unions and their officers from civil actions - not criminal proceedings - in respect of matters arising out of industrial disputes should be preserved and maintained? [More…]
If a relatively small union could successfully mount such an attack, what could be achieved by the more powerful unions with more resources if they acted in a similar way? [More…]
If immunity is to be given for actions taken by unions and unionists in the course of an industrial dispute, that sort of physical assault and smashing of property will be allowed to go on without the persons guilty of that conduct being liable to compensate in any way the people whom they injure. [More…]
Is the Attorney-General aware that the Australian Council of Trade Unions, which is the national trade union body and is recognised as such by this Government with which it sits on the National Labour Advisory Council, has condemned violence in industrial disputes? [More…]
Is he aware that its policy binds not only the members of the Australian Council of Trade Unions but also the State trades and labour councils? [More…]
The Australian Council of Trade Unions recently declared itself against violence, but it did so in a way that I suggest is quite meaningless. [More…]
I say that because I assume that any requirement of unions to expel from their ranks persons who are guilty of violence means that they would have to be convicted in the courts of that violence before the unions would expel them. [More…]
The Australian Council of Trade Unions has the power, if it wants to use it, simply to say that any union in which these activities of violence occur shall forthwith cease to be a member of the Australian trade union movement. [More…]
But the Australian Council of Trade Unions has not taken any step like that. [More…]
Well, if you cut tariffs, if your government approved a cut in tariffs and the trade unions- [More…]
I well recall that when it was introduced in August last year both the Federal leader of the Australian Labor Party, Mr Whitlam, and the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, Mr Hawke, said that the Government was plotting a dangerous course and that by the end of 1971 about 120,000 Australians would be out of work. [More…]
The Minister for Labour and National Service (Mr Lynch), the Minister for Shipping and Transport (Mr Nixon) and the AttorneyGeneral (Senator Greenwood) have all tried to blame the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions for the oil strike. [More…]
Anyone who does not agree with the left wing members of trade unions is assaulted and knocked about. [More…]
The Australian Council of Trade Unions Congress declared for it in 1969 and again in 1971, and the official policy of the Labor Party lays it down and it was confirmed at the Launceston Conference of the ALP last year. [More…]
In some industries trade unions have succeeded in their claims before the Arbitration Commission, the most recent being in certain container depot unions. [More…]
The Prime Minister and the Minister for Labour and National Service (Mr Lynch) advised the oil companies not to sit down in conciliation with the unions. [More…]
Has the Government entered into any negotiations with Italian trade unions concerning these dismissals; if so, what were the results of the negotiations. [More…]
In this country there has been a constant concern as to the propensity for violence of certain radical groups which have openly threatened to use violence and at the violent acts of some unions and unionists and the willingness to rely upon violence to achieve their ends. [More…]
I return to the’ present Minister for the Interior and the extraordinary statement that the situation in front of Parliament House involved ‘left wing unions and radicals’. [More…]
I do not know what figures from left wing unions and radicals appeared there, but I would not have thought it would have mattered very much if people from left wing unions and radicals, or for that matter right wing unions, had appeared there. [More…]
Quite obviously one of the things it could mean is that if someone were charged with a traffic offence, with driving under the influence or driving negligently and knocking someone down, or even if there were a civil action arising out of a motor vehicle accident which might have occurred in the vicinity of the events referred to in the amendment, all those things could be covered in the same sort of way as the Labor Party would protect ils friends and supporters by putting the unions above the law. [More…]
In relation to putting unions above the law, I find it necessary to dwell for a moment on the similarity between the type of approach adopted there of saying that in relation to any civil or criminal action which might arise out of something connected with an industrial dispute - for instance, someone driving his car past the Building Workers Union celebrations in Sydney- [More…]
I know that the honourable senator may have some difficulty in understanding the relevance, but I shall continue to make the point that I made a moment ago, that there is a similarity of approach between putting unions above the law and putting some of the people whom the Labor Party not only encouraged but probably instigated into actions which have led them into the sort of trouble in which they eventually found themselves. [More…]
If senators opposite are entitled to use the argument that action which is taken by senators on this side is for the purpose of protecting their friends - whether it is the moving of an amendment or the suppressing of a report by the chairman of a committee - we are entitled to use the same analogy and to say that a report of a committee is being suppressed by a senator for the reason which he has alleged that amendments have been moved by Opposition senators - to protect the persons whom they represent, whether they are Aborigines or members of the Australian Council of Trade Unions or trade unions. [More…]
I hope that representatives of the Australian Council of Trade Unions would assist the police in their investigations, even though those people have an inclination - well realised in certain cases such as searching for national service offenders - not to assist the police. [More…]
The Democratic Labor Party is firmly opposed to terrorism and violence wherever they occur, whether among migrants or in the trade unions. [More…]
Some years ago an investigation carried out by a committee which included representatives of the Australian Council of Trade Unions reported that among migrants there was, if anything, a little less crime than among Australian born citizens. [More…]
If they break a law and if they do not call on others to obey the law, they are setting the same example of lawlessness which, by their silence for 20 years, they have set inside the trade unions. [More…]
If we are to have true leadership against violence in this country, I challenge the Labor Party to give leadership in nonviolence in the trade unions, in the streets and in this Parliament. [More…]
Honourable senators opposite start with Bob Hawke and go right down through the top echelon of the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
However, there is no representative of the general taxpayer or of the trade unions - no representative of the people who are carrying the substantial burden of taxation in this country. [More…]
I recall that not long ago he made reference to the business venture that is being contemplated by the Australian Council of Trade Unions and Sir Peter Abeles of Thomas Nationwide Transport Ltd. [More…]
As a member of the Australian Labor Party, an executive member of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, was denied the right which his membership of the organisation gave him. [More…]
I refer to the improper use of Commonwealth Government funds paid by the universities to student unions and used for the payment of fines or otherwise to assist those who might be in breach of the law. [More…]
Fourthly, the conditions relating to the approval of credit unions are being eased. [More…]
Credit unions are playing an increasingly important part in helping young people to obtain their own homes. [More…]
For this reason the conditions relating to the approval of credit unions for the purposes of the Act will be eased. [More…]
The conditions relating to the maximum value of a home and the maximum grant have been extended to apply also to credit unions. [More…]
The conditions for approval of credit unions are acceptable, as are other things contained in the Bill. [More…]
Unquestionably what would be useful would be, for example, an indication by those who have power and influence within the Australian trade union movement that membership of the Australian Council of Trade Unions is dependent upon the executives of unions ensuring that conduct of this sort that can be shown to have a real union basis, as the article suggests, will not be tolerated and that if it does continue the organisation concerned will not continue to be a member of the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
A major national study conference of law enforcement authorities, defence authorities, academics, representatives of trade unions and commerce, and responsible citizens, I believe, could give a valuable guide. [More…]
This, naturally, has caused great concern in industry, to the unions and to the workers who could be affected by the loss of employment in the steel and pipelines industries. [More…]
The real problem is that companies such as the Australian Gas Light Co., Broken Hill Pty Co. Ltd, Tubemakers of Australia, and for that matter the Japanese company as well as the trade unions, do not know what the Federal Government has in mind. [More…]
There would not be complete uncertainty in the industry for companies, trade unions and members of those trade unions. [More…]
…. Is the Minister aware that great concern is felt about the future of the Australian textile industry by both management and textile : unions? [More…]
Wages have gone far ahead of the general rise in the cost of living and undue pressure for higher levels of wages is being applied by unions and other bodies. [More…]
They put forward various opinions as did Sir Harold Ragatt and representatives of the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
The first thing I want to say about that is that Senator Murphy has moved this motion today in the wake of an announcement last week that if the proposed contract between the Australian Gas Light Co. and the Japanese companies goes ahead a ban would be placed upon the work by trade unions. [More…]
What I want to point out is that it is inescapable that the whole policy of Labor has been developed to point up its purpose - that if it were to attain government it would be a government dominated by unions for the purpose of unions. [More…]
When the unions come forward and say that the Government should arrange for the contract to be given to an Australian company in order to gain that employment potential, which, as I say, would give employment to about 250 men for some two or three years I believe, the first thing we must take note of is that, if the Government does not do so, they simply would destroy the opportunity of working on the construction of the pipeline. [More…]
We must realise that the BHP vessel ‘Iron Somersby’ was immobilised for ever 4 months at Port Kembla after its maiden voyage because of bans imposed by the maritime unions. [More…]
When we consider these facts we can put into perspective the attitude of the trade unions in regard to this matter of the manufacture of steel pipes. [More…]
It needs to be understood that, if we are going to have a prosperous trade union movement and if we are going to maintain employment with sound operating companies, we must have a policy on the part of the trade unions which will ensure a continuity of work on a responsible basis. [More…]
So I find myself deeply -disappointed about the attitude adopted by the trade unions and about a possible ban upon the work because this would deprive so many unions and unionists of the construction work involved. [More…]
That illustrates the reckless approach of the unions over the last year to this and the allied industry of simply resorting to strike action instead of settling disputes without disruption of work by going to the independent arbitrator. [More…]
The Minister well described the attitude of Labor and the unions to attempting to maintain employment in this country. [More…]
1 respect the trade unions as such. [More…]
The diatribe by the Minister against the trade unions will not be accepted by Australia. [More…]
What is the Department of Labour and National Service doing to anticipate any further conflict between the unions and the oil companies, particularly in view of the low level of petrol supplies in this country? [More…]
In view of the fact that many weeks ago he said that Australia was on the verge of signing the Refugee Seamen’s Convention and in view of the fact that I subsequently asked him to define on the verge’, I, on behalf of the Australian maritime unions, now ask him: Will we have a specific answer before the Parliament is dissolved? [More…]
The postal unions also put forward the proposition that the ‘Post Office should itself arrange the advertising for the classified telephone directories, that is, that the Post Office should undertake the work of the contract. [More…]
He has been a member of unions for many years and 1 know where, in fairness his heart lies. [More…]
Could the Department establish relationships with unions and other interested bodies to stop dual employment so as to even out employment in our community? [More…]
Significantly, this request for an inquiry into the need for quick action comes from both employers and the unions. [More…]
I have been informed that the most reliable and responsible persons amongst the unions and the employers consider that the state of the industry is extremely brittle, because of the acute supply problem, and urgent action is necessary. [More…]
I refer to the fact that in some unions there is a very definite principle - indeed, they exert pressure under their own rules to enforce it - that no-one should have more than one job. [More…]
They are matters beyond the competence of the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
At question time this morning the Attorney-General (Senator Greenwood) decried worker participation and the role of the trade unions in matters of political concern. [More…]
It was pleasing to hear Senator Little draw attention to the fact that the trade unions, whose members’ livelihoods are affected by the inability of the Government to play any meaningful role in the matter of the pipeline, have had to move themselves into somewhat of a vanguard position. [More…]
Men of such eminence in the trade union movement as Mr Short of the Federated Ironworkers’ Association of Australia, Mr Garland, one of the joint secretaries of the Amalgamated Metal Workers Union and Mr Bevin, the federal secretary of the Boilermakers and Blacksmiths Society of Australia which has now amalgamated with other unions and formed the Amalgamated Metal Works Union have been active in drawing the attention of the Government to the grave consequences of its failure to recognise, failure to prepare and failure to plan for the needs of Australian industry in this matter of providing component parts for this very important new industry. [More…]
As I have said, most of the organisations representing workers engaged in the industry including the Australian Council of Trade Unions have expressed concern about the consummation of such a contract. [More…]
Of course, at the same time the trade unions became involved. [More…]
How can trade unions decide that they are justified in saying that they will not lay the pipeline? [More…]
Has the attention of the Attorney-General been drawn to reported statements by the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, Mr R. Hawke, concerning an industrial dispute between the Commissioners of the Australian Broadcasting Commission and certain staff members of that organisation, Has the Minister noted the reported statements by Mr Hawke that he could see a strong argument for direct industrial action by staff members and that a future Labor Government would have to deal with the ABC Commissioners and executives m some way? [More…]
What if I were to refer to the communists who are in control Of unions, which unions determine who shall be delegates to Labor Party conferences and which conferences determine who shall be members of Parliament and who shall comprise the Federal Conference and the Federal Executive as the controlling bodies of that party? [More…]
There will be members of various unions - the Federated Storemen and Packers Union of Australia and the Federated Clerks Union of Australia, to name just 2. [More…]
2216 on the notice paper regarding the amount of money paid by the Commonwealth for the conduct of litigation involving the amalgamation of unions to form the Amalgamated Metal Workers Union. [More…]
At that time the position was that no money bad been paid by the Commonwealth to the persons who had financial assistance granted to them in connection with the amalgamation of the engineering unions. [More…]
I think he will appreciate the fact that the issues which were not dealt with - had they been dealt with it would probably have saved considerable time tonight - were the allegations made by the postal unions about 2 matters. [More…]
Of course, it has been the claim of unions in much publicised documents with strong evidence in support that our Post Office is gradually coming under the control of large international organisations and firms. [More…]
I am concerned that the Minister should get up and make an irresponsible accusation against the unions without an iota of foundation for the statement. [More…]
But the fact that those who have been appointed as conciliation and arbitration commissioners, as announced in the Press today, are connected with industrial affairs and are associated with either certain trade unions or employers organisations creates some suspicion whether the most suitable of the applicants were appointed. [More…]
I felt that I must rise to express some concern that the appointments are not in line with the assurance which the Government has continually given whenever trade unions arid the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission relations are under discussion. [More…]
The Government says that it is avoiding confrontation; it is not purposely setting out to attack the wicked trade unions and that it is doing everything humanly possible to facilitate the work of this Commission. [More…]
Surely this will not do anything to improve relations between management and the trade unions. [More…]
The Opposition claimed that the Government was introducing legislation to stifle the amalgamation of unions for political expediency. [More…]
The noise comes from a man who is not able now to represent any trade union because the trade unions rejected him years ago. [More…]
They were succesful and it appears - I do not know whether for the first time - that it was because of their political associations and because of their attitudes in their unions. [More…]
I am a member of 2 properly qualified unions which pay their dues to the Victorian trade union movement. [More…]
These unions do not belong to that , section which gets support from members of the Labor Party in this chamber - a section comprising unions which are virtually scabs in the Victorian trade union movement because they are unfinancial and have been for more than 5 years. [More…]
Bob Saker, who was secretary of the Clerks Union, one of the great trade unions in Victoria. [More…]
He became a trade union official at the age of 19 and he has held full time positions in the trade unions for 19 years. [More…]
I did not dispute what that man had done as a member of the Federated Clerks Union of Australia because I do not know Queensland trade union politics intimately, but I did say that, as Senator McAuliffe contended, if a man finds that a job is getting too hard - and this does not militate against past performances - or he feels he cannot measure up to it and he wants a nice quiet niche, which the term ‘industrial officer’ covers in many unions, that is all right. [More…]
Mr G. W. Ford, a senior lecturer in industrial relations at the University of New South Wales, warns of the possibility of new industrial issues arising between management and unions if firms become involved in the establishment of such centres. [More…]
He considers the possibility of some unions taking the view that firms would be tying people down and consequently reducing their bargaining position. [More…]
I saw reports of the statement and quite apart from the aspects to which Senator Hannan drew attention I thought it was significant that the man who holds the position of President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions should say that he was in a dilemma as to what advice he should give to certain employees in the Australian Broadcasting Commission. [More…]
I think it is highly discouraging that the spokesman for the Australian Labor Party, the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions - the man who modestly says that he is the second most powerful man in Australia - should have adopted the attitude that he did. [More…]
Will the Attorney-General convey to the appropriate quarters the suggestion that it might be to the benefit of the legislation if a representative of the Australian Council of Trade Unions were included on the committee? [More…]
As the AttorneyGeneral would know, several representatives of the Australian Council of Trade Unions have had extensive experience overseas in this aspect of employment opportunities. [More…]
As it represents so many people, I believe that the Australian Council of Trade Unions should have a representative on the committee. [More…]
The important thing is to have on this commitee not simply representatives of unions or employers but persons who, because of their knowledge and their interest, will be able to perform the function of maintaining the child care standards which are so important to the way in which these centres are run. [More…]
It was introduced by the then Treasurer but later, after representations from the trade unions, it was withdrawn. [More…]
lt may be pleasing to be able to say What we requested has now been awarded- $350 instead of $150’, but I point to the fact that it has taken too long to introduce legislation to cover matters which are well established and which were established at the time when the Commonwealth Public Service unions made representations about them. [More…]
In respect of lump sum payments, one of the criticisms which were levelled when we discussed the 1971 legislation was that made by the Australian Council of Trade Unions and repeated by members of the Labor Party. [More…]
The Opposition has proposed these alterations to bring the definitions into line with the expert advice which the Labor Party committees and the trade unions received over a period of 2 years. [More…]
Labour, Mr Clyde Cameron, with the secretary of the Public Service unions at one deputation. [More…]
But since that time the Australian Council of Trade Unions and others also have submitted a number of matters in writing to the Minister. [More…]
When the 1971 legislation was brought forward - of course, that was delayed by Mr Bury - we were promised that an interdepartmental committee would be set up to consider what might be put forward by the Labor Party or by the unions. [More…]
He also mentioned that the Australian Council of Trade Unions had seen fit to make representations to the Minister. [More…]
Indeed, some of the unions which are affiliated wilh the Australian Democratic Labor Party have kept us reasonably informed of the requirements of the trade union movement in these areas. [More…]
We had some deputations here at different times from members of Federal unions in relation to various matters in which they were interested. [More…]
The unions and the Federal Executive of the ALP met and they told Mr Clyde Cameron that although he might be shadow Minister in this field of operations the policy he was enunciating was not going to be the policy, however much he believed in it, that the Labor Party would enact if it became the Federal Government. [More…]
I also ask the Minister to accept that last time when legislation on this measure was before us it was promised - probably vaguely but nevertheless promised - that matters raised by the Australian Council of Trade Unions and trade unions themselves would be considered in the next amendments to the Act. [More…]
I do say that before there are any further projected amendments to the legislation, irrespective of what government is in office, there should be more consultation between the unions, the employers and the government which is responsible for the measure. [More…]
I believe that the amendments reflect the wishes of the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the vast majority of unions, particularly the views of the Federated Clerks Union which the Australian Democratic Labor Party says is affiliated with its organisation. [More…]
As Mr Wentworth, the Minister for Social Services who was in charge of the Bill, said at that time, there would be opportunity for further representations to be made and for consideration to be given to what was put forward by the Australian Council of Trade Unions or any of the unions that had representations to make. [More…]
However, the iBll which is now before the Senate provides that every consent agreement between unions and employers, whether made privately or within the arbitration system, must be registered with the Commissioner of Trade Practices. [More…]
The DLP’s Bill, if passed, will not affect the capacity of unions and employers to negotiate freely within or outside the arbitration system. [More…]
It will not limit the right of unions to demand for employers- [More…]
The DLP’s Bill, if passed, will not limit the right of unions to demand, or employers to grant, wage increases. [More…]
This Bill brought forward by the Australian Democratic Labor Party deserves to be supported by the Government, the Australian Labor Party, the Australian Council of Trade Unions and, indeed, the entire Labor movement. [More…]
The Bill does not in any way affect the process of conciliation between the unions and employer organisations. [More…]
I was saying that the Bill does not in any way affect the conciliation between unions and employer organisations within or outside the arbitration system. [More…]
The evil that the Bill seeks to remedy is that of collusive practices between major employer groups and unions in key industries such as the metal trades industry and the waterfront industry, at the expense of the general public. [More…]
The chief victims of the cynical fix-ups between monopoly unions and employers are thus the poorest and most defenceless elements in the community. [More…]
Did the Commonwealth brief counsel to appear on its behalf in the 1972 national wage case; if so, what was the extent of such instruction and, in particular, was counsel instructed to (a) support the Australian Council of Trade Unions’ application, (b) oppose the Council’s application, or (c) provide statistical information for the parties in the case without either indicating support for or opposition to the application. [More…]
In accordance with instructions given, counsel opposed the claims by the Australian Council of Trade Unions, but submitted that the Commonwealth was not opposed to some increase in the minimum wage. [More…]
That the action of certain unions in prohibiting tha export of Australian produce is harmful to Australia’s economic health; will create loss of goodwill with customers important to exporters and will eventually lead to loss of income and job opportunities for Australian citizens and, in addition, lower returns to producers, many of whom have suffered great losses owing to seasonal conditions, and that it is of urgent necessity to examine the disparity between farm gate price for meat and the retail price to the public. [More…]
I ask the Minister for Works whether he made a statement last week that contracts to be awarded under his responsibility would bc restricted to contractors who bad good relations with unions. [More…]
What is the justification for displacing the old criteria of proper economy in contract”; and proper performance of contracts by the criterion adopted by him of good relations with unions? [More…]
‘Does the Minister for Works agree with his senior Cabinet colleague, the Minister for Urban and Regional Development, Mr Uren, who is reported to have said that he is not in favour of compulsory unionism and that he believes that unions should be free and independent? [More…]
I believe that those, who enjoy the benefits gained by trade unions have an obligation to subscribe to those trade unions. [More…]
The Government is certainly giving consideration to the proposition, as it is giving to all other matters that have been raised with it, not only by the licensees but also by the unions. [More…]
I refer to the adjourned national wage case which will be resumed on 13 th March.- 1 ask the Minister: Will the Government support the claim of the Australian Council of Trade Unions for a $65 minimum weekly wage which will have the effect of adding $200m to the national wage bill? [More…]
1 do not think it is unusual for genuine members of the branches of the Liberal Party to be inclined to believe that there should be payment for services rendered, including payments to trade unions by those who benefit. [More…]
The extra leave provisions will apply only to members of recognised unions and associations involved in work within the Service. [More…]
There is no merit or justice in simply saying that members of unions shall have 4 weeks annual leave and people who are not members of unions shall have only 3 weeks annual leave. [More…]
But at the present time what we have is a policy which applies only, to members of unions. [More…]
In the first place, as I said, it applies only to members of unions. [More…]
He is well aware that the result of that determination and the Public Service Board’s interpretation of it is that only members of unions on 1st January this year will be entitled to 4 weeks leave. [More…]
But if he is not prepared to do that I say only that the reason why this .public service determination limits this benefit to members of unions has its origin and is basically dependent upon these determinations which the Senate is being asked to disapprove. [More…]
We know that at the last election a number of unions committed very substantial funds to support the Australian Labor Party. [More…]
I am sure that many members of those unions were not members of. [More…]
because of their positions, ought not to be compelled to join unions. [More…]
Let us have trade unions coming out in the open. [More…]
That is the way it should be done, not by means of the arbitral method which the ALP has used to limit the benefit only to those who are members of unions. [More…]
Later I shall mention some of the things Senator Gair said when the Senate discussed the Conciliation and Arbitration Act as it affected closed shops and the big unions. [More…]
That money was the unions members’ money. [More…]
The great national organisations for labour which were involved in this included the Australian Council of Trade Unions, the Council of Commonwealth Public Service Organisations and the Australian Council of Salaried and Professional Associations and many other organisations whose members worked in the Commonwealth Public Service and elsewhere. [More…]
Those who comprised those unions and organisations paid for these submissions. [More…]
The then government adopted that policy, and my information is that Senator Greenwood was involved in the discussions during whicih the then government affirmed the principle that free hooters or non-unionists should be allowed to take their cases :o the courts; that there should be no pressure by unions to force people to join the unions; that there should be no pressure in regard lo the closed shop policy, and that neither right wing nor left wing unions should be allowed to encompass large numbers of people. [More…]
Although the then government said that it would do all those things - that it would stop the strong unions - my information is that it commissioned a minute from its own Department of Labour and National Service, asking the Department how such legislation would affect right wing unions. [More…]
There is substantial evidence available relating to overseas as well as Australia to demonstrate the determination of employers - particularly those in the multi-national corporation area - to ensure that their white collar employees do not join unions. [More…]
It is the knowledge of the opportunity, for victimisation of those who join or advocate joining of unions in the white collar sphere which prevents large numbers from being the first to join. [More…]
Of course that legislation, as we now know, was aimed not only at the left wing unions but also at the right wing unions. [More…]
Provided no safeguards against Communist union officials strengthening their position through amalgamation of unions and threatened to weaken the position of Right-wing unions through the proposed ban on compulsory unionism. [More…]
The major effect of the Government’s proposed action will be on those unions such as the Federated Clerks and the Shop Assistants Unions, who constitute the Right wing in the ACTU. [More…]
I ask Senator Gair, when he speaks and votes on this matter, to consider the objections that he, Senator Kane and Mr John Maynes took to the original proposals of the previous Government when it decided late in 1971 to impose all the strictures on the union movement which would have stopped the right wing unions as well as the left wing unions. [More…]
It would have stopped what has now been accomplished by the shop assistants in having company unions and by the ironworkers in having closed shops. [More…]
They wanted a system applied, as did the unions in the automobile industry or in the Public Service. [More…]
Honourable senators will remember that for 18 months the ex-Prime Minister and Mr Lynch started a course of attacking all of the unions, not just one group of unions, and they finally brought forward very harsh alterations to the Act. [More…]
I would expect that while we are in Government we will do more than was done by the Liberal governments in talking with those national bodies in order lo reconcile differences between unions, the Government and employers. [More…]
Employers are organised; the unions are organised. [More…]
Until I had heard the cass put by the Minister for Repatriation (Senator Bishop) and the interjections of his supporters I had believed that the Prime Minister (Mr Whitlam) virtually was in favour of the idea contained in Senator Greenwood’s proposition; that is that no restriction should be placed on an individual’s receiving the benefits of the promises made by the Prims Minister in his election campaign because of an ancillary matter relating to membership of trade unions. [More…]
It might not have been generally known but it was known to those of us who were in the unions and worked in the unions that as a class trade union officials were amongst- the lowest paid people in the community having regard to the responsibilities they had to accept and the abilities they had to develop. [More…]
But he would place these people in the position where they could become pimps on workers who are not members of unions and thus gain some retaliatory advantage for what they considered to bc offences in private behaviour. [More…]
I have read through the list of applications for receipt of the benefit to be applied to members of unions. [More…]
I have noticed that some unions did not apply until after 1st January last. [More…]
Those unions had therefore not involved themselves in the expenditure of their money in working for this particular benefit, but members of those unions would bc recipients of the benefit. [More…]
the unions. [More…]
No matter what may bc said about the representation of the Hurseys in the court, case, it was the power of the unions and the fear of the government of the clay to stand up to them al that lime which caused the Hurseys to be abandoned. [More…]
1 am a member of 2 irade unions and have always been, and stIll am. [More…]
Trade unions are not superior to religious bodies or anything else. [More…]
It has been said by Senator Bishop that the Government will take notice of what is put by the unions and the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
I believe that a government should always be prepared to listen to and take heed of what is said by unions in relation to industrial affairs, but I certainly do not believe that a government should be directed by them. [More…]
There is very little else J have to say, except, to offer the suggestion to the Government that as well as listening to the views of the unions and the ACTU it should also listen to the views of the members of this chamber on this subject. [More…]
That advice is at least, as sound as any advice the Government will gel from the trade unions or the ACTU. [More…]
I open my remarks by saying that I think history is being made in this chamber today, because in my 6 years experience of (be Senate on each occasion on which we have debated the trade union movement’s rote we have been fighting a rearguard action tohold what the unions have. [More…]
There has been legislation which envisaged the shackling of waterside workers and there has been legislation which inferred that the trade unions could not operate effectively. [More…]
I would not mind - I do not think the trade unions would mind - if some of these John Hampdens who talk about independence and freedom booked themselves off for 3 days, did a little research and testified. [More…]
None of the unions which ‘ are beneficiaries under the determinations could be accused of imposing levies for donations to political parties, as was mentioned in. [More…]
Various organisations outside the trade union movement apply particular tactics in relation to the obtaining of and feeding in of donations to political parties.- That does not apply to the trade unions mentioned - in. [More…]
Employees of these unions are the beneficiaries. [More…]
These trade unions are constantly before the Public Service Arbitrator.. Forgetting this particular dispute, in the hard and cold world in which we five one of these maverick members of a Public Service association may have suffered an injury when going to or from work. [More…]
Many honourable senators know people who have been chronically unfinancial members of trade unions. [More…]
Of course, people can drift in and out of trade unions. [More…]
He takes the point and his main complaint is that some unions have such a tight, closed shop membership that they more or less keep the membership to a small group. [More…]
I say this because it can well be that some honourable senators may be a bit irate because some senior officers in unions associated with the Commonwealth Public Service may have’ been critical of the previous Government. [More…]
Some of the leaders of those unions were just as critical of [he present Minister for Labour. [More…]
Trade unions have to get results. [More…]
We are not interested in the personnel of the trade unions. [More…]
Within, I think, three or four days of the election the then Minister for Labour apparent or presumptive or whatever one might call him at that stage, Mr Clyde Cameron, made it quite clear that this promise would be carried out only in relation to members of Public Service organisations and unions and would not be applied generally. [More…]
The next critical step taken was an announcement that these determinations were not to be applied to public servants other than those who were members of organisations and unions. [More…]
Public Service Unions or organisations. [More…]
It is obvious from the steps that have been taken and from the public statements that have been made by Mr Clyde Cameron since the election that the- whole purpose of this exercise is to restrict the benefit of 4 weeks annual leave to members- of Public Service unions and organisations. [More…]
But the most serious’, practical aspect is the first-class, and now public, row that is being carried on between the Minister for Labour, Mr Clyde Cameron, and the Public Service’ Board as to what members of a union or what unions or organisations are to benefit from the decision. [More…]
The decision applies simply to those who were members of organisations or unions on the day of the determination. [More…]
Attempts are being made by the Minister to extend it to people who have joined unions since a particular date. [More…]
I think that the objectives of the Council, to which there are a number of affiliated organisations - unions, churches, religious organisations and ‘ charitable institutions - are very laudable and worthwhile and I am hoping that many of those objectives can be implemented by the present Government. [More…]
My question to the Minister for Works, relates to the statement that it is the intention of the Government that preference in allotting contracts shall be given to firms which adopt satisfactory attitudes in regard to conditions and relations with the trade unions. [More…]
Will firms be required, when submitting tenders, to support their tenders with evidence of their relationship with the trade unions, or does the Government propose to seek information in each case from union officials? [More…]
There never was a statement made by me that preference would be given to firms which employed trade unionists or which had good relations with trade unions. [More…]
One was the relationship of certain builders or contractors - tenderers - with trade unions; whether they employed union labour; whether they employed their ratio of apprentices, and whether they employed a day work system or a contract system. [More…]
In the course of his tenure of that office Senator Greenwood displayed an aversion to trade unions generally and to trade union officials in particular. [More…]
It was, to say the least, a novel experience last Thursday to see Senator Greenwood, who, as I have said, has in the past displayed such hostility towards unions, present himself as the champion of the workers cause. [More…]
He had the temerity, in my view, to lambast, in one of the crudest speeches I have heard in this chamber, trade union secretaries and officers of trade unions. [More…]
Let those people who believe, as I do, that there are moral reasons for people who gain the benefits of trade unionism to join unions - I was in such a position and belonged proudly and voluntarily to a union - admit that they cannot hope to achieve their ends by legislating for morality. [More…]
The principle that such people espouse is that in order to receive the benefits of trade unions people should be forced to join those organisations. [More…]
I can fully sympathise with those decent trade union leaders who want more people in their unions, who want more money for their unions and who, as one Government Minister said, need it because unionism is becoming more costly. [More…]
Let us reflect and remember this: Of all the men and women in Australia who are eligible to join a trade union, despite the abilities of the trade unions to bring their facilities to the attention of these people, approximately half of them at this moment have elected not to join. [More…]
Perhaps it is not the fault of these people that they have not joined unions. [More…]
It has pledged the whole of its weight to obtain amalgamations in trade unions. [More…]
Because they will do that the trade union leaders are out to gain more and more numbers in more and more trade unions, amalgamating unions left and right. [More…]
Firstly, there is a thrust on the trade unions particularly to get numbers up in those unions which by political levy give money to the Labor Party. [More…]
The Labor Party gets its funds by putting pressure on the trade unions to increase their numbers. [More…]
Then it says to commerce and industry: ‘Let us get this straight: By the most intangible terms which we will not define but which the Minister will know by virtue of his responsibility, unless you are on side with the unions and unless the shop stewards tell Senator Cavanagh, “This is a good shop; it played ball in all ways”, you do not get a contract’. [More…]
the protection and development of healthy trade unions and the protection and development of high standards in Australia. [More…]
I sympathise with many honourable senators opposite who - and let me pay a tribute to them - in their day have been fine trade union officials and who understand the great difficulties involved in running great institutions and trade unions. [More…]
I use Senator Murphy’s words - the words of one of your leaders: ‘You cannot legislate for morality in unions or in anything else. [More…]
If the proposals could be made effective it would in fact discriminate against certain unions, i.e. [More…]
clerks, shop assistants and other white collar workers as against unions such as the WWF, AEU, Boilermakers, etc. [More…]
On the waterfront waterside workers, tally clerks, foreman, watchmen and others are required to be members of their respective unions and in point of fact, without those provisions the waterfront could not work despite the high degree of permanency now introduced among watersiders. [More…]
There is substantial evidence available relating to overseas as well as Australia to demonstrate the determination of employers, particularly those in the multi-national corporation area, to ensure that their white collar employees do not join unions. [More…]
It is the knowledge of the opportunity for victimisation of those who join or advocate joining unions in the white collar sphere which prevents large numbers from being the first to join. [More…]
Mr Maynes names firms where it is difficult for employees to join unions and then concludes: [More…]
His determination is limited to those people who made, the application through their trade unions. [More…]
On this occasion, because of the Labor Party’s policy, no such regulation will be issued and therefore the additional week’s leave will be restricted to members of the applicant unions only. [More…]
That is all right; we will give it to everyone but at least we can say that we tried on behalf of affiliated unions. [More…]
That raises the question I asked earlier tonight as to the extent to which the Opposition is prepared to go to block the efforts of the Government to give freedom to workers to join unions, including those unions which do not support the Australian Labor Patty. [More…]
The Parliament should not be debating continually whether unions are good or bad. [More…]
Unions are part of the Australian industrial system, the same as marketing boards are part of the Australian trading scene, and they have to be accepted. [More…]
As I said in my opening remarks, those unions which do not support the Australian Labor Party are appealing to it for some assistance. [More…]
The Young Liberals f South Australia and the Liberal Movement in South Australia, which is possibly the biggest section of the Liberal Party, support co-operation with trade unions. [More…]
Destroy the determinations, take away the right to organise the right wing unions and condemn the left wing unions if you want to. [More…]
We make no apologies for our attempt to assist those unions which find it difficult to get trade union membership today. [More…]
This debate revolves around the granting of 4 weeks annual leave, supposedly to Commonwealth employees who belong to unions. [More…]
I hope that at some stage Senator Bishop will tell us whether a 35-hour week is to be granted only to members of unions. [More…]
I believe that the unions provide the basis of the funds for the Labor Party’s political campaigns. [More…]
It wants to force more people to join unions. [More…]
I want to refer to one or two of the unions associated with the Commonwealth Public Service. [More…]
On going through this list of unions 1 find that one has a fee of $24. [More…]
Does he not consider that the Commonwealth conciliation and arbitration machinery should contain provisions for the registration of agreements made between unions and employers that are entered into voluntarily? [More…]
If so, why does he propose to deny to employers the right to register such agreements if they contain a voluntarily accepted proposition that unions will pay a penalty if they break the agreements? [More…]
We are at present working on the basis that they ought to be able to be maintained in cooperation with the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the State trades and labour councils because we have in mind, of course, as the honourable senator knows, taking out of the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Act all penal provisions. [More…]
They hate unions and unionists and hate is the basis of their attitude in this debate. [More…]
For instance, I could speak of a situation in which Senator Little, the great champion of the DLP, did nothing but roast trade unions in his speech the other day. [More…]
If honourable senators opposite examine their consciences they will see that they are introducing opposition to this legislation basically because they hate unions and unionists. [More…]
I was interested to hear this because over the years we have argued for that proposition and I have never noticed the Australian Labor Party or the unions being prepared to accept the decision of an arbitrator when it has gone against them. [More…]
as Senator Milliner suggests it should, then it Ls good enough for it to apply to the Australian Labor Party and to all unions. [More…]
Whether it is in relation to wages or working conditions or anything else, the arbitrator’s decision is final and should be accepted, whether the unions like it or not. [More…]
We on this side of the chamber take no issue on the question that people should join unions. [More…]
It is in their interests to join unions. [More…]
They should be members of unions and they should not be discriminated against because they are members of unions. [More…]
It is indeed strange to hear from the Labor Party that people should be discriminated against because - and it is in the Labor Party platform - they are not members of unions. [More…]
He went on to say that if a person did not wish to belong to a union he could go out and work in the primary industries where there are no unions. [More…]
It means that only those who belong to unions have this right. [More…]
That is a word which strikes horror in the hearts of members of the Labor Party - that is just as objectionable as some of the features of the policy of conscription for Vietnam which the previous Government introduced and to which the unions objected so vociferously. [More…]
Negotiations went on between the Australian Council of Trade Unions, the Australian Council of Salaried and Professional Associations and the Council of Public Service Organisations - 2 unions which are not even affiliated with the Australian .Labor Party - for a considerable period on this matter. [More…]
It is true that the Board and representatives of the unions bad discussions and agreed to certain variations of the Cabinet minute, but those variations had no relationship to the extra week’s annual leave. [More…]
For the edification of honourable senators opposite, the 2 unions whose membership increased as a result of the Cabinet decision are not affiliated with the ALP. [More…]
He tried to swing the facts around and say that the trade unions concerned, through their affiliation fees, would be giving finance to the ALP. [More…]
They we’re the 2 unions whose membership increased considerably. [More…]
Instead of taking action by legislation the Government brought in a regulation in the hope that the new regulation would say that only those who were members of trade unions would receive the extra leave. [More…]
We have been accused of being antiunionists and of hating the trade unions. [More…]
I am a member of 2 trade unions. [More…]
I am a financial member of both trade unions. [More…]
How can a man pay money every year to belong to 2 trade unions if he hates them? [More…]
In Victoria one of the trade unions to which I belong - the Federated Clerks Union - is affiliated with the Democratic Labor Party. [More…]
There was a powerful move in the trade unions to introduce compulsory unionism in States where Labor was in power. [More…]
Originally a number of unions - right and left wing - supported it. [More…]
The right wing unions went cold because it was pointed out to them by the legislators that if compulsory trade unionism was introduced a Bill of Rights would have to be introduced for the individual trade unionists who were forced to join a union. [More…]
The unions did not want that because some people pointed out that a section would have to be included in the Bill of Rights stating that a unionist should not be forced to contribute to a political party in which he did not believe. [More…]
That would have harmed the Labor Party because it obtains affiliation fees from unions. [More…]
So the Australian Labor Party and many of the right wing unions decided to oppose compulsory unionism by law. [More…]
The other reason that was put forward - Senator Cavanagh would know this - was that a number of left wing unions said that if compulsory unionism was brought in and people were forced to join unions they would probably be the conservative type and they would vote against the left wing leadership of the union. [More…]
So those unions did not want to have as members potential opponents to their leadership. [More…]
But if they have the industrial power to order people into trade unions they are in favour of it. [More…]
Another matter which I think should be raised is this argument which says that if only some people pay money into trade unions to fight their case and everybody benefits from what the unions do- [More…]
I believe in unionism and I belong to 2 unions. [More…]
The pensioners have, some very fine organisations which work hard to get improvements for them, just as the unions do to get improvements for unionists. [More…]
All kinds of industrial conditions apply to workers, if we are to say that only those in the unions should receive condi tions achieved by the unions, we will have 2 groups of people in the industrial field. [More…]
Senator Cavanagh made the point that the unions mainly concerned here were unions affiliated with the Australian Democratic Labor Party. [More…]
Well , I would be very interested to know what are the unions affiliated with the Democratic Labor Party. [More…]
I know all the unions that are associated with our Party, and only one is interested in these determinations, and that is the Federated Clerks Union. [More…]
I am surprised that ali those persons with a knowledge of union affairs do not know the facts in regard to their unions. [More…]
So Senator Cavanagh was wrong when he said that unions affiliated with the DLP made representations, because only one union did. [More…]
One union is not ‘unions’. [More…]
The second point on which he is wrong is when he says that the unions are affiliated with the DLP, because the union involved is affiliated with the DLP in one State and with the Australian Labor Party in 2 States, and in 3 States it is not affiliated with the ALP or the DLP. [More…]
The unions of which they proudly boast they are members do not have such a policy. [More…]
So much was it nothing to worry about that all the militant unions in Victoria, including the Australian Railways Union, led by Mr Brown, the Sheet Metal Working, Agricultural Implement and Stove Making Industrial Union of Australia led by Mr McNolty, and the Amalgamated Engineering Union led at that time by Mr Car michael came in behind the Federated Clerks Union to enforce compulsory unionism in the International Harvester Company factory. [More…]
Senator Greenwood has moved for the disapproval by this Senate of certain determinations made under the Public Service Arbitration Act 1920-1972 by which 4 weeks annual leave was to be granted only to members of recognised unions and organisations and not to all unionists. [More…]
It was only after the election, on 6th December, that Mr Clyde Cameron, who is now the Minister for Labour, confirmed that 4 weeks annual leave would be granted to public servants but added that it would apply only to those public servants who were members of given organisations or unions. [More…]
Anvone could reach the conclusion that preference would be applied in respect of the granting of 4 weeks annual leave; that it would be given only to those who were members of the appropriate unions. [More…]
Previous speakers today have referred to the question of preference to unionists and to the provision in the determinations that employees will not receive the benefits unless they are members of the appropriate unions. [More…]
But we do know that, on the last occasion on which the annual leave case was before the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Commission, the then Government - now the Opposition - opposed all the claims that were submitted by the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
Therefore to say that trade unions had nothing to do with obtaining 4 weeks annual leave is a lot of nonsense. [More…]
I believe that there is an undeniable obligation on all employees who accept the benefits of improved working conditions gained by the unions to become members of their appropriate organisation. [More…]
The trade unions prosecuted and won many cases in Queensland against employers because they were employing non-unionists. [More…]
The fundamental issue which concerned the Opposition in relation to this matter was that an election promise had been stated in general and unqualified terms that all public servants were to have 4 weeks annual leave but when the Government decided to implement that promise it retreated and said that the additional leave would be available only to those who were members of unions. [More…]
It has been suggested that those Opposition spokesmen who are adopting this course are motivated by an attitude of hate to trade unions and trade unionists. [More…]
We believe in the democratic control of trade unions by their members and we believe that trade unions should act in the interests of their members in those relationships for which unions were formed and for which their continuance is so important. [More…]
It is a ridiculous stretching of words to suggest that a provision which states that persons who are members of unions will get 4 weeks annual leave and that persons who are not members of unions will get only 3 weeks annual leave is in some way preference to trade unionists in the sense in which that term has always been used. [More…]
Further, does the Minister really believe that we can expect to pick the eyes out of profitable shipping runs without there being some adverse effect on other shipping rates, or even retaliation by overseas shippers and overseas maritime unions? [More…]
Labor was not elected to power to single out for privileged treatment the members of the unions which support it and traditionally contribute to election funds. [More…]
For the past 5 years each time the Senate has debated a matter concerning unions, my illustrious colleague Senator Milliner and I defended trade union rights. [More…]
The Opposition has complained about trade union bureaucracy and members of such unions not being consulted before certain action is taken. [More…]
I have been in contact with the leaders in the industry which is intimately concerned with the area where this violence seems to be breaking out, those working in the industry and those unions which are concerned in that area. [More…]
As to the remarks about trade unions, in all sections of society there are people who break the law, but the officers of the various trade unions are concerned about what has happened in society. [More…]
Is it not a fact that the Australian Council of Trade Unions is engaged in setting up a building company in Australia? [More…]
The only information I have for the honourable senator is that I know that the Australian Council of Trade Unions has resolved to enter the housing field with the idea of giving workers low cost housing. [More…]
In view of the clamour from Opposition benches on the desire to have worker responsibility in industry, can the Minister indicate whether the Government proposes to redress the injustice to trade unions by providing for trade union membership on the Australian Meat Board? [More…]
Firms which trade unions had claimed had had bad relationships with the trade union movement have rung me and assured me that their relationships with the building trades will be satisfactory. [More…]
The terms of employment were based on a negotiated agreement between the contractors collectively and the various unions which had members employed on the job. [More…]
I do not think we have reached a situation where such an estimate ought to be made, because it depends on what approaches the unions make to the arbitration tribunals and whether those unions are in special categories. [More…]
Rather, I think, we have to wait until we see what arguments are put forward in particular claims before the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission and whether the unions seek to use, as a test case, specially selected industries which have been affected by automation and mechanisation. [More…]
Is the Minister also aware that Mr Gallagher is reported to have the support of Mr Robinson, the State Secretary of the Union, who has claimed that the ACTU is a front for foreign capital and that he is considering putting proposals to other unions to place a black ban on the ACTU’s project? [More…]
It relates to the AttorneyGeneral’s recent statement that he would seek the active help of various bodies including trade unions in the interests of crime detection and prevention. [More…]
The Government is favourable to that proposition and will join with the Australian Council of Trade Unions in pressing for it. [More…]
Referring to the statement made by the Attorney-General this afternoon, I ask him: Will he apply to the violence and terrorism instigated by certain trade unions, such as the Building Workers Industrial Union, principles similar to those which he proposes to apply in relation to the alleged but as yet not proven violence by certain Croatians within Australia? [More…]
I think that the purpose of a Matrimonial Causes Act is to make the dissolution of unions which have broken down as painless, as dignified and as financially cheap as it can be. [More…]
Clearly it is a matter of industrial relations between the trade unions which have members in the area and the administration. [More…]
Most of us hope that it is settled quickly on the terms proposed by the members of the unions who are concerned about the loss of wages. [More…]
If one union goes to the arbitration court and gets an increase in wages, is it suggested that other unions should say that they will take some of that extra and give, it to the other workers who did not get the increase? [More…]
It was the honourable member for Wannon’s inability to understand the working of the levy system which led to his quite erroneous and unworthy accusation that a deal had been done between the AEWL, the Waterside Workers’ Federation and the Australian Council of Trade Unions, the parties to the Stevedoring Industry Council. [More…]
Someone will say: ‘You know, he attacked the trade unions. [More…]
In fact, I have not and I will not attack the trade unions for which I have massive respect when they do their industrial jobs. [More…]
The struggles in the unions representing transport workers are power struggles and the struggles in the metal working unions have been struggles for massive amalgamation. [More…]
It will destroy - the value of skills by amalgamating all the healthy little skilled unions into great industrial unions, and will destroy the craft unions by amalgamating them into industrial unions all for the purposes of the power bosses. [More…]
In the 5 or 6 years that I have been a member of the Senate 1 have heard the previous Government lecture us on where the foreign policy of the Australian Council of Trade Unions and its affiliated unions ended and where the policy of the government of the day took over, and that principle should apply with regard to right wing extreme attitudes. [More…]
Members of the Opposition would argue that components of Australian society such as the Chamber of Manufactures or the Australian Council of Trade Unions are entitled to put a viewpoint. [More…]
The Australian Council of Trade Unions has control over it. [More…]
The Government has justification for what it has done in regard to trade unions, naturalisation and Mr Wilfred Burchett. [More…]
It is very easy for members of the Opposition to try to equate a bit of violence which might take place in one trade union or at one Trades Hall meeting with all the threats that have been made against officers of trade unions. [More…]
Can honourable senators really suggest that the minor episodes of misbehaviour which occasionally take place among workers and members of trade unions over a period of years - there was one case in Sydney and one in Melbourne - can be equated with this sort of language and behaviour? [More…]
As was said by one of my fellow Victorians, when it comes to violence in Victoria it would not be the Croatian community which is involved but one of the leading unions within the Australian community. [More…]
What should concern unions is the fact that he continues to hold a position in the CES. [More…]
Advice has been going from the Minister to the Chairman of the Wool Corporation to whom the unions and other segments of the industry have been invited to submit their views. [More…]
In view of the welcome recognition by the Prime Minister of the problem of inflation and also the belated acknowledgement of the relationship of incomes - wages - to price levels, is the Government prepared to consider re-opening its case before the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Commission and to change its previous indiscriminate support of whatever proposals the Australian Council of Trade Unions has put up for wage increases? [More…]
Consider what has happened in the last 3 or 4 months in regard to demands by unions. [More…]
Of course, Senator Greenwood’s fear was that if he did what I suggested - possibly the Australian Democratic Labor Party would have supported us - we would have moved an amendment to such a bill concerning the trade unions. [More…]
They are clauses that were the product of a conservative government in the 1920s that had a phobia about trade unionism simply because an Irishman and a Scandinavian occupied dominant roles in our maritime unions. [More…]
It may well have been all right before we had trade unions with the power and influence that they have today. [More…]
We have in this country the growing power of trade unions; they are becoming more and more powerful. [More…]
There was the determination of the Public Service Arbitrator and it was implemented by the Government with the addendum that only those who joined industrial unions should receive the benefit of 4 weeks annual leave. [More…]
The question I put to the Minister is: Does he know whether the Minister for Labour has effected any liaison between unions and the State departments of labour and industry to ensure that there is uniformity when new types of cranes from Europe are introduced to Australia? [More…]
As to the last part of the honourable senator’s question, I am aware that in a few industries in Australia there is a minimal form of profit sharing and that in some other industries there are minimal arrangements between the unions and the employers for bonuses related to productivity. [More…]
the union movement and the Australian Council of Trade Unions today - the Labor Government supports this - is that workers should be able, by collective arrangements and bargaining, to get some share of the profitability of industry. [More…]
The declaration of credit unions as an approved class of lenders follows the liberalisation of the conditions under which they may be accepted as repositories for savings under the homes savings grants scheme, and indicates our support for the credit union movement. [More…]
It is now open for credit unions to apply to the Corporation to become approved lenders and to insure with the Corporation those housing loans which meet its requirements. [More…]
The instrument also caters for co-operative societies other than credit unions that are registered or incorporated under laws relating to co-operative, industrial or provident societies and that lend to their members on mortgage security. [More…]
The communique indicated that there were objections and pointed out the impossibility of some trade unions demanding equality of wages in the Pacific area with those obtained in more developed areas of the world. [More…]
But at any rate, having regard to the promise which the former Opposition made to the unions that we would introduce this legislation, we considered that we had a mandate to base our approach to workers’ compensation on that principle. [More…]
In the last 3 or 4 days the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions carried unanimously a resolution to oppose France’s continuation of the tests. [More…]
We saw them being embraced and actually kissed by leaders of unions. [More…]
I have a document from one of Australia’s largest trade unions. [More…]
We well recall that Dr J. F. Cairns was not at ali noticeable during the period prior to the elections and, indeed, the communist unions were quiet at the time flowing on to the December election. [More…]
The unions have no hesitation in dragging industry to its knees. [More…]
I now ask: Will the Government advise the Government of the Peoples Republic of China that this Government will support the unions in this country in their threat to halt all communications and trade relations with China unless she immediately stops nuclear testing in the atmosphere? [More…]
As to the matter of the trade unions, I have noted the approbation which was given even by members of the Australian Democratic Labor Party for the participation of trade unions in endeavouring to prevent harm being done to the people of the world as a result of such tests. [More…]
I am pleased to see that the honourable senator has now come to the view that it is within the province of trade unions to take action in relation to matters which might be regarded as national issues and matters concerned with foreign affairs. [More…]
He has maintained, as has the Labor Government and the trade union movement, that there is a right to strike and that to remove that right to strike from workers and unions is in fact to conscript them and destroy their freedom. [More…]
There were no great protests from the employers, the unions or other sections of the community. [More…]
I might draw the analogy that at times when some trade unionists have referred to the union to which I belong they have not been talking for the rank and file of their unions. [More…]
the Australian Council of Trade Unions to enable it to build homes with the use of Israeli money for South Australians to purchase. [More…]
I reject emphatically any suggestion that any unions have been exercising any pressure on me in regard to refusing to permit the export of livestock to Iran. [More…]
My question is directed to the Minister representing the Minister for Labour and refers to a decision of the Australian Council of Trade Unions executive yesterday to refer the ballot provisions of the Conciliation and Arbitration Bill to the ACTU’s arbitration committee which will not meet until 22nd May. [More…]
I should mention here that the issue which was raised by the Australian Council of Trade Unions and some unions with the Minister for Labour related to proposed new section 133 (1A) concerning various elections by members of a union. [More…]
It will examine the needs of trade union and employer organisations in Australia, the need for amalgamations, for trade union education and for closer consultation between unions, employers and government. [More…]
As unions and employers become better organised, as their research facilities grow, as they become more aware of the advantages of negotiation and the disadvantages of remaining passive clients of an arbitration commission, so will the acceptability of the Commission’s penal powers diminish and the area of its influence as an arbitral body contract. [More…]
The Prime Minister (Mr Whitlam), in his policy speech, said that the strength of multi-national corporations in the Australian economy requires strong unions as well as strong government. [More…]
Labor, he said, would facilitate the amalgamation of trade unions. [More…]
They are: The removal of existing barriers to trade union amalgamation; the removal of the Commission’s authority to ban strikes and the removal of all penal sanctions upon strikers; procedures to ensure that certain types of agreement are acceptable to members of organisations affected by them; provision for democratic control of unions and the fullest participation by union members in the affairs of their organisations; provision to enable action to be taken for the recovery of wages at law within a period of 6 years instead of the 12 months’ limitation that now applies; the protection of organisations and their members from civil actions for tort in connection with industrial disputes; provision to overcome some of the problems created by the Moore v. Doyle case; the removal of the various defects which have been shown to exist in the 1972 legislation; and elimination of the power to award costs in proceedings before the courts, the Registrar or the Commission. [More…]
Both the Government and the people need the organised strength of the working people gathered together in strong, effective and responsible trade unions. [More…]
We plan, therefore, to encourage the amalgamation of trade unions. [More…]
Honourable senators will be interested to recall figures supplied by the Commonwealth Statistician through the then Minister for Labour and National Service regarding the size of trade unions in Australia at the end of December 1970. [More…]
He reported that there were 305 separate trade unions in Australia. [More…]
Of the 305 unions, 152 had less than 1,000 members; another 96 had between 1,000 and 5,000 members; 34 between 5,000 and 20,000; 19 between 20,000 and 50,000 and only 14 with a membership of over 50,000. [More…]
Demarcation disputes concerned with protecting the revenue and membership of a union threatened with loss of coverage by encroachments of other unions are a common occurrence in this country. [More…]
The cost of libraries and research staff - essential for good quality industrial leadership - is frequently beyond the resources of small unions. [More…]
Even the cost of assembling the members and officials in conference is too much for some unions frequently to bear. [More…]
A strengthening of the resources of the working people in amalgamated trade Unions which are possessed of strong, well-trained and well-equipped leaders will redress the present imbalance. [More…]
We are, therefore, wholly in favour of amalgamation of unions of the working people. [More…]
For instance, there are some 300 unions in Australia. [More…]
Most of them are very small, lt could facilitate the functioning of the arbitration system and relations generally between employers and unions if this number of unions decreases. [More…]
I know of situations in which employers have sat across the table with no fewer than IS unions in relation to one issue. [More…]
However, the legislation subsequently introduced by him did not facilitate the amalgamation of trade unions. [More…]
The usefulness of the present provisions can be tested by the simple question - do they help or do they hinder the unification of the trade unions into more powerful institutions to represent and uphold the interests of the employees? [More…]
The Bill provides that the unions themselves will have the power to conduct amalgamation ballots. [More…]
Amalgamation ballots will be conducted by the Commonwealth when requested by the unions concerned. [More…]
The Bill amends section 5 of the Act to provide protection to officials, or members of unions against discriminatory action within the employer’s establishment where the official or member has merely upheld the industrial interests of the employees, so long as the action he takes is within the limits of the authority given to him by the organisation. [More…]
The Bill also provides protection for trade unions and their officials against actions for conspiracy or inducement of breach of contract founded on the events of an industrial dispute. [More…]
In England, in 1800, trade unions were illegal. [More…]
Since that time trade unions in England, and later in Australia, have had to conduct a running battle with the courts and the legislature to emerge from that illegality into the same conditions of freedom enjoyed by the profit making corporations invented by businessmen. [More…]
Trade unions have consistently sought legal recognition of the fact that by the special nature of their social tasks they are not predators and enemies of society but rather that they are an essential instrument for the protection of the weak and the maintenance of some fair proportion in the distribution of wealth between capital and labour. [More…]
The trade unions have always argued that the role of the law should be to assist and not to hinder them in this work. [More…]
The struggle of the trade unions to overcome these legal handicaps culminated in 1875 in the Conspiracy and Protection of Property Act which provided that in contemplation of furtherance of a trade dispute, no combination to do, or procure, any act should itself be a criminal conspiracy unless the act itself would be punishable as a crime. [More…]
The immunity from actions for tort that was granted to British unions by the House of Commons in 1906 is now extended by this Bill to officials and members of Australian trade unions. [More…]
There is nothing novel in what is proposed in this Bill; it is based upon the principles of the British Trade Disputes Act of 1906 which granted unions and union officials in that country exemption from tortious actions committed in furtherance of industrial disputes. [More…]
If unions wish to submit to the inclusion in an agreement of a bans clause they may do so, but that agreement cannot be certified by the Commission. [More…]
The fallacy of that claim is demonstrated by the fact that the previous Government saw the wisdom of not collecting the fines amounting to $20,700 which had been imposed upon unions under the penal provisions which existed prior to 1970. [More…]
On the other hand, the Government is concerned to see that where agreements are entered into, they do, in fact, represent the wishes of those members of the organisation, be they trade unions or employer organisations, who are affected by the agreement. [More…]
Participatory democracy will be an essential ingredient for the proper functioning of the amalgamated unions. [More…]
As unions become larger, and their governing bodies become more remote from the membership, it will be important to safeguard against the development of bureaucratic relations between the leadership and the rank and file. [More…]
This Government will encourage the elimination of tendencies that prejudice democratic control of trade unions by assisting rank and file members to bring their grievances over alleged defects in rules and in abuse of rules, to the Commonwealth Industrial Court for examination and, where called for, correction. [More…]
The platform of the Australian Labor Party calls upon the Government to ensure a system of democratic control of all unions, allowing fullest participation by members in their affairs. [More…]
Over recent months there have been a number of disputes between 2 groups of transport workers in New South Wales concerning the legal status of transport workers belonging to the respective State and Federal Transport Workers Unions. [More…]
It is an irritation to most unions; an intractable problem for some. [More…]
The system as required to exist by State and Federal legislation and as it has evolved under that legislation in practice is technical, productive of artificialism, and in urgent need of the attention of the law reformer … A system of trade union organisation is urgently needed which would enable the one body to represent its relevant members in both the Federal and State arbitration systems and it should be possible for Federal and State authorities to examine the question whether organisations and trade unions can be provided with such a system . [More…]
we have decided to refer our judgment in this matter and these remarks to the Attorney-General for the Commonwealth in the hope that it may be possible, after consultation between the Commonwealth and State Attorneys-General, the trade unions both federal and state, and other interested government authorities to arrange for the important organisational matters to which we have referred. [More…]
It was held in that case that there were 2 separate unions. [More…]
The 2 unions were funded and administered for all practical purposes as if they were one. [More…]
This is by no means the complete answer to the difficulties that have caused the current dispute among transport workers and it does not even touch difficulties affecting other unions. [More…]
It also provides that all officially conducted ballots will be free of cost to unions. [More…]
This will benefit those unions which have had in their rules/provisions that all elections shall be officially conducted and thus have not been eligible to have their costs met by the Government as is the case where the management committee or rank and file request an officially conducted ballot. [More…]
I have explained that we will remove those provisions which discourage amalgamation of unions; that we will protect organisations and their members from civil actions for tort in connection with industrial disputes; that we will remove completely from the Act the power to prohibit strikes or enforce penal sanctions against strikes and that we will build the framework for more democratic control of unions. [More…]
The McMahon Government’s last set of amendments to this Act was preceded by a ritualistic and phoney series of meetings between employers and trade unions which were memorable only because the minutes of those meetings show that the then Minister accepted virtually all of the employers* requests and rejected virtually all of the unions’ requests. [More…]
Let them tell me of one Australian Council of Trade Unions conference where there is one vote one value. [More…]
I ask the Minister representing the Prime Minister: In view of the action taken by the unions in placing bans on all French goods, ships and aircraft, what alternative arrangements will be made by the present Government if Qantas flights operating through Tahiti to Mexico and on to Europe can no longer be refuelled in Tahiti? [More…]
In view of the, total trade and communications bans imposed on France by the Australian Council of Trade Unions because of the proposed nuclear tests in the Pacific, does the Minister expect that the trade unions will impose similar bans when a further nuclear test date is announced by China, which is reported to be currently negotiating new trade agreements with Australia? [More…]
What action is the Government taking to prevent so-called industrial unions involving Australia in political strikes and embargoes which pre-empt the Government’s responsibility for foreign affairs? [More…]
I understand too that the trade unions which are affiliated with the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions and the International Transport Workers Organisation have asked the ACTU and Australian unions to support the international ban. [More…]
The unions in the area that will be affected by the French tests so far have similarly supported the international call for these bans. [More…]
I ask: How does the Government reconcile the blatant double standards under which the Minister for Trade, Dr J. F. Cairns, is currently actively seeking maximum expansion of trade between Australia and China while at the same time, the same Dr J. F. Cairns and other Government Ministers and members, together with the Australian Council nf Trade Unions, are working to impose a ban on Australian trade with France? [More…]
The situation is that the Australian Council of Trade Unions has decided to apply certain bans against people connected with French businesses and the like in Australia. [More…]
I think Senator Carrick well knows, although of course he did not refer to it, that the Prime Minister cabled the interstate executive of the Australian Council of Trade Unions asking that the bans be not applied before the International Court of Jus tice hearing and pointing out that ne was anxious that the conventions to which Australia is a party be maintained. [More…]
executive members of the- Australian Council of Trade Unions, stressing’ that action of the type which the ACTU was then sponsoring by way of bans on. [More…]
I refer to my earlier question about the Australian Council of Trade Unions’ ban on shipping and communications with France in the context of the Government’s oft repeated assertion that it can deal with the trade union movement far better than any alternative government. [More…]
He gave the opinion of the Government to the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
That is one of the unions upon which the Labor Party claims that it is based. [More…]
Now it proposes to bring forward legislation to facilitate the amalgamation of trade unions. [More…]
Has the Government made an assessment of the economic cost to Australia of the unions’ boycott of the French arising from the French nuclear testing policy? [More…]
As the Government has done nothing but utter pious hopes and issue admonitions to the unions to refrain from their boycott, from now on can the nation expect trade and foreign policies to be determined and enforced by other than governmental authority? [More…]
The fact is, as he well knows, that the Prime Minister on behalf of the Government placed the situation clearly before the Australian Council of Trade Unions before it made its decision. [More…]
Will he consider encouraging unions to ban all communications to hospitals and units where X-rays are carried out? [More…]
Very little action takes place without the approval of the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
The Authority will consist of 5 persons: A part time Chairman; 3 part time members, one of whom would represent the trade unions and another will be, ex officio, the Secretary of the Department of Minerals and Energy; and a full time executive member. [More…]
Has the Minister seen Press reports that many Australian tourists who are travelling on a package tour with the French airline UTA have been stranded overseas because of an Australian Council of Trade Unions ban on French goods and services, and that UTA has refused to endorse the transfer of the tourists’ air tickets to other airlines? [More…]
What steps has the Government taken to assist the unfortunate Australian citizens who are the victims of a defiance of the Prime Minister’s requests by trade unions which have taken control of the institution of government? [More…]
I refer the Minister to the bans and boycotts imposed by the Australian Council of Trade Unions, and unions subject to its dictates, on trade and communications with France, the recripocal action reported to have been taken by France against Qantas Airways Ltd, the refusal by French authorities to handle mail to Australia and the stranding of numerous Australian citizens in New Caledonia. [More…]
The casualties of this discrimination are the people who agitate for reforms against their local councils, their trade unions and some of the rural co-operatives. [More…]
This would be a humanitarian social policy but the Government, of course, is ruled by the trade unions. [More…]
Is the Minister for Works aware that construction of the Adelaide mail’ exchange is being held up by a demarcation dispute between 2 unions? [More…]
I am well aware that work on the Adelaide mail exchange building has been held up for several months as a result of a demarcation dispute between 2 unions. [More…]
I attended a conference and advised that as the matter was a demarcation dispute between 2 unions it should be settled either between the 2 unions within the trade union movement or presented to arbitration. [More…]
Yesterday, I asked the Minister assisting the Prime Minister whether he had seen reports of Australians being stranded overseas because of the Australian Council of Trade Unions ban on French goods and services, including Australians overseas on package tours with UTA, the French airline? [More…]
Can the Minister say whether the Australian Council of Trade Unions is likely to impose sanctions against China similar to those imposed against France? [More…]
Equally some company could call Mr Hawke to answer questions about the finances of the commercial enterprises of the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
An organisation such as the one in which I am interested or the Australian Council of Trade Unions store in which Mr Hawke is interested and which obviously- would not have a $20m turnover is completely exempt. [More…]
Let us not forget that Mr Hawke said that the Australian Council of Trade Unions would put the Dunlop company out of business unless it allowed the ACTU store to sell its products at a retail price it determined and not at a notified resale price. [More…]
It is my belief that the controllers of the giant unions who control this Government would not allow such a course. [More…]
While this Government bows down in servile prostration before the large unions - usually left dominated - and while it goes into the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Court ito obtain increased wages and to shorten hours, and while it thinks it can control inflation by directing its penal sanctions against 350 Australian companies, it is very difficult to give it the benefit of the doubt and to take it seriously. [More…]
I am a firm believer in the arbitration system and in the vigour of industrial unions in the contest to achieve real wages. [More…]
The whole period in which we had a 2i per cent average yearly increase in inflation was a period in which, I remind the Senate, the great trade unions of Australia, through the Australian Council of Trade Unions led by Mr Monk, worked on the principle of industrial trade unionism. [More…]
What has happened in Australia is that unions today, with the blessing of this Labor Government, are working towards the power politics of their leaders and against the interests of the ordinary worker. [More…]
But we are of the opinion that unless side by side with this measure there is some attempt to prevent collusive practices between major employer groups and monopoly unions, which result in increased prices. [More…]
But what we say is that every consent agreement reached between unions and employers, whether made privately or within the arbitration system must be registered with a commissioner for trade practices. [More…]
It is a well known fact that unions in monopoly positions and employer groups in monopoly positions such as in the stevedoring industry, the metal trades industry and other key industries enter into consent agreements. [More…]
I am only with the Government to this extent: We believe that every consent agreement made between unions and [ employers, whether made privately or within the arbitration system, ought to be registered with a commissioner for trade practices. [More…]
Had our Bill been accepted by the Prime Minister - it certainly was not - we believe it would not have affected the capacity of unions to negotiate freely within the arbitration system. [More…]
It would not have limited the rights of unions to demand either increased wages or better conditions. [More…]
It intends to destroy the little guild schemes, the little Oddfellows schemes and those other schemes which, like the little trade unions, give a sturdiness and a character to the people of Australia. [More…]
Just as it wants to amalgamate the trade unions and destroy them, so it is out now to amalgamate into one great body our various health schemes. [More…]
There is nothing wrong with the ACTU or the trade unions running co-operative housing societies and sharing in the general schemes. [More…]
In fact trade unions, having a community interest, are among the ideal bodies to run very successful co-operatives including housing co-operatives. [More…]
However, as the trade union of trade unions the ACTU might over-involve itself in commercial enterprises. [More…]
As a member of 2 trade unions part of my subscription fees ultimately goes to the ACTU and my counsel to the ACTU would be: ‘Do not stretch yourself too far in areas in which you have not had experience. [More…]
Helping some people to accept the philosophy of wanting to buy their own homes should be a project which should be entered into by trade unions and other interested organisations as well. [More…]
As we know, after continual pin pricking with relation to the various provisions - I took part in some of these debates and accompanied representatives from the Commonwealth Council of Public Service Associations and the Australian Council of Trade Unions to the Minister then responsible - it is a fact that many representations made to the former Minister were taken into account in the last amendment to the Act. [More…]
I refer to questions which I asked of the Minister representing the Prime Minister approximately a fortnight ago in regard to what action the Government was then taking or proposed to take against those unions which had imposed bans upon postal commu nications with France and the handling of French goods or goods going to areas controlled by France, particularly as prior to those bans being imposed the Prime Minister had said that their imposition would be contrary to the national interest. [More…]
In view of 2 events of the last 2 days - firstly, the proposed extension of the ban to all direct communications with France and secondly, the reports that New Zealand, where trade unions have not imposed bans, is taking over markets in the French colonies in the Pacific which were previously Australian markets, what action is the Government taking? [More…]
Is it a fact that in reports made to him by 2 postal unions earlier this year it was stated that private contractors had gained increasing footholds in the supply and installation of sections of the Australian communications network? [More…]
Several matters were referred to in a report which was made to the Postmaster-General and me by an officer of one of the unions. [More…]
It finally accepted the request of the waterside workers and the Australian Council of Trade Unions that such a conference should be called. [More…]
When the Australian Council of Trade Unions makes a submission to the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Commission which must have inflationary effects the Government gives its wholehearted support to that submission. [More…]
But in any conflict between the public interest and the sectional interest for which the militant unions may be pressing, the Labour Government will be unable if it is to survive as a united Government to resolve that conflict in favour of the public interest. [More…]
It is class or sectional legislation, calculated to enable unions to act with substantial immunity from the. [More…]
What the Government is doing is reverting, and reverting by deliberate act, to the anarchy of laissez-faire so that unions may achieve by their industrial power whatever they aspire to achieve. [More…]
Indirectly, the unions are strengthened by those provisions which seek to give them an immunity to move into premises at.any time and to take such -action as the union, member or official thinks fit in order to advance what he conceives to be the interests of his members. [More…]
What the removal of all penalties and sanctions, the removal of recourse to the civil , courts and the withdrawal of the power of the Commission to prohibit strikes or limitations of work will mean is that unions will seek to achieve objectives by demand, by the threat of industrial action and, if need be, by industrial action itself to back. [More…]
However, a number of fines then existing have since been paid, in particular the fines owing by unions which now . [More…]
The unions paid because they knew that the Government meant action. [More…]
The last time that they were sought to be imposed, all the unions which owed the fines paid them on the indication that the Government was proposing to collect them. [More…]
It was the action of the employers, the fixing of a day for hearing by the Industrial Court and an appreciation of the consequences of that action that brought a group of unions which had been recalcitrant of a period of 2 months to the point at which they were prepared to accept the mediation, outside the legislation, of Mr Justice Moore. [More…]
The concept of meaningful negotiations, so often stressed by union leaders, will simply mean a round-table conference at which the employers concede what the unions demand. [More…]
Until the employers concede what the unions demand we will have the constant repetition from the union side that the employers are not willing to enter into meaningful negotiations. [More…]
Meaningful negotiations, in the language of the trade union movement, has come to mean: ‘Give to us, the unions, what we want. [More…]
Small unions and their members will suffer as larger unions, because of their greater power, make greater gains. [More…]
It is not surprising, in the case of a government which regards itself as the political arm of a labour movement which has for its industrial arm union militancy, that that overall purpose is to strengthen the power and influence of employees’ organisations, the powerful trade unions. [More…]
It exonerates unions from costs but increases the number and type of proceedings in which employers will be subjected to costs. [More…]
It renders unions immune from civil proceedings to which all citizens are subject and thereby denies to employers rights which they pre- viously enjoyed. [More…]
Fining the unions and having sanctions in an industrial law will not end strikes, has not ended strikes anywhere and contributes nothing to industrial peace. [More…]
The second matter which is contentious and on which Senator Greenwood spent some time is the proposition that the removal of recourse to the civil courts by employers who feel aggrieved by the concerted action of employees or by the actions of trade unions also will contribute to the dislocation of industrial life and will make peace in industry harder to attain. [More…]
It inserts proposed new section 146a which frees unions and union officials from liability to action in tort for actions arising out of industrial matters. [More…]
It was suggested that we were attempting to open the door to violence and intimidation and that the removal from unions and union officials of liability to action in tort was an invitation to criminality. [More…]
The fact remains, Senator, that you did not bother to remove from the statute books these provisions which explicitly excluded unions or union officials from actions in tort. [More…]
I am not attempting to cover the whole field, but only its more contentious aspects, are the measures which we have taken in this Bill to facilitate the amalgamation of unions. [More…]
their minds and look at this, matter honestly must admit that any measures designed to facilitate union amalgamations are squarely in the public interest because, as has been pointed out in the debate on this Bill in the other place and as has been pointed out often, Australia has just too many tradeunions. [More…]
At the end of 1970 there were, I believe, 305 separate trade unions in Australia. [More…]
Well, by contrast, in West Germany with a population of 61 million, there are only 16 unions, lt must be obvious, on a moment’s reflection, that larger unions not only produce more efficient service to union members but also save society and employers from much unnecessary disputation and disruption of the. [More…]
This is a natural concomitant of an industrial situation where there are large numbers of unions competing for membership, some of them with declining membership fighting tooth and nail for survival. [More…]
It does not serve the interests of the unions themselves, the purposes of industry or the nation and we believe that we are legislating in the national and public interest by introducing these sections designed to facilitate amalgamation. [More…]
It was full of pitfalls for unions attempting amalgamation. [More…]
In fact, it was clear that the purpose of the legislation was to make amalgamation of unions as difficult as possible. [More…]
Most would agree that, many excellent benefits have been achieved for members of unions over the years. [More…]
number of unions in Australia. [More…]
The Minister said that in December 1970 there were 305 separate trade unions in Australia. [More…]
Of the 305 unions, T52 had less than 1,000 members; another 96 had between 1,000 and 5,000 members; 34 between 5,000 and 20,000; . [More…]
unions had a membership of more than 50,000. [More…]
These - figures ignore the fact that approximately 65 per cent of all Australian unionists are members of 21 unions. [More…]
Apart from that, the drive towards amalgamation is not directed at absorbing small unions but rather to bringing together the large and medium sized unions into some concentrated body, which would be to the detriment of the rank” and file members’ of those unions. [More…]
All we say is that there ought to be proper safeguards to prevent the amalgamation of unions by stealth. [More…]
Only 16 per cent of all the members of the unions involved voted in favour of the amalgamation. [More…]
Apparently the Government thinks it is because the Government wants to remove from the Act those provisions requiring the proper democratic procedures to be followed before unions can amalgamate. [More…]
the Chifley Government in 1947 which , took positive steps to prevent union ballot rigging, there would be no way of dealing with this menace of crooked balloting in particular unions. [More…]
It is wrong for people outside the unions to interfere in union affairs. [More…]
It certainly is not wrong for a government to safeguard the rights of rank and file members of unions. [More…]
Registered unions are not a private organisation. [More…]
Workers are compelled to belong to unions by the sheer coercive power of unions, and Senator Wheeldon says that a union is a private organisation which can do as it pleases. [More…]
Why would the Government want to promise Mr Carmichael, who got his big union by stealth, that it will enable the same thing to be done in future with other unions? [More…]
I put forward the proposition that in the industrial and political development of Australia we have reached a stage where the contest for the next decade is whether parliamentary government shall prevail or whether the arbitrary power of unrestrained unions will prevail as the ultimate power. [More…]
The Labor Party is the creation pf the trade union organisation and expresses, at the direction of the majority representation of the unions in its councils, the purposes and objectives of the trade union movement. [More…]
If one couples that identity of purpose in Parliament with unrestrained, uncontrolled and unlimited power on the part of unions to combine to destroy industry, prosperity and employment, outside, one finds a situation in which the contest is between unbridled unionism- militant unionism - on’ the one hand and parliamenary government on the other and this must come to a real crisis. [More…]
and useful institution, not only for the members of the unions but also for ‘the balanced development of the community. [More…]
But an ignorant view has been espoused by members of the Government, echoing ignorance and pre-, judice from militant leaders who mislead their trade union members, that unions should be irresponsible and have some privilege in the. [More…]
It is when one comes to arming combinations of industrial power led by irresponsible unions and acceded to by weak government, who are their instruments, that there is danger to the prosperity of a free community. [More…]
It is true that the Liberal-Country Party Government, which preceded the Whitlam Government, in order to placate the unions from 1965 onwards, introduced clauses to try to make those sections that enforced the bans clauses palatable to the unions and provided that penalties imposed under those sections should not be enforceable unless a presidential member of the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission issued a certificate that in the course of a certain dispute h was appropriate that the penalty should be sought from the Industrial Court. [More…]
But nothing would satisfy the unions which were controlled by militant disciples of chaos, the Carmichaels, the Mundeys and others who significantly are avowed communists. [More…]
In 1904, 4 years after Federation, all parties combined in one unanimous purpose to create the system in the hope that the leaders of the working unions would adopt it to supply solution of their disputes by peaceful and unwasteful means instead of by prolonged strikes, bitterness and conflict. [More…]
It brings in a provision that would exempt all unions, all officers of unions and all members of unions from any wrong-doing in connection with a trade dispute. [More…]
So far from putting its efforts to preventing trade disputes and, when they occur, channelling them to the peaceful decision of the Arbitration Commission, the Government now in 1973 with the genius of Gough Whitlam, guided by Cairns and a few others who ought to know better, and a whole crowd following them who, of course, do not understand that they are simply’ being manipulated by extreme communist disruptionists, npt only wants to neutralise the remedies’ under the arbitration system but wants also to give to the trade union organisation, its officers and members a special privilege that Austraiian organisations, officers and members have never had - a privilege to be erected here 70 years after the commencement of the arbitration system, that system being designed specifically to bring the unions into the field where the framework of law would give them advantages and impose corresponding responsibilities, and in which the whole community would work according to a system of law and order; in the words of Mr Justice Higgins: ‘A new province of law and order’. [More…]
The Government not only wants to dismantle that system and send these disputes back to the area of disruption and chaos with all its futile loss but now, 70 years after the arbitration system began, 70 years after an English precedent of a most despicable character, the history of which I shall refer to in a moment, some genius in the Whitlam Government for the first time in the Federal Parliament propounds a proposition that trade unions, their officers and members should receive a special privilege from the law to which you, Mr President, and I are subject for wrong-doing simply because they are carrying out an act in the course of an industrial dispute. [More…]
It was to the eternal credit of Mr Justice Moore that he got the parties together, even in spite of the fact that Senator Greenwood and his colleague the Honourable Phil Lynch went along to the Australian Council of Trade Unions and grovelled - I repeat grovelled -in front of the ACTU Executive. [More…]
Whether we like it or not, there is apathy in the trade unions as there is in any other group. [More…]
The number of people who objected to the amalgamation of the metal trades unions was so minute that it is not worth talking about. [More…]
If we are to deal with, the ideological content of trade unions, let me remind the Senate that the transport workers - the members of the Australian Railways Union, the’ storemen and packers and the waterside workers - probably will have” a merger of their own. [More…]
If honourable senators opposite say to the unions that they should dispense with confrontation through strikes and settle disputes around the table by collective bargaining, the trade union movement has to make its in-depth research, and’ that costs money. [More…]
Some of the smaller unions ‘ cannot afford to do it. [More…]
In fact, in many of the smaller unions getting the job done is dependent on the dedication of individuals. [More…]
In this respect, it is designed to assist the strong unions such as the Amalgamated MetaL Workers’ Union. [More…]
Once having arrived here, they lose their nexus, with industrial organisations and they do not know what goes on within the unions. [More…]
I suppose it is simply the case that they are prepared to allow the weakest to go to the wall and to allow the strong metal unions and other left wing organisations to ride rampant over the rest of the industrial community. [More…]
Christopher Hollis, who was probably the most progressive of English conservative thinkers, when referring to the end of the last century wrote that capitalism in England would have collapsed under its own weight if it had not been for the existence of the trade unions which protected the men who had- only the labour of their own 2 hands to -sell. [More…]
The unions protected them from capitalist exploitation. [More…]
We are seeing and hearing a great deal of nonsense from unions on the issue of the French nuclear tests. [More…]
The, whole of this Bill is based on the principle, of big amalgamated trade unions and big organisations of employers getting together, and agreeing to milk the public by agreed awards and then recouping themselves, in the . [More…]
We are talking of the days when unions are organised and have a collective power. [More…]
The Labor Government has decided that the trade unions, in concert with that power, should have new inhibitions placed upon them. [More…]
It has fallen back on all the old complaints about the amalgamation of unions. [More…]
I remind honourable senators of what Mr Lynch was saying about the amalgamation of unions until the Australian Democratic Labor Party twisted his tail. [More…]
He came out with the statement that the amalgamation of unions in metal working field was a fine thing. [More…]
He said that it was a good thing for unions to amal gamate. [More…]
Many of the employer organisations said: ‘We agree and we want to see unions built into one larger consist’. [More…]
Senator Wright talked about Mr Mundey and the militant left wing unions. [More…]
May I remind the honourable senator that only last week’ he asked me whether I had met the building workers’ unions, and the very next day I was to meet in this building the militant and non-militant union bosses, the right wing unionists and the Master Builders Association representatives. [More…]
What have they done about the penalties they imposed on the unions? [More…]
But they say tonight that unions ought to be subject to sanctions. [More…]
They will not work if we say, as honourable senator opposite say, that trade unions have no rights. [More…]
If trade unions break an arbitration law or reject an award, the Opposition says that they should be punished. [More…]
From this the Australian Government, with the co-operation of both unions and management, will build an efficient viable industry. [More…]
I do not doubt that in areas where some unions think an industry is able to stand an expense of this type, it will be forced on to that industry. [More…]
It could be a proposition advanced by unions and people in outside industry. [More…]
When 1 was associated with the Australian Council of Trade Unions in 1956 the ACTU approached the then Liberal Government and asked it to produce such an index. [More…]
I put it to him that in view of the precedent established by the war-time Curtin Government of invoking national security regulations against the Broken Hill Pty Co. Ltd for a breach of an industrial code, in the face of an appeal from Mr Short of the Federated Ironworkers Association of Australia and the other 10 unions in the steel industry, will the good graces of the Commonwealth Government be available to get sanity in industrial relations in the steel industry? [More…]
But I assume that it does not include any conditions that require tenders to be given only to firms which have good relations with trade unions, or any of those contentious industrial matters which were a personal emanation from Senator Cavanagh in January. [More…]
Members of the Amalgamated Metal Workers’ Union were one of a number of unions involved in a stoppage of work for some weeks at the Botany plant of Imperial Chemical Industries of Australia and New Zealand Limited. [More…]
The members of the unions involved in the stoppage returned to work on 29 March 1973. [More…]
I have noted - this has been the constant pattern over recent months - that the Australian Government has been either encouraging or tolerating the unilateral unlawful action that has been taken by unions in this country to prohibit the movement of French mails, French goods and communications between France and Australia. [More…]
I understand that since 22 June, New Zealand unions have also been taking action against French interests similar to that being taken in Australia. [More…]
What action has the Government taken to have bans on the handling of French goods and services and communications by trade unions lifted particularly as, prior to the bans being imposed, the Prime Minister had said that imposition of the bans was contrary to the nation’s interest. [More…]
Is the ban on trade with France, imposed by trade unions and supported by leading members of the Government including the Minister for Overseas Trade, Dr J. F. Cairns, still in force? [More…]
Have Mr Hawke and the trade unions protested at the signing of the agreement, or do the Government and the trade unions regard the French bomb as being ideologically dirty and the Chinese bomb as being ideologically clean? [More…]
If the police force generally adopted the attitude of many of the unions and said, ‘Well, because there is danger we will not carry out our duty’, many of those people who are shouting loudest about people not receiving death penalties for taking the life of a policeman would be the first to call out that something should be done for the protection of the police so that they themselves might be protected. [More…]
It will be chaotic until strong action is taken by government or by courts against the waterside workers, the ship unions and those who run the ships. [More…]
It carried out wide-ranging investigations and produced 3 reports which documented firm suport for the School from commercial film producers, the Federation of Commercial Television Stations, the Australian Broadcasting Commission, the Commonwealth Film Unit, guilds and unions, and educational institutions. [More…]
Many sectors of the film and television industry, both government and private, have indicated already that they will make available facilities for such training, subject to equitable arrangements being worked out with managements and unions. [More…]
These reports indicated firm support for the School from commercial film producers, the Federation of Commercial Television Stations, the Australian Broadcasting -Commission, the Commonwealth Film Unit, guilds and unions, and educational institutions. [More…]
I refer to people such as Harold Souter and Bob Hawke of the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
It was interesting to note that when the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, Mr Hawke, who was taking a few hours off from his duties as company director, was asked what he thought about this Budget he declared that in his opinion the blot upon the Budget was the fact that it resorted to indirect taxation which pressed heavily on the workers and was unfair to the workers. [More…]
Is it the Government’s intention to consult the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the trade unions representing employees in government factories and shipyards about the likely workload for the coming year? [More…]
As soon as the position was clear, Mr Barnard, the Minister for Defence, advised the Australian Council of Trade Unions that he was prepared to discuss with it and with the unions concerned the position regarding defence factories and shipyards. [More…]
That date has been fixed for the meeting and it is expected that Mr Barnard, Mr Clyde Cameron and I will meet the unions and confer with them in respect of the present workload position. [More…]
Mr Whitlam said on television: ‘There will be no industrial conflict because we understand the unions and we will in fact have rapport with them’. [More…]
Industrial relations in Australia under a Federal Labor Government would change for the better for the unions, employers and the general community,’ the Australian Council of Trade Unions President Mr Hawke said yesterday. [More…]
The Treasurer has refused the offer of the Opposition and the State Liberal leaders to hold a national conference of Federal and State governments, of employers’ representatives and of trade unions on the greatest single issue confronting the people of Australia today - the issue of inflation. [More…]
Mr Hawke of the Australian Council of Trade Unions also has boasted that the ACTU has mobilised the trade unions throughout the world to protest and to place a ban on French trade and French communications. [More…]
Of course, the trade unions would not agree with Mr Whitlam and the ban remains. [More…]
So we have the situation where the trade unions, supported by leading members of the Government - no member of the Government has ever denounced the trade unions for it - have placed a ban against all trade and all communications with France. [More…]
Will the Government advise the Government of the Peoples Republic of China that this Government will support the unions in this country in their threat to halt all communications and trade relations with China unless she immediately stops nuclear testing in the atmosphere? [More…]
I have noted the approbation which was given even by members of the Australian Democratic Labor Party for the participation of trade unions in endeavouring to prevent harm being done to the people of the world as a result of such tests. [More…]
I am pleased to see that the honourable senator has now come to the view that it is within the province of trade unions to take action in relation to matters- [More…]
Senator Murphy was applauding the trade unions for placing a ban in the interests of humanity on trade and communications with France. [More…]
The trade unions, supported by the Government and strongly supported by Dr Cairns, placed a ban on trade with France. [More…]
Let it say here and now that it is prepared to sign a trade agreement with France and let it say that it will demand that the trade unions lift the ban on French trade and communications. [More…]
It is very interesting to note that despite the ban on French trade there was no protest from Mr Hawke and the trade unions about the visit of the Chinese Trade Minister and the conclusion of a trade agreement with China. [More…]
We find the policy espoused, and action taken consistent with it, of Government contracts being awarded to those employers who are prepared to maintain with trade unions relations which are consistent with what the Government believes should be their proper conduct. [More…]
We found earlier this year an attempt to introduce compulsory unionism by subterfuge by intimating that 4 weeks leave would be granted only tq public servants who were prepared to join trade unions. [More…]
The Government was held to its election promise to give 4 weeks leave to all public servants, not only to those who were prepared to join unions. [More…]
To my knowledge the examination has in no way resulted from any representation by or pressure from trade unions. [More…]
I think he knows already that it has been announced that Mr Barnard, Mr Clyde Cameron and I will be meeting the trade unions concerned with this matter at 9 o’clock on Monday next to discuss the whole area of the slow-down in defence expenditure. [More…]
It is rather strange that this sort of remark should come from a member of a party whose whole history shows that the only action it ever thought about taking in the old days was one which would ensure that regularly- fortnightly, weekly and daily- it attacked the workers on wage increases and attacked the unions which sought wage increases. [More…]
The Labor Party assisted the Australian Council of Trade Unions to ensure that those needing wage increases most received their wage increases. [More…]
When his Party was in office it was always concerned about taking punitive action against the trade unions and against the wage earners who wanted wage increases because it said that was the way to stop inflation. [More…]
Mr Whitlam, the Leader of this Government, said when seeking election that what the Labor Party would do would be to hold a conference of Federal and State governments, industry and trade unions. [More…]
Let us get together the Federal and State governments, industry and the trade unions and let them sit around a table and talk about restraint. [More…]
Yet I have heard senators get up and talk about the trade unions putting up a case in favour of amalgamation of unions. [More…]
The trade unions are ready to talk to the Opposition. [More…]
But how can one expect trust when at one moment Bob Hawke, the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, is regarded as the devil incarnate, and at another time the Opposition says: Why is Hawke not doing something? ‘ [More…]
But one of the ways of removing industrial friction is by means of the amalgamation of trade unions. [More…]
Leaving that sector of the trade union movement aside, let me deal with the group of unions covering the food industry. [More…]
The only conclusion that I can reach is that some unions are frugal. [More…]
That in itself would not be a long term solution to the problem, but at least it would provide the opportunity for governments, trade unions, industry and commerce, and, perhaps more importantly, consumer representatives to get together and work out whether the thoughts propounded by organisations and people such as the Labor supporter I mentioned are worth the encouragement of the Government. [More…]
This Government and the trade unions were organising trade bans against the French while the Minister for Overseas Trade, Dr Cairns, was racing over to China and negotiating special, favoured treatment in trade relations with that country. [More…]
We even saw the Australian Council of Trade Unions racing around and seeing that French firms in this country could not carry on their affairs. [More…]
The trade unions, which today pass eloquent motions about imposing bans upon France, did not impose a ban upon the work which was necessary to enable that bomb to be exploded. [More…]
I notice that, although the French intend to continue tests, Mr Whitiam asked the Australian Council of Trade Unions to lift the trade union ban on French communications. [More…]
I have no doubt that the reason why Mr Whitlam asked the ACTU to cease its action against the French was that a number of unions had placed on the agenda of the ACTU congress motions seeking similar condemnatory action to be taken in regard to China, because of its tests, as had been taken against France. [More…]
It was a decision of the unions recently, following a request from Mr Whitlam to the ACTU, to lift the ban. [More…]
I repeat that the reason why it was lifted was that certain unions had put an item on the agenda for the ACTU conference asking that China be similarly condemned. [More…]
Our Government, which at present is making trade treaties with China, which calls China the most favoured nation and which will set up a high priority visit by our Prime Minister and other Ministers to China, felt it was very embarrassing that certain trade unions said that they ought to be honest enough to do to China what they were doing to France. [More…]
It has removed the ban simply because it looks a bit awkward when the Australian unions are wanting China to be attacked. [More…]
On the other hand I waited in vain today for some of the humanitarians opposite to get up and ask what would be the fate of the trade unions in Santiago and other cities in Chile tonight. [More…]
I can imagine that people who fought for their trade unions in that country are now being hunted down like dogs by certain members of the military junta and their troops. [More…]
Thirdly, this Government, through its Dr Cairns and members of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, urged bans against French trade and communications with France. [More…]
If the Government says that it did not start out to do this, is it so pusillanimous and has it so abdicated its responsibilities that it would stand by and see the trade unions of this country breach in a major way diplomatic relations in terms of trade and communications and take no action? [More…]
The Minister will recall that he told me last week that he intended to consult with his ministerial colleagues and various trade unions regarding the possible redundancies which are likely to occur as a result of the Labor Government’s decision to reduce defence expenditure. [More…]
Does the interest in this aspect of Government policy by Mr Hawke and the Australian Council of Trade Unions suggest an area of disagreement between the elected representatives of the Australian Labor Party and the trade union movement? [More…]
But I do not think it would be proper for me to give these figures at present because we have made a mutual agreement with the trade unions- that is, the Australian Council of Trade Unions, the Commonwealth Council of Public Service Organisations and the Australian Council of Salaried and Professional Associations- that we will take no action until the search for alternative work has been completed. [More…]
We expect it to be, and have told the unions that it must be, a speedy exercise. [More…]
This newpaper says- in my view, rightly- that it is like asking the Australian Council of Trade Unions to make plans for cutting wages. [More…]
It has been a problem for the last 25 years in every country except those in which there is a tight dictatorship and complete control over trade unions, prices and the very lives of the people. [More…]
Mr Snedden said in Sydney the economic climate was preventing the unions pressing for over-award payments, a major contributor to inflation. [More…]
Mr Hawke has been to Canberra to advise the Government as to what the unions will accept. [More…]
Honourable senators will recall that he told us he had received an assurance from Mr Hawke, the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the Federal President of the Australian Labor Party that the unions would practise forebearance and restraint in seeking any wage increases if the Government demonstrated that it was fair dinkum about attempting to restrain prices. [More…]
Mr Hawke has also made it clear on a number of occasions that the trade unions would not be subservient to the Labor Government. [More…]
He said at the opening session of the ACTU’s recent congress that it would be degrading for the unions to endorse automatically all that a Labor Government said or did. [More…]
Mr Hawke, whether as President of the Australian Labor Party or as President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions or as a tycoon of the Reserve Bank Board- I know notindicated that the private conversations already exposed to the public were not a true interpretation of his feelings. [More…]
He said that the trade unions would not guarantee any assistance in respect of wages, costs and other charges. [More…]
I refer to the trade unions. [More…]
That union is committed to that couse of action without regard to the effect upon other unions or upon the economy when demands are made for a flow-on. [More…]
I have been told that at the recent congress of the Australian Council of Trade Unions it was determined that there should be no control over wages. [More…]
The Labor Party claims to be the Party of the unions. [More…]
Why does it not go to the unions and ask them where they stand? [More…]
No system of price control can operate if the unions propose to institute, where they have power, a system of industrial anarchy. [More…]
I will never be Prime Minister of this country but if I were, in a case such as this I would have one more go at the States and I would go to the trade unions and say: ‘You cannot expect us as a government to go on with this kind of thing unless you are prepared to be good Australians and do your bit. ‘ [More…]
Regarding the Department of the Army I have not been able to find out clearly what is the position but I can give a general assurance that nothing will be done until after the general review that we were talking about the other day- that is, the intervention of the trade unions in respect of civilian manpower and the promise by the Minister that he would hold all retrenchments for the time being. [More…]
If we are talking about policies of prices and incomes, it seems to me fundamental that any income policy has more chance of success if both employers and unions consider it reasonably equitable and agree to support the criteria for price and wage rises embodied in it. [More…]
However, the Australian Council of Trade Unions has rejected the suggestion that there is any relationship between wage increases and inflation. [More…]
The claim that the inflation is being caused by trade unions is spurious. [More…]
Of course, the Australian Council of Trade Unions would want to divert attention from the obvious fact that our inflationary problem is the end result of an abandonment of a wages policy tied to productivity in the face of direct action by certain hostile unions. [More…]
Perhaps the first step we should be looking at in order to achieve price stability, even in the short term, would require the curbing of the power of trade unions to pursue higher and higher wage levels. [More…]
Since labor unions in Israel are both politically and economically more powerful than ours, this study demonstrates the limited effectiveness of incomes policies even when they enjoy significant labor support. [More…]
Unions withdrew demands for an increase in basic wage rates when their contracts expired in late 1962 and early 1963. [More…]
The usual excuse for these price controls is that it will bc impossible to operate even a voluntary incomes policy unless the unions believe that they are in effect. [More…]
The Treasurer, Frank Crean, in his statement after the meeting, according to the newspapers, said he really believed that incomes should be added but that the Labor Party could add incomes only when the unions would accept that addition. [More…]
It would have been easy for the leader of the trade union movement of this country to have come here with 2 hats and to have changed them so rapidly as to confuse everybody, being with the Labor Party and also with the unions. [More…]
He is President of the Labor Party and President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
Why is it that the trade unions do not want incomes to be included? [More…]
If it is not politically stupid it will see beyond the vote of the 45 and the fact that the unions are all-powerful in the Labor Party’s internal discussions. [More…]
The unions have not even threatened the Government as yet, unless they have done so privately, yet the Government is frightened of union reactions if it dares to venture into the field of incomes, including profits and everything else. [More…]
Even the Treasurer has said: ‘We would like to have control of incomes too, but we cannot have that control while the unions object’. [More…]
Are the unions in a position to look at both sides of the question, in the interests of all Australians? [More…]
It would be subscribed to by any economist in the nation as being more sensible and, I suspect, it would be subscribed to by a majority of members of the La bor Party if they were not scared of the unions. [More…]
He is the secretary of one of the biggest unions in Australia. [More…]
If a relatively small union could successfully mount such an attack, what would be achieved by the more powerful unions with more resources if they acted in a similar way? [More…]
I say without any hesitation that in most countries there is a coterie of men whose aim or objective is to seize control of the trade unions. [More…]
On more than one occasion the New Zealand Government has said to communist controlled unions in New Zealand: Unless you get rid of so-and-so we will deregister your union and we will freeze your funds’. [More…]
The aim of the Communist Party has been to get control of the trade unions. [More…]
The thought has struck me that if these much abused oil companies- and they have been abused throughout the years- were activated with the same sentiments as some of the militant trade unions are, they would have said without any hesitation: ‘Right, your whole supply is stopped ‘. [More…]
There are also problems within the Government ranks between the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Australian Council of Trade Unions on various matters, including wage restraint. [More…]
Where is Mr Whitlam today when the Opposition in both Houses says to him: ‘Your responsibility is to convene a national conference of employers and trade unions, of Federal, State and local governments. [More…]
I preface my question to the Minister for Repatriation, who represents the Minister for Labour in this chamber, by saying that prior to the last election members of the Australian Labor Party were saying that under a Whitlam Government there would be less industrial unrest because Labor knew more about the way unions worked. [More…]
It should, here and now, set about calling a conference of Federal and State governments, industry and trade unions. [More…]
Despite the boasting of the Labor Party prior to the election that it could handle the trade unions, industrial unrest is at an all time high. [More…]
Then Mr Hawke came up to see him and the very next day the Prime Minister announced that he would be moving legislation for a referendum to control prices, and he gave the Australian Parliament and the people of Australia an assurance from Mr Hawke that if these controls were successful the unions would exercise wage restraint. [More…]
But Mr Hawke soon dismissed this, because Mr Hawke said he had given no such assurance, and, in a moment of sarcasm, he said he could no more control the trade unions than the Prime Minister could control his Caucus. [More…]
That is interesting- of the union movement that, if price control proved effective, the unions would act voluntarily to restrain or moderate wage demands. [More…]
So here we have the situation in which a socalled Prime Minister gave an assurance to the Parliament that the trade unions would cooperatean assurance given at the same time by the President of the ACTU, who is also the President of the Labor Party- and the next day having to eat humble pie and crawl. [More…]
Unions, a member of the Board of the Reserve Bank of Australia, Uncle Tom Cobbleigh and all. [More…]
He suggested also that a prices referendum could be effective because he had the assurance of the President of the Australian Labor Party and President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, one Robert Hawke, that if he exercised compulsory price control the ACTU would cooperate in a voluntary wage restraint. [More…]
Mr Whitlam was speaking about the prosecution of trade unions. [More…]
We know just what Mr Hawke of the Australian Council of Trade Unions thinks about assurances on responsible co-operation in restraining wages and incomes. [More…]
We know the Prime Minister will never use the powers given to him under this legislation because Mr Hawke and the trade unions will not allow him to. [More…]
I refer honourable senators to what the Government did in relation to the trade unions. [More…]
My Army experience was confined to serving as a private in Perth Modern School Senior Cadet Detachment for 3 years when Mr Hawke, President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, was a fellow private. [More…]
The Minister and I are aware that there is a campaign by the trade union movement, in part supported by the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the State Trades and Labour Council, to attempt to attain a 35-hour week in selected industries. [More…]
The discussions between the New South Wales Trades and Labour Council, representing all the unions, and the State Government have broken down. [More…]
I understand from representations that have been made that some trade unions are in a state of confusion as to whether their publications are affected. [More…]
It applies to all the organisations which bring out monthly journals and to business concerns, unions, church bodies and so on that publish monthly journals which used to be placed in the category which allowed them to obtain cheap postal delivery. [More…]
Since then I have received a large number of telegrams from all sorts of people and organisations, including trade unions. [More…]
Is the Minister aware that there is considerable concern that the Government now plans to control lending by credit unions such as those operated on behalf of teachers and public servants? [More…]
-Does the Minister representing the Minister for Labour agree with the Prime Minister’s attack on those unions opposing power over incomes in the coming referendum? [More…]
Provision for democratic control of unions and the full participation by union members in the affairs of their organisation; Provision to overcome some of the problems created by the Moore v. Doyle case; [More…]
But if the Government behaves in a certain way towards the 2 Bills that were passed in this Senate with our support only a week ago and suddenly goes soft, at the behest of the left wing unions, and suggests that incomes have nothing whatsoever to do with wages, nobody could estimate what the costs of meat inspections will be in 3 years. [More…]
In short and putting it bluntly, unions will not be subject to wage freezes. [More…]
Mr Hills is turning towards the people on the Labor side and in the trade unions and he is doing whatever he can by exhortations and by trying to use his influence in that direction in order to stop the industrial dispute. [More…]
The action that various unions will take is yet unknown. [More…]
Now that the trade union movement, as represented by the Australian Council of Trade Unions, has indicated its hostility to the incomes part of the proposed prices-incomes referendum, has the Government, considering the total interdependence of prices and incomes, decided to abandon the referendum? [More…]
I refer to the reported statement by Mr Hawke- I do not know whether he made it in his capacity as President of the Australian Labor Party or President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions- that although the Labor Party will not be able officially to campaign against the incomes referendum, individual members of the Labor Party who are unionists will be free to do so- Does this mean that Government members of the Senate and of the House of Representatives who happen to be unionists will be free to campaign against the incomes referendum? [More…]
As we then said, it was sectional legislation reflecting submission by this Government to the influence and power of the strong militant unions of this country. [More…]
The way in which that case was made out was by demonstrating the way in which the Australian Labor Party constitutionally is structured and how in so many ways many members of the Australian Labor Party in this Parliament are beholden to members of unions, not so much that they submit to the power and direction of unions, but they are subject to the influence of unions. [More…]
It was calculated to allow unions to act with substantial immunity from the consequences of their actions, and to be free to impose bans, strikes and boycotts and to exert intimidation and duress without any legislative deterrent or penalty. [More…]
In fact, unions were made immune from the law. [More…]
Under the Bill unions were to be placed above the law by being granted immunity from the consequences of actions for which other individuals, if they broke the law, would be liable for penalty under the law. [More…]
However, it was an approach which clearly meant that unions in terms of full employment, and employers in less affluent times, could use all the force of intimidation and duress- their blunt, stark naked economic power- to impose conditions on the opposite party which that power enabled them to enforce. [More…]
Accordingly, the community suffers for weeks, until either the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions or plain commonsense comes to bear and brings the dispute to an end. [More…]
Notwithstanding the view put forward last NovemberDecember that a Labor Government could be expected to improve industrial relations because, after all, a Labor Government would know the unions and the unionists better than a Liberal-Country Party Government would, the record is precisely the opposite. [More…]
The grim statistical record prompts the question: Do the unions have to pursue their industrial aims at the cost of such huge losses for the whole of the community? [More…]
At the moment major strikes that are producing near-chaos in certain areas of national life include those by technicians in charge of navigation and landing equipment at Sydney and Canberra Airports, by builders’ labourers in Sydney, by mail officers at Sydney Mail Exchange, and by the power industry unions in New South Wales. [More…]
We have decided to refer our judgment in this matter and these remarks to the Attorney-General for the Commonwealth in the hope that it may be possible, after consultation between Commonwealth and State Attorneys-General, the trade unions, both federal and State, and other interested government authorities to arrange for the examination of the important organisational matters to which we have referred. [More…]
Two unions were calling themselves the same name, one a branch of the other, one with State registration and the other with Federal registration, and each claimed to cover a certain body of workers. [More…]
The officials of each of these unions were at arm’s length and the public were the meat in the sandwich. [More…]
Anyone who compares the final terms of settlement in that dispute with what was offered initially will see that the unions persist in their wage negotiations because they know that the initial offer usually will be increased considerably. [More…]
The more we produce highly educated members of the community the more we can forget about the myth that a trade union secretary or an Australian Council of Trade Unions chieftain is able completely to dominate a particular organisation. [More…]
It could well be that a group of unions in industry will be involved in wage negotiations at the one time. [More…]
The Minister for Labour (Mr Clyde Cameron) when referring to unions and the question of union amalgamation during his second reading speech on this Bill, which is recorded on page 659 of Hansard of 30 August, said: [More…]
He was referring to members of the Opposition - in having 305 unions in Australia when in Germany, with 61 million people, they have only 1 6 unions. [More…]
The Minister went on to develop the point that there ought to be fewer and bigger unions. [More…]
In April when the Bill was first introduced the Minister went to greater lengths to deal with the question of unions, membership and so forth. [More…]
He said that at the end of December 1970 there were 305 separate unions in Australia and that of these 305 unions 152 had fewer than 1,000 members, another 96 had between 1,000 and 5,000 members and 34 had between 5,000 and 20,000 members. [More…]
He said that there were only 14 unions with a membership of over 20,000. [More…]
The truth is that these figures ignore the fact that approximately 65 per cent of unionists are members of 2 1 unions. [More…]
In addition, the drive towards amalgamation is not directed towards absorbing smaller unions or putting smaller unions together to make bigger unions. [More…]
The drive is towards bringing together large and strategically placed unions for the specific purpose of concentrating power in their hands. [More…]
It was proposed at the same time to amalgamate 2 other groups of unionsthose in the building trades and those in the maritime industry. [More…]
The Australian Council of Trade Unions could not do so; nor could the government of the day, short of a showdown that would make the 1949 coal strike look like a Sunday school picnic. [More…]
We have made it abundantly clear that we are not opposed to union amalgamations but what we are opposed to, and will continue to be opposed to, is the amalgamation of unions by stealth. [More…]
It is a matter of history that the amalgamation of the unions which now comprise the Amalgamated Metal Workers Union came about by the votes of a mere handful of people and that the people who counted the votes were involved with those who wanted the amalgamation. [More…]
It was argued then that the unions concerned would get a better service; that members would be better served. [More…]
But because of the way in which some of the regulations have been framed, which treat a branch as if it were something different from the organisation, and because of the complications which arose from the co-existence of the trade unions in the States- I think many honourable senators will be aware of the Moore v Doyle problem- there has arisen the feeling that in some way the branches are different entities or on a different level or are to be treated differently from what is the real legal position, that is, that officers, whether they are of a branch or at the federal level, are all officers of the organisation. [More…]
I remind honourable senators that we are talking about agreements negotiated by unions with employers. [More…]
The classic case concerns the Broken Hill Pty Co. Ltd. That company had been arguing about conditions with the Federated Ironworkers Association, the major union covering the company’s employees, assisted by the craft unions. [More…]
The point I am getting at is that we are considering the question of wages and conditions in a biased and discriminatory way because the registered trade unions will be the only casualties of this magical term ‘in the public interest’. [More…]
What, for example, if a small union in a large factory in which there are other unions which have members performing much the same work, is able to persuade an employer to give, say, a 100 per cent wage increase or 7 weeks annual leave or a 30-hour week and that agreement then comes up for approval- for certification. [More…]
Over the years, in cases in which there would have been complete agreement between an employer and the unions or the employees, we find that there has been an inability on the part of a commissioner to certify an agreement because it would not have been in the public interest. [More…]
We appreciate that the Minister for Labour (Mr Clyde Cameron) has made a great claim, and he has sought to give expression to this claim in various ways in this Bill, that unions should provide for a form of participatory democracy. [More…]
I think that committees of management of unions, knowing that they will have this responsibility, will act responsibly, and that is adequate for the purposes of the legislation. [More…]
A small management committee of one of the smaller unions- it could be half a dozen men- could reach an agreement which is basically unacceptable to the membership, and the members must abide by the agreement. [More…]
In the oil industry or any industry that you care to choose, there could be members of 6 separate unions working within that establishment. [More…]
All unions do not necessarily have the same rules. [More…]
Consequently it might not be so easy as Senator Greenwood might think to secure the approval of the board of management when the various unions involved have different rules. [More…]
We are not concerned about union regulations or how the unions operate; it is the making of agreements that we ask to be put to the members. [More…]
Certainly, any kind of violence, and especially murder, would be disapproved of not only by everyone here but also by the trade unions of Australia which have a reputation of being free of the kind of violence and intimidation which has sometimes occurred in the United States when there has been infiltration from outside. [More…]
In view of this, and in view of many other recent instances of trade union intervention in national affairs, is there good reason to believe that the unions are taking it upon themselves to govern Australia? [More…]
I understand that the trade union movement has been invited to appoint Mr Souter, the Secretary of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, as its representative on that body. [More…]
But the monopoly power of the maritime unions in Australia is being used to impose conditions on Tasmanian trade that threaten to throttle that trade, and it is doing continuing damage to the economy of that trade. [More…]
Because the monopoly maritime unions sought to arrogate to themselves the monopoly in relation to New Zealand trade that they have long exercised with regard to the Australian coastal trade, they picketed the ship and prohibited her from unloading any of the Mazda cars in Hobart unless she returned to Adelaide, delivered the Chryslers back to the Adelaide port and proceeded on. [More…]
That is a perfect illustration of the monopoly control that the maritime unions are exerting with regard to Australian shipping. [More…]
In the interests of slaughtermen in Tasmania who said ‘It is our work to slaughter Tasmanian animals’, the maritime unions combined with the slaughtermen’s union and said that no more livestock would be transported by Bass Strait shipping for 3 months. [More…]
In the interests of Tasmanian shipping we have to come to grips with a correct resolution of this problem of the monopoly menace of the maritime unions. [More…]
I intend to follow this remonstrance and rebuke to the maritime unions today by positive action in the next few months and then we will see whether Senator Poke, who has been interjecting, can do anything more than poke by interjection. [More…]
These things are important because when the maritime unions gracefully released these ships from that boycott yesterday they issued the warning to shipowners that the work belonged to Australian seamen. [More…]
This urgency motion relating to the hours of sitting tomorrow was moved for the sole purpose of capturing the broadcasting time of the Senate and apparently is part of a long campaign on the part of Senator Wright over many years in his concern about the activities of the waterfront unions. [More…]
The waterfront unions have been one of the most efficient sections of the trade union movement. [More…]
This Government has sought to amend the Conciliation and Arbitration Act to enable agreements similar to those entered into by the Waterside Workers Federation to be entered into by other unions. [More…]
The Tasmanian Trades and Labour Council asked the Australian Council of Trade Unions to look into the question and the ACTU Executive determined that in respect of any strike which has the effect of stopping shipping services to Tasmania the participants in the strike are called upon to give particular consideration to the island’s economic position and to take such steps as are practicable and required to cause the least disruption. [More…]
On 31 May the Council sent out circulars notifying those concerned that before any action was taken which would hold up essential supplies to Tasmania the unions concerned must notify the respective Trades and Labour Councils. [More…]
We are asked to attack the trade unions today on the barest of details. [More…]
We also know that the Australian Council of Trade Unions is doing all that is possible to help Tasmania. [More…]
There is justification for giving us power to enter into agreements with unions so that no matter what might be the position with shipping we can guarantee to the workers compensation and redundancy payments. [More…]
The ‘North Esk’ was tied up at Geelong for approximately a month as a result of a dispute which in no way concerned conditions in Tasmania or Tasmanian unions, but which certainly adversely affected a large number of Tasmanians. [More…]
I believe that any Tasmanian would be concerned about the fact that our economic future is being sapped away repeatedly and continually as a result of the actions taken by various unions and perhaps even by some employers. [More…]
Such restriction to be negotiated with the Australian Council of Trade Unions and in the absence of agreement to be such legislative limitation imposed by the Government as is consistent with the preservation of the regularity of the ANL’s freight shipping services to and from Tasmania and the preservation of the right to take some industrial action for the redress of grievances; [More…]
In the same way the number of hours lost as a result of industrial stoppages has doubled since Senator Cavanagh ‘s Government came to office and he cannot blame us for the fact that the Government has not done anything positive to implement a program to combat this, except by capitulating to the unions. [More…]
I do not subscribe in any way at all to any suggestion that all union action is not justified and that unions should never be allowed to strike. [More…]
At the same time one of the great things which the maritime unions of Australia have endeavoured to do over the years is to bring about a greater Australian participation in Australian shipping, especially overseas; and probably the unions initiated the moves that Australian ships and Australian seamen engage in overseas trade. [More…]
The maritime unions have urged the Government for many years to do these sorts of things and now we see the benefit of them. [More…]
The unions have attempted to point out to all the shipping concerns that this is what they would like to see, and I think there is every justification for it. [More…]
The greatest monopoly power in respect of the matter that we are debating today is not the labour unions but the Conference Lines. [More…]
But what he did say was that unless we are prepared to cooperate as much as we can with the trade unions there will be confrontations. [More…]
No one would suggest that Mr Batt’s record on negotiations with the maritime unions in the time he has been the Minister could bring other than credit to him, because we have had periods comparatively free of industrial disputes in Tasmania since Mr Batt has been Minister. [More…]
A union- whether it is the Seamen’s Union, or the Waterside Workers Federation, one of the airline unions or a refuelling union- can do a lot of damage to us. [More…]
We heard previous speakers give details of just how much trouble some of the unions have forced on Tasmania. [More…]
Unions in some cases seem to have very little regard for the shipping service as it affects the people, producers and companies in Tasmania. [More…]
I do not intend to go to great lengths to bash the unions. [More…]
There are a lot of reasonable people in some of the trade unions. [More…]
It was settled in Sydney after a meeting of the unions had received an assurance that the question of Tasmanian trade would be discussed as soon as possible. [More…]
The union delegate on the ‘Poolta’ said that a meeting of unions at Macquarie Wharf had decided to accept the Sydney recommendations. [More…]
The unions have more or less made an agreement that that will be the situation. [More…]
In 1971 the Australian Council of Trade Unions became involved in a commercial enterprise and exercised its influence on some of the biggest trading and manufacturing companies in this country. [More…]
The whole ambit of the Bill is so wide that in the interests of the consumer you, Mr Acting Deputy President, as a former member of the directorate of the Australian Council of Trade Unions Store in Melbourne - [More…]
He makes the point that unions have contributed very basically to Labor Party funds and so those who have the money are able to dictate. [More…]
Has the attention of the Minister for Primary Industry been drawn to reported statements that even if Australian wool growers vote in the affirmative on the question of the export of merino rams, the unions concerned will still refuse to allow the export of any rams? [More…]
In an industry, different unions operate in the same establishment. [More…]
I am not trying to make out that the unions are ultra courteous. [More…]
The unions regard the establishment as belonging to the employer as it does. [More…]
I have tried to show, too, that unions, as more than a general proposition, exercise some degree of courtesy when they enter an establishment. [More…]
Employers recognise shop committees in establishments where there is a multiplicity of unions operating. [More…]
Finally there was a 2-hour stoppage by the members of about 1 1 unions concerned, involving both white collar and blue collar workers, to convince the Botany Municipal Council and the Police Department that their failure to provide adequate parking facilities and to provide a policeman on duty was constituting a hazard. [More…]
The Parliament decides that the unions should have the right of inspection to ensure that awards are being observed. [More…]
Unions adopt different techniques in trying to overcome the problem raised where an individual is genuine in his beliefs. [More…]
Do you, Mr ex-Attorney-General, know on how many occasions unions and employers are in conference, they cannot resolve a particular difficulty, they do not want to apply to the Industrial Court, so they seek the assistance of a judge of the Industrial Court to resolve their difficulties? [More…]
The trade unions believe that an injury to one is the concern of all. [More…]
It would never be the attitude of the trade unions. [More…]
Senator Greenwood interjected during the discussion of the previous amendments with the jibe that under this Government there would be no prosecutions of unions. [More…]
Of course, the important question on this is the right of the trade unions. [More…]
If there is to be confidence by the trade unions in conciliation and arbitration they should be able to accept that this is a court for their purposes as much as for the purposes of the employer and for the public interest. [More…]
Here we have a court specifically created for the consideration of problems concerned with trade unions. [More…]
As a matter of fact, I have part of a transcript here which I propose to read to the Committee in order to highlight the sort of indignity which I believe representatives of trade unions should be spared. [More…]
This strikes me as a matter which is not calculated to build up the confidence of the unions in this Court. [More…]
Today the trade unions expect to provide appointees to these positions. [More…]
The unions have every confidence in the inspectors who bring down the wrath of the unions at times when the unions do not get what they think they should have got. [More…]
The position then applying worked satisfactorily for many years until, I think, a person who opposed the amalgamation of 3 unions to form the Amalgamated Metal Workers Union applied for financial assistance. [More…]
Of course, it must be remembered that the section applies to employer organisations as well as unions. [More…]
Clause 69-1 think this is the last one we are taking in this group- relates to alterations to the rules of amalgamating unions. [More…]
Many statements have been made, largely by Labor spokesmen, about the desirability of reducing the number of unions. [More…]
The Minister can correct me but my recollection is that there are about 300 unions including the small craft unions. [More…]
This honourable senator has a hatred for the unions which amalgamated to form the Australian Metal Workers Union. [More…]
His reasons why we should not endorse such amalgamations were based on allegations he made of corruption, of failure to hold ballots and so on in the metal trade unions. [More…]
I think that it is important that assistance be given to unions to amalgamate when amalgamation is possible. [More…]
There are many small unions in Australia today. [More…]
As has been stated, I think that employers would rather deal with one large union in a particular industry than with a number of smaller unions. [More…]
If he believes in this silly statement, how does he reconcile the fact that China does not have any opposition party and does not have unions or allow strikes? [More…]
It refers to a recently reported statement by Mr Hawke, President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions and Federal President of the Australian Labor Party that taxation should be significantly increased in the immediate months ahead, an advocacy identical with that of the Federal Government’s economic adviser, Dr Coombs. [More…]
The short answer to the honourable senator’s question is that the Australian Government wants laws in the industrial field, including those applying to trade unions, which conform with the international standards and which conform with what has been evolved and set out in our policy over the years. [More…]
Senator Hannan expressed great opposition to the amalgamation of the metal trades unions in Australia. [More…]
Of course, honourable senators know that although the previous Government made it extremely difficult for trade unions to amalgamate when it introduced the last amendments to the Conciliation and Arbitration Act even that Government was not prepared to legislate so as to prevent the amalgamation of the metal trades unions. [More…]
I think that employers today approve of the fact that as a result of the amalgamation of the metal trade unions they have only one organisation with which to deal. [More…]
Demarcation disputes can mean the abolition or annihilation of the unions concerned. [More…]
The defeat of the proposed amendments put forward by the Government will make no difference to the amalgamation of the metal trades unions which is the union concerned in the only complaint that Senator Hannan has raised against the clauses we are now discussing. [More…]
However, at no time did he tell us where an amalgamation of the building trades unions, for example, would be detrimental. [More…]
Also, if these unions were amalgamated one small section of the industry would not be able to impose green bans. [More…]
It is not likely that a union so full of integrity as Senator Cavanagh suggests would dare to mislead the Australian Council of Trade Unions when it says it has 32,000 members and then allege that it has notified all its members and sent them ballot papers when it sends out only 2 1 ,000 papers. [More…]
The allegation that the amalgamation of unions will reduce demarcation disputes is sheer nonsense. [More…]
Most of the disputes or at least as many disputes now occur inside unions as to who should be doing certain jobs as occur between competing unions. [More…]
So if the Government is going to eliminate demarcation disputes by permitting amalgamations, why on earth would the unions put such a clause into their agreement? [More…]
Some of my colleagues, who are not here with me at the moment, are financial members of unions. [More…]
My information is that communists of one type or another would be a decided minority on the Federal council of the amalgamated unions. [More…]
He said that his association raised no objection to the amalgamation of metal trades unions and it was his intention to convey that information to Mr Lynch, the Minister for Labour. [More…]
The reduction in the number of unions with which the MTIA and its members have to deal is a significant advantage. [More…]
Mr Lynch showed quite clearly that far from being some little conspiracy foisted on the great mass of the members of these unions by a few authoritarian union leaders there was a long and carefully drawn out series of negotiations about which the members were fully informed. [More…]
Senator Hannan has made much of the fact that he considers that a small percentage of the members of each of those unions actually voted on the amalgamation proceedings. [More…]
This also is analysed by Mr Lynch who pointed out the percentage of members of the 3 unions who voted in the ballots. [More…]
The percentage of the members of the unions who voted were: AEU, 9 per cent; Boilermakers and Blacksmiths Society 40 per cent; and Sheetmetal Working Union 36 per cent. [More…]
A more instructive commentary on the feelings of the rank and file of these unions is that it was always open to any member of these unions throughout the period when amalgamation was being discussed to take proceedings under section 141 of the Act to prevent the amalgamation from taking place. [More…]
It was only at the very last moment that a couple of members of one of the unions- who were obviously inspired by an outside organisation- made the belated attempt to take these proceedings. [More…]
I appeal to Senator Hannan to look at the question of amalgamation of unions in a larger frame than that of his prejudice against the fait accompli of the Amalgamated Metal Workers Union. [More…]
But I repeat that there have been some unfortunate conflicts between the 2 transport workers ‘ unions in which working time has been lost. [More…]
He questioned whether some employers are as fair to some of the smaller unions as they should be. [More…]
Therefore, the employers might not be averse to getting a bit tough with these unions. [More…]
If Senator Hannan is concerned, as he claims he is, about some of the smaller unions he could well and truly see that if they became part of a big trade union they might have more protective devices. [More…]
In the terminology of other unions, such meetings are called sub-branch meetings. [More…]
That is why on occasions- this is accepted by many employers- the unions would sooner hold a stoppage and everyone be there, even those people who say that if they do go along they might not be able to stop someone who goes a little too far in his agitation. [More…]
I have never seen a major trade union dispute yet, whether it be within one trade union or within a group of trade unions on a site in which the position was as plain as black and white. [More…]
The present honourable member for Darling in the other place, Mr Fitzpatrick, was the minute secretary of the combined unions in the Mining Industry. [More…]
I make this appeal to Senator Hannan in regard to his fears about the merger of the metal trade unions killing trade union democracy. [More…]
But as anybody here who has had anything to do with trade unions knows, we do not live in an ideal trade union community. [More…]
Ernie Thornton had amalgamated a number of unions in the ironworkers field. [More…]
On the basis of the success of that amalgamation which resulted in one of the most corrupt unions from the ballot point of view that we have ever had in this country and which resulted in a union where a communist boss dominated everybody, as Senator Mulvihill knows, Ernie Thornton dealt it out to Laurie Short. [More…]
On the basis of this success the Communist Party began a big drive for the amalgamation of trade unions. [More…]
In those days, although it was a policy on the books of the Australian Council of Trade Unions to have amalgamations, just as it is now, the leaders of the ACTU were as cold as ice in regard to amalgamations because they knew what they would lead to. [More…]
In those days we even had the position that the trade unions, such as they are in the Soviet Union, announced that in their view amalgamation was bad for any system of trade unions. [More…]
Having had big amalgamated unions, they determined to decentralise the whole of the trade union movement in that country. [More…]
One of the troubles with big amalgamations is that the unions become so big that the only way to run them is to have a very large measure of executive control. [More…]
What percentage of the members voted in the famous amalgamation of the metal trades unions? [More…]
The only other point that needs to be made relates to the history of the big amalgamated unions in other countries.. Go to Great Britain and ask about the Transport and General Workers Union and about democracy in the Amalgamated Engineering Union. [More…]
It happens in right wing unions as well as in left wing unions. [More…]
That has been the experience and that is why even the Russians turned round and said that they would decentralise the trade unions. [More…]
I thought that the way of dealing with demarcation disputes was determined by the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
If they can get 5 big unions like that in a country like Australia, where the average of trade union membership is the highest in the world, and can arrange, as is normally done, for the secretary or man in charge of the amalgamated union to be a communist, they are well on the way to controlling the whole of the economic life of the country. [More…]
Lance Sharkey said repeatedly in his book on the blueprint for the Communist Party in this country that the communists must seek to amalgamate the trade unions and then must use the shop steward movement for the purpose of achieving their ends. [More…]
Senator Hannan has one obsession- the amalgamation of the metal trade unions. [More…]
We have to work out regulations for trade unions which are for the benefit of the unionists, whoever they might be. [More…]
Even members of the Democratic Labor Party have been known to be members of trade unions. [More…]
The court found that while it could point to some imperfections because possibly there was not strict adherence to the rules there was insufficient departure from the rules of the unions amalgamating in the metal trades area to justify any interference with the ballot. [More…]
Ernie Thornton became Secretary of the Union after amalgamation of right wing unions- the ammunition workers union and the ironworkers union. [More…]
He was not displaced because of the amalgamation of the unions; he was displaced by the court. [More…]
It let other unions form. [More…]
I do not know why the amalgamation in that area denies us the right, in Senator Hannan ‘s mind, to allow other unions to amalgamate. [More…]
Because there might be a communist and at one time there was a communist Secretary of the Ironworkers Association, the DLP will not support the principle of amalgamation even of unions which do not have communists in control of them. [More…]
I also produce my Australian Council of Trade Unions card which entitles me to shop at Mr Hawke ‘s store- Bourkes. [More…]
Mr Morgan, who was accepting the amalgamation with such facilityhe found it so easy to accept the amalgamationwas in the course of making a sweetheart arrangement with the metal trades unions. [More…]
I refer him to the genuine sinister outside influences which have been the real motivating factor behind the amalgamation of the heavy unions in Australia. [More…]
When this debate began I said that there could well be reason why some of the 3 1 6 trade unions in Australia should amalgamate with one another. [More…]
Of course, Sharkey, who would be no stranger to honourable senators, said in his book: ‘We must destroy the craft unions. [More…]
As I had occasion to remark when discussing this Bill on a previous occasion, we have some grounds for hoping, on reading the speeches in the other place of Mr Malcolm Fraser, that this moderate approach is beginning to take root among the Opposition and that it is beginning io dawn on it that union bashing and vilification and wild frenzied talk about anything to do with unions may be unproductive. [More…]
He referred to the extent to which the democractisation of unions could go. [More…]
He referred also to whether the unions would have to take on additional administrative staff. [More…]
The other point I wish to make is that the small segments that the Federated Ironworkers Association and the Waterside Workers Federation wanted to absorb, were so insignificant that they would not disturb the balance of power within the large unions. [More…]
I can well remember the time of the one man bus dispute in Melbourne when, after penalties had been imposed by the Industrial Court, the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission, first by a commissioner and then by the Full Bench, took off the ban on strikes and limitations of work because it took the view that, in the circumstances, it was unjust that the unions should be penalised. [More…]
The advertisement is sponsored by the Australian Teachers Federation, the Australian Council of State Schools Organisations, the Australian Council of Salaried and Professional Associations, the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the Australian Union of Students. [More…]
The Government is saying: ‘We will ask the people by referendum on 8 December to give us powers over prices and incomes- although, in fact, because the trade unions and the left wing will not let us, we will not use the incomes power’. [More…]
The Conciliation and Arbitration Bill was an enormous Bill, and again it has wide repercussions in the whole field of trade unionism and in the relations between the trade unions, industry and commerce. [More…]
There are no free trade unions in China. [More…]
1 was amazed to hear what was said on this matter by the doubting Thomases in this chamber because not so long ago when we had several debates on trade unionism the whole crux of the Opposition’s argument was that there should be little unions and not big ones. [More…]
We talk a lot of rubbish about limited democracy and Opposition senators sermonise about little unions having rights along with big unions. [More…]
They say that they do not believe in the amalgamation of unions. [More…]
I have been on the executive of the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
I often hear Ministers, when they want to get their way on matters involving credit unions, old peoples homes and the like, say to the people concerned: If you attempt to interfere with the Bill at all you will lose the lot’. [More…]
Using the same analogy I can remember that when a proposition was put forward here by way of legislation to establish a meat board my colleague, Senator Mulvihill, moved an amendment saying that of the appointments that were to be made by the Minister one should be appointed by the Minister from the trade unions represented in the meat industry. [More…]
The Committee also made representations to the Australian and State governments for the establishment of Race Relations Boards to administer legislation which would prohibit discrimination on grounds of race in respect of the provision or sale of goods, facilities or services, employment and conditions of employment, membership of trade unions and similar organisations, the purchase, sale or rental of housing accommodation, and the availability of business premises. [More…]
Has the Government noted the decision of the Executive of the Australian Council of Trade Unions to apply next month for an increase of about $10 a week in the total wage? [More…]
It is made up of either legal people or people who have come from unions and who have never had to deal with the problem of running a hard working business in their lives. [More…]
The unions would not have it. [More…]
At the Australian Council of Trade Union conferences small unions get representation out of all proportion to the big unions. [More…]
It appears to me however that members of the Opposition complain bitterly when any trade union leader, including the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, Mr Bob Hawke, appears on television to express the point of view of the industrial organisation by which he has been elected. [More…]
I take the opportunity of reminding the honourable senator that one of the objectives of the Government in its proposals to amend the Conciliation and Arbitration Act was to make it easier for the amalgamation of unions to take place. [More…]
If our attitude had been accepted, there would be more chance of avoiding problems which arise from demarcation issues than is the case at the present time, because it is harder to settle a demarcation issue when separate unions are operating in a certain field than would be the case if those unions were joined together. [More…]
We teachers always fought for the right to have our own nominees, just as trade unions fight for the right to have their own nominees. [More…]
I have listened to Opposition speakers repeatedly talking about rank and file control in the trade unions. [More…]
The Chairman and the Executive Member will be full-time members, the Secretary, Department of Minerals and Energy will be a part-time member and there will be two other part-time members including a representative of the trade unions. [More…]
Overseas interests control many companies in Australia; migrants control no unions in Australia. [More…]
The Government has introduced legislation to limit overseas control of companies and to promote democracy in unions. [More…]
There was discussion with the airline operators on this matter and representations were received from some unions and/or staff associations. [More…]
After consideration of all aspects the Government decided not to proceed with the proposed industrial agreement and the airline operators, unions/staff associations concerned have been informed to this effect. [More…]
Will the Minister agree that the Post Office, which falls under his ministerial responsibility, should be run by the Government and not by the postal unions? [More…]
What is the Minister’s reaction to the claim of the unions that because they have banned all Saturday work their members should now receive an increase in wages to compensate them for the loss of their Saturday earnings? [More…]
The Leader of the Australian Democratic Labor Party will know that Mr Bowen has been negotiating with the unions on these matters for some considerable time. [More…]
I believe they show only hypocrisy when they talk about Solzhenitsyn but have not a word to say about the treatment of the African National Congress in South Africa, the South African Congress of Trade Unions or about the Socialist Party or Christian Democrats in Spain or about Wilfred Burchett. [More…]
It has done so by increasing interest rates, by refusing to seek the co-operation of all sections of the community- be they Commonwealth institutions, State governments, employers, unions and consumers- and it has shown itself totally incapable of responsibly managing the economy. [More…]
I over-reacted to the extent that major trade unions in New South Wales and Victoria indicated that pressure being put on these insurance companies had resulted in overdue payments of outstanding claims. [More…]
Senator Gietzelt has argued in the past for rank and file democracy in the unions. [More…]
Honourable senators opposite are critical of the trade unions. [More…]
Unless this Government representing the national interest can induce the unions and the employers to get together to determine a system which will give the ordinary worker justice from a wage point of view, and ensure that the general interests of the community are preserved, within 8 months we will be in the same position as is Great Britain. [More…]
In an endeavour to smash the arbitration system the unions concerned jacked up. [More…]
He said that what would happen would be that when they made those agreements and obtained those concessions, other unions which regard the metal industry award as the yardstick would seek similar flow on agreements. [More…]
Sadly, the rule of law is being breached by communists such as Jack Mundey who glory in the fact that their unions are holding up building projects. [More…]
If the Government accedes to the request of the postal workers it will mean that railwaymen and members of other unions will have the right to decide their hours of work. [More…]
If the Government concedes to the postal workers the right to decide their own working hours it will have to concede that other unions also have the right. [More…]
Experience has shown that when a government gives way to one union on a matter like that other unions will enter the field and say: ‘If it is good enough for the postal workers to decide their own hours of work it is good enough for us’. [More…]
-I ask the Minister representing the Minister for Labour whether it has come to his notice that combined action by 1 1 unions has caused a complete shutdown of the manufacturing works at Risdon of the Electrolytic Zinc Co. of Australasia at a time when the demand for zinc is strong and the demand for fertilizer is urgent. [More…]
Further, insofar as federal unions are concerned and as the matter affects interstate and foreign transport- ships have left the port half loaded since the shutdownwill he give an assurance that every effort will be made by the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission to get that dispute resolved at once? [More…]
I do not know the claims of the unions. [More…]
I would then go out and urge the trade unions into higher and higher bids for over award wages. [More…]
Not only that, he was learning how to manipulate unions as he did during his industrial career. [More…]
Senator O’Byrne, you must not reflect upon another senator by saying that he manipulates unions. [More…]
I am answering the question about the tendency of unions these days. [More…]
In these days of inflation the tendency for unions and workers in all countries- including West Germany, which has had a wonderful record of industrial peace since the war, other European countries and England most recently- is to attempt to use the market to increase wages. [More…]
Mr Clyde Cameron, the Minister for Labour, as the Senate knows, has been meeting representatives of the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the Australian Council of Salaried and Professional Associations, and other people, in an endeavour to achieve arrangements to increase the amount of industrial peace in relation to national wage applications. [More…]
In the case where unions A, B, C and D are employed in that undertaking and unions A, B and C cause the unemployment of the members of union D, are members of union D whose unemployment has been caused by strike action at the undertaking entitled to unemployment benefit? [More…]
I do not know the unions involved and I do not know the unions affected although not involved. [More…]
We wonder whether the trade unions are running the country or whether the Government is doing so. [More…]
In this regard I refer to the postal unions. [More…]
After the Postmaster-General made the announcement regarding Saturday mail deliveries, the unions decided what they would then do, and they issued instructions that all official post offices throughout Australia would not open on Saturday mornings. [More…]
But the unions went further than that. [More…]
It was not long before the unions declared that if any of these small businesses took on this work for the Postmaster-General, several things would happen. [More…]
Firstly, the unions would see to it that the shops concerned did not receive the supplies of stamps, postal notes and the raw materials necessary to do business with the public. [More…]
The unions would also place a black ban on the businesses concerned. [More…]
So after trying for a week or so to have the service accepted the Postmaster-General himself had to capitulate to the postal unions. [More…]
A matter which I mentioned earlier in my speech is the dictation by the trade unions as to how the Government shall run this country. [More…]
In Brisbane the unions concerned are saying that a certain insurance building shall not be constructed. [More…]
It so happens that the unions have picked on the Australian Mutual Provident Society. [More…]
The unions are saying what buildings can be built, what buildings are to be pulled down or not pulled down and where there should be green belts. [More…]
The unions also have introduced sanctions against foreign governments in regard to ships, planes and even mail coming to our shores. [More…]
I believe that sooner or later there has to be a showdown as to who governs this country- the Commonwealth Government and the State governments or the trade unions. [More…]
The trade unions claim to have a say in the way of life in this country. [More…]
I do not believe it is right that a group of trade unions should dictate or attempt to dictate to established governments in this country. [More…]
We have had the spectacle of certain trade unions having an argument with France over atomic testing. [More…]
The other day an aeroplane from a South American country was blacklisted for a few days because a group of unions believed that that country was doing something of what they did not approve. [More…]
Is it the trade unions or the respective governments?’ [More…]
The fact that trade unions today are applying green bans and deciding that something ought to be done in certain areas is unacceptable to those people who formerly comprised a government which had all its policies made for it by organisations and people outside this chamber. [More…]
The big unions are capable now of terrorising the community in a way that a big employer or big organisation cannot do. [More…]
I heard Senator Lawrie refer to the control taken over building by certain unions. [More…]
The unions decide what shall go up and what shall not go up. [More…]
This scarcity of labour has put the unions in a position of pressure and of bargaining with a consequent interruption of services and goods. [More…]
Is it true that a special report on telecommunications security was delivered to Senator Murphy by the Union of Postal Clerks and Telegraphists and the Postal Telecommunications Technicians Association of New South Wales in which they urged the Federal Government to establish, amongst other things, a special debugging squad to check out all telephones of parliamentarians and unions? [More…]
I ask the Minister whether strike action, which is so prevalent and is paralysing industry, at the instance of not merely that union but also the zinc workers in Hobart and the railwaymen throughout the country, has yet reached the stage where the Government is prepared to take any action to bring these disputes into the arbitration field, or is the Government acquiescing in this campaign on the part of many unions to gain increases by blackmail rather than arbitration? [More…]
He has talked to the Australian Council of Trade Unions and to the Australian Council of Salaried and Professional Associations. [More…]
I want to say, as I have said before, that however well intentioned a government may be in attempting to get conciliatory solutions to things such as are happening today, the situation is that prices are rising rapidly and there is an almost automatic response among a number of trade unions and workers who want to get the best they can while the market is good and while prices are rising. [More…]
If he receives a pay increase of $5 a week, one can bet that at least half of it will go to the Australian Government and the other half will be eaten up by the higher costs which have been caused by the excessive demands made by the unions and the Labor Government. [More…]
Many organisations insure with Federation Insurance Ltd, including some trade unions. [More…]
Why do we not go a little further and look at the operations of the Australian Council of Trade Unions? [More…]
It also makes allowance for financial assistance for certain persons outside Australia not qualified to receive an Australian social service pension and provides for payment of child endowment, pensions and similar long term benefits to the credit of savings accounts with approved credit unions and also the payment of pensions and similar long term benefits to the credit of bank accounts, as has been the case with child endowment since its introduction in 1 94 1 . [More…]
It is proposed that payment of child endowment be made to the credit of saving accounts with approved credit unions. [More…]
Incidentally, I notice that we are making some arrangement about the payment of child endowment through credit unions. [More…]
If the Australian Council of Trade Unions- as a member of 2 unions I happen to be a financial subscriber to that organisationwas the honest body that it used to be under the leadership of Albert Monk, it would not be pushing this economically crazy proposal at this point in the economic history of this country. [More…]
When Government senators come in here and legal representatives of the unions go into the arbitration courts to argue the wage concept, they argue the other way; they say that wages are lagging behind. [More…]
We are going to make it possible to pay it to credit unions’. [More…]
But that situation could arise not only if we have fuel in the bowsers or in the ground in Australia but also, even if we have fuel, under the great conciliation programs of a government that said: ‘Put us in and there will be no strikes because we understand the trade unions’. [More…]
Did I not hear the mining unions say in response to the British mining unions that they would not be willing to export coal to Britain or to Europe? [More…]
I wonder what would be the Commonwealth Government’s policy on the export of coal to Britain and to Europe if the mining unions said they would oppose such exports. [More…]
Of course those senators who are interested in this type of law- and I claim to be one of those- spent time during the recess seeking the advice of unions and trade associations. [More…]
It is true that on the last occasion I spoke on this matter it was suggested that the Australian Council of Trade Unions had been or had wanted to be involved in a similar situation. [More…]
All donations that we get from the trade union movement- we accept them and we will always accept them because, after all, the trade unions created the Australian Labor Party- come from individual unions. [More…]
It was solely an exercise so that the consumers, the members of the trade unions, might get cheaper goods and cheaper holidays. [More…]
We have seen repeatedly in the past in this chamber and elsewhere allegations that there is something wrong with the Australian Labor Party because it has affiliated with the trade unions. [More…]
Require trade unions to conduct Court supervised, secret ballot of its members before resorting to strike actions. [More…]
However, in regard to work opportunities and the effect on employment, I give an undertaking on behalf of my Department that in the first place I will be having discussions with interested unions, and more particularly with the Australian Journalists Association, of which I am a member, on any policy objectives that may accrue from the discussions that are taking place. [More…]
The Committee also conducted surveys of the attitudes and views of employers, Trade Unions, the public at large, and current and ex-members of the CMF. [More…]
It deals with discrimination so far as it concerns access to places and facilities, the provision of land, housing and other accommodation, the provision of goods and services, the right to join trade unions and employment. [More…]
There are, of course, hundreds of unions and other organisations which support our health insurance program, many of them no doubt for reasons of ideology and because our proposals offer a materially better deal for their members. [More…]
-I ask the Minister representing the Minister for Labour Is it a fact that some trade union officials are paid wages and overtime by trade unions when those unions are involved in strike action? [More…]
If this is so, how does this practice align itself with that of workers and members of those unions who receive no pay while on strike? [More…]
I dwell on that point because I am sick and tired of Opposition members bleating about rank and file control of trade unions. [More…]
The Registrar of the Industrial Courts has far more control over trade unions than have the rank and file members of the HCF and the MBF over these funds. [More…]
To allay the concern of social security recipients as to their future when in 1975 the means test has been abolished and replaced by a National Superannuation Act that there be an assurance by the Australian Government that the said Act will provide a guaranteed minimum income to social security recipients based on the policy of the Australian Commonwealth Pensioners’ Federation and that of the Australian Council of Trade Unions namely, the payment of 30 per cent of average weekly earnings adjusted from time to time in accordance with figures issued by the Commonwealth Statistician and published quarterly. [More…]
Let us allow the power of the unions to be able to determine what shall be the result in any industrial disputation. [More…]
It is true that yesterday Dr Cairns had consultations with representatives of the Australian Council of Trade Unions in respect of textile imports. [More…]
It is up to the Government and the unions to ensure that women work under the best possible conditions. [More…]
This so-called Labor Government disregards even the calls of its own unions. [More…]
As a third step, this Party said to the trade unions: ‘Do not take any notice of compulsory arbitration. [More…]
So it hurts when I say that 8 main steps, in a calculated fashion, have been taken by the Australian Labor Party- each one of them acknowledged by the Labor Party tonight- to create a situation in which, to repeat the trade unions’ views, there will be 200,000 unemployed by the end of this year. [More…]
Can the Minister inform the Senate when pensioners will be able to have their war pensions or service pensions paid into savings accounts of credit unions? [More…]
Most of the administrative problems which prevented the payment of repatriation pensions into savings accounts of credit unions earlier have now been overcome. [More…]
It was considered that this would suit trade unions and management. [More…]
The legislation and the standard of legislation for which the trade unions have fought for decades must be maintained and even improved. [More…]
This is the result, we must suppose, of a Government which was elected on the assertion that it knew best how to deal with the unions. [More…]
One can make the cynical comment that it knew best all right, because the best way to deal with the unions is to give them everything they want and not to have any system of conciliation and arbitration which may protect the public interest. [More…]
They are small groups in remote areas who are not able to speak up with the force with which the major unions in this country can speak. [More…]
We have unions which have been given the green light to make their demands and to achieve whatever they ask with the support of Government. [More…]
No less than 10,000 tons of steel are at that terminal purely and simply because of a conflict between 2 trade unions about who should be despatching that commodity from that area. [More…]
Not only is it incompetent to deal with the trade unions in that area but also it has allowed the trade union movement to take the foreign policy of Australia out of the Government’s hands. [More…]
I have asked him to see what he can do about arriving at some sort of an arrangement between the 2 unions involved. [More…]
I suggest that the Government should consider the proposition put forward by the Liberal and Country Parties during the election campaign and look at the leadership of some of these unions. [More…]
I say honestly that, amongst many sections of the community, unions are failing their members and leaders of industry are also failing because nobody is prepared to tell the hard, cold truth. [More…]
The Government, leaders of industry and trade unions are not only failing their own members but also failing Australia. [More…]
On the one hand we have the attitude, which Senator Lawrie has put forward, that it is the fault of the unions. [More…]
On the other hand, the unions claim that producers are withholding stock from the market. [More…]
In addition to having Post Office employees available, I also instructed one of my assistants- a Minister’s assistant- who has some experience in industrial affairs to confer with the Amalgamated Postal Workers Union and other unions. [More…]
In addition, Mr Don Hancock, the officer whom I have mentioned, has been talking with the Postal Workers Union and the other unions concerned and, as a result of these talks, he has introduced new and urgent measures at the North Sydney Post Office, the Vaucluse Post Office, the Randwick Post Office and the Baulkham Hills Post Office. [More…]
To allay the concern of social security recipients as to their future when in 1975 the means test has been abolished and replaced by a National Superannuation Act that there be an assurance by the Australian Government that the said Act will provide a guaranteed minimum income to social security recipients based on the policy of the Australian Commonwealth Pensioners’ Federation and that of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, namely, the payment of 30 per cent of average weekly earnings adjusted from time to time in accordance with figures issued by the Commonwealth Statistician and published quarterly. [More…]
I refer to an article which appears in the Australian’ of today’s date and which states that the Minister for Defence will be leaving Australia next week to visit Germany and that while there he will study the union concept in West Germany where trades unions are permitted to operate in its military organisations. [More…]
There have been some reported moves on the part of servicemen to form their own unions, although such moves have not developed. [More…]
There is always a great deal of talk in this chamber from the Opposition benches about the need to have secret ballots in trade unions, the need to keep an eye on what trade unionists do in their day to day activities and the need to have agreements, which are certified by a court, in relation to trade unions and so on. [More…]
Let nobody fail to note what happened in the United Kingdom in recent days when trade unions said they would starve patients out of private wards to enforce standard wards upon the people. [More…]
This practice which occurred in the United Kingdom the other day was characterised by trade unions saying: ‘We will starve private ward patients out of private wards to force them into standard wards.’ [More…]
I understand that the Waterside Workers Federation is prepared to go to the disputes committee of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, but the TWU will not agree to that course of action. [More…]
-I know that officers of the Australian Conciliation and Arbitration Commission had discussions with the 2 unions. [More…]
On Friday last the Premier of South Australia met representatives of at least one of the unions. [More…]
To allay the concern of social security recipients as to their future when in 1975 the means test has been abolished and replaced by a National Superannuation Act that there be an assurance by the Australian Government that the said Act will provide a guaranteed minimum income to social security recipients based on the policy of the Australian Commonwealth Pensioners’ Federation and that of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, namely, the payment of 30 per cent of average weekly earnings adjusted from time to time in accordance with figures issued by the Commonwealth Statistician and published quarterly. [More…]
The legislation will thus gather within its provisions corporations which may be generally described as finance companies, permanent building societies, merchant banks and money market groups, including the authorised dealers in the short term money market, pastoral finance companies and credit unions. [More…]
It is estimated that there are operating in Australia about 1,000 finance company groups, 200 permanent building societies, 750 credit unions, and somewhere between 50 and 80 corporations operating generally in the merchant banking area. [More…]
I have been in a variety of unions in my time and I do not know too many people, perhaps including most honourable senators, who would seek a job within 5 or 5Vi months if they were guaranteed 6 months pay. [More…]
To allay the concern of social security recipients as to their future when in 1 975 the means test has been abolished and replaced by a National Superannuation Act that there be an assurance by the Australian Government that the said Act will provide a guaranteed minimum income to social security recipients based on the policy of the Australian Commonwealth Pensioners’ Federation and that of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, namely, the payment of 30 per cent of average weekly earnings adjusted from lime to time in accordance with figures issued by the Commonwealth Statistician and published quarterly. [More…]
In view of the hostile reception given to the mini-Budget through the media by industry, commerce, trade unions and the public generally, does the Government not have doubts that its new economic policies are the right ones or does the Government believe that these people have committed an error of judgment? [More…]
1 might add that a number of matters have been put to me by the unions which will have members working in this building and, together with the DirectorGeneral of Posts and Telegraphs, I hope to have talks with the unions on the actual operation of the installation when it is completed. [More…]
In view of protests made yesterday by workers at Government factories in Melbourne expressing concern that trade unions and workers have been excluded from talks on alternative work, will the Minister in future ensure that workers have representation at all discussions on these matters? [More…]
As soon as that became evident the Minister for Defence, Mr Barnard, advised the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the unions concerned of the cuts and what might happen. [More…]
Senator Primmer might remember that, together with Mr Barnard, I took part in the talks with the unions, and as a result of those talks the so-called cuts were held. [More…]
Because attention was drawn to this circumstance again this year the unions again came along, I think considering that there were to be some new cuts. [More…]
Perhaps Senator Wriedt might like to add to what I am saying, but the Government and the Minister in particular have met the officials of the unions and are taking whatever steps they can to ensure that in relation to these matters there will be minimum effect on the work force. [More…]
Indeed, as I have said, I wish to study the newspaper headlines to ascertain the lead the Prime Minister has given, the attitude of the Prime Minister, of the various unions, and perhaps of the chambers of commerce and the relationship of the report of the Tribunal to the business activity of the community. [More…]
Parliamentarians are being used as part of a manoeuvre and as part of a case to be placed before the State governments and trade unions- and here again I use the same argument- and this will be an empty gesture because no one group can unilaterally take such a decision and expect that other areas, groups of people or organisations will follow suit. [More…]
If by what the honourable senator suggests he can obtain co-operation and restraint from the States whether from State politicianslook at what they have been doing lately- State public servants or State unions, I will go along with that suggestion. [More…]
If this motion is passed I ask: How can we refuse the unions their demands which, by comparison, are quite small? [More…]
-I think I could say that the policy referred to by the honourable senator is what might be called a platform policy which will be put before the Moore conference in the early part of next month with the idea of seeing whether the employers and the unions will accept what the Minster for Labor and Immigration calls, and the Government suggests should be, a package deal. [More…]
Related to this proposition is the question that the honourable senator raises about what happens if there are applications by unions for particular awards. [More…]
It is presumed that in the package deal it would be recognised that trade unions and other people would be able to come to settlements by agreement or through the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission in relation to claims based on technology, changes in industry, differential rates and so on. [More…]
I think that the extent to which the Minister will be prepared to move from that concept will depend on the response he gets from the employers and the unions and the report that he gets from the conference. [More…]
Does any part of the package deal which the Minister has said he intends to submit to the labour conference cover the question of restraint by unions in enforcing wage demands by strikes? [More…]
To my knowledge, many disputes occur because unions and workers seek new pay levels because they claim that inflation has eaten into their present levels. [More…]
If the unions accept that position there will be a cost of living adjustment which will be translated into basic wages at a certain proposed level. [More…]
But I think that the options are open for a movement to be made in the conference if the unions react to this. [More…]
In my home State many of the big art unions will be put out of business. [More…]
The Minister for Aboriginal Affairs (Senator Cavanagh) journeyed from here last weekend to Adelaide and said the unions would take no notice of the example set by this Senate and the Australian Parliament in asking for wage restraint in Australia. [More…]
Throughout Australia so many unions are operating in the Post Office field that it becomes an impossible financial burden to keep supply up to demand. [More…]
As it would seem that the Federal Government, the South Australian State Government and the Australian Council of Trade Unions are unable to effect a speedy solution to this problem, will the Minister authorise the Army to effect delivery of this urgently required steel to contractors because I understand that unless this material is delivered very soon unemployment will be the result? [More…]
I was interested to learn that in March of this year the unions negotiated bonus wages on this project. [More…]
The next question which apparently is a matter of concern related to some demand by the unions for an extra allowance for this job. [More…]
It is estimated by the Treasurer (Mr Crean) that there are operating in Australia about 1,000 finance company groups which are involved in the monetary scene very much, 200 permanent building societies which have been taking increasing shares of deposit money over the past few years, 750 credit unions and credit cooperatives the expansion of which is a growing feature of the monetary scene, between 50 and 80 corporations operating generally in the merchant banking area under the 2 general heads of acceptance houses and issuing houses. [More…]
In Australia today there are operating 1,000 finance company groups, 400 insurance companies, 200 permanent building societies, 750 credit unions and somewhere between 50 and 80 corporations in the merchant banking area. [More…]
They comprise about 1,000 financial groups, 400 insurance companies, 750 credit unions and, in the area in which I am interested as far as this Bill is concerned, about 200 permanent building societies. [More…]
The people involved in credit unions and permanent building societies have also taken this action. [More…]
So there has developed a nonbanking area- an area of finance companies, insurance companies, building societies, credit unions and merchant banks, now totalling a substantial majority of the commercial credit area. [More…]
As the Minister could not give me a definite answer on that occasion, and because of the great number of strikes at present, I now ask: Do union officials receive any payment during a strike or do they forfeit their pay in the same way as the other members of their unions during a strike period? [More…]
As Senator Cavanagh has reminded me, during disputes and troubles of that nature or arbitration proceedings the secretaries of unions are involved in performing much more arduous duties and in greater expenditure than they would be ordinarily. [More…]
In no way has this Government at this stage commented on the statement by Mr Mundey a few days ago in which he called on this nation’s trade unions to hold a national strike later this year. [More…]
These sorts of statements literally mean that there will be a system of salaried doctors and the destruction of the doctor-patient relationship, the destruction of the magnificent private hospitals, the public hospitals, philanthropic nursing homes run by dedicated people, government-owned insurance funds including the little ones, and funds owned by trade unions and friendly societies. [More…]
Its unions are saying that they cannot have private hospitals. [More…]
In England people tried to do this and the unions are closing down the private hospitals. [More…]
Will the Minister give us an assurance that the unions will not close down private hospitals in Australia? [More…]
It was the unions which had insisted on that form of words in an amendment with regard to industrial matters. [More…]
Representatives of the two unions involved will be there also. [More…]
There are representatives of the 2 trade unions which have gone out or demonstrated. [More…]
The policy of the Liberal Party itself admonishes the industrial partners in the following terms: ‘Consultation, negotiation, cooperation between employees and employers would be assisted by a structure of industry unions’. [More…]
The Liberal Party would ‘seek to work with the Australian Council of Trade Unions in encouraging industry-based unions’. [More…]
The provisions of this Bill enable unions to obtain such a structure. [More…]
The need for such a rationalisation can be seen from the number and overlapping organisation of trade unions in this country, and the consequential unorderly operation of awards and agreements. [More…]
At the end of 1973 there were 294 separate unions in Australia, 226 of which had a membership of fewer than 5,000 members and of these 103 had fewer than 500 members. [More…]
At the same time, there is a significant degree of overlapping coverage by trade unions. [More…]
There are, for example, at least 6 unions registered under the Act which have coverage of fitters. [More…]
This fragmentation gives rise to duplication of effort and a waste of human and other resources while, at the same time, generating demarcation disputes between trade unions as to their coverage of both work and members. [More…]
Amalgamation of organisations will make for more efficient and more responsible unions because of their increased ability to attract officials and staff of high calibre. [More…]
Unions will be better placed to obtain improved research facilities which may lead them to an increased understanding of the complex relationship between wage increases, productivity and inflation. [More…]
It could reasonably be expected that unions themselves would then pay more attention to the question of productivity and perceive the need for some co-ordination in the presentation of their wage claims. [More…]
It is not uncommon for several unions to be party to a single award or agreement, as is the case in the metal industry award, or for a multiplicity of separate awards and agreements which are to operate in single establishments and which therefore have to be observed by the employers concerned. [More…]
Amalgamation of organisations will operate in this situation not only by reducing the number of unions party to single awards and agreements but also by limiting the number of awards and agreements applying within single establishments. [More…]
The Liberal Party itself recognises that ‘the multiplicity of unions and the spread of certain unions through many industries makes the task of consultation and negotiations more difficult with problems of one industry unnecessarily flowing to others’. [More…]
The present fragmentation of the trade union movement can only result in unco-ordinated wage claims being pursued by 300-odd unions, each operating as a separate independent unit. [More…]
It provides impetus for fresh claims elsewhere and hence we witness a leap-frogging of wage increases from one area to another as unions outbid each other in an endeavour to protect themselves against an erosion of the purchasing power of the wages of their members. [More…]
This is almost impossible to achieve with the large number of existing unions and the unordered nature of existing arbitral arrangements. [More…]
Finally, amalgamation will remove obstacles to agreement being reached between unions and employers and so operate to produce more stability in industrial relationships. [More…]
These provisions were apparently prompted by a fear of big powerful unions. [More…]
The whole argument as to big powerful unions is misplaced. [More…]
It ignores the fact that if unions desire to amalgamate and if the statutory procedures do not enable this or if they impede it, de facto amalgamation can be achieved outside the existing arbitral machinery. [More…]
The existing statutory procedures can be circumvented by unions establishing controlling councils to direct their affairs and operations. [More…]
Unions can establish common memberships with common officials so that there is a de facto amalgamation, though not legally. [More…]
Unions can withdraw from the system and operate as unregistered associations. [More…]
These are the devices to which unions have been driven by the 1972 provisions introduced by a party which professes a belief in the need to uphold Australia’s system of conciliation and arbitration. [More…]
Prior to that time we had witnessed, in the federal sphere, the amalgamation of the Boilermakers and Blacksmiths Societies in 1965; the Printing Industry Employees Union of Australia and the Amalgamated Printing Trades Employees Union in 1 966; the Australian Leather and Allied Industry Employees Federation and the Federated Miscellaneous Workers Union in 1967; in 1971 the Federated Miscellaneous Workers Union and the North Australian Workers Union; and in 1972 the 3 metal trades unions. [More…]
In passing, I would observe that some employers have recently used the fear of unemployment to gain, via industry agreements, the co-operation of unions in protecting their profits against Government measures designed to achieve optimum allocation of resources by way of the tariff. [More…]
Why exonerate the corporations of labour, the great trade unions, but impose severe penalties on the corporations of capital? [More…]
In the eyes of this Government there is one standard for the unions and another standard for the companies. [More…]
If one looks at the trade practices of companies, of boycott, of exclusive dealing, of monopolisation, of restraint of trade, and sees how the Government makes them all punishable per se, one can only contrast that with the attitude it takes to unions’ trade practices. [More…]
The unions’ trade practices of boycott, black bans, compulsory unionism and the exercise of power by monopoly of labour, with a consequent restraint on trade, are not only not punishable but are also sought to be justified and removed from examination. [More…]
The Labor Government will oppose and seek to remove the imposition of penalties for conduct by unions and union officers in breach of awards. [More…]
It would rouse itself to a fever pitch if it were suggested that a penalty of $0.25m were an appropriate penalty for unions which have annual incomes in excess of $3m. [More…]
The store acquired by the Australian Council of Trade Unions- through Mr Hawke as one of its directors- was one of the moving forces in gaining public support for what the former LiberalCountry Party Government brought in in relation to resale price maintenance. [More…]
But additional to that, even if the airline would have carried them, it was quite obvious that the unions were going to pull a strike on that night. [More…]
The unions were asked to come to the meeting but those who were attending the meeting said that that was not on. [More…]
Because of that the unions lifted the black ban. [More…]
There is no industrial reason, because the unions have been convinced that this man, of his own free will, wants to return to his homeland. [More…]
It was arranged that people should be present at a meeting with him and that they should be representatives of the 2 unions which had been most actively involved in the issue- the Transport Workers Union and the Clerks Union- the 2 lawyers who had been instructed to act in the matter, one representing Amnesty International and one representing the Guild of Undergraduates, and that a Liberal Party Minister in the State Government, Mr Grayden, should be present also. [More…]
But is Senator Greenwood suggesting that Mr Grayden was hostile, that the 2 unions which had caused the stoppage at the airport were hostile or that the Commonwealth Medical Officer was hostile? [More…]
Other unions are involved. [More…]
After a long battle in the courts by the trade unions it was finally decided by the Supreme Court of the United States of America in 1909 that the trade unions were the subject of restrictive trade practices legislation in the form of the Sherman Act, as were commercial organisations. [More…]
It is on record that 1 8 per cent of the cases brought under the Act up to 1928 were brought against trade unions or their members. [More…]
I pass by the long political history of the American legislation, which is a subject which, because it is a fascinating subject, will engage my attention when I go to America later this year and say that I believe that the application of the trade practices legislation to trade unions is the chief problem in political terms in Australia this very day. [More…]
The disturbance that is being brought upon the community by an unparalleled spate of strikes and disruption by the trade unions has to be considered by any parliamentary democracy. [More…]
For, unless the excessive power of the great trade unions, in pursuit of their sectional, instead of national, interests, can be restrained, galloping inflation is bound to continue and at an ever-increasing pace. [More…]
Though natural enough and, in view of the unions’ immense bargaining and intimidatory powers, almost inevitable, this has bedevilled, and is continuing to bedevil, the country’s economic stability. [More…]
It was plain that some so-called ‘labor unions’ were little more than rackets. [More…]
During the war many building trades unions refused to admit new members and charged exorbitant fees for issuing working permits to the employees attracted to the industry by defence construction. [More…]
Later, large projects were tied up for days while labor unions disputed each other’s right to job assignments. [More…]
But in accordance with the partisan disruptive philosophy of this Government which panders to the trade unions for the disruption of industry, Senator Murphy makes this a deliberate exception to the proposed Act and the practices of trade unions are to go uncontrolled by the Act. [More…]
One of the important aspects that Senator Wright brought out was the omission of control over industrial unions. [More…]
I cannot say the reason, but I think that control over industrial unions should be included in this Bill. [More…]
It will do this, moreover, in a way which cannot be misconstrued … as a punitive measure aimed uniquely at unions, for business enterprises are also submitted to these laws. [More…]
The consensus of the working men and women with respect to the fundamental institutions of a free economy will be secured, for strong and vigorous unions will continue to exist. [More…]
For some 70 years we have had laws about restrictive trade practices of trade unions and of organisations of employers. [More…]
It would be very foolish to put in this legislation provisions which dealt in some different way with the restrictive practices of trade unions and of employer organisations and of the members of those organisations which are dealt with in some detail in the Conciliation and Arbitration Act. [More…]
If Senator Wright wants to have stronger laws dealing with any kind of activities of trade unions then the course is open to him- it was taken during the period that his government was in power- to amend the Conciliation and Arbitration Act to go directly to the set of laws that deals with that subject matter. [More…]
The general unemployment situation has in fact been the subject of discussions this week with representatives of the general employers and the unions. [More…]
I think I have told the honourable senator of my own personal knowledge of circumstances which preceded the most recent disputes, namely, that many officials of unions involved in disputes had their wages cancelled for the time their members were on strike and that when I was a union official in one case I lost, I think, 2 months’ wages because of such a policy. [More…]
The Minister for Labor and Immigration put before the Moore Conference last week a proposition which, if it is accepted by the employers and the unions, either in the form in which it was proposed or in a modified form, will go a long way towards reducing industrial disputes in this country. [More…]
Is it a fact that the Australian Wheat Board had the requisite type of wheat available but could not take advantage of the order because of the policies and actions of Australian and New Zealand maritime unions? [More…]
Does he agree that some trade unions are engaging in disputes without any thought to the welfare of fellow trade unionists and the general public and that the integrity of unions and the union movement has been called into question? [More…]
I have seen only the newspaper report of what Mr Egerton said and I have asked for more information of what he said and the letter he sent out to the unions. [More…]
I understand his statement is related to some other comments he has made to the affiliated unions over which he presides. [More…]
So before I comment on what he said or make observations on part of his address to the unions I would like to see the whole of his statement. [More…]
I believe that as an important official of the Australian Labor Party and the trade union movement he is attempting to encourage the unions in this particular period to take stock of what is going on in the inflationary economy and to consider that perhaps their actions ought to be more measured. [More…]
While the Government and Mr Cameron say that the scheme has to be accepted on a preliminary or platform basis, in my opinion it is quite possible for the reaction to his scheme to produce an arrangement between employers and unions which will benefit everybody. [More…]
If we reduced the time in which to introduce the new scheme, it would not result in the savings which Senator Hall mentioned because there have to be discussions between the Government, the employer, the Australian Stevedoring Industry Authority- the employer- and the unions. [More…]
Somebody has to pay for the advertising which is being arranged by unions. [More…]
What a great scheme it is for unions to spend their members’ money on advertisements advocating that margarine quotas be abolished! [More…]
Any one who has any knowledge of what is happening in the fuel situation with the Transport Workers Union and the associated unions will know that the position today is very critical. [More…]
There are reports from officers of trade unions and from others. [More…]
I have also sought from the producer of the program details of the number and the categories of people- parliamentarians, representatives of trade unions and industrial organisations- who have appeared on the program over the past few months. [More…]
I think that the amendments which the previous Government introduced in 1972 and which came into effect were influenced, to a considerable degree, by what had been shown to have occurred in regard to the amalgamation of unions into the Amalgamated Metal Workers Union. [More…]
But the amendments of 1972 were designed to improve the amalgamation proceedings and to ensure that the rights of the membership of these unions were not overriden by union officials and others who were concerned to have an amalgamation take place. [More…]
We do not believe, for example, that the strikes which have bedevilled Australia in 1 974 are the work of the small unions. [More…]
We believe that the strikes have predominantly occurred in the larger unions. [More…]
The elements of a demarcation dispute are as likely to be found in large unions and in different groups within that union as they are to be found within individual unions which have a dispute with other members of other unions. [More…]
The Opposition feels that the case which is made by the Minister is a case which can be argued on the basis that a multiplicity of unions can create problems and that larger unions ought to be developed because there are greater facilities for research and for the informing of members. [More…]
Surely we have reached a stage in this country where the affairs of unions have such an impact on the public interest that it is a reasonable thing that if an amalgamation is to take place that decision be made by a ballot conducted by the Registrar, his Deputy or by the Electoral Office. [More…]
I do not believe that there is any warrant for a ballot of this character to be conducted in accordance with the rules of the union as the committee of the union wants it, because we know that there are circumstances in which ballots of unions are not secret, in which there is exercised a degree of intimidation, in which persons would wish that they had an opportunity to exercise a postal ballot which is their own vote and not an intimidated vote. [More…]
They are provisions which permit the rights of the members of organisations to be overridden and I believe, and the Opposition believes, that they will enable a plain and unmistakeable abuse of power to be engaged in by persons who want an amalgamation of unions not for the purposes of improving the lot of the members of the unions but for other particular purposes. [More…]
Invariably it is not planned to take over the smallest unions in this country; the plans are for amalgamations of relatively large or medium sized organisations which want to grow larger. [More…]
This removes the present statutory definition of ‘financial members’ which is contained in the existing amalgamation provisions and leaves it open for such abuse as can be conducted under the present provisions under which certain unions conduct their affairs. [More…]
This legislation which we are now debating is concerned, of course, with the internal affairs of the running of trade unions. [More…]
It is a cause of concern for many unions that the Conciliation and Arbitration Act is seen by Opposition senators as a means of, in some ways, providing unionists with facilities or, in other ways, directing how they will conduct their affairs within the structure of the union itself. [More…]
The number of registered trade unions in Australia at the moment is approximately three hundred. [More…]
Of those 300 unions one-third have a membership of less than 5,000 people. [More…]
If one thinks of the position of one-third of the unions of Australia with membership of 5,000 or less, one realises it is almost impossible to manage a union of that size in today’s circumstances. [More…]
Another example of what the Government is concerned about is that there are 28 unions operating in the Post Office in Australia and 26 unions operating in Trans-Australia Airlines. [More…]
I think it was in 1918 that Mr Justice Higgins, the first President of the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission, made the comment in the waterside workers’ case that ‘competition for membership between unions is disastrous to industrial peace’. [More…]
But this is one area of industrial peace which is not susceptible to problems such as inflation and the various problems which cause unions to get involved in industrial problems with employers. [More…]
In the first place, the matter to which he referred was not a demarcation dispute between 2 different unions at all. [More…]
In a holiday period of 1972 there was an oil shortage in the State of New South Wales, again resulting from a demarcation dispute between 2 transport unions. [More…]
The attitude of Opposition senators seems to be that they must oppose anything which on paper seems to make unions more powerful. [More…]
What the present legislation does is to limit the capacity of the unions to properly conduct their own affairs in relation to amalgamations. [More…]
There are in Australia a number of unions which have sought to amalgamate with other unions. [More…]
Some of them are in a situation in which one-third of their membership turns over every 6 months; for example, unions concerned with the wool industry, the food processing industry and other industries of that kind. [More…]
One of the great tragedies of the Opposition, of course- plenty of criticism is made of the Government in this regard- is that its members just do not understand the situation which exists in many trade unions. [More…]
If they took the trouble to ask the relevant employer bodies in Australia what they thought about it, they might gain a better understanding of the sort of problems which unions face in this regard. [More…]
There are many unions which at this time desire to amalgamate, and they have been prevented from doing so because of the requirements of the present legislation. [More…]
As I have said before, both unions and employers operating in the field of industrial relations recognise the necessity for these sorts of proposals. [More…]
I think it is not unfair to say that it goes something like this: ‘Really, in our society, trade unions cause a lot of trouble and for that reason it is desirable that they do not become too big, because if they become bigger they will cause more trouble, and we on the Opposition benches know that unions are manipulated by malevolent men who run the unions from the committee of management level and tell the unfortunate slave members what they have to do’. [More…]
I do not dissent from the fact that there may be a slight grain of truth in that proposition; but what I am trying to put to the Senate is that that is a simplistic view of the way trade unions operate and it is a simplistic view of the way the conciliation and arbitration legislation operates. [More…]
Those who are most aware of what is desirable and what is rational are employers engaged in the particular industries and the best informed members of unions engaged in those industries, who are, of course, the members of the committees of management. [More…]
I think we in this country have to be very careful that we do not facilitate here or elsewhere legislation which rushes us into a situation of some sort of giant corporate state in which the corporations of labour and the corporations of capital clash in a sort of neanderthal giant manner to the exclusion, perhaps, of the public interest and to the exclusion, perhaps, of smaller business interests and smaller unions in the community, because there are certain logical arrangements of society which are not consistent with that view of a giant corporate state. [More…]
If one examines the situation of unions one sees that that really is not what this is all about. [More…]
It is not a question of amalgamations so that there are giant unions. [More…]
The majority of unions concerned in amalgamation proposals at the moment are very small unions which do not remain viable institutions - [More…]
It is the unions which seek to amalgamate in the future for which the Opposition’s proposals will make it difficult - [More…]
I am sure that that improvement in the legislation will bring the notice of proposed amalgamations more readily to the attention of members of trade unions. [More…]
I concede that some unions may not carry that provision out, but if they do not do so there are proceedings for dealing with them under the present Conciliation and Arbitration Act. [More…]
Many unions now prefer that their ballots be conducted by the Industrial Registrar. [More…]
I have not known of any unions in recent times which have proposed amalgamation with other unions and which have not as a first step gone to the Industrial Registrar to seek his advice about the steps which had to be taken and about the way in which any ballots in relation to those amalgamations should be conducted. [More…]
It is almost a standard procedure for trade unions now to consult the Industrial Registrar about a ballot which has to be conducted in connection with an amalgamation. [More…]
If unions do not conduct secret ballots aggrieved members can go to the Industrial Registrar and complain about the matter. [More…]
The only thing different about our amalgamation proposals is simply that as policy matters are to be considered and negotiations are required with employers in industry and with other unions, it is very appropriately a matter which in all instances should be dealt with by the committee of management of a union unless there is so much concern about it in the union that its members want to invoke the safeguard provisions which require a ballot to be conducted by the Industrial Registrar. [More…]
Why should unions be placed in a different position? [More…]
It is said that unions should be put in a different position from other voluntary associations in our society because of some concern of Senator Greenwood’s, which I share, that the activities of the unions appear to affect the public interest from time to time in various ways. [More…]
The same sort of inhibitions are not sought to be put on those other bodies, but they are sought to be put on trade unions. [More…]
The corporations of capital are not interested in confronting powerful unions if they can confront small unions. [More…]
But they are interested in having to deal with one union rather than 28 unions. [More…]
The Australian Post Office has had to deal with 28 unions. [More…]
This is the sort of problem which employers face when they have to deal with a great number of unions instead of one. [More…]
We say that the Opposition, by the proposed amendment to the provisions for determining the result of a ballot, is seeking to insert in the Conciliation and Arbitration Act conditions in relation to the administration of the internal affairs of trade unions which are not imposed on anybody else in our society. [More…]
The philosophical view behind that, as I understand it, is either that it is desirable to keep unions weak or that unions are more prey to malevolent men than is any other corporate organisation in our society. [More…]
For those reasons we say that the legislation does nothing more than give the degree of flexibility which employers and unions desire. [More…]
It incorporates the sort of safeguards which are desired both by Opposition spokesmen and, 1 believe, the unions. [More…]
Unions should not be subject to different impositions from other corporate structures in our society. [More…]
In this legislation there is still a greater degree of regulation of the internal affairs of unions which desire to amalgamate than there is of the affairs of other bodies in society which attempt to fuse their activities or amalgamate in one form or another. [More…]
One cannot legislate to abolish apathy in the affairs of trade unions, if that exists, as it does from time to time, as in other organisations or to compel trade unionists to take part in the affairs of the union unless the members are interested in those matters. [More…]
It is sought anxiously by unions and employers in the community so that the industrial relations system can at least have one area of conflict substantially reduced. [More…]
It is not the amalgamation of unions that is so important. [More…]
It cannot be considered a step forward when, in fact, a simply majority of perhaps 10 per cent of people involved can direct the course of their union and other unions in search of amalgamation. [More…]
I believe that the legislation will contribute very much to improved industrial relations and to the control of unions by the mass of unionists if it concerns itself with the introduction of compulsory secret postal ballots. [More…]
I understand that the amalgamation was sought by 3 unions and that there was general agreement that the amalgamation should be brought about. [More…]
One must tend to wonder whether the legislation towards amalgamation which is envisaged in this Bill is not more concerned with some form of body snatching or empire building within unions themselves. [More…]
I can imagine that this type of thing will increase the possibility of interference within the union by other unions. [More…]
This interference will make it possible to cajole and to bring under the one umbrella any number of unions, large or small. [More…]
Surely today it is the economic situation rather than the amalgamations of unions that is the problem in this country. [More…]
It is legislation which can only make it simpler for the take-over by one or more unions by another union. [More…]
Basically this legislation would tend to place a sort of monopoly control in the hands of certain unions. [More…]
I believe that in considering the amalgamation of unions we should consider this point. [More…]
It is completely wrong to assume that by absorbing any number of unions into another union we are, in fact, helping the individual members of those unions. [More…]
In all probability, we are submerging the special interests and abilities of many of the people within those unions. [More…]
I do so in the hope that it will be passed and that there will be support for the amendments which I have circulated for the inclusion of secret and compulsory postal ballots as a requirement for the making of a decision as to whether unions should amalgamate. [More…]
I was amused to hear him say that he did not want the industrial scene in Australia to develop into a situation in which 2 giant corporations were facing each other- industry on the one hand and the unions on the other hand. [More…]
This leads me to the proposition that the most powerful force in this country are the unions. [More…]
The result of confrontation between industry and unions in the last several years has invariably been the success of the union viewpoint. [More…]
For instance, if BHP and every other company in Australia were to say that they would adopt the use of secret, postal compulsory ballots, such as the amendments which I will move require, but that they would ask as a concession that the unions accept the same sort of oversight of the quality of the services they give to the community and the same oversight of what union officials are paid for their services, we know what the unions in Australia would say. [More…]
The unions would not accept restrictions and oversight parallel to those which companies in Australia have to accept. [More…]
It is a fact that the one great, last undisciplined grouping of power in Australia is in the hands of the unions. [More…]
This is the great argument that rages in the community today as the Government of Australia goes cap in hand to the unions to ask for their cooperation. [More…]
We know of very well run unions whose leadership is a model for the rest of Australia and we know of some very badly run unions. [More…]
I have developed that story in another parliament in Australia and I will not bore the Senate with the same description of the shameful affairs of some unions in this country, some of which, lamentably, are in my home State of South Australia. [More…]
But the basis of this Bill is such that it cannot be supported unless the power over unions is widened. [More…]
That is an example of the practices of those unions that are as badly led as the Transport Workers Union is led in South Australia. [More…]
Certainly something has to be done in Australia to take the democratic way out of the impasse which we are in, in which unions outside the electors’ delegated authority can run this country in very large measure. [More…]
This shows that the restrictions in the Act at present make it practically impossible for any unions to amalgamate. [More…]
The excessive number of unions is no doubt one of the problems affecting industrial relations in Australia. [More…]
There has been a slight decline in the numbers of unions in Australia. [More…]
In 1 956 there were 375 unions. [More…]
In 1972 there were 305 unions. [More…]
I understand that by the end of last year there were something like 294 unions. [More…]
Of these unions 158 had fewer than 1,000 members; 82 had between 1,000 and 5,000 members; 28 had between 5,000 and 20,000 members; 23 had between 20,000 and 50,000 members; and only 14 had a membership of over 50,000. [More…]
In a population of only 13.5 million, where we have something like 5.5 million workers in industry and where about 51 per cent of those 5.5 million workers are members of organisations, it seems to me to be ridiculous to have nearly 300 unions covering only about 2Vi million members. [More…]
This situation is completely different in other advanced countries like West Germany where about 1 6 unions cover millions of workers. [More…]
This Bill will make the amalgamations of the unions much easier. [More…]
Surely the unions themselves want it this way. [More…]
The officials of the unions want it this way, and I am certain that a lot of employers in industry want it this way. [More…]
In the PostmasterGeneral’s Department there are 28 unions involved. [More…]
Workers at the Sydney Mail Exchange are covered by no fewer than 20 unions. [More…]
The work force of Trans- Australia Airlines is covered by no fewer than 26 unions. [More…]
The men and women employed by the Commonwealth Railways belong to 14 unions. [More…]
The fragmentation of union resources, in terms of staff, finance and facilities, imposes limitations on the unions and makes the effectiveness of a union very limited. [More…]
The resources for research by the unions is limited where each small union has to have an industrial officer and a research officer doing exactly the same work as others in small unions are doing to try to compete with the rising cost of living and to keep the working conditions of the members of the union up to a standard that is accepted by the trade union movement. [More…]
The fragmentation of unions leads to an almost impossible position if they are dealing with a well organised employer group or a major company. [More…]
We are trying to enforce restrictions on the trade union movement so that the amalgamations of unions are practically impossible and at the same time the employers and their organisations are given a free hand to amalgamate and merge without any inhibitions. [More…]
The unions will not accept the provisions of section 158k subsection (2) of the existing Act. [More…]
The Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Act, as I have pointed out, makes it unnecessarily difficult for unions to amalgamate. [More…]
There is one other objectionable aspect of the existing legislation which is not accepted by the unions. [More…]
The unions believe that they should have a right to determine the affairs of their own union, including the conduct of a ballot, the election of officers and any other issues which affect only members of the union. [More…]
I believe that most unions, if not all, would have some provision in their rules and constitution for a ballot to be decided by the members. [More…]
These are the provisions in the Bill which give the right to unions to determine how they want to process an amalgamation- whether they want to conduct the amalgamation under their own rules, or whether they petition to refer the matter to the Registrar. [More…]
I am certain that it would not be accepted by any members of the unions. [More…]
The vast majority of Australian employees are members of unions or employee associations. [More…]
Our opponents have obstructed our efforts to modernise and democratise Australian trade unions. [More…]
There are too many unions in Australia. [More…]
We have sought to reduce the number of unions. [More…]
Responsible leadership of both unions and industry Strongly supports a reduction in the number of unions and of demarcation disputes between rival unions. [More…]
We recognise and realise that some industrial disputes are caused by demarcation disputes between unions on the job. [More…]
If those 2 unions had been amalgamated that demarcation dispute would not have occurred. [More…]
I know of unions which have been waiting months and months to amalgamate. [More…]
This Bill, as introduced, will ensure that the unions have this right and it will make it easier for them to amalgamate. [More…]
Some trade unions are not able to attract the same miserable vote as was attracted at the municipal elections in Sydney last Saturday, as Senator Greenwood admits; yet he suggests that another 20 per cent should be added to the percentage vote in order to make certain that there will be no more amalgamations, that the weaker unions will stay weak and that there will be an imposition on members of those small unions through their having to pay higher contribution fees, knowing that unions cannot function efficiently and effectively when they do not have large memberships. [More…]
He said that the Liberal Party would seek to work with the Australian Council of Trade Unions in encouraging industry-based unions. [More…]
Certainly the Liberal Party has indicated support for the proposition that industry-based unions would provide some improvement in industrial schemes. [More…]
The Liberal and Country Parties encourage industrybased unions in the belief that industrial disputes and strikes will be minimised by industry unions better position to communicate and negotiate with employers and government. [More…]
In other words, it is important that the Australian Council of Trade Unions should genuinely stir up the interest of members of unions and point out to them that where unions are perhaps too small they would be better off if amalgamated. [More…]
In that way the ACTU could induct members of unions to vote for and to support amalgamations in suitable cases. [More…]
That means that they ought to be encouraged to vote and to obtain enough information about their unions to know what is to be gained and what is to be lost by an amalgamation; what one union may have in assets and what it may gain in faculties if it amalgamates. [More…]
We believe that the present Conciliation and Arbitration Act is better in the interests not only of the unions but also of the public. [More…]
Yet today Government speakers have said that this legislation concerns only the internal affairs of unions; that it is concerned merely with the rules and the operation of unions. [More…]
They cannot argue that this Bill concerns important issues so far as the nation’s economy and an effect on inflation are concerned, and at the same time argue that this legislation concerns merely a matter of internal politics and the internal organisation of unions. [More…]
Of course, if we reach the situationwhether it be in Britain or in Australiawhere the economic forces become concentrated more and more in the hands of a few large companies and a few large unions, one can expect that sort of expectation and demand to grow greater. [More…]
It may well be that in fact this is the situation not only with companies but also with unions. [More…]
That may be a good reason why it should not be too easy or too simple for an amalgamation in unions to be decided on. [More…]
When considering increasing the number of amalgamations we should recognise the situation that amalgamations in the past have been mainly large unions joining other large unions and in fact there has not been pressure to remove smaller unions. [More…]
If there were some pressing need to amalgamate the number of unions in the Post Office- and I am sure that there is such a need- then surely pressure should have been brought to bear, surely the information should have been given and surely the evidence, facts and arguments should have been advanced more effectively before now by the very powerful leadership of the trade union movement in order to ensure that support for amalgamation was obtained and that the amalgamation was decided on by the unions concerned. [More…]
One must feel that in this day and following the evident breakdown in the negotiations yesterday the attempts to persuade the unions to accept the view that there ought to be some restraint in claims for increased wages, this is indicative of the situation in Australia. [More…]
A further factor is that in a situation such as this demarcation disputes will continue if unions amalgamate. [More…]
When unions whose members do quite different jobs are amalgamated no doubt the expectation of those in one particular form of employment where productivity is not great will be the same as the expectation of those members who are in another part or another industry where productivity is greater. [More…]
I have no doubt that in a number of cases the argument which is advanced, that amalgamation and larger unions will lead to greater service and facilities, is true. [More…]
-Senator Sir Magnus Cormack reminds me that shop stewards in larger unions gain more significance and greater power, whereas one expects in a small union a much greater sense of empathy - [More…]
I suggest that the concentration on amalgamations of which we have heard so much and which is to be found in this Bill- a cure-all for problems- is a great danger because it tends to ignore the dissociation between unions and their members. [More…]
Indeed, the dissociation between unions and their members is probably the most neglected factor in present-day industrial relations and the cause of immense waste of time and effort. [More…]
If unions amalgamate and grow larger they will become even more distant from their members in work places and less attuned to their feelings and attitudes. [More…]
Unions would be wise to counter this trend by positive improvements of organisation and communication; and employers would be wise to facilitate such improvements instead of trying to keep the unions away from their employees as they have usually done in the past. [More…]
I suggest also that as far as this Bill is concerned one has to be cautious before making it very easy for amalgamations which increase the size of unions without the members being fully aware of what it is about. [More…]
If in fact- I suggest it is the fact- most amalgamations that are desirable involve small unions, then one would expect that under the existing Act or proposal it would be easier for the union to inform its members adequately on the facts and arguments. [More…]
What he is suggesting is that unions may do it in fact and therefore the law must follow and legalise it. [More…]
Senator Milliner is suggesting that I should be a propagandist for the Austraiian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
I suggest that there are plenty of able men from himself down who could put these factors before the unions if there is a good case for an amalgamation. [More…]
I make no apology for saying that the public interest is something to be considered, as well as the interests of the members of the unions. [More…]
I will talk about the very thing on which Senator Missen concluded when he spoke about special services for members of unions. [More…]
The previous speaker, Senator Missen, referred to the metal trades unions. [More…]
I know that in one or two unions we can think of what might happen. [More…]
The plain fact of the matter is that if on the one hand we applaud for cheap political advantage the rank and file for revolting against union officials we cannot have it the other way when we try to reduce unions in stature. [More…]
The young members of unions are reasonably well read. [More…]
Government senators have pointed to some of the problems which exist with the proliferation of unions and have suggested that their proposal for amalgamations will solve a number of those problems. [More…]
Whilst totally agreeing, and I wish to emphasise this, on the importance of the essential role played by the trade union movement in the operation of the mixed economy which we enjoyed until the change of Government but which we now find is creating very considerable problems, I must say that it is about time that we as a community asked: What is the role of the trade union movement in Australia, how far does its proper role extend into the economy and into society, and are there structural changes which are desirable in relation to the unions? [More…]
I wonder about the extent to which a number of problems which we face in Australia the moment in trade unionism arise from the fact that trade unions are basically occupation oriented rather than industry oriented unions. [More…]
I wonder whether the sorts of considerations which are set out from page 179 onwards in chapter 12 of the report of the Donovan Commission- the royal commission on trade unions and employers associations conducted from 1965 to 1968 in the United Kingdom- such as of the two types of multi-unionism and the problems which arise in trying to make a major change in the basic structure of trade unionism as it has been operating for some time, would indicate that it would be more desirable at least to hear a great deal more public debate taking place in the country, not with a view to destroying trade unionism in any way or for the purpose of union bashing but with a view to asking: How could they fulfil the accepted role more satisfactorily without the sorts of problems which exist and which are exemplified in the approach of the Government, which is saying at the moment that this Bill is necessary to overcome those problems, and the approach of the Opposition, which says that the present provisions will assist in overcoming the problems. [More…]
I wonder whether in a country which as part of the general world trend is moving towards big government, big unions, big corporationsin other words, a country in which so many institutions are becoming bigger and bigger in terms of power, size and the impact they have on the society as a whole and on the national as well as the world economy- we are not going about it the wrong way by saying that we do not have to have regard to those developments and that if we amalgamate a few unions that is all we have to do. [More…]
Would it not then be better for us to say that if we are to have the development towards bigger unions we should be thinking about a trend towards more industry oriented unions which will be able to play a part in balancing the power which is being continually exercised by the big corporations and by government interfering- we will not debate whether it is desirable or not- more and more in the affairs of industry and in the affairs of the economy? [More…]
I wonder also whether the unions could not do a lot more than they have done so far to encourage public debate and awareness and to display their own awareness of the need at least to review the role and the operation of the trade union movement in our type of society. [More…]
I doubt also whether there has been any indication from the Government so far of an awareness of the need for a review, from a conceptual point of view, of the role most desirably to be played by the trade union movement in a nation developing along the lines on which we have been developing, particularly whilst we have a situation in which clearly the public has, many members of the trade union movement have, and many employers have, grave reservations about the extent to which the operation of trade unions is satisfactory. [More…]
One alleged abuse is being investigated at the moment and there are numerous allegations of misuse of funds, the lack of accountability of some trade unions and the lack of democracy in the operation of trade unions- not in all unions but in some. [More…]
Just as the public interest is not served by large corporations or, for that matter, small corporations which ignore the rights of consumers, the interests of the environment, the interests of employees or the interests of the national economy, so too there is ample evidence that the other major section of organised power outside the Government, that is the unions, is currently failing adequately to recognise the public interest. [More…]
I repeat: Just as the public interest is not served by corporations which ignore the interests of consumers, the environment, the national economy, employees and others, there is ample evidence that the trade unions, that other major section of organised power, are currently failing adequately to recognise the public interest. [More…]
It is not good enough for Government speakers to say or to imply that apart from there being too many unions- a matter which could be overcome by the amalgamation procedure encompassed in the Bill before us- everything else in the garden is rosy. [More…]
Huge numbers of members of the public and of the trade unions are unhappy, concerned and worried about the fact that there now happens to be an unbridled use of power in some instances, a misuse of power and a failure of the organisation both in its role and in its functioning. [More…]
At the same time let me say simply that I would like to see fewer unions. [More…]
I would like to refer to the incident at Port Adelaide which involved a dispute between the 2 unions that I have mentioned. [More…]
In my judgment the unions of Australia are taking government out of the hands of this Parliament. [More…]
This seems to me to be a typical example of domination from left-wing unionists at the top of these unions. [More…]
The Prime Minister said that if Labor were returned to office it would facilitate the amalgamation of trade unions. [More…]
Senator Steele Hall has said that the Government is going cap in hand to the unions and to the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
The Opposition, in its policy statements, has said that a need exists for arrangements to be made between the unions and the employers. [More…]
It has also referred to industrybased unions. [More…]
5 under the heading ‘Organisations’ it states that the Opposition seeks to work with the ACTU in encouraging industry-based unions. [More…]
These are not giant left-wing orientated unions. [More…]
They can be claimed to be moderate unions. [More…]
Of course we want to amalgamate unions but we think that if we make the necessary laws the task is then for the unions and their members to decide whether they want amalgamation. [More…]
For instance, there are some 300 unions in Australia. [More…]
It could facilitate the functioning of the arbitration system and relations generally between employers and unions if this number of unions decreases. [More…]
I know of situations in which employers have sat across the table with no fewer than 15 unions in relation to one issue. [More…]
They are arrangements which will ensure that members of the unions will know that the amalgamation procedures are current. [More…]
It is not only my view that the unions should amalgamate. [More…]
On 24 February 1972, Mr F. R. Morgan said that his association had no objection to the amalgamation of the metal trades unions. [More…]
The reduction in the number of unions with which MTIA and its members have to deal is a significant advantage. [More…]
One may therefore express the hope that individual executives and officers in both trade unions and employer organisations may soon realise how ephemeral empires really are and that there is far more satisfaction in subsuming individual desires for personal recognition in a cause which benefits the community generally. [More…]
Such an advance would be greatly aided by rational amalgamations of unions and a similar unifying of employer organisations. [More…]
We are not saying that all unions have to be amalgamated but rather, as everybody has said and has recognised, that there are too many unions in Australia. [More…]
Of those 294 unions, there are 226 with fewer than 5,000 members. [More…]
The unions do not want them, as Senator Cavanagh said. [More…]
I refer to what happens when one sits down to negotiate across the table in relation to an industry where there are 15 unions. [More…]
In fact, there are at least 6 Federal unions which cover the same areas, cover the same classsifications and have the same eligibility. [More…]
In my case in the Post Office, as an honourable senator said, I have to talk to 27 unions in order to achieve satisfactory arrangements. [More…]
In Germany there are only 16 unions, in Sweden there are 52, in the Netherlands there are 53, in Belgium there are 361, in Norway there are 40, and in Australia there are nearly 300. [More…]
None of the State arbitration Acts which enable unions to amalgamate requires a ballot. [More…]
In Queensland, unions in related callings may amalgamate on the passing of a resolution by a majority of members present at a general meeting or by other competent authority in the union. [More…]
In South Australia, where there is a Labor government, unions may amalgamate on the passing of a resolution to this effect and the lodging of it with the Registrar. [More…]
In Western Australia, unions in related industries may amalgamate in the passing of a resolution by a majority of members present at a general meeting of each union, and objections to the amalgamation may be heard. [More…]
After hearing all the fears expressed by opposition senators, in the light of that information about the State arbitration Acts I ask whether they still contend that it is dangerous to make amalgamation proceedings easier and that this will develop left wing unions and powerful unions? [More…]
I referred to the problems now occuring in respect of 2 unions. [More…]
We know that in some unions, and certainly in two of the unions concerned, there is a great turnover of labour. [More…]
Senator Scott entered the debate by saying that if he felt that this provision would improve the conciliatory processes or improve the lot of the unions, he would support it. [More…]
As I have spoken to honourable senators I have tried to indicate that that is the very aim of the Government- to provide a more conciliatory position, to make it easier for unions to operate within their own organisations, to make for better organisation and to make it possible for employers to engage satisfactorily in arguments with those on the other side of” the table. [More…]
As I have said, we are trying to get more representative associations and to make unions free of all those inhibiting factors which have been placed upon them by Liberal-Country Party governments. [More…]
Mr Snedden has referred to the need to talk with the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
It shows either the self-deception or the incredible blindness of the Australian Labor Party’s apologists as to the relationship between the Labor Party and the unions. [More…]
We were told that the Labor Party knows the unions better. [More…]
We were told that when the Labor Government came into office its policies would be more understandable; there would be less industrial strife; the relationship between unions and government was that of natural partners; and we would see an era of industrial goodwill which Australia had never before experienced. [More…]
We were told that there would be a greater emphasis on what in 1972 was called by the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions ‘meaningful negotiations’. [More…]
There is an open confrontation between an increasing number of unions and union leaders and the Government. [More…]
The President of the Australian Labor Party is also the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
Ministers of this Government purport to adopt with regard to industrial relations poses which have the clearly expressed opposition of their political leader who is also the President of the Austraiian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
It was said that the Government should stay out and allow arrangements to be made between unions and employers. [More…]
At present agreements between unions and employers actually are deplored. [More…]
We now have a Labor Party in government which apparently is using its relationship with the unions to promote precisely the same policies and, one can only suppose, to promote them with a degree of acceptability which we in government would never have had. [More…]
I wonder whether they are being accepted by the unions. [More…]
How on earth can this Bill achieve moderation in wage demands when its terms are such that it builds up the pressures of dissatisfied unionists to overthrow agreements which are made by the management of the unions and invites the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission, in effect, to refuse to certify the agreements which are made? [More…]
In that situation does the agreement which has been worked out by employers and by unions fall to the ground? [More…]
If there are problems in the area of whether leadership does represent the membership- I certainly recognise that in many unions there is that problem- they will not be resolved by weakening the whole structure of the union. [More…]
There is a greater need for agreement between unions and employers today in this inflationary period than has existed ever before. [More…]
The Bill facilitates negotiation and agreement between employers and unions. [More…]
It is obvious that an employer, or an employer organisation, when entering into agreement with unions, would bear in mind a number of considerations related both to his specific enterprise, as well as to his specific industry. [More…]
Why do you not make an agreement with the unions, even though the norm or the usual level of increase cannot be justified?’ [More…]
We all know perfectly well that agreements were made between management committees of the unions and the employers and that half the time the union members did not know what the agreements were edi about. [More…]
It is expected that unions will continue to make agreements whether or not this legislation is passed. [More…]
The honourable senator knows that the representatives of large organisations and the unions will meet across the table. [More…]
The Opposition, as opposed to its argument in relation to the Conciliation and Arbitration Bill which provided for the amalgamation of unions, says that there is no need to place the testing of the agreement in the hands of the union membership. [More…]
On the one hand he is saying that there is this irresponsible action by the unions and that the unions have taken over the countryside. [More…]
He has said that the Government is going cap in hand to the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
What we have done in relation to the Australian Council of Trade Unions has been done only on the basis of our need to reach agreement with the major industrial organisation in the country. [More…]
If we make that agreement with the workers- the Austraiian Council of Trade Unions- then on the other hand we have to go to the employers and say: What about a system of wage indexation?’. [More…]
We are trying to contain this great inflationary contest as a result of which the unions and the union members have had this great escalation of activity trying to get wage increases to keep up with prices. [More…]
He seems to be saying on the one hand that the Government is arguing for agreements between the unions and the bosses which might have provided very good agreements, wage increases and conditions for employees which were above the norm. [More…]
I think that such agreements will be made on the basis of what is decided this week between the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the unions after their conference. [More…]
What could be better than to have at the source of industrial power, the union power, the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions? [More…]
Bob Hawke today is saying, and said yesterday to his Federal union conference, that unions must take account of the responsibilities they have in this inflationary situation, the need to preserve the Labor Government and to make new arrangements in terms of wage indexation under which workers will surely get an amount of money which will compensate them for price escalations. [More…]
It is equally difficult to believe that Mr Crean ‘s attempt to buy wage restraint from the unions with a few illusory and dishonest so-called tax cuts will be successful. [More…]
These tax cuts, so the Government would have us and the unions believe, are a major aspect of this Budget. [More…]
On these problems the Budget is at best almost irrelevant, at the worst, if its gamble to woo the unions with its phoney concessions fails, it could be a national disaster. [More…]
They must be cured by an approach of men of goodwill in all sections of industry, in the unions, in the Government and, one would hope, in the Opposition. [More…]
Once again the Leader of the Opposition suggests a conference between employers and unions as a solution to all national economic problems. [More…]
I do not know whether he still seriously thinks that he is capable of indulging in a more rational dialogue with the unions than anybody else, and particularly the present Government. [More…]
The fact is that industrial unrest in this country might have been considerably lessened if yesterday Senator Jessop had been prepared to get out of his stone age mentality on industrial relations and realise that a lot of industrial unrest is due to demarcation disputes and that there is a need for amalgamation of unions, as every serious commentator on industrial relations says. [More…]
In that make-believe world the individuals will try to keep up their standards of personal consumption and the unions will continue to chase the higher wages that will succeed in giving to their members the standard of living to which they aspire. [More…]
How significant is devaluation in terms of the conditions laid down by the trade unions for wage restraint agreement? [More…]
Are the unions sceptical despite yesterday’s statement by the Minister for Overseas Trade that devaluation would meet the unions’ demands and further protection for industry would not be necessary? [More…]
At the particular request of the Public Service Board, following discussions I understand they have had with the unions involved, I have agreed that arrangements should be made by the Board to allow the staff of the Australian Film Development Corporation to have a right to elect to join the staff of the Australian Film Commission. [More…]
One of the worst features in recent months, mostly during this year, is the decision, not made by the Government or the Postmaster-General but by the unions, to close all the official post offices on Saturday mornings. [More…]
The unions working in the oil industry- in the refineries and the transport of oil- have discovered that they can completely control the industrial life of Australia by their actions. [More…]
As I have said, in industry we have seen the tremendous scene of a government going cap in hand to the unions of Australia and ostensibly at least framing a Budget to capture their approval for some social contract or for some other factor in the future. [More…]
He will remember that during the last election campaign in South Australia the Premier came out with a very enthusiastic plan which had been worked out in co-operation with Mr Hawke of the Australian Council of Trade Unions under which the ACTU was to buy from the South Australian Government a large amount of land south of Adelaide and develop it for homes for the workers. [More…]
Senator Button was reported as advocating that the unions ought to elect the directors of companies and ought to behave as the people do in Yugoslavia. [More…]
That happens to be one of the submissions made by the Australian Council of Trade Unions to the Government. [More…]
But what about the multi-unions? [More…]
We see communist and left wing controlled unions asking their union representatives in this place to get the Senate to approve the amalgamations of unions. [More…]
Theoretically there may be some merit in legislation which is designed to encourage single unions for each industry, for ease of administration, although the great centralisation of power would negate any benefits. [More…]
The honourable senators say that there are too many unions in Australia. [More…]
They say that this gives rise to demarcation disputes and that there would be fewer of these demarcation disputes if there were fewer unions. [More…]
I do not think that these moves for amalgamation can be disconnected from the decision of the Australian Council of Trade Unions that unions charge their members 1 per cent of average weekly earnings. [More…]
It is not the multi-national companies that we need to worry about in Australia as much as it is the multi-unions. [More…]
How can he get us to believe that would work when a lot of the unions do not even elect their officers by a secret ballot? [More…]
If the honourable senator wants to argue about amalgamations, he ought to know that to enable unions in the manufacturing and food groups, such as the pastrycooks and biscuit makers union and the storemen and packers union, to carry out research and provide services for the rank and file, amalgamations have to occur. [More…]
The Budget has been criticised even by the Caucus members themselves and by the trade unions. [More…]
I believe that this criticism by the trade unions is most certainly warranted. [More…]
We had the spectacle, just a week after the Budget was introduced, of the trade unions meeting in Sydney to discuss the Government’s economic policies. [More…]
That action was taken to win back for the Government the rapidly waning popularity it previously had with the all-powerful trade unions. [More…]
One of the leaders of the Opposition, Mr Lynch, said in 1971 that there ought to be more amalgamations; that it was better to have fewer unions. [More…]
Yet only two or three days ago honourable senators opposite again voted against this Labor Government’s proposal, although all the evidence clearly shows that that proposal is supported by employers and unions alike. [More…]
But instead of that, as everybody knows, on almost every occasion they have used all sorts of frustrating devices, the most recent of which was in relation to the amalgamation of unions, which Senator Marriott mentioned. [More…]
In doing this, the Authority follows well established procedures which normally take place once every 12 months, or more frequently if required at the request of the unions or employers. [More…]
On that body there are representatives of employers, unions and State governments. [More…]
Even Mr Hawke, the President of the Australian Labor Party and President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, in his dual capacity, had some very serious reservations about it. [More…]
But there is no question about one thing: This Budget was designed unashamedly to bribe the unions into exercising restraint. [More…]
But the Government sought by bribery the cooperation of the unions. [More…]
Mr Deputy President, prior to the suspension of the sitting I was saying that the Budget was unashamedly an attempt to bribe the unions to co-operate with the Government. [More…]
It is interesting that the Government seeks the cooperation of the unions whereas it confronts every other section of the community. [More…]
But it does not appear that the co-operation is forthcoming because we understand that the unions have provided the Government with a list of demands which must be met before they are willing to cooperate in the area of wage restraint. [More…]
He suddenly had this great idea that we could placate the unions by soaking the rich. [More…]
It is still penalising the small man for the sole purpose of placating the unions. [More…]
The basis has been that this Government has actively incited the militant trade unions to further militancy. [More…]
Mr Whitlam says that the trade unions have never been in better hands, although Mr Hawke thinks that Mr Mundey is a bit naughty. [More…]
But Mr Hawke has his power base as President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions because of Mr Carmichael, Mr Halfpenny, Mr Elliot V. Elliott and Mr Owens, all of” whom are of the same communist ideology as Mr Mundey. [More…]
Mr Whitlam says that the trade unions have never been in better hands. [More…]
As a person who has belonged to unions in my time, who has supported Labor members of Parliament to get into office in the early years, who has been a good member of the tally clerks union on the South Wharf at Melbourne and who was a member of the Australian Timber Workers Union in my early days, I have a respect for many of the individuals I have met. [More…]
It was organised by a number of trade unions and supported by the Chamber of Commerce and the Chamber of Industries. [More…]
That right would have to apply naturally to any interested person or organisation as well as to commercial broadcasting and television stations, and it certainly would have to apply to the unions that are involved in the media industries. [More…]
But, of course, he is not consistent in his anti-Labor attitude because for some little time he has been flirting with the unions in Tasmania. [More…]
He was away from the Senate for a time yesterday flirting with the unions on a matter which he said was of such importance that the Minister for Defence (Mr Barnard) should have laid aside what he was doing in Canberra and travelled to Tasmania to attend this epoch making rally. [More…]
That is the mighty meeting that this senator, who flirts with the unions when he thinks it might advantage him, suggests presumably that all members of Parliament and senators from Tasmania should have attended. [More…]
It is an example of how a government run by union pressures, by the powerful trade unions, does not care about anything as small as Tasmania. [More…]
They will say that they are not interested because our Seamen ‘s Union and other unions will not have a bar of them. [More…]
In my opinion, this Government has not lifted one finger, said one word to help the position or said anything in reprimand to the unions that are crucifying trade between Tasmania and the mainland ports. [More…]
But we were told by Senator Townley that Tasmania is neglected and that costs are pushed up because of the unions and all these people. [More…]
All these things have been achieved as a result of frank consultation and co-operation between the Government, the management and the unions. [More…]
Provision of such a system and the rectification of invalidities which have grown up under the current systems have been of concern to trade unions and employer organisations since Moore v Doyle was decided by the Industrial Court in 1969. [More…]
Problems highlighted by that decision were examined by a working party consisting of representatives of the then Department of Labour and National Service, the AttorneyGeneral’s Department, the Department of Labor of the States of Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia, and Western Australia, the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the Australian Council of Employers’ Federations. [More…]
State trade union and industrial arbitration legislation in New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia provides for the registration of unions for the purposes of State law. [More…]
Some State unions may have become defunct for similar reasons. [More…]
Before dealing with the provisions of the Bill I want to make these comments: First, although for the sake of convenience I have been referring to unions, the problem concerns employer organisations as well as employee organisations. [More…]
To allow this automatically to happen could be unfair to other unions, whereas to refuse it would mean that not all the members of the State body could be admitted to the Federal organisation on amalgamation. [More…]
In recent years there have been four sets of litigation involving unions in that State which are operating both as federal branches and registered industrial unions under the State Act. [More…]
The report states that all unions, including a number which have only State registration, were in favour of the scheme and saw no prejudice flowing to them. [More…]
The Committee’s Report states that this applies to all unions, both of employers and employees. [More…]
As the Government has spent the past 12 months searching for a scapegoat for Australia’s soaring inflation rate- including the Senate, the Opposition, the States, prices, employers, trade unions, business, even claiming it was imported and now is blaming excessive wage claims without managing to stem, let alone reduce, the inflation rate- when will the Government formally acknowledge the AttorneyGeneral’s own belief as reported at page 640 of Hansard of 18 September 1973 and ‘acknowledge the basic duty and responsibility of the national Government for economic management’? [More…]
I ask the Leader of the Government in the Senate whether it is correct that the Prime Minister has abandoned hopes of wage restraint by the trade unions, regardless of whether quarterly cost of living adjustments are introduced? [More…]
I do not think the Prime Minister has abandoned any hope of dealing with the trade unions and requesting them to help to carry out governmental policy. [More…]
I refer to the statement made yesterday by the Prime Minister that it was in the national interest that unions should not make unreasonable or excessive wage demands. [More…]
Will he give an indication to unions and union members of what are in present economic circumstances unreasonable or excessive wage demands? [More…]
I suppose it follows as a matter of sheer logic and language that nobody, unions or anyone else, should be making unreasonable or excessive demands. [More…]
Unfortunately, as the honourable senator would know, unions are compelled by the peculiarities of our Constitution to make excessive demands. [More…]
So over the years, as everybody knows, the unions have adopted the device of claiming more than they are really seeking. [More…]
The present situation is not the fault of the trade unions, which are subjected to the system. [More…]
The Board will normally include members of the public, the trade unions, the business community and voluntary organisations, in addition to public servants. [More…]
But I believe that, as a result of conference between the industry, the Government and the unions which are involved in this sort of production, that tightrope has been eased very much. [More…]
-Does the Leader of the Government in the Senate agree that the decision of several unions to withdraw financial support from the Australian Labor Party and the threat by others to follow suit is an indication that most Australian workers feel let down and double crossed by this Government? [More…]
It is a matter for the trade unions to decide what they might do. [More…]
The Australian Government and the Australian Labor Party have done a great deal for trade unionism in this country.There is no doubt that from time to time some unions may not agree with everything that the Government has done, but it has been remarkable how over the whole of this century the great bulk of the trade union movement has stuck solidly with the Australian Labor Party. [More…]
Indeed, in recent years there has been a tendency for some of the trade unions which were not associated with the Australian Labor Party to become associated with it. [More…]
Will he therefore put into proper perspective claims by Mr Hawke, President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions and President of the Australian Labor Party, that the Commonwealth Government cannot constitutionally do what he says it ought to do? [More…]
Does the Minister agree with the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, Mr Hawke, that the trade union movement ‘worked its guts out’- that is Mr Hawke ‘s expression- to put a Labor Government committed to full employment into power? [More…]
I am sure that at the next election- whenever it comes- the trade union movement in general again will work very hard to have the Labor Government re-elected, as it will be, because again that will be to the advantage of the members of the trade unions. [More…]
It said it believed that this Bill ought to be delayed only to enable the Minister to inform the Senate as to the attitude of the States and of the unions. [More…]
As I indicated, there is no question in anyone’s assessment of the structure which Mr Justice Sweeney has recommended but that complementary legislation by the States is required and co-operation by the unions is required. [More…]
We just know that this Bill will not achieve its objective until there is this complementary legislation and until some unions are prepared to operate under it. [More…]
-The Australian Council of Trade Unions may favour the legislation. [More…]
To mention just one aspect: Will unions enter into a bond that they would honour and pay penalties which are awarded against them? [More…]
I should imagine that it is a matter which a great number of unions are unaware is part of the arrangement which has to be entered into. [More…]
I state quite emphatically, knowing it is the view of Mr Malcolm Fraser and the Opposition, that if there is an agreement between the unions, the Commonwealth and the States on this sort of approach it is to be welcomed, encouraged and facilitated by everyone who has something to do with it. [More…]
If there is something wrong I am sure that Senator Poyser and Senator Bishop can set me right and make sure that I am not misled by telegrams I receive from national presidents of large unions. [More…]
In that amendment he said, in effect: ‘We needed to be satisfied that a number of unions were happy about the provisions of the Sweeney report. ‘ [More…]
I can only say that the position which he puts can be answered only when the legislation is passed, because at that time we would expect a quick response from the unions, the employers and the State governments in the sense that I will have reported. [More…]
We are concerned that the persons most vitally concerned in the rectification of the problemnamely, the union movement, members of a number of unions and some employers’ organisations, but not all of them- have not been consulted as to the course which the Minister is pursuing. [More…]
The Moore v. Doyle case in 1969 disclosed that the incorporation of employees’ or employers’ organisations under Federal legislation was not the same thing as the incorporation of such organisations and the creation of unions under State legislation. [More…]
This head of power and the way it was implemented gave rise to the growth of Federal unions and Federal employers’ organisations and to the creation of disputes by easy, if somewhat artificial means. [More…]
Little thought or attention was given, when a Federal organisation was being established, to the relationship between the State branches and the State unions. [More…]
When State branches or State unions were combined to create Federal organisations the precise nature of the relationship between the State organisations and the Federal body was not clearly denned. [More…]
Factionalism, litigation and the ambition of oncers of various unions, together with a considerable amount of legal ingenuity, brought to these latent difficulties a prominence which was eventually exposed in the problems of the Transport Workers Union in New South Wales preceding the Moore v. Doyle case. [More…]
There was the establishing under the aegis of the Commonwealth Minister for Labor and the Commonwealth AttorneyGeneral, together with the State Ministers for Labour, the State law departments, the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the national employers body, of a working party which met over a period of approximately 2 years with a view to clarifying what were the issues and testing what were the possible areas in which reforms could take place. [More…]
I believe that the ultimate solution must be an amendment of the Constitution, and I hope that the parties involved could use the difficulties found in the Moore v. Doyle case to reach the stage where a constitutional amendment, couched not in extravagant terms but in language which has the ability to command support from both wings of the political movements in Australia, and from employer organisations and unions, might be devised. [More…]
In the Jumbunna Case the view seems to have been adopted that it would have been within power to give to trade unions and other associations constituted under the State laws a locus standi before the federal tribunal. [More…]
In New South Wales this has been held to extend to strikes by members of registered unions even though they are employed under Federal awards. [More…]
I leave aside how some organisations can square the making of a deed of that character with the policy which I understand is still the policy of the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
In any event, whatever may be the attitudes of individual unions, State legislation would be required in order to enable that particular machinery to be adopted. [More…]
A power in the appropriate tribunal to demark the industrial interests under the State Act of unions registered under that Act including those with non corporate registration. [More…]
The real area of doubt which I have is whether unions will be prepared to enter into a deed, a bond, to pay any penalties which were imposed upon and ordered to be paid by a non corporate State union. [More…]
Even if State legislation is passed, unless the unions agree to amend their rules, the scheme will be unfruitful. [More…]
We think it is also encumbent upon the Postmaster-General, again in his representative capacity, to indicate what is the attitude of the unions. [More…]
There are also the vexing problems which are raised by the proposed new section 142a of the Conciliation and Arbitration Act and the possibilities which are open to a member of the Commission to determine by decision of the Commission which unions shall represent which members on a State basis in proceedings before the Commission. [More…]
But the point which the Opposition makes is that the Minister has not played fair with the Parliament in withholding information as to the attitudes of the States to the introduction of complementary legislation and the attitudes of the unions. [More…]
whether or not the trade unions would accept the conditions for non-incorporated registration of State branches as laid down by the honourable Mr Justice Sweeney and [More…]
We feel there is a real need for many of the trade unions to know what is contained in this provision and to know how the scheme is going to work. [More…]
With all deference to what Senator Greenwood said about some trade unions having misgivings, I suppose it is a case of Hamlet without the Prince. [More…]
If Senator Greenwood had examined that report he would have seen that a number of unions, other than the Transport Workers’ Union, were consulted. [More…]
I repeat that as far as this legislation is concerned if the Transport Workers’ Unions want to work in harmony this will remove a tremendous source of irritation. [More…]
Unions have a job to protect the rights of their members. [More…]
If we get harmony between the 2 elements in the Transport Workers’ Union I feel that the synthetic objections to 1 or 2 other unions that may feel that they want to get a few more members are a minor consideration. [More…]
The point I emphasise is that if this legislation is rejected and delayed, as Senator Greenwood would like, the trade unions which expected constitutional changes via the national Parliament will find that the unions will have to slug it out, as it were, in a campaign to get members. [More…]
I think that members of the major unions such as the transport workers and the meat workers are the people we should placate. [More…]
There were a number of unions that were well aware of the implications of the Moore-Doyle case. [More…]
Other unions have come in that category. [More…]
But whether it be theirs or ours, he made the point that the successful role of trade unions is carried out by fighting limited wars. [More…]
But, although we have been grappling with the problem since 1969 and more technological changes are not around the bend, all the Opposition is saying is that we do not know whether the trade unions would accept the conditions for non-incorporated registration and we do not know the position of the States. [More…]
I say very bluntly to members of the Opposition who are adopting this attitude that there will be other disputes involving the Transport Workers Union or other disputes over the internal control of unions. [More…]
Such disputes may involve unions whose members are engaged in essential services. [More…]
If the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, Mr Hawke, or the Minister for Labor and Immigration, Mr Clyde Cameron, appears on the television program ‘Monday Conference ‘ or a similar television program and accuses the members of the Opposition of being guilty men, they will come into the Senate and say that those remarks represent a gigantic smear. [More…]
Let us talk to the employers, the unions and the States and let us see whether we can get a constitutional amendment’. [More…]
This is an horrendous situation cutting the ground from beneath the democratic processes in this country, something which people who are fond of railing against trade unions as the source of all the problems of this country should be worried about. [More…]
I do not know how we can take seriously their constant upbraiding of the unions for their role in our society. [More…]
As I said, it is as old as the existence of unions in this country. [More…]
There are enough problems to worry honourable senators opposite arising out of the existence of trade unions and their belief that they should look after their members’ rights- an impression that certainly cuts across what honourable senators opposite have been conveying to us in recent years- so I cannot see why they should be selfsatisfied about letting this additional irritant in trade union affairs go uncured. [More…]
This is a rebuke which I am glad to accept but which, I suggest, completely refutes the proposition that is put up by Senator Greenwood, that we should wait, that we should delay until we are more sure that the unions, the State governments and presumably the employers will back us up in what we are undertaking. [More…]
Of course, it is worthwhile to recapitulate briefly the history of what has transpired, between Mr Clyde Cameron and his Department and his counterparts in the States, to rebut the proposition that there had not been sufficient time or that the unions or the States have not been able to consider the matter and, therefore, this should be deferred in some way. [More…]
Copies of the report were distributed to all the States and to major unions and employer bodies. [More…]
I think the working party consisted of representatives of all States except one, of the employers and of the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
Australian Government departmental representatives favoured an alternative approach based on the premise that, while it was basically a matter for the unions themselves to put their affairs in order, legislative provisions were needed to minimise the effects of technical irregularities and provide machinery to enable the unions to rectify irregularities. [More…]
But, of course, this is not a question which concerns only the trade unions, as has been evidenced by the comments made by Senator James McClelland about the views of Mr Polites. [More…]
The Opposition believes that there are 4 possible solutions: The enlargement of Commonwealth power to legislate for terms and conditions of employment in industry and for trade unions; the transfer of certain powers to the Commonwealth by the States without referendum; complementary State and Federal legislation; or the encouragement of unions to go through the procedures required by law for the dissolution of State unions and the formation or State branches of federal unions. [More…]
These stated that if a system of non corporate registration, as discussed later, is adopted in New South Wales the 2 unions can settle their differences and amalgamate and these problems will not then recur. [More…]
I suppose the only defence which the Opposition has is to ask, as it has asked in the amendment, whether the unions will cooperate and whether the States will co-operate. [More…]
What will the unions do about it? [More…]
It is true that not every union which is concerned about this matter has answered the question, but only yesterday I was told personally by Mr Souter, the Secretary of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, that the ACTU supports the Bill. [More…]
They are registered in a similar way to the way in which the unions are registered. [More…]
Having done it, there seems to be no reason that the States and the ACTU, acting and speaking for all the unions, should not readily co-operate in a constructive way to bring about the changes which are required. [More…]
-Legislation such as the Government’s legislation to reduce the number of trade unions in order to avoid demarcation disputes and unnecessary industrial disputation. [More…]
Is the Minister for Agriculture aware that since he last answered me on the matter of superphosphate bounty, chemical workers in the industry have received a 20 per cent wage increase, the metal trades unions have applied for a 10 per cent wage increase, the price of rock phosphate has further increased by 32 per cent to 35 per cent, there has been the effect of the 12 per cent devaluation and the price of sulphur is expected to increase early in 1975? [More…]
Taking Figure 3 and these figures together it seems clearly indicated that Australians have up till now preferred to dissolve their marriages de facto rather than de jure; or perhaps more accurately, that the legal dissolution machinery is not operating efficiently to legitimate the decisions, and the subsequent unions, of separating persons; and that in consequence the country is perpetuating the existence of a large minority of citizens (over 1 per cent of the total population) who are in the marital sense stateless, and faced with all the problems of illegitimacy that statelessness involves. [More…]
It has been estimated, for example, that in England some 40 per cent of illegitimate children are born to stable illicit unions- that is the sort of union formed by people who for some reason or other, say a dog in the manger attitude on the part of the spouse who will not divorce, are not able to contract a second marriage. [More…]
Is it not true that not so long ago masses of people never bothered to get married at all, and that consequently the dissolution of their unions did not appear in the divorce statistics? [More…]
-I draw to the attention of the Postmaster-General statements by some individuals on the Council of the Combined Overseas Telecommunications Unions with reference to the majority decision of the Vernon Commission of Inquiry into the Australian Post Office regarding the merger of the Overseas Telecommunications Commission with the proposed new telecommunications corporation. [More…]
All honourable senators have received representations from a number of people who claim to represent the unions with employees in the Overseas Telecommunications Commission. [More…]
Because of that I am aware of what has taken place and of the reaction from the unions which represent most of the employees. [More…]
All those unions represented on the Council are in favour of the merger. [More…]
Of all the other unions, some with only one or two members, there is only one of which I am aware which is against the merger. [More…]
I understand that this situation could arise because of the activities of postal unions which are seeking a public holiday on Cup day for their country members. [More…]
There was a situation causing a dispute between the postal unions, myself and the Public Service Board in relation to the Melbourne Cup day holiday. [More…]
The postal unions after some representations placed bans on certain Post Office works. [More…]
I am pleased to say that only this morning Mr Watson, the Deputy Public Service Arbitrator, decided to meet the request of the postal unions. [More…]
A number of people in trade unions and elsewhere are far from satisfied with the provisions which are contained in these Bills. [More…]
The Government sees this measure as being of such importance to the Australian community that we have welcomed any views which any person or organisation, including representatives of the insurance industry, women’s organisations, trade unions, and of course the Opposition parties in this Parliament, wish to place before us. [More…]
The first group is the trade unions and the second group is the insurance industry. [More…]
But I seem to recall that whenever a trade union makes an application to a court for an increase in wages all sorts of attacks are made in the Parliament and outside about unions going crazy. [More…]
We are told that the unions should not do it and are asked what the Government is going to do to stop the unions and so forth. [More…]
I ask the Minister representing the Minister for Environment and Conservation: Is the Government aware that a group of unions in Victoria is standing over the Victorian Government by simply telling it that the power station, essential for Victoria’s future power needs, is not to be built at Newport? [More…]
It also deals in detail with racial discrimination so far as it concerns access to places and facilities, the provision of land, housing and other accommodation, the provision of goods and services, the right to join trade unions and employment [More…]
Is the Minister aware that this union and other unions involved in the media industries are concerned to ensure protection of their members’ wages and working condition entitlements in the event of the [More…]
In other words, are the unions concerned that their conditions might be affected by well-minded amateurs using public broadcasting more in the form of a hobby than as a career? [More…]
A number of other unions have raised the issue with me- the Professional Radio Employees Institute, the Electrical Trades Union, Actors and Announcers Equity, the Theatrical and Amusement Employees Association and, on an unofficial basis, the Australian Journalists Association. [More…]
I can understand and indeed have some sympathy for the attitude being expressed by those unions. [More…]
For my part I have given an assurance to the unions that the matter is certainly not being overlooked by me or by my Department. [More…]
It had not been done last week according to the drug companies, lt may involve a special appeal to unions in Australia which, if they understood the situation, might make special efforts to expedite the unloading of this material when it reaches Australia. [More…]
Was it not the Government which through the Minister for Labor and Immigration (Mr Clyde Cameron) urged upon the country the proposition that the trade unions should bypass arbitration, go in for collective bargaining and yell for and obtain above-award wages? [More…]
Was it not the Government which then called upon the unions to do the very things it now says they should not do? [More…]
I have to say to unions across the nation: ‘Go easy, mate.Think of those who are not as well organised as you are. [More…]
Senator Carrick went on to talk about the cost push and he, of course, got on to his usual subject of the trade unions and all this sort of thing. [More…]
Let them reveal to the people of Australia how much they are under the thumb of the communist-led unions in this country and how they are unable to resist the pressure which is put upon them. [More…]
I return to the initial point I made in this debate about the parallel between the Middle East situation and the trade unions. [More…]
I say respectfully that we must get some of these wild men around the table and we must convince them that they have to accept responsibilities, just as militant unions sometimes have to accept responsibilities when they appear before a judge. [More…]
It has been pointed out, not only in the Senate but also by representatives of the trade unions and anyone familiar with the subject, that as inflation proceeds it has a special effect on any kind of progressive charge or tax. [More…]
Each regional council should involve representatives of the Australian, State and local governments, trade unions and employer groups, welfare consumer groups and nongovernment bodies concerned with social welfare, lt is desirable that the regional council should be answerable to the residents of the region. [More…]
Yes, there have been trade unions involved. [More…]
The Government will not deliberately exclude trade unions from participation in the Australian Assistance Plan. [More…]
There are a number of trade unions. [More…]
I know that Senator Greenwood does not like the thought that they do but they are there and I can assure him that we will not exclude trade unions from the operation of this plan in the same way as we will not exclude Rotary Clubs, employers’ organisations or any other group which is representative of citizens in the community. [More…]
What we are trying to do is to see how it works, to make the moneys available to these organisations, to bring in State government and local government, the Rotary clubs, the church organisations, the branches of political parties for that matter, trade unions, employers ‘ groups or anybody else, see how they work together and see how they are able to manage the administration of this scheme- Senator Greenwood smirks; I know he thinks it is all a Communist plot- and from this try to work out some pattern so that ultimately, when the legislation is introduced, when there is a binding Act which Parliament has the authority to administer, we will know why the Act has been introduced and that it has been based on this experience. [More…]
To refer churlishly to the fact that there are some unions there and that some of these people belong to the Labor Party can have only a disruptive effect on the whole idea of the Australian Assistance Plan. [More…]
Let me assure honourable senators that trade unions have done plenty that is to the advantage of: the people of Australia. [More…]
I think that more than 600 applications have reached me in Sydney via the Brotherhood, at least 5 trade unions and 2 regional Greek organisations. [More…]
Did the Prime Minister attempt to reach a no wage demand agreement with the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, Mr Hawke, before the tax cuts were announced? [More…]
If the appeal for wage restraint fails who will be to blame for further deterioration of the economy, the unions or the Government? [More…]
There were discussions between the Prime Minister and the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, and the Leader of the Country Party in the Senate is well aware of them. [More…]
The honourable senator wants to know who will be responsible, the Government or the trade unions, if there is some deterioration in the economic position. [More…]
That illustrates his outlook, and that of his Party; if something goes wrong it is the fault of either the Government or the trade unions. [More…]
All he wants to do is to blame either the Government or the trade unions. [More…]
The intention here is to extend consultation to representatives of the trade unions in the media industries and to other organisations that might be interested in radio and television services. [More…]
It referred to the appearances before the Royal Commission into Alleged Payments to Maritime Unions. [More…]
Whenever trade unions make some claim for increased wages the honourable senator complains about what they are doing. [More…]
I might add as an interpolation that there are trade unions in China but they exist to ensure that production teams meet their production goals. [More…]
I thought that perhaps some of our trade unions might take a leaf from their book. [More…]
These include organisations in particular districts, those conducted by employee groups, unions etc. [More…]
I refer to an answer which he gave to a question in the Senate on 30 October concerning the attitudes of unions whose members are employed by the Overseas Telecommunications Commission. [More…]
These people have been reassured by myself in public statements made at regularised meetings which have taken place between the unions and the people concerned in the arrangements for the transfer. [More…]
As far as I am aware the officials of the unions concerned are doing just that. [More…]
The Opposition fought against the attempts of the Government to achieve amalgamation of unions to prevent demarcation disputes and to bring some real rationalisation into the industrial area. [More…]
-Mr President, I would like to correct some union membership figures I gave in answer to a question by Senator Durack in respect of those unions operating in the Overseas Telecommunications Commission. [More…]
That is the membership of the main unions involved out of a total of 2,067 staff members. [More…]
What did Mr Hawke, the President of the Australian Labor Party and the head of the Australian Council of Trade Unions say? [More…]
As a continuation of this policy, we will over a period n-ake up to 300 acres of land in the Noarlunga area available to the Australian Council of Trade Unions to use for low-cost worker housing. [More…]
It said to the general employee community and to the unions: ‘Go for your life for all the benefits you can gain. [More…]
When it first came into office it encouraged employees and unions to make applications, and the Australian Conciliation and Arbitration Commission to grant the benefits they seek. [More…]
Last Thursday night I was speaking to a delegation which was comprised of New South Wales and Victorian housing trade unions. [More…]
I refer to the amalgamation of trade unions. [More…]
Even in the first 6 months of amalgamation, from January 1972 to June 1972, the previously continuous issue of demarcation between the three unions concerned, virtually disappeared. [More…]
The records will clearly show that, since the end of 1972, there have been hardly any major demarcation disputes between the three former unions: Boilermakers, Engineers and Sheet Metal Workers, or between any two of the three former unions. [More…]
The point that I was making at that time was that the amalgamation of unions does not necessarily stop demarcation disputes. [More…]
The records will clearly show that, since the end of 1972. there have been hardly any major demarcation disputes between the three former unions: Boilermakers, Engineers and Sheet Metal Workers, or between any two of the three former unions. [More…]
He is complaining because the Labor Government and the unions gave his workers too much money. [More…]
-My question to the Postmaster-General refers to his corrected answer to a question I asked yesterday about the attitudes of various unions, some of whose members are employed by the Overseas Telecommunications Commission. [More…]
The unions that I have mentioned, such as the Professional Radio Employees Institute of Australia, the Administrative and Clerical Officers Association, the Association of Professional Engineers, the Association of Architects, Engineers, Surveyors and Draughtsmen, the Australian Journalists Association and some other unions with small memberships like the Miscellaneous Workers Union, the Electrical [More…]
Only today I read in the ‘Australian’ where Mr Hawke, the President of the Austraiian Labor Party and President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, forecast that there could be 300,000 people out of work in Australia by January. [More…]
How significant is devaluation in terms of the conditions laid down by the trade unions for wage restraint agreement? [More…]
Are the unions sceptical despite yesterday’s statement by the Minister for Overseas Trade that devaluation would meet the unions’ demands and further protection for industry would not be necessary? [More…]
Credit unions will continue to be taxed on income other than interest on loans to members, for example, from rents and outside’ investment of funds not immediately required for their normal lending operations. [More…]
If” Senator Cavanagh is seeking to know specifically of what I am talking, it is the indication initially by about 5 unions, then 7 unions, then 15 unions and then the Trades Hall Council that they would prevent the Newport power station in Victoria being built. [More…]
There has scarcely been any occasion on which the Parliament’s authority has been more challenged by direct confrontation than by the attitude which the unions are adopting at the present time. [More…]
The plea is now being made by the unions through the Australian Labor Party in the hope that there will be a decision at the Federal Conference of the Labor Party next year for direct support of the whole Labor movement for what the unions are doing. [More…]
This represents a concerted attempt by a number of unions which are concerned only to have a direct confrontation with the Victorian Government to assert their authority and to indicate it is in the hands of the unions that power lies. [More…]
A number of unions said that they would black ban the project. [More…]
At the time that that statement was made the Victorian Premier properly said that the unions attitude represented a defiance of parliament and the elected government. [More…]
Leaving aside the totally unreasonable stance of any group which claims to exert a private power to determine how public authorities should act, there are a number of matters relevant to particular points raised by the unions which ought to be mentioned. [More…]
The unions claimed that the power station ought to be resited. [More…]
It is very significant, in view of the political affiliations of those who control these unions, to note the original 5 unions concerned in this matter. [More…]
Of course, a number of building unions have now joined in. [More…]
Now 15 unions have refused to build the Newport station although they say they will co-operate in a project on a suitable alternative site. [More…]
It is not the province ofthe unions to run the State, lt would be a miscarriage of accountability if the unions were allowed to dictate to the Government the terms of how power was supplied, where it came from and under what conditions. [More…]
He regards the Government’s decision as provoking direct confrontation with the unions but it is the unions which are directly and provocatively confronting Parliament and the people, lt is this issue to which 1 believe it is in the interests of all people in this country to have regard and to ensure that when this challenge does come, as it is developing at the present time, this Parliament is found on the side of the Victorian Government and upholding law in that State. [More…]
Trade Unions and Associations. [More…]
In pursuance of this obligation I seek nominations for worker representatives from the Australian Council of Trade Unions, drawing attention to the need for the nominees to be drawn from workers organisations having a substantial membership in the industry or occupational grouping concerned. [More…]
This program also has another first in that train drivers and guards are being involved, through their unions, in the design of those compartments of the vehicle in which they must operate. [More…]
With a view to developing a standard specification the Minister for Transport hopes to arrange for a conference of government and private operators and unions to be held to attempt to rationalise the requirements of each jurisdiction. [More…]
I ask whether the change of heart is a voluntary action of the Industries Assistance Commission, a response to a request by the Prime Minister or a concession to demands by the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
The Department has raised with the appropriate unions the question of those who drive passenger buses wearing a lap belt. [More…]
I ask: Was this the result of intrusion by the Australian Council of Trade Unions? [More…]
The honourable senator suggests that some threat has been made by the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
I ask the Minister representing the Minister for Labor and Immigration whether, in view of the Government’s repeated expressions of confidence that trade unions would heed the call for wage restraint as a means of checking inflation, the Public Service pay rise is a clear indication that the real value of wages and salaries continues to fall as the rate of inflation climbs. [More…]
Since this is a serious accusation by the Government against the trade unions, what specific evidence can the Government produce to support the charge? [More…]
This is not a matter to be decided over a glass of sherry by members of the Board and the television stations; this is a matter in which- and I go as far as to say this- trade unions, and certainly the whole mass of the public, have a very pertinent interest. [More…]
That trade unions do not represent their members when the views of those members cannot be expressed without fear of retribution. [More…]
Lower personal income tax giving the working man more money in his pocket and the trade unions less reason for high wage demands. [More…]
Introduce secret ballots for trade unions so that each member can express his or her view honestly without the fear of retribution or victimisation. [More…]
I ask: Is it not a fact that whilst the trade unions have played an important role in their quest to protect the environment and general quality of life in the working class area of Newport in Victoria, these same unions are simply spearheading a campaign on behalf of numerous environmental groups and people living in the immediate and surrounding area of the district in which the Victorian Government is insisting that a new power station be built? [More…]
I understand that some trade unions have complained that this should not have to be their role and that initiatives ought to have been taken in these areas long ago by governments. [More…]
One of my ministerial assistants is in constant touch with the unions. [More…]
I have asked him to tell the unions that in my opinion the decision of Mr Taylor is such as to warrant the Australian Postal Workers Union Federal Executive considering taking action other than that currently being taken, lt seems to me that there are other avenues that the Union could canvass to settle its grievances, including recourse to arbitration. [More…]
I have asked Mr Hancock to put that position to the unions concerned, including the Federal Secretary of the APWU. [More…]
My question which is directed to the Attorney-General relates to the refusal of the Secretary of the Seamen’s Union of Australia, Mr E. V. Elliott, to supply documents to Mr Justice Sweeney, the royal commissioner conducting an investigation into alleged payments to maritime unions. [More…]
Mr Bowen informed me in regard to the communication I had sent him for decision that because royal commissions come under the Special Minister of State he did not consider that legal assistance granted in the case of the ‘Voyager’ Royal Commission established a precedent for meeting the request of the 2 unions. [More…]
He went on to give some explanation about it being accorded to individuals in that case and said that he had written to the 2 unions advising them that whilst the Government does grant legal aid to individuals it does not do so in respect of organisations appearing before royal commissions and that, therefore, the cost of legal counsel to be retained by the unions would not be provided. [More…]
When I became Postmaster-General I delegated one of my staff who is experienced in industrial matters to talk to the unions and also to the people at the Redfern Mail Exchange. [More…]
I hope that my representations to the unions will result in some second thoughts been adopted about the action that is now being taken. [More…]
The call of the Prime Minister (Mr Whitlam) to the unions of Australia to respond in support of indexation on the basis that they are going to be offered a benefit of about $6 a week at the maximum in taxation deductions is also fatuous. [More…]
It has also set about to assist not only trade unions but also management. [More…]
When I was a member of the Australian Council of Trade Unions years ago many waterside workers were to be displaced at sugar ports. [More…]
You will have no strikes because we understand unions’. [More…]
In the circumstances of what could easily be action by the unions to settle the dispute, and having had some experience in these matters, I do not think I should make any comments at this stage. [More…]
I move from there to credit unions. [More…]
Clause 6 of the Bill proposes that interest received by credit unions on loans made to their members be exempted from taxation and it provides qualifications. [More…]
I have commended the provisions regarding credit unions and child care. [More…]
Consultation with Trade Unions [More…]
The Bill introduces a requirement for the Wool Corporation to consult with the trade unions concerned before taking action likely to affect the conditions of employment or the demand for labour in the wool industry. [More…]
The Corporation already follows a usual practice of consultation with unions on relevant matters but the amendment now formally requires such consultation. [More…]
This same man said that the unions had no right to ensure that people on the island were getting proper wages. [More…]
In the case of Moore v Doyle, it was held that registration of unions under State legislation bestowed separate legal entity and the Industrial Court suggested that Federal/State authorities examine the development of a system of trade union organisation under which one body could represent its members in both Federal and State arbitration systems. [More…]
As everybody knows, whenever there are important stoppages or national stoppages, the most effective method of dealing with them in an organised way, where there are factions in the work force, is to support in every way the taking over of the disputes by the Australian Council of Trade Unions which then has power to control all the elements in the disputes. [More…]
As Senator Durack knows, in the area of the Redfern Mail Exchange, which has always been a very difficult area, I have allowed one of my officers, whom I should have on my staff helping me with my duties, to work full time on corresponding and communicating with the unions. [More…]
I asked the Minister whether he was aware that a group of unions in Victoria was standing over the Victorian Government by simply telling it that the power station, essential for Victoria’s needs, would not be built at Newport. [More…]
The unions concerned chose to put no case whatsoever. [More…]
We ask that not only should trade unions be consulted in the new avenues in which the Corporation is embarking but also that employer groups should be included. [More…]
Clause 9 requires the Corporation to negotiate with trade unions and sets out the power of direction of the Minister in industrial matters. [More…]
The clause states that the Corporation shall consult with trade unions and I am quite sure that this is a matter which should not create any great concern. [More…]
1) In view of the public statement of the Prime Minister that sections of the trade union movement are conspiring with employers to force higher prices, what specific evidence can the Government produce to support the charge, which is a serious accusation against the trade unions. [More…]
I did, however, refer to instances of firms taking up identical positions with individual trade unions or sections of the trade union movement in some industries. [More…]
On the matter of tariff protection, I was referring to cases where trade unions, in those industries competing with imports, had tended to put jobs before price considerations. [More…]
I refer to the statement of the President of the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission, Mr Justice Moore, that decisions by the Prices Justification Tribunal had delayed the movement towards conciliation between unions and employers. [More…]
There is the Government’s encouragement to unions to seek excessive wage and salary increases outside the conciliation and arbitration system and often in defiance of the conciliation and arbitration system. [More…]
The curious, redoubtable, camera-shy Mr Hawke said in 1972 and 1973 that the unions in Australia would never stand a situation in which a Labor government had unemployment exceeding 1 50 000 people. [More…]
If anyone wishes to see it, let him look at the Melbourne ‘Sun’ of 5 October 1974 which reports Mr Hawke as saying that it would be a judgment on the Labor Party if there was ever unemployment of more than 1 50 000 people because that was when the unions would withdraw their support. [More…]
As I recall yesterday’s Press, he said that if indexation should be introduced the Australian Council of Trade Unions would not be cooperating with the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission to limit wage claims which might be made outside indexation. [More…]
The Opposition parties will strengthen the industrial inspectorate in every industry, not only those industries in which unions can decide to have disputes procedures. [More…]
In this time of inflation, despite Labor Ministers’ statements and Labor policies on wage restraint and trying to get the unions to agree to it, up to now we have not been successful. [More…]
It is wrong for any advocate before the Commission today to say what the Australian Council of Trade Unions might do. [More…]
1 am convinced that once the Commission decides to introduce wage indexation, which is Labor’s policy, the majority of unions will accept it. [More…]
For the first time we have a government which says that it believes in the trade unions being involved in management, running the enterprises and being taught how to run the enterprises. [More…]
The Opposition parties have banded together and said: We will not allow amalgamation of unions’. [More…]
Let us look at the unions which have amalgamated. [More…]
Honourable senators opposite have banded together and said that there should be no amalgamation of unions. [More…]
The trade unions are very greatly to blame. [More…]
I hope that the members of the Prices Justification Tribunal go immediately to one of these stores that are owned by the unions. [More…]
The Australian Council of Trade Unions’ store, of which Senator Brown was a director or some such thing, could have made a great rate of profit by not charging the prices that are charged in other stores. [More…]
The company states in its report that loss of production and sales resulting from strikes and obstruction by some unions, large increases in costs and a slackening in demand towards the end of the period have reduced the profit content of the company. [More…]
We all know that in a democracy, with our checks and balances in the Federal system, that we all at times- trade unions and employers- try to get the best of both worlds. [More…]
Senator Bishop knows that in regard to unions in the field of electronics, such as in the PostmasterGeneral’s Department, and other manufacturing unions, some of us have worked from the heart. [More…]
Honourable senators opposite might say that because trade unions oppose technological changes, they are equivalent to the Luddites. [More…]
There were more strikes of a nature damaging to the economy than we had had at any previous period of our history, so much so that the Government completely reversed the attitude of encouragement and demand that it had adopted when it first took office, and we had even Labor Ministers turning to the unions and almost pleading for moderation and restraint. [More…]
Justice Latham; Mr Justice Spicer, whom I consider to have been a conspicuous success in the Australian Industrial Court and who, I might say, many people from the trade unions and from the other side of the political fence concede to have been a just, impartial and sensible judge; and of course more recently, Mr Justice Bowen who went to the Appeals Court of New South Wales only 3 months after having been reelected to this Parliament. [More…]
As everybody knows not only departmental people have been sent to Darwin but also many of the unions have sent volunteer tradesmen to rebuild the city. [More…]
It was only through the Deputy Director-General of Posts and Telegraphs- after the Prime Minister had given permission some 48 hours or so later- that we were able to get the telegraph counter open at the Post Office in spite of the fact that members of all postal unions volunteered their services. [More…]
If the Country Party in the Legislative Assembly were to be given the job of deciding the number it could well reduce it to 10 to exclude nominations made by trade unions, or it could reduce it to 8 because perhaps the Salvation Army, which does not support the Country Party, has made a nomination. [More…]
He mentioned that there have been some things going on in trade unions. [More…]
After all, they derive considerable benefits from formation of larger unions. [More…]
Frequently several unions are parties to a single award or agreement, as is the case in the metal industry award, and often there is a multiplicity of separate awards and agreements which operate in single establishments. [More…]
Amalgamation of organisations will operate in this situation not only by reducing the number of unions party to single awards and agreements but also by limiting the number of awards and agreements applying within single establishments. [More…]
Negotiation and agreement on industrial matters would also be facilitated if the employer had to deal only with one or two unions instead of, as is often the case with larger employers, a number going into double figures, each operating under different rules and procedures and not necessarily pursuing common policies. [More…]
One needs to look no further than Government instrumentalities to get an idea of the number of unions one “employer may have to deal with. [More…]
A total of 28 unions are represented in the Postmaster-General’s Department. [More…]
Workers in the Sydney Mail Exchange are covered by not less than 20 unions. [More…]
The workforce of Trans Australia Airlines is covered by not fewer than 26 unions. [More…]
The men and women employed by the Commonwealth Railways belong to 14 unions. [More…]
It is no wonder that in February 1972 before the introduction of the legislation which erected the present barriers to amalgamations, the then President of the Metal Trades Industry Association issued a Press statement stating that he would be informing Mr Lynch, the then Minister for Labour and National Service, that the MTIA would be opposed to any action by the Government which sought to prevent the amalgamation of 3 metal trades unions which was in progress. [More…]
Specifically mentioned were the reduction in the number of unions with which the MTIA and its members would have to deal and the elimination of costly demarcation disputes. [More…]
The benefits to unions, employees and employers that would flow from fewer and larger unions would go a long way towards a more efficient industrial relations system, one which would be conducive to a substantial improvement in industrial relations. [More…]
More specifically, in the longer term, a relatively small number of unions could effect a reduction in the number and frequency of wage claims and, I think it is reasonable to suggest, a consequent moderation in the rate of wage increases. [More…]
With nearly 300 unions our industrial relations area is in a state of constant ferment with unions making claims, negotiating agreements or undertaking arbitral proceedings to bring their members’ conditions up to parity with, or to improve upon, wage rates obtained by other unions. [More…]
Wage claims are made in such numbers and with such frequency that it is extremely difficult for union officials or anyone else to know whether a union’s claim will maintain the members wage position relative to that of the members of other unions or will comprise the initial bid in a new round of wage increases. [More…]
For instance, there are some 300 unions in Australia. [More…]
It could facilitate the functioning of the arbitration system and relations generally between employers and unions if this number of unions decreases . [More…]
Their fear was too unreasonable to permit any consideration of the enormous benefits to unions, employers and the community that could flow from amalgamations of unions. [More…]
They feared that larger unions might also be more militant, using their industrial strength in reprehensible ways. [More…]
The Australian Workers Union is one of our 2 largest unions and few would disagree with its reputation for conducting its industrial relations in a moderate manner. [More…]
On the other hand, that same fear blinded its holders to the fact that comparatively small unions with members employed in carrying out functions whose continued operation is vital for the economic or social wellbeing of the community can exercise industrial strength out of proportion to their numbers. [More…]
The 1974 Statement on Employment and Industrial Relations Policy endorsed by both the Country Party and the Liberal Party said that ‘the multiplicity of unions and the spread of certain unions through many industries makes the task of consultation and negotiation more difficult with problems of one union unnecessarily flowing to others. ‘ [More…]
In 1904 it was natural that unions looked to the Court of Conciliation and Arbitration for protection. [More…]
It is understandable that in the circumstances pertaining in the first half of this century unions may have developed a habit of looking to the Court. [More…]
Unions now have self-respect and the respect of others. [More…]
Their members are often well educated- in the case of some unions, extremely well educated. [More…]
One of the purposes of the provisions proposed by this Bill is to encourage those officials to democratise the decision making processes in their unions in relation to proposed agreements concerning the members’ conditions of employment It has been claimed that the provisions of this Bill will weaken union leadership and ‘union leaders would have no authority or incentive to make anything stick’. [More…]
To be effective in reducing industrial unrest it is essential that employers and unions should be able to negotiate with reasonable certainty that whatever agreement they reach will stand. [More…]
What would be the position with trade unions or DOGS- the Defence of Government Schools organisation? [More…]
For instance, unions may have a view as to whether the Conciliation and Arbitration Bill that will be before us which deals with the amalgamation of trade unions should be accepted. [More…]
I can well see that if the trade unions do not want to have their donations spelt out by disclosure they can make requirements in their rules to meet the case and get from their members moneys not in excess of $100. [More…]
Many of the unions, as we know, encourage and use this type of intimidation. [More…]
Those statements indicated that the unions wanted to bring down the companies for which they worked. [More…]
Will he as soon as practicable inform the Senate whether it is a fact that the tenants of the new Australian Government owned Hobart Trades Hall are representatives of unaffiliated unions often referred to in Tasmania as left wing or anti-Harradine unions who are not allowed in the new Trades Hall? [More…]
On what basis are rentals being charged, and which firm or company acted for the unions which have obtained these tenancies from the Department of Services and Property? [More…]
Does the Government propose to follow the recent suggestion by Mr Short of the Federated Ironworkers Association and have talks with union leaders so that the Government can put to the unions Mr Whitlam ‘s view that wage increases are the primary cause of inflation? [More…]
If it does not propose to do that, how does the Government propose to obtain wage restraint from individual unions which are clearly contemptuous of wage restraint and which are not, as Mr Short pointed out recently, bound by decisions of the Australian Council of Trade Unions on wage issues? [More…]
However, it must also be noted that under the Tillman Act of 1907, the Smith-Connolly Act of 1943 and the Taft-Hartley Act of 1 947 restrictions were placed on national banks and labour unions in respect of making contributions in elections for federal office. [More…]
There is a complete difference in the relationship and political activities of unions in Australia. [More…]
It is regrettable that most of the unions are lined up on one side of the fence in this country and that there is less support in the business community. [More…]
We recently heard Senator Missen say that all of the unions are lined up on one side. [More…]
I presume he was implying that all of the trade unions throughout Australia make donations to the Labor Party. [More…]
All of the trade unions are not necessarily on one side. [More…]
A number of unions in Western Australia are on side with the now defunct Democratic Labor Party or make contributions to particular political parties or to particular political candidates. [More…]
Indeed, as I am reminded by my colleague from Western Australia, there are a lot of non-affiliated unions. [More…]
If in the first place members of the Opposition parties had been able to persuade the Premier of New South Wales to do the traditional and correct thing- some tried to persuade him- unions and other people in society would not be trying to take some sort of retaliatory action. [More…]
There was a long drawn out faction fight in this trade union, as we know there is every day in many major unions. [More…]
This was a union which suffered from the dichotomy from which all unions in this country, except purely State unions, suffer. [More…]
I had discussions yesterday with a delegation consisting of executives of the Electrolytic Zinc Co. of Australasia Ltd and representatives of the various unions which are under threat of having some of their members dismissed in the immediate future. [More…]
-I should think that the proposition put forward by the Minister for Health would meet with the approval not only of the Royal Australian Nursing Federation and the other relevant unions but of all those concerned with democracy in industry and the participation of those who work within an industry in the management of that industry. [More…]
The purpose of the existing law- and I think it is a matter of credit that the previous Government introduced these laws- is to ensure that the rights of members of trade unions are not overridden by officials who want to enlarge their empires and who seek to do so without regard to what the rank and file membership may think. [More…]
The committee is required by the existing law to forward its proposals for amalgamation, that is, the wishes of the officials of the 2 unions, to the Industrial Registrar for his approval. [More…]
We do not believe in a system in which the ballots can be conducted by the unions themselves. [More…]
It is not uncommon for a number of unions to be parties to a single award or agreement. [More…]
Three of the unions in the metal trades group have already amalgamated. [More…]
The Opposition has no idea of the nature of trade unions; it has no idea of what goes on in trade unions when it talks in the way in which it does. [More…]
There is a growing feeling in the trade union movement that the arbitration system has been designed to fragment and penalise the unions, that it is designed to discriminate against workers and wage earners and rob them of an independent trade union movement. [More…]
The unions will amalgamate whether it is done inside or outside the arbitration system. [More…]
The amalgamation of unions into the Amalgamated Metal Workers Union, which I understand was done with the concurrence of each of the unions concerned, took in excess of 2 years. [More…]
This haste, I suggest, could well lead to body snatching, empire building and all sorts of problems between the unions themselves. [More…]
This circumstance, in which there is a real possibility of a monopoly takeover in the unions field, is contrary to the Government’s attitude- until the recent Baltic states incident- towards takeovers. [More…]
The dangers of commission, I believe, really run themselves into the possibility of establishing through this legislation a monopoly situation which may be to the detriment of the few- the weak and the small- at the hands of the larger and stronger unions and which may well lead to the sort of unfortunate cirmustances that would follow logically from the confrontation about which Senator Mcintosh was talking. [More…]
Already something like 70 per cent of Australian trade unionists belong to 33 trade unions. [More…]
If the Senate is in any way a House of review it has a responsibility in this direction and it has a responsibility to those very large employers who find themselves transfixed by the barbs and arrows of industrial disruption, many of which emanate from the discord created by having too many unions in Australia. [More…]
I want to make my support of the Bill quite clear in this House so that it will not be misconstrued, but I regret that one must leave the House and the decision that is apparently to be made knowing that the practical result of the action of the Opposition is that it does not support further amalgamation of unions and having amalgamations facilitated in this way. [More…]
Since this legislation was last debated I have had brought to my attention a host of instances involving small groups of people belonging to small unions who could have had greater services given to them had they enjoyed the advantage of amalgamation. [More…]
The idea that trade unions should concern themselves only with hours and wages is no longer on. [More…]
The only lesson I am making out is that trade unions today are confronted with fringe issues. [More…]
In small unions in New South Wales, such as the food preservers union, which may be big in other States, frankly all the secretary is is a glorified dues collector. [More…]
The great tragedy is that these things affect the patience of the trade unions. [More…]
There are other unions which could go through this industrial Gethsemane but tomorrow when their members and officials read the newspapers they will find out that the House of review was not prepared to review the industrial legislation. [More…]
The unions fear this sort of body snatching. [More…]
The Postmaster-General made this vividly clear when he referred to the multiplicity of unions involved in that industry. [More…]
It could be that the attiduce of the Opposition is that if the unions erode their money on these futile civil war expeditions there is less money to fight a successful wage claim or against a new job code. [More…]
Trade unions dig in and say that they are opposed to a particular concept of industrial technique if somebody’s job is on the line. [More…]
The point 1 am getting at is that the trade unions of Australia will read about this debate tomorrow. [More…]
I think it is significant that during the weekend the Opposition spokesman on industrial affairs came out with a proposal to use the bludgeon of retaliatory legislation against trade unions which he regarded as acting in an argumentative manner. [More…]
If this legislation is rejected by the Opposition the real casualties will be unions in sectors of the industry that are virtually free of industrial stoppages. [More…]
It is obvious that that union, like a number of other unions, would be in a far better position if it merged with other unions. [More…]
Yet, on the other side of the coin, it seems that the rights of trade unions to amalgamate are regarded as leading to Domesday. [More…]
In addition, what we fear is the expensive litigation which can be incurred by unions such as the Federated Storemen and Packers Union on venturing into this field. [More…]
It is the very small unions which need amalgamation. [More…]
In the recess when I go around to the trade unions they ask what we are doing in the Senate and whether it is a House of review. [More…]
We think it is scandalous for an Opposition to hold up legislation in relation to the amalgamation of unions- a principle which the Opposition has supported on many occasions. [More…]
In Queensland, unions in related callings may amalgamate on the passing of a resolution by a majority of members present at a general meeting or by other competent authority in the unions. [More…]
In South Australia where there is a Labor Government unions may amalgamate on the passing of a resolution to this effect and the lodging of it with the Registrar. [More…]
In Western Australia, unions in related industries may amalgamate on the passing of a resolution by a majority of members present at a general meeting of each union and objections to the amalgamation may be heard. [More…]
For instance, there are some 300 unions in Australia. [More…]
It could facilitate the functioning of the arbitration system and relations generally between the employers and the unions if this number of unions decreased. [More…]
I know of situations in which employers have sat across the table with no fewer than 15 unions in relation to one issue. [More…]
One may therefore express the hope that individual executives and officers in both trade unions and employer organisations may soon realise how ephemeral empires really are and that there is far more satisfaction in subsuming individual desires for personal recognition in a cause which benefits the community generally. [More…]
Such an advance would be greatly aided by rational amalgamations of unions and a similar unifying of employer organisations. [More…]
At the end of 1973 there were 294 separate unions in Australia, 226 of which had a membership of fewer than 5000 and of these 103 had fewer than 500 members. [More…]
It leads to a struggle for identification from each of the unions, large or small. [More…]
The Minister made the point when the Bill was introduced on various occasions that a situation where we have this large number of unions only adds to the inflationary trend because each union competes with the other. [More…]
If, as is the purpose of the legislation, a situation were to develop in Australia where unions in globo and employers in globo tended more to enter agreements perhaps once in two years it would lead to a stabilisation which we all want. [More…]
1 will deal with another 2 clauses which deal with the rights of members of trade unions. [More…]
The situation that we are aiming at is to make amalgamation of trade unions easier. [More…]
It had been known since 1968 that the 3 unions concerned had been conducting negotiations on amalgamations. [More…]
The federal conferences of the 3 unions agreed to amalgamate in 1969 and early 1970. [More…]
At all stages of the amalgamation proposals the 3 unions acted within the provisions of the Conciliation and Arbitration Act and the accompanying regulations. [More…]
In March 1971 the 2 unions proposing to reregister held ballots of members as required by the Act. [More…]
The then Amalgamated Engineering Union, which was merely expanding its rules to accommodate members of other unions, also held a ballot of its members to see whether they approved of an amalgamation, even though it was not required to do so under the Act. [More…]
The amalgamation proposals and the ballots to be held to obtain the members’ approval were publicised widely in the official journals of the unions which were distributed to all members. [More…]
The ballots of the 3 unions showed that a majority of those voting in each of the 3 unions were in favour of amalgamation. [More…]
At the time of the amalgamation and since employers have gone on record as saying that they would rather deal with one group of unions than with a whole host of unions. [More…]
In our case, we have proposed a situation which will reduce very rapidly the number of unions. [More…]
For example, in the Australian Post Office 27 unions are involved. [More…]
From the union point of view to elect a person as a commissioner on the new Interim Commission in the Post Office we have to go to the extent of holding many conferences and asking the unions to select a person to be nominated. [More…]
the United Kingdom and other countries the trend is to reduce the number of unions. [More…]
Senator Greenwood went to some pains to attack the Australian Council of Trade Unions, the Government and other people who are endeavouring to see that inflationary trends are minimised. [More…]
From the ACTU point of view the pursuit of wage justice has historically been a two-fold process- those major aspect* to which the ACTU itself has assumed collective responsibilities and those which have remained within the province of the individual unions. [More…]
Within individual awards and determinations we would expect the claims of unions to reflect the economic context to which we refer. [More…]
-The point that Senator Milliner has made is that it is no argument to take out of context something which the Australian Council of Trade Unions has said by resolution or what Mr Jolly might have said before the Commission. [More…]
It is true that the ACTU has complex problems because of the large number of unions that are members of the ACTU. [More…]
Many of the people in Senator Greenwood’s Party, including the giant employers, have always said: ‘We believe it is better to deal with fewer unions across the table. [More…]
Sometimes it is better to deal with the militant unions because they have stronger control over their members’. [More…]
It would seem to me that what we are aiming at not only achieves that but also lays the basis for fewer unions. [More…]
How can one settle these general Australian problems if one must settle them in the complex situation of the number of unions to which 1 have referred? [More…]
I think it is a shame that these pieces of legislation, which provide for the first time that it shall be mandatory for all unions to elect officials, some yearly and some 2-yearly, for the fourth time are to be denied to the Australian industrial scene. [More…]
We were told that the Australian Labor Party knows the unions better. [More…]
The Government and unions have never been in greater disarray. [More…]
Constantly we read of disputes between the Government and Ministers on the one hand and the Australian Council of Trade Unions and individual unions on the other hand. [More…]
This, of course, was vigorously rejected by the unions; so much for the argument that the Labor Party knew the unions better. [More…]
We have seen the conflict between the Government and the unions on the issue of indexation. [More…]
When Mr Justice Moore called a conference in August of last year he had the expectation that with the support of the Government and the unions an agreed compromise could be hammered out. [More…]
We have heard from individual unions equally determined responses that no body and no government will tell the unions what to do in the field of wage claims for their members. [More…]
It means that if the parties agree that the employer will give the union members an extra clothing allowance or provide some other benefits the employer is not entitled to get in return a promise by the unions that for the duration of the agreement or a certain period union members will not engage in strike action and that they will instead enter into an agreement. [More…]
To say that that sort of a concession by unions is not to be included or certified in an agreement to me is virtually inviting strike action. [More…]
But if we so democratise it that we undermine the effective workings of unions we will create a chaotic situation just as we would do if instead of having the representative lawmaking establishment like the House of Representatives and the Senate we tried in some way to have a voice of the people on the occasion of every measure which came up for decision. [More…]
The representatives of unions and employers agreed that they should be given a try. [More…]
We in the Opposition know and appreciate the reticence which governs the leading members of the Australian Council of Trade Unions as to what they say in this area- that there is no support in those areas for what the Minister is putting up in this Bill. [More…]
It first appeared in a comprehensive Bill, the intention of which was to assist employers and unions to get together to make agreements instead of settling their industrial differences by dispute. [More…]
Senator Greenwood knows that during the reign of the Government of which he was a member frequent consultations, organised through the Australian Council of Trade Unions and otherwise, were held between unions, a number of employers and Government departments to reach agreement about a wide range of matters such as wages, salaries and Public Service conditions. [More…]
If the unions and employers want to set up a disputes procedure clause- something which is becoming very common now- and to place restrictions on bans they should do it only in respect of the matters which are in the agreement. [More…]
With fewer unions and with a more direct relationship between the union and the worker on the job, the worker will be more involved in the settlement. [More…]
In Australia, if the unions and the employers want to embark on a general restriction about matters in the industry they will have to do it on the basis of the relevant award and probably in concert with the national union body, the ACTU. [More…]
It has only now written its industrial policy, and all that it can promise the unions and the employers is that it will put enforcement clauses back in the legislation. [More…]
Perhaps we can stop the inflationary drive by getting agreements which will last for a longer period and stop the 300-odd unions every month of the year having to leapfrog and to negotiate new agreements because somebody else has moved up the scale. [More…]
It is because the trade union membership, the committee of management, the unions themselves and the stevedoring employers- certainly assisted by the officials of the Department of Labor and Immigration- have been able to secure agreements which ought to run. [More…]
I should just like to add this small comment: I have told the Post Office and the unions concerned that it is my desire that there be more agreements between management and the postal workers generally and that they should seek to settle disputes, as far as possible, across the table. [More…]
We, of course, have been subjected to a great deal of lobbying on this matter not only of the sort that has been referred to by previous speakers but also from management and trade unions pointing out that if something were not done to spread this bounty it would drive employers smaller than James N. Kirby to the wall resulting in an increase in unemployment and in a loss of human and physical resources. [More…]
At the particular request of the Public Service Board, following discussions I understand they have had with the unions involved, I have agreed that arrangements should be made by the Board- [More…]
There were very significant contributions by the Defence Force, repair gangs whose equipment included equipment lent by various State authorities and the trade unions’ Darwin volunteer aid program. [More…]
He has urged me to desist from this cause as wage restraint is contrary to the policy of the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
Upon reading this morning’s newspapers, which Senator Wright quoted today- not that I am influenced by what journalists write in this regard- what impressed me was the fact that this proposed increase has influenced a number of organisations and unions to say that now is the time to trigger off another round of inflationary wage increase applications. [More…]
During this time the Government, the companies and the unions will continuously review the position and examine how best to adjust to the circumstances prevailing at the end of the 90 day period. [More…]
-The only information which I can give the Senate is that the dispute, as I understand it, is between 2 unions as Senator Marriott has said. [More…]
Secondly, is he aware of and will he reply to the following allegations which have since been made publicly: ( 1 ) That the contract, which has remained secret, provides for the Chandris Brothers to be guaranteed a clear $15,000 a day tax free over and above their costs; (2) that employees on the vessel are engaged at terms of pay and under living conditions greatly inferior to those enjoyed by equivalent Australian employees in Darwin itself; and (3) that the unions have complained to the Australian Government against the introduction of cheap imported labour under this contract? [More…]
-This morning Don Hancock, my adviser on industrial relations, met the unions and the departmental officers. [More…]
An arrangement has been made that a joint committee, with representatives from the unions and the Department, will consider what changes, if any, should take place at the Sydney Mail Exchange. [More…]
This led to hostility and ill feeling among maritime unions. [More…]
One part-time Commissioner, Mr J. Comerford, is a representative of the Australian Council of Trade Unions and another, Mr George [More…]
We are not imposing obligations on trade unions. [More…]
As a matter of fact, I understand that Mr Charles Jones is meeting the unions at Port Augusta tomorrow to discuss these points. [More…]
He takes not only his own skills to discussions by that body; he takes to the Commission the views of the unions whenever they are important. [More…]
Honourable senators know that in my portfolio we have set up 2 commissions and we have already put on the interim commissions a representative of the unions nominated by all the unions in the services. [More…]
Further, I can tell the honourable senator, just mentioning some names I have in my head, that I had discussions with the Australian Broadcasting Commission, the Australian Broadcasting Control Board, the Chairman of the Public Service Board, and the media unions’ representative on the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
To follow up the question just asked of the Minister for the Media, I ask: Did the Minister see a statement attributed to the President of the Australian Film Council that he, the Minister, has consistently refused to consult with media unions and groups connected with the film industry? [More…]
The heads of agreement provided that the crew would be paid at rates under the Greek Convention except that if Australian unions made representations for rates of pay in excess of those paid under the Greek Convention, the additional amount incurred would be met by the Australian Government. [More…]
After receiving representations from the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the maritime unions a conference was arranged by the Department of Labor and Immigration at which time union representations were considered. [More…]
The Australian Council of Trade Unions was advised that the application of this formula meant rates would be increased by $50 per week with effect from the date the vessel arrived in Darwin, that is 14 February 1975. [More…]
The terms were accepted by the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the unions. [More…]
It also deals in detail with racial discrimination so far as it concerns access to places and facilities, the provision of land, housing and other accommodation, the provision of goods and services and the right to join trade unions and employment. [More…]
In fact, these ‘quota quickies’ were a considerable source of concern to unions in the industry during the early 1970s and were one of the motivating factors in the change to a points system. [More…]
1 know from my own experience that for many years the Australian Council of Trade Unions has been’ promoting such research facilities. [More…]
I am one of the people who believe that if the union movement in Australia really got to understand the problem and this was expressed to unions properly and reliably by the Government, the Government would get their support once it got their understanding; at least that has been my experience in my own life in matters such as these. [More…]
However, the unions need to understand. [More…]
As Senator Durack knows, like himself I am regularly engaged in consultations with the unions whose members work in the Post Office. [More…]
So far as Chile is concerned, at the time I spoke to the Secretary of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, Mr Souter, and also to Mr Fitzgibbon of the Waterside Workers Federation, I pointed out to them the need to allow that wheat to be shipped in accordance with the order that had been placed. [More…]
Subsequent to that, the unions involved decided that they would not handle the wheat. [More…]
Would her appointment not be a further departure from the general rule which applied under the previous Government and which had the general support of the employer organisations, the Australian Council of Trade Unions, and the Public Service organisations, that persons appointed to positions such as these should be representative of or experienced in employer organisatons, employee organisations, or administration? [More…]
At the public meetings and at the in camera meeting evidence has been heard from various sections of the community, including all State government’s except Victoria, which has not yet made any oral submission, Australian Government departments, sections of the insurance and life assurance industry, trade unions, and the legal and medical professions. [More…]
I might add, too, that the major issues have also been the subject of continuing discussions with interested unions and staff associations. [More…]
Each council will consist of representatives of both the Commission and the staff organisations; the constitution and charter of each council will be developed in consultation with the unions and expressed in by-laws of each Commission. [More…]
However, from my many contacts with management and with the unions, it is quite clear that those changes are both timely and desirable. [More…]
It skated through the Prices Justification Tribunal only on the backs of the unions. [More…]
When the unions supported its increases in prices, the good old socialist tribunal said ‘Of course’ to the Sydney Morning Herald’. [More…]
The same applies to the trade unions. [More…]
Those trade unions which are not prepared to try to make this system work will be as guilty as anybody else of the runaway situation with which we will be confronted if it does not work. [More…]
Did the Leader of the Government in the Senate or any other Minister of the Government or the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions take any steps during the recent shipping strike to exempt Tasmanian shipping from the strike and so fulfil the promises made by both Australian Labor Party members and the President of the ACTU prior to the 1972 election? [More…]
In fact, one of the main aims of our unique conciliation and arbitration machinery is to encourage and protect the development of trade unions as social institutions. [More…]
Some 53 per cent of wage and salary earners in public and private employment belong to unions. [More…]
The workforce is now better educated and unions are having an increasing impact on society. [More…]
We have too many unions and union fees are too low. [More…]
We need fewer and more efficient unions. [More…]
The internal resources of unions are small. [More…]
Thus the conduct of courses cannot be a joint responsibility of unions and employers. [More…]
Most industrialised countries are providing organised education and training for unions. [More…]
Under the chairmanship of the permanent head of my Department, it comprises 3 representatives of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, one each from the other peak union councils- the Australian Council of Salaried and Professional Associations and the Council of Commonwealth Public Service Organisations- and a representative of each of the State Labor Councils. [More…]
The Australian Council will be chaired by the Secretary of the Department of Labor and Immigration or another officer of the Department appointed by the Minister, and it will be constituted by the Director of the Australian Trade Union Training College, 3 representatives of the Australian Council for Trade Unions, one representative from each of the Australian Council of Salaried and Professional Associations and the Council of Commonwealth Public Service Organisations, one representatives each of the State Labor Councils and the 3 members I have referred to earlier in this speech. [More…]
It is now a matter for the Commission to decide what should be done in respect of the claims of the metal trades unions. [More…]
The New School- the Nouvelle Ecole- founded on evolution, is committed to playing out 2 theses of neo-Darwinism and polygenesis and to underlining the inequalities and the profound differences which are alleged to exist between the races and to translating various degrees of evolution in the transforming movement of these races towards new species ‘between which unions will probably be no longer be fertile’. [More…]
I ask: Is the Minister aware of the threat, reported in last night’s Melbourne Herald’, by the federal executive of the Australian Postal and Telecommunications Union seeking the support of the Australian Council of Trade Unions for a total ban on communications of private insurance companies because of their campaign against the proposed Australian Government Insurance Corporation? [More…]
Mr Slater, the General Secretary of the Australian Postal and Telecommunications Union, has put a submission to the Executive of the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
I think the Government, if it really had any will in the matter, could have come to some arrangements with the postal unions about this matter. [More…]
The more militant of the unions in the postal and telecommunications areas may cause more strife, in my view, if they are dealing with a semi-autonomous commission than they do when they deal directly with the Government. [More…]
For some considerable time the unions which have members employed by the PostmasterGeneral’s Department have asked for an inquiry into the workings of the Post Office, and for the Post Office to be formed into a commission. [More…]
Except for the one organisation which has members employed by the Overseas Telecommunications Commission, the other unions which have members employed by the PostmasterGeneral’s Department have supported the proposal to form the Post Office into a commission because the unions believe that is the only way in which their problems can be solved reasonably and within a reasonable time. [More…]
I was concerned initially, when examining the Vernon report, about the trade unions’ attitude to this proposal. [More…]
It seems to me that, according to the report of the Vernon Commission, the unions representing 5 1 000 employees in these particular organisations about which we are talking were against the separation of the administration. [More…]
Only 32 000 employees, represented by their unions, supported the separation. [More…]
I hope that we can be reassured by what Senator Drury has said that the unions fully support this proposal. [More…]
The management, staffs and unions involved in this sphere have had long experience, and examinations have been made since the Vernon Commission of Inquiry made its report. [More…]
There have been consultations with management and there have been consultations with groups of unions and the joint union group. [More…]
These consultations included all the unions from the Overseas Telecommunications Commission. [More…]
The reports of management and unions indicate to me that they did the right thing and the only improvement they might make is to set up 2 commissions. [More…]
He asked whether the unions in the Post Office group or in the telecommunications group will be more militant and whether they have greater strength than they had before. [More…]
Honourable senators will notice that this legislation provides for the first time that Commissions will have upon them a person nominated from all the unions which represent the staff. [More…]
In addition, to dispel the other arguments, the unions which represent the staff in the OTC have gone along with us. [More…]
Regarding my own activities in this connection, I have been able to arrange regular consultations between management and unions where required, by having members of my own ministerial staff doing extra jobs to see that there would be necessary short-circuits where head-on clashes might eventuate. [More…]
That is why the reorganisation that has been recommended by the Vernon Commission has already been examined by Post Office managers, by the unions involved and by the consultants. [More…]
As I have mentioned we have been guided in our discussions with staff by the unions’ representatives, not by shop committees, a section of the work force which members of the Opposition are often complaining about anyway. [More…]
Those unions have said in their agreements and consultations with their groups that they were in favour of the incorporation of OTC. [More…]
I appreciate that the unions and other bodies have given very close attention to this matter. [More…]
The unions involved and management have seen this Bill. [More…]
It was planned by the Department of Transport together with the shipping industry and the shipping unions. [More…]
In addition, as the honourable senator well knows, the Australian Council of Trade Unions sent delegations there. [More…]
The legislation which has been brought down as a result has been the subject of consideration by managers, by unions and by other groups in the community. [More…]
Then, when Tasmania was bedevilled by navigational difficulties, inequalities, and pressures from unions and others way back in 1920, it is not surprising to find that quite a considerable body of opinion on the royal commission of 1929, ably assisted by the late Chief Justice Nicholas, Chief Justice in Equity in New South Wales, when he was equity counsel at the Bar of Sydney, propounded a view in favour of the Inter-State Commission and mentioned amongst ot her things the effect of the Navigation Act on various States as an appropriate subject of inquiry, very pertinent to the interests which I am sent here to represent, namely, Tasmania in particular and her navigational difficulties. [More…]
The parent of its predators, the shipping unions, operate to paralyse it so that it ceases to be of real service around the Australian coast. [More…]
You, Mr President, particularly, and I would be concerned with the trade between Tasmania and the mainland, which has been bedevilled by the fact that there is a divided jurisdiction, whereby the Arbitration Court, paralysed, is unable to force unions to carry on proper services, and the poor little Tasmanian Government has to go down on its knees to the unions and beseech from them a special dispensation in this strike of Tasmanian services. [More…]
Of course, the unions persist in that nonsense. [More…]
Then we come to the situation where, after a long proclamation of policy, the Labor Government has taken Vh years to produce this Bill; and perhaps that betokens that there has been a bit of to-ing and fro-ing and struggle with unions that has been completely in vain for the purpose of doing anything other than direct the Inter-State Commission to disestablish the capital side of trade and commerce. [More…]
It seems to me that anyone who asserts that they are a constitutional exercise of power pursuant to section 10 1 of the Constitution or pursuant to any other head of power is simply using the vehicle of this Inter-State Commission to pursue a campaign against unions for party political propaganda purposes. [More…]
If this Bill is to be made a medium of attacks on unions and unionists and if the only purpose of Opposition amendmentswe have had only one foreshadowed tonight- is to take advantage of this Bill to attack unions and to attack unions in particular in relation to Tasmania, I suggest that the Opposition is unworthily using an extremely important piece of legislation to pursue party political advantage. [More…]
His derogatory remarks about attempts in the past to persuade unions to exempt Tasmania from strikes did not impress me. [More…]
The Tasmanian Government, I have no doubt, will continue to make responsible requests and proper requests to unions. [More…]
I was interested in the criticism of Senator Wright’s statement about union matters and his desire to move amendments which would bring within the orbit of the investigations and the powers of the Commission actions of the unions in relation to transport matters in Australia. [More…]
The very mention of the most uncontrolled of all the power groups in Australia, the unions, and their great stranglehold on the transport links in Australia brings a rejection- we should not mention this; they should not be brought into it. [More…]
What member does not know of the very great effects that unlawful or improper acts of unions have on transport? [More…]
I understand that there is a very significant number of Australians who consider that the Government of this country today is a pressure group representing not even the total forces of unionism but perhaps on most occasions only the attitudes of the radical leaders of some of the Australian unions. [More…]
It is suggested that they should be chosen from a range of interests including, in the case of the Technical and Further Education Commission, technical education, adult education, employers and unions. [More…]
Indeed, we have added to them by putting some requirements oh unions not to discriminate. [More…]
-Was the Minister for Repatriation and Compensation aware that Mr Hawke, the President of the Australian Labor Party and the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, was going to let the cat out of the bag when he advocated the nationalisation of the oil industry and said that it could be achieved by establishing an Australian Government oil company on the lines of Trans-Australia Airlines or the planned Australian Government Insurance Corporation? [More…]
The areas covered by this Bill, such as recognition of the law dealing with employment, access to public places, land and housing accommodation, the selling of goods and even trade unions, need to be covered in this legislation. [More…]
It is well known that ballots for office in trade unions have been the subject of activity by various groups seeking to gain control of the unions. [More…]
The Minister for Labor and Immigration has provided the following answer to the honourable senator’s question: ( 1 ), (2), (3) and (4) It is well known that ballots for office in trade unions have been the subject of activity by various groups seeking to gain control of the unions. [More…]
It could apply to trade unions. [More…]
To assist in that purpose, we support the concept of a National Council of Trade Union Education whose task it would be to develop special relationships with the appropriate educational institutions to see that the content of courses specifically met the needs of trade unions. [More…]
We would have hoped that a trade union training authority could have been incorporated basically within the existing educational arrangements in our community, naturally with special reference to the curricula requirements of the trade unions. [More…]
Because the Government has introduced this legislation I am sure that the Government and the trade unions are interested. [More…]
If there were any chance that this sort of isolation in trade union training could bring about a circumstance in which only the hierarchy of the trade unions would receive the instruction that was available, it would damage rather than aid the progress of the Australian community. [More…]
It is to be hoped that the trade unions themselves will not hold too tight a control or too tight a rein over the type of trade union student who will undergo training provided by this educational authority. [More…]
I hope that this college will provide the background in the long term for a greater degree of involvement between unions and management in our community, because it is only as it provides that sort of involvement and a real measure of understanding that we are going to succeed in establishing in this country circumstances which will tend to create greater and greater productivity, which will tend to create a more affluent and a freer society. [More…]
We have seen the failure of industrial relations and we have seen the failure of a government in its relations with the unions. [More…]
capable of advancing and developing an understanding of the functions and objectives of trade unions in Australian society; or [More…]
capable of advancing and developing knowledge and skills in fields connected with the powers and functions of trade unions or the powers, functions and duties of officers or officials of trade unions; and [More…]
educational, technical and practical training for members of trade unions in any other fields approved by the Australian Council; [More…]
Secondly, in sub-paragraph (b) of that definition there is a much wider concept expressed in terms of general technical and practical training for members of trade unions in any other field. [More…]
But it is just too glib to say that in pursuing objects of this kind one can turn this into a sort of industrial relations society or a sort of debating club where management and unions get together. [More…]
On the other hand, there are numerous opportunities for the sorts of things which Senator Scott talked about- meetings between management and unions on a discussion level in the industrial relations societies and in a variety of seminars and so on which are organised by various bodies. [More…]
I would think that the provision of laws in our society providing for the existence and operation of trade unions is generally accepted. [More…]
In my opinion it is unthinkable not to provide for trade unions. [More…]
Coming up to date, perhaps too rapidly for the Minister, the work published under the caption ‘Collective Bargaining in Industrial Market Economies’ by the International Labor Organisation, Geneva, in 1974, at page 177, says that it was remarked that unions play a vital part in the arbitration system which would be impossible to operate if it had to deal with individual workers. [More…]
If for no other reason this fact ensured the growth and security of trade unions from the very beginnings of arbitration in Australia. [More…]
There the very system of which Senator Button has reminded us places quite important duties on the organisations and their officials under the Arbitration Act, and this fact ensured the growth and security of trade unions from the very beginnings of arbitration in Australia. [More…]
Other historians have regretted that one of the things that was not earlier accorded to trade unions was the power and authority of incorporation. [More…]
There are some who think that you understand these things from yesterday’s newspaper or from the current news sheet printed by the job foreman, but there are others who think that if the training were intensified in trade unions principles and purposes we would have a much more productive effort from trade unions in association with their employers so as to minimise inflation and to create a society of greater egalitarianism and a society of much better mutual production, one for the other, in goods and services, education and amenities of life. [More…]
Having stated one or two things with regard to the matter I was about to say that it has been my constant regret that the mechanism of incorporation was not fully accorded trade unions as it was the combines of capital. [More…]
Now we have, due to the disparity, evident from the history of the last century, between trade unions and commercial corporations a great vendetta that is the beginning of the misunderstanding which takes place in industrial relations. [More…]
The methods by which those wage claims should be achieved is of fundamental importance in trade union training, and the reconciliation between strikes demanded by the trade unions and the processes of arbitration is one of the very fundamental issues confronting society today. [More…]
The Bill that was being dealt with there proposed to include newspaper editors within the controls of the trade unions. [More…]
A very long sustained debate has been pursued in England with regard to the inclusion of newspaper editors within the authority of trade unions. [More…]
Bill to establish a trade union training authority and, with respect, it is an abuse of the Standing Orders for Senator Wright to carry on with a great collection of incidents about the functionings of trade unions in England of which he disapproves and to say that this should be the subject of discussion in the syllabus of this proposed Authority. [More…]
The most obvious shift in the focus of power has been towards the trade unions. [More…]
I do not go on to contemplate that in Australia it will be revelant for us in our time or the next generation to contemplate that trade unions will give way to communism, that is to say, a usurpation of parliamentary power by violence and arbitrary communism; but when we are establishing trade union training all these fields of thought associated with the proposed Authority’s function must be taken into account. [More…]
Having referred to England may I make a brief reference to an authority from the United States of America, Dr Schmidt, who in his recent book entitled ‘Union Power’ referred to the enormous power of trade unions. [More…]
The world’s most powerful companies are no match for the unions the law forces them to deal with. [More…]
It may be that there are some in the Amalgamated Metal Workers Union at present who use the powers that are conferred upon trade unions by our beneficent laws to get the power of the work force that they represent behind them in order to prosecute the class war even to the extent of overthrowing the present system. [More…]
Anyone who has read the Donovan report on trade unionism in England will know that that country is bedevilled by a multiplicity of unions. [More…]
Although Australia does not have as many unions it has more per capita. [More…]
Australia has 300-odd unions. [More…]
I shall want to be satisfied in the Committee stage of the debate that the legislation does provide an opportunity not merely for members of trade unions to attend the courses of the trade union training colleges and centres but also for other people who may be interested in pursuing a special study in this field to do so. [More…]
It is not in the realms of talking about a class struggle that I say that as the years have gone on and the employers have modernised their methods of collating material and using various tactics it has ben essential for the trade unions to do the same. [More…]
It might well be argued that the trade union treasure chest is limited because the traditional role of the rank and file members of trade unions is to endeavour to live in a world of cheap unionism. [More…]
As a matter of fact in a sideswipe I would say that some of the legal expenses involved in the arbitration system have been over-costly and have at times kept some trade unions permanently poor. [More…]
A person who takes this course will not necessarily become an Australian Council of Trade Unions chieftain. [More…]
No matter what products come from this college- or to some unions which utilise the Mount Maldon administrative college- I think we will find that practical experience must be gained. [More…]
There have been some misguided causes championed by the Opposition in its efforts to protect some small unions. [More…]
I cannot see any justification for the multiplicity of small unions in the postal services. [More…]
But there have been occasions on which malcontents in the trade unions have been egged on by alleged civil rights groups and people who did not know what they were talking about. [More…]
There are vast responsibilities on the trade unions in Australia. [More…]
capable of advancing and developing knowledge and skills in fields connected with the powers and functions of trade unions or the powers, functions and duties of officers or officials of trade unions; [More…]
I simply use this opportunity to reflect on the definition of ‘trade union training’ and on the question of how widely the reference to ‘the powers, functions and duties of officers or officials of trade unions’ in clause 3 of this Bill will be interpreted. [More…]
I regret to some extent that there is not more accent on the free exchange of views and understanding between management and the trade unions. [More…]
An example of such an incident which is quite easily identifiable and not arguable involves a $40m contract of wheat destined for Chile which it is the policy of the Government to have shipped and which it is the policy of the respective unions not to have shipped. [More…]
However, some Opposition members seem to be under the impression that we as members of the political wing of the ALP are ashamed to admit that the unions are a fundamental part of the Party. [More…]
I would like to quote from the article for a short while, if I may, because it refers to the responsibilities of trade unions, a subject which I think is very relevant. [More…]
Now let us look at the trade unions. [More…]
The unions have refused to recognise the limits of their historical role. [More…]
The author is referring to the unions- they are like medieval peasants who have burnt down the lord’s manor. [More…]
And in an inflationary situation, where real wealth is static or, in our case, actually declining fast, unions demanding higher wages are simply competing against each other. [More…]
Since the war, management talent has tended to drift increasingly to the financial sector, where there are no industrial unions and where the able can devote themselves to more creative and purposeful work. [More…]
In industry, where the unions are strong and active, there is bad management. [More…]
Where good management is to bc found, and that is increasingly rare, it usually coincides with inactive or acquiescent (or highly intelligent) trade unions. [More…]
I respectfully draw your attention to page 2 of the Bill and to paragraph (b) of the definition of trade union training which states: educational, technical and practical training for members of trade unions in any other fields approved by the Australian Council. [More…]
I admit that I have probably used a sledge hammer to crack a nut, but I think I have in fact proved the point that the objectives of trade unions as translated into practical terms in Britain are simply to hold the British economy to ransom. [More…]
Among the most controversial moves are proposals to put the onus on employers to justify dismissals and to give the workers and unions in particular industries one-third representation at board level. [More…]
So in looking at the objectives of the trade unions, we can say without fear of contradiction that they are power objectives. [More…]
Trade unions are about power as political parties are about power. [More…]
I suspect that we may some day in the future regret this Bill in its present form unless it is tied to some democratic principles because we seem to be looking at it and saying that we aU admit there are misuses in unions and that there are malfunctions involving the simple matter of dishonesty. [More…]
We can look at that level if we like and say that we want to improve the business management of unions. [More…]
Unless the Authority is allied to the application of democratic principles in the operations of unions it will be futile and it wil simply educate people in how to use or misuse power more effectively than it is used or misused now. [More…]
I have no illusions, however, that it will take the bitterness out of the class warfare which exists between trade unions and management. [More…]
I should like to have seen some way that this training could be related to the personnel of unions which use democratic principles and can show that in their articles and the election of their officers they use democratic procedures. [More…]
I am quite sure that we ought to have a qualification that in some way those people who come from the unions which are not so much in the news and which are democratic get the approval of this Parliament and the finance that will be expended under this Bill to improve their organisations. [More…]
Senator Hall in his paranoia has sought to give to the objects of the Bill some sinister motive, but the sinister motive exists only in his mind and is a development of that attitude he has taken against unions almost without pause in the State of South Australia when he was Premier and since that time. [More…]
Senator Steele Hall made some reference to an overseas article that indicated some concern about the over-power of unions. [More…]
He should have qualified his remarks by saying that there is an over-power of certain unions. [More…]
There is in the hands of perhaps one or two unions in this country an ability excessively to use certain powers. [More…]
But never let it be said, in spite of what Senator Steele Hall said, that many of the other unions involve their membership in their day by day decisions - [More…]
The affiliated unions of this country are the unions that- I agree with Senator Steele Hall on this- are the backbone of the Australian Labor Party. [More…]
Those unions accept a responsibility outside of their industrial area and it is right that they should do so. [More…]
-The Waterside Workers Federation, the Seamen’s Union and other unions are responsible organisations that make responsible decisions and ought not to be imposed upon to do those things that are completely contrary to the desires of their membership. [More…]
Nevertheless, I support the principle because it is necessary that unions in this country have a much better understanding than in the past of the whole industrial and commercial area of this country. [More…]
One thing that has concerned me for a long time is the radicalism of, and the misunderstanding that has crept into, so many of the unions in this country. [More…]
I fully support trade unions. [More…]
But I do not support the radicalism that has crept into so many of our trade unions. [More…]
A few moments ago we heard Senator Georges still trying to defend the actions of certain unions, particularly the Seamen’s Union of Australia, regarding trade in this country- trade that affects not only the delivery of the commodity to another country but so many people in this country. [More…]
Is it the trade unions? [More…]
If we are to be dictated to by union leaders and sections of unions we are in for a sorry state of affairs in time. [More…]
One of the greatest problems which we face is the discrimination by and the attitudes of some of these unions. [More…]
The sooner they are replaced with good English, good European or the good old Australian shop stewards, the better off the unions, including the individual members, and this country will be. [More…]
They will eventually have a far better understanding and appreciation of the real problems of unions, the real problems of management and the real need for responsibility not only on one side but on both sides- the workforce and management, collectively. [More…]
I hope that this problem will eventually be overcome by a better understanding by the shop stewards, and a replacement of some of them who today are not leading but misleading unions and causing so much disruption in areas of industry and commerce. [More…]
By this Bill we seek to train trade union officials, rank and file members of trade unions and shop stewards not only in the administration of a trade union but also in the other very complex matters of trade union activity, including the preparation of claims to be presented to the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission or to be used in negotiations between the employer and the employee. [More…]
Today the unions in Australia have to compete with employers who have capable and trained industrial advocates. [More…]
When unions are able to get an efficient advocate on industrial affairs, they usually do not keep him for very long. [More…]
There will be a training centre which will keep members and officials of unions up to date on the latest techniques in preparing a case and presenting it to the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission. [More…]
The only reason Senator Hall raised this matter this evening was to appeal to and please his supporters in the big companies such as the Broken Hill Pty Co. Ltd, General Motors-Holdens Pty Ltd, Chrysler Australia Ltd and similar big companies that rely on the likes of Senator Hall and other honourable senators in the Opposition to continually bash down the trade unions. [More…]
The trade unions have done pretty well by their members in the various objectives which they have set themselves. [More…]
One might look at what is proposed in the area of wage indexation, which again is a matter which the Prime Minister has said is vital to the Government’s antiinflationary activities, and which the metal trade unions are proposing to challenge by direct strike action. [More…]
I have mentioned these things simply because they indicate that in the areas in which the trade union officials operate they have been pretty successful in establishing the unions as a rival to the power of legitimate government. [More…]
It is this confrontation between the unions and government which I think poses ultimately the greatest challenge which democracy in this country has had to face. [More…]
The term ‘trade union training’, according to the definition, means educational, technical or practical training which is capable of advancing and developing an understanding of the functions and objectives of trade unions in Australian society. [More…]
It also involves educational, technical and practical training which is capable of advancing and developing knowledge and skills in fields connected with the powers and functions of trade unions or the powers, functions and duties of officers or officials of trade unions. [More…]
But trade union training also involves educational, technical and practical training for members of trade unions in any other fields approved by the Australian Council. [More…]
What is important is to ensure that those objectives are given an interpretation which enables trade unions to serve the purposes of their members and to serve the purposes of the society of which they are part. [More…]
It has had, and will continue to have, a radicalising effect upon unions. [More…]
Very few in the community today challenge the right of trade unions to exercise some power, but there is considerable debate about how trade union power should be exercised and in what direction it should be channelled. [More…]
One suggests that trade unions should be involved in a power-sharing arrangement with employers. [More…]
This view supports such concepts as worker participation with unions and workers seeking to gain a voice in management with seats on the Boards of Directors. [More…]
I welcome the advent of the Australian Council of Trade Unions into commercial ventures like Bourke ‘s Melbourne Pty Ltd. [More…]
I assure the honourable senator that what Senator Wright said was based on a sound and long understanding of the objectives of militant trade unions and communist trade unions in this country. [More…]
The newest development relating to the trade unions is the interest which trade union interests and activities are arousing amongst sections of the community outside of the trade union movement. [More…]
It is fashionable these days to put trade unions under the microscope in an effort to detect what is new about the interests and activities of the working class in Australia. [More…]
It is true that the Australia of the 1970s is a very different place from that in which early trade unions developed. [More…]
Today workers still need trade unions to protect themselves from the social and industrial conditions created by capitalism. [More…]
I have dwelt initially on what is old rather than new, because too often it is suggested that today trade unions in Australia have a different role and function to perform than those of the past. [More…]
Disenchantment with the results achieved through a reliance on separation of industrial and political objectives to achieve what are often referred to as political and social aims or non-industrial aims of trade unions. [More…]
This term does not always mean very much, because what we have is a movement of trade unions and trade unionists rather than a singleminded trade union movement. [More…]
Sometimes they come together, but very often they are separated, mainly on fundamental questions which relate to the role and functions of trade unions. [More…]
That, of course, means that I am not speaking about the trade union movement, but rather of what I regard as the more significant new developments and interests in the movement of trade unions. [More…]
The development towards collective bargaining has occurred not just because of the support for the technique amongst trade unions and workers. [More…]
Several unions have been quite innovative in their approach to collective bargaining by their refusal to adopt the traditional approach of relating the results of a collectively bargained agreement to a period of time. [More…]
The new interest by trade unions in worker involvement has arisen from the need to improve life at work and to combat the alienation and dissatisfaction which arise from the requirements of modern industry. [More…]
In the past, union amalgamations have usually taken the form of one large strong union taking over other small unions whose membership and industrial strength have suffered because of technological change. [More…]
That Union is a combination of three Unions, each was quite strong and large and none being compelled to amalgamate to survive. [More…]
While trade union interest in non industrial matters is not new, what is new is that trade unions are now taking a much more direct interest in these matters than in the past when they tended to regard non industrial matters as being the province of the political side of the Labor Movement. [More…]
There will, at least in the foreseeable future, always be political and industrial wings of the Labor Movement, but more and more trade unions will take back for themselves some of the power which at the turn of the century they transferred to the political wing. [More…]
Many sections of the community and, of course, trade unions are a part of the community, are becoming increasingly concerned about the alienation of people from the decision-making processes in society. [More…]
Trade unions are responding to that growing awareness by demanding a greater share in all areas of decision making. [More…]
The extent to which these new developments make an impact on trade unions and the extent to which trade unions become involved in these new areas of wider interest, is very much dependent upon the attitude, mainly within the trade unions, towards the question of trade union power. [More…]
Very few in the community today challenge the right of trade unions to exercise some power, but there is considerable debate about how trade union power should be exercised and in what direction it should be channelled. [More…]
One suggests that trade unions should be involved in a power-sharing arrangement with employers. [More…]
This view supports such concepts as worker participation with unions and workers seeking to gain a voice in management with seats on the Board of Directors. [More…]
Within the semi-professional and the white collar unions their influence at that time was non-existent. [More…]
Today, members of the Communist parties, and there are three in this country, lead or control unions with a numerical strength approximating nearly 1 300 000 workers, almost half the number of union member affiliated with the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
Outside the ACTU they lead a significant number of unions. [More…]
Outside the ACTU they lead a significant number of unions in banking, teaching, insurance, drafting and other white collar fields. [More…]
In all these unions in which communists play a leading and influential role there is an annual income variously estimated at between $20m and $30m every year. [More…]
When one counts the number of full time communist officials employed by these unions the figure would be close to 1000, whereas in 1937 it was approximately 20. [More…]
I refer to the principles of easier amalgamations to make sure that we will not have the frustrating problems caused by having too many unions and of getting agreement quickly between the employees and the employers. [More…]
Senator Hall spent all his time complaining because the unions want a share in management and saying that the concept of having joint councils and worker participation, which the Labor Party is aiming to implement, is all wrong. [More…]
There is a law there which insists there shall be a 30 per cent membership from the trade unions on management boards. [More…]
We are trying to provide remedies such as indexation, amalgamation of unions, worker participation and joint activities. [More…]
We should remember that in Australia the membership of unions is at one of the highest levels in the world, with about 53 per cent of the workforce. [More…]
The honourable senator also mentioned the Donovan report, which was one of the reports that recommended the amalgamation of unions and that also did not recommend the use of any penal clauses. [More…]
The venture is a new venture and ought to be understood and recognised by all sections of the economy, such as the manufacturers’ association, the employer organisations generally, the trade unions and many other bodies. [More…]
The brochure that has been circulated in the Parliament is to be used publicly for telling the employer organisations and other interested bodies such as the trade unions and the Department of Labor an d Immigration. [More…]
As Senator Hall well knows, the Workers Educational Association has for many years been conducting courses related to trade unions. [More…]
In earlier days I participated in preparing some papers on the subject of trade unions for some people. [More…]
What the unions do about their political affiliations is in the spectrum of politics. [More…]
If unionists felt the rules of the unions were not being observed, or that there were unjust or oppressive rules, it was proper that aid should be available to enable the ordinary unionist, who for lack of means would not be able to contemplate the proceedings, in effect, to be indemnified by the Government in the action which he takes. [More…]
Let him go and tell the trade unions of Australia that he will invoke that power which is there at this moment. [More…]
All I can say is that a wide cross-section of people from the academic and from the media sections of the community, including proprietors, executives and members of trade unions, have been invited to become members of the Media Research Advisory Committee. [More…]
As honourable senators are aware, this is a scheme whereby the Housing Loans Insurance Corporation provides insurance cover to lending institutions, including banks, building societies, credit unions, and other organisations. [More…]
The Minister for Transport (Mr Charles Jones) is also arranging for detailed discussions with the Australian Council of Trade Unions and officers of the railway unions to establish methods of consultation and liaison which will ensure all railwaymen and women are fully informed on the progress of the transfer. [More…]
The unions concerned were involved in the discussion on this matter and have agreed with the proposal. [More…]
Finally, I would like to stress the importance of co-operation to the success of the transfer program on the part of governments, unions and railway management. [More…]
Indeed, we have seen the Government yield abjectly to the pressure of the militant trade unions which will not allow us to engage in a wheat trade with Chile. [More…]
We have pointed out that in Australia there are nearly 400 unions and that almost half of that number- 226- have fewer than 5000 members. [More…]
For instance, in my own area of responsibility, the Post Office, there are 27 unions. [More…]
The Vernon Commission made suggestions regarding the multiplicity of unions and the advantages that there might be to management and to the unions if there were fewer unions. [More…]
The Government tried to provide what might be called an easy method of amalgamation of unions. [More…]
I should mention that in West Germany, which as most people know has a good record of industrial relations with the least number of disputes of any country, there are only 16 unions. [More…]
In Sweden there are 52 unions; in the Netherlands there are 53 unions; in Belgium there are 360 unions; in Norway there are 40 unions; and in Australia there are nearly 400 unions. [More…]
In 1973 the Opposition in the Senate said: ‘We stand for the rights of the members of organisations- of trade unions- to have a say in whether their organisations can amalgamate’. [More…]
Frankly I am not aware of what might be the attitudes of possible amalgamating unions. [More…]
Indeed I am surprised that unions have not tried to get the requisite majorities under the existing provisions in order to amalgamate if they believed that an amalgamation was warranted. [More…]
We believe in union amalgamations if the members of the unions desire to have the amalgamations. [More…]
There has been a lot of talk of the desirability of having amalgamations to reduce the number of unions and, in particular, the number of small unions. [More…]
But the union amalgamations that took place throughout the 1960s under the old rules were amalgamations not of large unions with small unions but between quite large unions. [More…]
We do not believe that that is a fair or proper recognition of the rights of individual members of unions. [More…]
The Minister for Labor and Immigration (Mr Clyde Cameron) has said that the amalgamations of organisations will make for more efficient and more responsible unions. [More…]
The Bill provides further for unions with a membership of less than 2000 not to be permitted registration under the Conciliation and Arbitration Act. [More…]
That will lead to a domination of the smaller unions by the larger unions. [More…]
We believe that, inarticulate as they may be, there are hosts of union members in this country who rely upon a Senate constituted as this Senate is and prepared to protect the rights of individual members of unions, to continue to protect the individual rights of those union members. [More…]
Senator Greenwood knows full well that the answer to the great power blocs in this community and the power wielded by the unions, who are responsible at the moment to no one but an elite few, will be provided not by the Labor Party but by the Liberal Party. [More…]
Surely it must be clear to everybody that there are too many unions in Australia. [More…]
There are too many unions of employees; there are too many unions of employers. [More…]
As a matter of fact, we have been grateful to the employers who in recent years have amalgamated their unions. [More…]
We have got nearly 300 unions. [More…]
In referring to the Post Office unions, the Vernon Commission report stated: [More…]
We are trying to change the law so that it is easier for unions to amalgamate. [More…]
Fortunately the unions involved have joined together to consider what the proposals should be in regard to the new commissions and they have acted as a sort of amalgamated body. [More…]
Also there have been some industrial issues which have occasioned talks between the unions involved and the Department. [More…]
We do not expect any hitch at all in the discussions which I have mentioned with the unions. [More…]
In the United States it is quite commonplace for professors of law to act as arbitrators in disputes between companies or between trade unions and companies. [More…]
Then people in the market place, in professions and self-employment, people in trade unions, genuinely will want to put out an effort to establish a situation which is more creative rather than less creative. [More…]
By exerting political blackmail in the guise of industrial pressure, the Public Service unions are destroying the traditional political neutrality of the Public Service. [More…]
The AGEO has 22 affiliated unions and represents 1 60 000 federal public servants . [More…]
How can the Public Service unions expect that if there be a change of government the same trust and reliance can be placed in the so-called neutrality and independence of the Public Service if this sort of attitude is to be adopted? [More…]
I think it would be a helpful sign if the Public Service unions were to sack the officials who are resorting to this sort of political blackmail in the interests of one particular party. [More…]
When one considers the record of this Government and its ability to twist the facts, to falsify and to misrepresent- leaving aside the outrageous lies which they engage in at election times- I think there is something deplorable in the fact that this misrepresentation is engaged in by a few union officials connected with the Public Service unions. [More…]
Public servants have a special employee-employer relationship with the Australian Government which does not apply to the rest of the community and they have also well organised unions. [More…]
When the trade unions advocated and agitated for the recognition of 7 days annual leave as an entitlement, it was said: ‘We are just coming out of the depression. [More…]
It is noteworthy to the Opposition that we were told that after the passing of these Bills the Public Service unions were to begin a campaign for retirement at the age of 55. [More…]
I instance the most significant and noteworthy of the current and planned strikes and disruptions: The strikes planned by metal workers and railway employees in Sydney and other major Australian capitals next week; the continuing threat to the lives and safety of hospital patients in Victoria and on the south coast of New South Wales; and finally the violent intimidation currently being exercised by building workers’ unions in Victoria. [More…]
If we look at the last mentioned and most critical attack made by the honourable senator about the violent disruptions presently going on in Victoria we find that the disruptions relate to the question of demarcation between 2 unions. [More…]
Is the Minister able to say whether the Government has requested the unions involved with shipping and freighting to and from Tasmania to give Tasmania special consideration when any strike is contemplated? [More…]
It is a matter of whether the Government is governing or the unions are governing in that case, I suppose. [More…]
Of course it can be said that the Government is being too generous with the unions or with the Public Service. [More…]
In the old days there was always a fight between the Liberal Minister concerned and the Waterside Workers Federation and the Australian Council of Trade Unions about shifting the waterside workers from one port to another. [More…]
It is true that although I applauded the meetings which took place between the employers, the Government and the unions, the tripartite agreements have not achieved all that everybody wants, but this system is better, in my opinion, than the old system. [More…]
The Authority recommends what the charge should be under a system which, as has now been agreed, was set up by a Liberal-Country Party Government after many years of disputation between the employers and the unions. [More…]
As a matter of fact I was on the Executive of the Australian Council of Trade Unions when Albert Monk, the shipowners, the Government and Harry Bland were trying to get a system established. [More…]
Tasmania suffers some disabilities by reason of the Bass Strait and its dependence upon water transport and that has made this company, which is the subject of this Bill, a target for the seafaring unions which have administered blows in the form of industrial unrest that have affected this company. [More…]
They admitted fully to everybody, including the unions, that part of the problem was due to their misreading of the market. [More…]
After consultations with the company and with the unions, most of which went along with the solution, it was decided that a section 96 grant was the easiest and quickest way of helping this company out of its problems. [More…]
That was the alternative which the unions accepted. [More…]
Let me refer to the main unions with members in the OTC. [More…]
Following representations by Unions, consideration was given to reducing the maximum weekly hours for Attendants to 40. [More…]
The policies decided by the German Government and accepted by both the German employers’ federation and the unions indicate a greater participation in industry than the proposals made by the Labor Government in South Australia. [More…]
His political career and beliefs are based on a deep-seated hatred of trade unions and he is longing to throw into reverse all that the ALP and the union movement have fought for over decades to achieve wage justice and decent job conditions. [More…]
A look at just part of their record in recent years proves this- consistent, unjustified attacks on trade unions. [More…]
Claims it is the unions’ attitude that has brought the (Adelaide Ship Construction) company to its knees. [More…]
ls the Minister aware that the International Air Transport Association and the Australian Council of Trade Unions’ Leisure Club, in association with the Australian Council of Trade Unions’ New World Travel Agency have acted in concert to defy the Federal Department of Transport’s instructions to all travel agents that they must not advertise, quote, or sell international air tickets at a cost lower than the cost approved by the Australian Government. [More…]
Will the Minister investigate why the mostly foreigncontrolled International Air Transport Association and the Australian Council of Trade Unions’ travel agency are able to break Government decisions when all other Australian travel agents are compelled to comply with the Government ‘s instructions. [More…]
The Department of Transport has no evidence that the International Air Transport Association and the Australian Council of Trade Unions’ Leisure Club, in association with the Australian Council of Trade Unions’ New World Travel Agency, have acted contrary to the Australian Air Navigation Regulations or the Department’s instructions to travel agents as to the advertising, offering or selling of international air travel. [More…]
In that period of time I held a number of honorary union offices in the unions then covering my employment. [More…]
Egan provided me with introductions to a number of officials in other unions but none of them proved to be of any help. [More…]
I have gone to summit meetings of many of the more militant unions. [More…]
1 have put my head on the chopping block in an attempt to persuade unions that it is in their own interests to temper their wage demands over the period immediately ahead. [More…]
I would suggest that while the taxation measures which were announced in the Budget last night do not go to the extent of tax indexation which was desired by the unions, they do at least give relief to those on lower and middle incomes of a nature which is most likely to make wage indexation more acceptable. [More…]
I agree, Senator Carrick, that this is a proposition which will strike considerable opposition in the ranks of the Labor Party and among unions. [More…]
This Government has forced money- and very attractive money too- into municipal councils, it has given money to school authorities, and under the Australian Assistance Plan it has given money to unions so that they may do particular work. [More…]
I was interested in the attitude that was adopted by the trade unions that are associated with the insurance industry. [More…]
I ask: Was the Government’s intention to discount such taxes disclosed to the unions at any time during the discussions aimed at securing a social contract on wage indexation? [More…]
On the first point as to whether the unions were taken into the Government’s confidence, the answer is yes. [More…]
Representatives of the Australian Council of Trade Unions attended a meeting in this building, as did of course representatives of various other interested groups, in the run up to the Budget and this matter was canvassed with the unions. [More…]
I know it is a proposition which is not approved by the unions. [More…]
I would be less than frank if I did not say that it provoked the resentment and the resistance of the trade unions. [More…]
It is something of which the unions will have to be convinced. [More…]
It does not make for true democracy to have on the one hand a campaign funded by the major commercial enterprises in this country and on the other hand a campaign funded by trade unions and ordinary people. [More…]
Trade unions, for all that the Opposition says about them, have only the funds they collect from their members and no one could say that their coffers are overflowing. [More…]
She said that Labor got its donations from the unions which are proud- that was her word- to contribute and do not mind making public the evidence. [More…]
We had tears in our eyes when she disclosed that the source of Labor funds was unions. [More…]
I have produced a list which shows that under the Australian Assistance Plan this Government has given thousands of dollars to unions, supposedly to assist less fortunate people in the community, unions which have never previously been associated with assisting people of that class. [More…]
Senator Melzer used only the word ‘unions’. [More…]
The requirement to disclose donations to other parties will ensure that unions will take action against anyone who contributes to other than the great Australian Labor Party. [More…]
These are specified in clause 4 of the Bill and include such fees as subscriptions to student organisations, sports unions, accommodation and other non-academic charges. [More…]
These are specified in clauses 3 and 4 of the Bill, and include such fees as subscriptions to student organisations, sports unions, accommodation and other nonacademic charges. [More…]
I would be interested to hear from the Opposition members, who talk so freely about secret ballots in trade unions and the democratic election of trade union officials- something with which I largely agree- when they are going to call for a secret ballot amongst the policy holders in these insurance companies - [More…]
The matter has been raised with me not only by some retail associations but also by some of the postal unions. [More…]
Where are those great trade unions which stand for such industries as the electrical industry, the textile industry, the clothing industry, the footwear industry and the motor vehicle manufacturing industry? [More…]
On one occasion the present President of the Australian Labor Party, Mr Bob Hawke, who is also President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, was involved in a very complex dispute. [More…]
If the trade unions today take a certain stance about better severance pay, for example, honourable senators opposite suddenly see a Carmichael or a Halfpenny, or perhaps even a Bob Hawke, behind it. [More…]
I have to admit that the Budget presented on 19 August has some aspects of economic good sense- if Caucus, the unions, private enterprise and world conditions start running for Mr Hayden in the field of economics. [More…]
Mr Hawke- whether speaking for the Reserve Bank or the Australian Council of Trade Unions or Bourke’s or the Australian Labor Party, I never know which, or just having a crack at the person he wants to succeed- has prophesied that up to 500 000 people will be unemployed early next year because of worsened conditions and because of school leavers. [More…]
He admits that he agreed to them, but the unions are fighting them and the Government senators have not got the moral fibre to join with the unions and fight. [More…]
In the course of making his statements in his war of attrition against the rights and freedoms of insurance companies and their employees will the Minister make reference to the use or misuse of the funds of various trade unions to campaign for and provide financial support to the Australian Labor Party against the wishes of large numbers of their members? [More…]
In fact I mentioned this matter yesterday when I referred to the fact that the decisions which are taken by trade unions to affiliate with the Australian Labor Party and to contribute to the funds of the Australian Labor Party are done publicly. [More…]
All I am asking is that if the Society does so it conducts a ballot amongst its policy holders in the same way as trade unions do; that it makes the contributions completely public; that if it so wishes it affiliates with the Liberal Party, and that it be prepared to become as clearly identified with the National Country Party as the Amalgamated Metal Workers Union is with the Australian Labor Party. [More…]
Recently I asked the Minister for Labor and Immigration (Senator James McClelland) whether when his Government made its socalled social contract with the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the trade unions and told them: ‘Look, if you forego over-award wage demands we will give you wage indexation’, he told them that his Government proposed that it would not be full wage indexation on the consumer price index but that indirect taxes and charges would be discounted. [More…]
Because they bear the imprimatur and total support of the Australian Council of Trade Unions and they bear the signature of Mr Jolly. [More…]
Now, because of the co- operation of the Government, the business sector and the unions - [More…]
In that country it is recognised by the Government and by the unions- do not forget that, ‘by the unions’- that productivity is the key to success. [More…]
We are the only people who understand the unions, and they trust us’. [More…]
I refer to an answer given to me by the Minister last Thursday in which he said: the decisions which are taken by trade unions to affiliate with the Australian Labor Party and to contribute to the funds of the Australian Labor Party are done publicly. [More…]
I remind the Minister that he stated categorically that the decisions to contribute union funds to the Australian Labor Party are taken publicly and by a ballot of the members and I ask: Will he, as the self-established authority on the subject, table in the Senate a list for the past 2 years of the donor unions, the amounts of the donations and the dates upon which the relevant ballots were held? [More…]
The measures taken on the revenue side must be assessed against the expectations of both trade unions and employers. [More…]
It has appeared in wages hearings before the Australian Conciliation and Arbitration Commission to espouse wage indexation and to suggest that the unions should adhere to the guidelines that have been laid down by the Commission. [More…]
I do not know whether the housing societies are aware that the interest rate that they fix imposes upon another area of financial interest, the credit unions, a much higher interest rate than the credit unions would like to charge. [More…]
But, in order to protect their own deposits, credit unions are paying as much as 9 per cent and 10 per cent. [More…]
If the housing societies were to reduce their interest rates by 2 per cent, the credit unions would quickly follow. [More…]
Early in the Government’s term of office some Government supporters encouraged the unions to make greater and greater demands for wage increases, which had the inflationary effect of starting prices moving upwards. [More…]
I think that farming, like housing, is an area that the Government and the unions would like to take over completely. [More…]
If continual demands by unions for increased wages or something else are allowed to affect that industry, amongst others in Tasmania, I can foresee the time when that company, which is so vital to the west coast of Tasmania, will be closed down or at least put on maintenance. [More…]
During the last couple of years we have seen some unions that occupy key positions in our community using their power to raise their incomes, regardless of the needs of the rest of the Australian people. [More…]
The unions have put the squeeze on the whole community, irrespective of what the community can afford. [More…]
Some sectors of the population have had to pay for those demands of the unions. [More…]
It almost seems as though the unions are in control of this country or, at least, in control of the economy. [More…]
They are the ones which suffer the effects of rapid inflation which is partly attributable, as I have said, to the huge demands by the unions during the past years. [More…]
It is time that the Government showed the way it wants the unions to act, or is this the way? [More…]
He divides the ideology of the unions from that of a Labor government. [More…]
If you were however to divide that amount by the many, many times by which it would be divided, and consider the effectiveness that a government policy without penalty- of course penalties are not to be considered in this present situation; they will not work- you would find that by the establishment of a fund of this nature some few hundred million dollars in a year would certainly break the opposition to indexation which will come from what are, after all, only the militant unions of this community who are no longer supported by anything else than a small minority of Australians. [More…]
I would not think that either Senator Sir Magnus Cormack, whom I notice is attempting to intervene, or Senator Hall would agree with Mr Johnson that the brakes ought to be put on the British trade unions or on any other trade unions to advance the cause of socialism. [More…]
My friend Mr Bert James, the honourable member for Hunter who represents coal miners, the Minister for Labor and Immigration (Senator James McClelland) and I had a singularly disagreeable experience today in speaking to representatives of the Miners Federation and other mining unions- unions which have given a lot of loyalty to this Government and to this Partyand telling them that we cannot at this stage do anything but support indexation of wages and incomes. [More…]
Senator James McClelland said today that the unions have played a great part in helping to bring about a lot of the difficulties we are experiencing. [More…]
Because of the chaotic conditions- unions are running mad and the Labor Party had shown a weakness in this respect until people such as Senator James McClelland came on the scene- companies are making much smaller profits. [More…]
I feel it should receive special union consideration instead of being specially used by the unions to increase the size of the members’ pay packet. [More…]
I hope that the Commission can become more efficient and that everybody, including ourselves and the trade unions, will give the Postal Commission and the Telecommunications Commission a chance to work as efficiently as possible. [More…]
I think that a large amount of trouble with our economy is caused by disruption from communist dominated trade unions in Australia. [More…]
Now let us look at the trade unions. [More…]
Other Opposition speakers also have referred to wage increases and the demands of militant unions as being the only ingredient responsible for the increased rate of inflation over the last 12 months. [More…]
I do not blame the unions for not tolerating this situation. [More…]
I do not think all the blame can be sheeted home to the unions. [More…]
The officials of the unions are acting only on instructions from their members and surely those tradesmen who have put in 5 years as apprentices are entitled to at least the same rate of pay as a truck driver, a carpenter and a third grade construction worker. [More…]
It has encouraged the unions to think that all they have to do is to demand and it shall be given. [More…]
There has been a passion throughout industry, a competitive demand for wages, ever since Mr Cameron took office as Minister for Labor and encouraged the unions to think that they had only to ask and Godfather Whitlam would bestow a cheque wherever it was required. [More…]
-I direct my question to the Minister for Labor and Immigration whom I ask: Has the Government’s attention been directed to claims that the Australian Council of Trade Unions at its congress next week will reject the Government’s wage indexation policy because of the non-introduction of tax indexation? [More…]
At the hearing the advocate for the Australian Council of Trade Unions, Mr Jolly, stated: [More…]
Trade unions exist in the socialist state to ensure that the production teams meet the production goals given to them by the state. [More…]
It is no wonder that the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, who is also the President of the Australian Labor Party, has not told us about that. [More…]
The trade unions in Australia have now engineered themselves into a position of being a second government. [More…]
I do not really think that people like Senator Wright and Senator Withers are suggesting that we should scrub the trade unions and scrub the arbitration system and go back to the law of the jungle I realise that Senator Sheil would prefer - [More…]
I indicated in my opening remarks that the Government is prepared to discuss with the shadow Minister of the Opposition dealing with these matters, with the employers, with the unions and with anybody connected with the waterfront, methods for improving the way in which affairs are conducted on the waterfront which, I freely concede, are not ideal and which call for a great deal of improvement. [More…]
There has been criticism by big unions of the actions of the Government. [More…]
The amazing point is that in the face of the trade unions conceding things to employers we have never had any indication from the mining companies of the reduced costs being reflected. [More…]
The point that I am trying to get across to the Senate is that even when the trade unions made concessions, the mining companies- like Oliver Twist- all wanted more. [More…]
Has the Minister representing the Minister for Defence seen recent Press comment which suggests that the Government is reluctant to encourage servicemen’s associations or unions being formed? [More…]
His next proposal was that his faithful friend Tony Street would be Minister for Labor and his first task would be to take the unions on in the courts to teach them a lesson. [More…]
It is only through the trade unions’ efforts that some sort of reasonable wage structure has been established. [More…]
There are currently no reservations about the future on the part of staff organisations or unions. [More…]
For example, a controversy has been raging between the Australian Postal Commission, the unions and the New South Wales Government about the closing down of travelling post office services in relation to some lines. [More…]
I can remember taking part many years ago with Senator Lillico, who was a member of this chamber at the time, in negotiations with railway unions in Tasmania in an attempt to prevent the closing down of some lines. [More…]
The sub-committee comprises a number of health experts and includes representatives of industry and trade unions. [More…]
In the other place today a question was raised by the leader of the splinter group in the Opposition who made certain critical remarks of the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
I will not quote names, but politicians, leaders in the industrial field and prominent members of the trade unions have said that we could see this year a figure for unemployment in excess of 400 000, which would be an absolute tragedy for the country. [More…]
In fact I mentioned this matter yesterday when I referred to the fact that the decisions which are taken by trade unions to affiliate with the Australian Labor Party and to contribute to the funds of the Australian Labor Party are done publicly. [More…]
All I am asking is that if the Society does so it conducts a ballot amongst its policy holders in the same way as trade unions do; that it makes the contributions completely public; that if it so wishes it affiliates with the Liberal Party, and that it be prepared to become as clearly identified with the National Country Party as the Amalgamated Metal Workers Union is with the Australian Labor Party. [More…]
In the course of making his statements in his war of attrition against the rights and freedoms of insurance companies and their employees will the Minister make reference to the use or misuse of funds of various trade unions to campaign for and provide financial support to the Australian Labor Party against the wishes of large numbers of their members?’ [More…]
I would be interested to hear from the Opposition members, who talk so freely about secret ballots in trade unions and the democratic election of trade union officials -something with which I largely agree- when they are going to call for a secret ballot amongst the policy holders in these insurance companies about the use of their money to bring down the Government for which the majority of the policy holders voted. ‘ [More…]
Does he recall the finding of the Royal Commission on Petroleum which criticised the integrity and honesty of the Secretary of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, Mr Souter? [More…]
As we are divided by a strait, we are bedevilled, most unfortunately, by the monopolies that the maritime unions have secured with regard to Australian shipping. [More…]
However, Senator Bishop and the Government and the Opposition will know that the reason why Britain has been brought to her knees has been the dominance of hag-ridden unions that a Labour government is impotent to legislate for. [More…]
I have left it in my patience for fully 10 years, ashamed of the spectacle where the Tasmanian Government pretends to the Tasmanian people that it is out to get regular shipping services and it goes cap in hand to the unions on every occasion of trouble saying: ‘Please exempt Tasmania from the impact of your strike’. [More…]
It was an agreement entered into on 23 May 1975 by a company of which the managing director at the time was Mr R. J. Hawke, the Federal President of the Australian Labor Party, and of which another director was Mr Souter who was the secretary of the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
Of course the matter was fully discussed between myself and the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
I am of the opinion that he was deceived and was not aware of the second part of the contract which the Australian Council of Trade Unions had undertaken. [More…]
One of the proposals put forward by the secretary of one of the most important unions involved, the Administrative and Clerical Officers Association, is that the Association should be represented on the selection committees which will interview applicants for the advertised positions, and this suggestion is receiving serious consideration. [More…]
Secondly there is liaison with the Australian Council of Trade Unions to ensure that whenever possible essential Tasmanian shipping is exempted from strikes and bans by the maritime unions. [More…]
If workers go on strike or if unions misbehave themselves they will be visited with consequences. [More…]
Other unions can be brought before industrial tribunals but the builders labourers are not amenable to be called before any tribunals because some smart employer got them de-registered during some dispute. [More…]
Mr Fraser and Mr Street have learnt nothing from the days when they imposed fines on unions, gaoled O’Shea and thought that all one had to use in order to have industrial peace was some sort of a bludgeon. [More…]
They have no wages policies and nothing to offer unions except penalties, which I say they call consequences, and more unemployment as their prime disciplinary weapon. [More…]
In the meantime, Mr Hawke and the Australian Council of Trade Unions Executive had established an ACTU company to go into business. [More…]
I point out that during the 8 days when the Australian Council of Trade Unions had the option for this oil agreement, between 16 May and 23 May, that is when ACTU-Solo was constructed. [More…]
We are told that the Opposition, if elected to government, would introduce at a cost of about $ 1,000m tax indexation straight away in response to the call of trade unions which have persistently sought wage indexation and tax indexation. [More…]
In this planning process, it will be particularly important to involve those who know the special needs involved- the relevant unions, the ship owners, the fishing industry- as well as educationists. [More…]
They will have the problem of trying to keep the economy running when the unions say, as Senator Douglas McClelland said: ‘This is the law of the jungle. [More…]
Ships are being held up all the time through political and industrial strikes because Tasmania’s shipping services are so vulnerable to the behest of unions that are of extremist views. [More…]
Without trying to attract too much attention from the Senate to this proposal, it is an instance of how Tasmanian shipping is dependent upon the whims of unions to that extent. [More…]
I cannot think of an amendment more designed to break down the recent agreement that has occurred between the Australian Council of Trade Unions and strikers in relation to disputes between the mainland and Tasmania. [More…]
It is quite easy for the Seamen’s Union or any of the maritime unions associated with it to circumvent this type of legislation in any case. [More…]
It is the type of provision that would be considered by the unions to be union bashing. [More…]
It would kill for all time any further agreements with the Australian Council of Trade Unions in relation to maritime disputes involving Bass Strait trade. [More…]
But I have never known the Opposition Parties to accept, nor would we accept in totality, the industrial relations system of the U.S.A., where it is usual for unions and employers to allow a period for agreement, then for the agreement to be subject to discussions and strike action and then, later on, to have recognised cooling off periods. [More…]
It is amazing to me that the great advocates of parliamentary democracy over the years, the people who challenged all the new revolutionary movements in other parts of the world and talked about the Red thrust from South East Asia, from Saigon, about the danger to parliamentary democracy and about the great powers of the trade unions, should now seek to use a power which is badly based. [More…]
There was the event which occurred only quite recently when the trade unions wanted to mention the name of a person who was not a member of the Labor Party in a political advertisement to be inserted by the trade union movement. [More…]
They have the view that in labor unions a few standover men force the rank and file to do things that they do not want to do. [More…]
There would have been no benefit to anyone in Australia, to anyone in the Australian Council of Trade Unions or anybody in general. [More…]
I have in mind, for instance, the attitude of the unions to the export of wheat to Chile. [More…]
He criticised the actions of certain unions which impeded that trade. [More…]
If it makes Senator Scott feel happier, I personally disapprove of that sort of action by industrial unions, just as I disapprove of the use of political-cum-economic muscle by vested interests in the dairy industry and by certain margarine manufacturers to deny Australian housewives and other consumers over the last 25 years open access to margarine supplies. [More…]
To return to Chile, Senator Scott also postulated that this action on behalf of the unions had very significantly financially disadvantaged the Australian wheat grower. [More…]
-My question which is directed to the Minister representing the Prime Minister refers to the Treasurer’s disclosure on television last night that he leaked Budget details to the President of the Australian Labor Party and the Australian Council of Trade Unions, Mr Hawke, before the Budget became public. [More…]
We are not, of course, in any position to forbid the unions from suggesting that a 2.9 per cent increase or any other figure should be taken into account as the correct indexation figure in the hearing commencing before the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission today, any more than we can forbid an employers federation from claiming that nothing should be passed on. [More…]
I refer to the comment that he has made in the Senate this day that Mr Hawke of the Australian Council of Trade Unions was advised of Budget details prior to their announcement in the Parliament. [More…]
But the Australian Council of Trade Unions joined with a group of commercial interests known as the ‘Solo interests’ and have been able to secure what other companies have been denied. [More…]
Mr Deputy President, when this matter first became the subject of public debate I was rather surprised to hear Senator Greenwood in particular and the Opposition generally arguing in defence of a senior member of the Australian Council of Trade Unions- that is the trade union movementnamely, Mr Souter. [More…]
We can see from that that assertions that all culpability lay with the Australian Council of Trade Unions or certain individuals in the ACTU could not be reasonably sustained. [More…]
It is apparent that this motion is aimed essentially at the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, Mr Hawke, who is the one person outside the Government whom the Opposition most fears; fears because of his forthrightness; fears because of the manner in which he exposes some of the capitalistic deals that have been a disgrace to this country; fears because when, from the cover of privilege of Parliament, accusations are made against him he answers like an honest man in a ringing voice and says: ‘Repeat that outside and you will be sued ‘; and fears, fourthly, because he has a very good track record in defamation proceedings. [More…]
Indeed, if ever an inquiry needed to be held into the capitalist market it is on this matter of the Australian Council of Trade Unions and its directors. [More…]
In this instance a man in my State who has devoted himself honestly to the work of unions and who, in concert with others, is a director, of an enterprise finds that as a result of an inquiry he is the one who is picked out and is left by his other directors to take the full burden of whatever criticism is made, criticism which in actual fact might wreck the whole career of Mr Souter. [More…]
The product was offered to a variety of private enterprise commercial undertakings throughout Australia and the offer finally was taken up by a wing of the Australian Labor Party- the Australian Council of Trade Unions- in conjunction, apparently, with the Solo company. [More…]
I ask the Prime Minister: Does it trouble him as a matter of elementary justice that all the sworn testamentary and documentary evidence which was presented to the Royal Commission on Petroleum and which could have exonerated Mr Souter and the Australian Council of Trade Unions of the charge of deliberate deceit of the Government was entirely overlooked by the royal commission in its report? [More…]
Obviously they are condoning the practices of the Australian Council of Trade Unions in this ACTU-Solo Enterprises Pty Ltd deal. [More…]
We hope and expect that this change will be especially welcome to trade union leaders and the members of their unions. [More…]
As honourable senators know, I told Mr Justice Hope at my in camera interview with him that I believed in the Canadian system of reviewing citizenship rejections whereby in a 9-man panel any five members constitute an appeals board, one-third of the members are legal people and another third are a blending of representatives of trade unions, manufacturers and other kindred groups. [More…]
Did the Minister imply at question time yesterday that the Budget details that were pre-released to the State Premiers were as comprehensive as those given to the President of the Australian Labor Party and the Australian Council of Trade Unions, Mr Hawke? [More…]
Did the Australian Council of Trade Unions, through Mr Hawke, make representations to the Government on 21 July? [More…]
I refer to the reason given by the Treasurer for leaking Budget details to Mr Hawke, the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, namely, to enable Mr Hawke to make a considered comment on Budget night. [More…]
Generally speaking, trade unions are failing to communicate effectively with non-English speaking migrant workers and cater to their needs. [More…]
There is also a reluctance to acknowledge that migrants are a particular group of members within unions with special problems. [More…]
What is the Minister doing to change this highly undesirable attitude of unions towards migrants and to ensure that migrants are treated as equals in the work force? [More…]
This in no way condones or justifies the shortcomings of the unions. [More…]
So, in answer to the honourable senator’s question, I would say that the trade unions, like the rest of the community, do not accord to migrants the treatment which they deserve. [More…]
I ask: In the circumstances of the now daily disclosure of new instances of deception and deceit by this Government, with the sacking of Dr Cairns and Mr Connor, both former Acting Prime Ministers of this country, for lying, with the claims by Dr Cairns that the Prime Minister is a liar and was well aware of the details of the loans affair, with the revelation now that the Treasurer, Mr Hayden, leaked the Budget to the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions and with the increasing evidence indicating the Labor Government’s involvement in the ACTU-Solo Enterprises Pty Ltd fraud, will the Minister seek to have the Prime Minister do at least one honourable thing and resign? [More…]
As the matter is a serious one the Minister may care to comment whether Mr Hawke is the first business entrepreneur and company director, whilst he may hold the presidency of the Australian Labor Party and of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, to be given advance Budget details while not in a locked up position some four or five hours before the Budget was presented? [More…]
-I refer the Minister for Police and Customs to part of my question this morning relating to the representations made by Mr Hawke on the part of the Australian Council of Trade Unions to the Government on the Budget. [More…]
No representations were made to me by Mr Hawke or by anyone from the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
I must say that I have received a number of telegrams from unions and other groups which, from their names, I recognise as being opposed to anything that the Liberal Party does. [More…]
This Bill, by the way, was to facilitate the amalgamation of trade unions. [More…]
As if that were not enough we have the latest addition to all of this which has come about in connection with the admission by the Treasurer (Mr Hayden)- indeed, it has been more than an admission- relating to the supplying of the Budget Papers to the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
The interpreter translator course was one of several begun this year in response to repeatedly voiced and largely ignored calls to pre- 1972 governments to help non-English speaking migrants in factories, unions, hospitals, courts and the community generally to understand what was going on around them and to what documents they might be signing their names. [More…]
The Opposition would have us believe that the unions are at loggerheads with this Government. [More…]
But be they blue collar or white collar unions, their members have come out in their thousands during the last 2 weeks and have maintained that the Government that they voted for in 1972 and 1 974 was the Government that represented them and the Government that they wanted to continue. [More…]
I allude to the very belated admission by the Treasurer that he had allowed the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions to have recourse to all the Budget documents some 7 hours before the Budget was presented in this place. [More…]
I tried to interest other white-collar unions, e.g., the Insurance Staffs, the Architects, and the Teachers Federation in a project to challenge Greenwood through paid advertising in the Press, but they seemed to think this would give the smearer [More…]
This Association has had it drawn to its attention a statement made by you on page 1969 of Senate Hansard of 28 May 1975: “Today members of the Communist parties, and there are three in this Country, lead and control unions . [More…]
Outside the ACTU they lead a significant number of unions in banking . [More…]
There are only two unions in Banking in Australia namely, my Associationand the Commonwealth Bank Officers’ Association. [More…]
If, in fact, there have been stoppages by some sections of the unions in an attempt to break through the guidelines of wage indexation I can assure the honourable senator that by and large such attempts have not been successful. [More…]
-I ask the Special Minister of State a question about the Royal Commission on Alleged Payments to Maritime Unions. [More…]
I am aware that the Royal Commissioner, Mr Justice Sweeney, presented an interim report which dealt with payments and demands by maritime unions on foreign vessels entering into the Australian coastal trade under permit. [More…]
Then there was another alleged scandal that Mr Hayden had given some information of a confidential nature to Mr Hawke, the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
This may not necessarily be in order of happening but in recent days the Opposition has raised the briefing of the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions on the Budget before its presentation to Parliament. [More…]
We have a Government which said that because of its knowledge of the industrial unions and the industrial problems in Australia it could cope better with Australia’s industrial disputes. [More…]
It had always impressed me that Mr Hawke was a director, in addition to holding the other positions which he holds, of that large Australian Council of Trade Unions store in Melbourne. [More…]
It is innovative and it recognises views that have been put to the Government over a considerable number of years by the Australian Council of Trade Unions whose submission to the Government was considered very seriously and was adopted substantially in the 1975-76 Budget. [More…]
The strong unions will gain. [More…]
When we look at who is going to be pleased with these new tax scales we find that it will only be the strong and militant unions who have been able to keep the salaries and wages of their employees at or above average earnings. [More…]
Does the Minister agree that trade unions should interfere with foreign, affairs matters such as this? [More…]
Will he deregister those unions which are involved in these affairs that do not concern them and which are obviously dictating foreign policy to the Government? [More…]
I have seen all the principal manufacturers of motor cars in Australia, I have seen some of the unions and I have seen one of the principal Japanese firms involved in the consortium proposal. [More…]
I had the privilege of meeting Tun Razak when representing the Australian Council of Trade Unions at a conference in Kuala Lumpur. [More…]
One of the most irresponsible actions that this Government could take would be for it to try to destroy that wage indexation system until such time as something better has been formulated by the trade unions, the employer groups and the Arbitration Court. [More…]
To persuade the unions to accept the proposition that in their own interests as well as in the interests of Australia they had to accept a wage pause was a very formidable task- a task which I understood, a task which I undertook and a task which has cost me dearly politically. [More…]
Nonetheless I believe that if we do not continue wage indexation for the period ahead, if we do not persuade the unions, as I agree that Mr Fraser and Mr Street managed to persuade them, that they will get a fair go from this Government, we can kiss the fight against inflation goodbye. [More…]
1 believe that this Government, which claims to have been elected to fight inflation, has already kissed the fight against inflation goodbye because it has lost the confidence of the trade unions; it has lost any credibility with the trade unions. [More…]
The consensus has been shattered, as has been shown by the action of the Australian Council of Trade Unions yesterday. [More…]
That is a national tragedy because the trust of the trade unions has to be won. [More…]
Irrespective of whether the ladies and gentlemen opposite are the enemies of the unions, the fact of the matter is that the unions now believe that they are their enemies. [More…]
The unions understand that perfectly well. [More…]
Then, in the Speech, we have a little bit of window dressing about secret ballots in unions. [More…]
There the government, big business and the unions have got together to squeeze the consumer. [More…]
I am told that presently the unions involved in these industries are arranging to meet the Ministers concerned. [More…]
At least he would warn the trade unions that the gun was loaded. [More…]
But now Government senators are so brazen as to suggest a national plan of wage restraint, that the trade unions have to give up certain adjustments and we as a Party should remain silent. [More…]
The point I am hammering is that, in the light of these technological changes, if the trade unions are expected to be reasonable then they can expect the employers to do a little bit more. [More…]
The Government has been told that it has lost the co-operation of the unions and that this will have a devastating effect on the economy of the country. [More…]
With our new initiatives in industrial relations I look forward to good relations with the unions. [More…]
With the introduction of secret ballots and a little democracy in union representation, I look forward to a dramatic change in the relationship between the employers, the Government and the unions. [More…]
If one heard Senator James McClelland last evening or read his speech which is recorded in Hansard they would know of the discussions that were held between 2 individuals who were involved in the law profession for a long time and who had represented trade unions and fought many industrial fights in New South Wales- one as senior counsel and one as junior counsel. [More…]
The working class has achieved an enormous amount through the activities of trade unions. [More…]
The Carmichaels, the Halfpennys, the Mundeys and the Gallaghers who are condemned by honourable senators opposite have achieved more for the members of their unions than possibly a number of other trade unions in Australia. [More…]
For all the secret ballots that have been held for positions, the militant trade unions are still a long way ahead of the respected trade unions in Australia. [More…]
Trade unions were formed for the purpose of united action against such force and protection. [More…]
We saw the cynicism of the unions and the absolute dismay of people such as Sir Gordon Chalk and Mr Hamer, many of the newspapers and, one suspects, Mr Street, when Mr Fraser threw this wage indexation promise out the window. [More…]
As I have said previously, particularly during the election campaign, I wholeheartedly support the attitudes and actions of those trade unions in this country which have placed black bans on ships, mail and what-have-you to Indonesia whilst war rages in Timor. [More…]
Yet the Government wonders why the Australian Council of Trade Unions does not want to involve itself in further discussions on industrial relations. [More…]
number of occasions when the trade unions have had matters before the Australian Industrial Court it has had to wait because there were not sufficient full time practitioners in the Australian Industrial Court to provide 2 full benches. [More…]
There are 3 participants in the system- the unions, the employers and the Government. [More…]
Mr Justice Sweeney had 3 1 days as a Committee of Inquiry- I think on the Moore v Doyle mattersand also had some 93 days as the Royal Commission into Alleged Payments to Maritime Unions. [More…]
It has largely varied as a consequence of amendments made to the Conciliation and Arbitration Act and of the level of internecine faction fighting in trade unions, about which Senator Harradine would no doubt know more than 1. [More…]
There are ample provisions in the constitutions and rules of unions to provide for secret ballots. [More…]
It seems to me that the Government has taken this provocative stand against the unions for the purpose of provoking the unions into causing some industrial unrest. [More…]
This intended legislation is to be introduced at the earliest possible opportunity, regardless of the outcome of discussions between Government and trade unions, that is if such discussions were ever intended to take place. [More…]
The industrial Labor movement should not be regarded, as this Government apparently views it, as a rival to its authority which must be bested in a display of strength; rather, Australian trade unions should be considered an integral part of our economic community, able and prepared to contribute to the processes by which industrial and social decisions are made. [More…]
Unions were considered in this light by the former Labor Administration; I believe that it should remain so. [More…]
Does the Minister recognise the very special needs of Tasmania and will he ask the unions involved to maintain services to Tasmania if at all possible, even if there are stoppages of services to other States? [More…]
With the encouragement of a misguided government, trade unions have been vigorously pursuing a policy of pricing workers out of jobs. [More…]
The policy of the Australian Council of Trade Unions has been to introduce wage and tax indexation. [More…]
That is what he is referring to about the unions, Senator Baume. [More…]
Is it within the Minister’s recollection that all this time these proposals were concealed from Mr Hawke, the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
Within the last couple of days Senator James McClelland said that the Labor Party ought not to consider itself any more a party based on the trade unions. [More…]
He talked about the greater relevance of militancy on the streets and of militancy within trade unions, which I suggest is a greater reflection on Senator Cavanagh ‘s attitude than it is on this Parliament. [More…]
It is something with which trade unions are preoccupied, but not many trade unions. [More…]
The Senate will recall that the Australian Council of Trade Unions at its February meeting adverted to the fact that decisions were being taken by the Department of Employment and Industrial Relations in respect of this very matter without consultation with the trade union movement. [More…]
It is clear that before such matters become established Government policy there ought to be consultation with the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
I have no hesitation- in fact I have great pride- in saying that I recommended to Cabinet, and Cabinet agreed to, the appointment of Mr Harold Souter, the Secretary of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, as a part-time member of the Australian Broadcasting Control Board. [More…]
Australian Council of Trade Unions to participate in formal consultative machinery on employment, unemployment and industrial policies? [More…]
For trade unions to attempt to interpose themselves between those who wish to express views and the public is, I think, disgraceful. [More…]
-I ask the Minister representing the Minister for Employment and Industrial Relations: Is it a fact that the previous Liberal-Country Party Government and the Labor Government, together with employers and trade unions, have, over the years, advocated that industry and Commonwealth Departments should take a maximum of apprentices and other skilled trainees? [More…]
Despite the fact that most of the central organisations representing the staff and the Australian Council of Trade Unions have been to the Prime Minister about this matter there has been no guarantee from him that the ceilings will be arrived at simply on the basis of wastage, although when the Prime Minister announced the cutbacks last year- cutbacks which have been made more severe more recently- he assumed, as did the Leader of the Government in the Senate (Senator Withers), that the targets set would be secured by wastage and retirements. [More…]
The unions are concerned about this matter. [More…]
It is true that the Prime Minister had consultations with the unions about this matter and then made announcements which were considered at the time to be to some extent a moderation of the Government’s policies. [More…]
It is clear to me and to the unions that there will be sackings unless the Prime Minister says that there will be no sackings and that the Government will hold the position as of now because of the general unemployment position. [More…]
If it was due to the return of business confidence, I ask Senator Walters to do what I am proposing to do, that is, request the Prime Minister to tell the unions concerned that there will be no sackings of people from the authorities about which I am talking. [More…]
To attempt to set a target over the whole range of Commonwealth departments is wrong, as the unions have already told the Prime Minister. [More…]
It involved consultation by the Department with practically everybody in the industry and in many cases with some of the unions. [More…]
Has the Minister’s attention been drawn to the statement in that article that the private agreement reached with the unions concerned is outside the wage indexation guidelines and that the Government is also concerned to try to prevent a flow-on of the GMH agreement to private awards negotiated by both the Ford Motor Company of Australia and Chrysler Australia Ltd. [More…]
Governments have not done any more about it, unions have not done any more about it and employers have not done any more about it. [More…]
When some of them stagger out of bed at 6 o’clock in the morning, get children off to school, do the chores, go to work, come home, look after the family and then fall into bed, it is time unions, employers and governments looked at what amounts to not much more than slave labour for a great percentage of this community. [More…]
If it is true that the present Trade Practices Act does not allow action to stop this rip off by the union, will he refer the matter to the Minister with a view to finding mechanisms for making unions as well as private business subject to the consumer protection provisions of the Trade Practices Act? [More…]
If that be the fact, it appears to me that unions are practising intimidation and that there is apparently no law which applies to them. [More…]
One of the problems in this area over many years has been that the Labor Party and the unions generally have urged effective restrictive trade practices legislation to apply to companies, but they will strongly and forcefully resist any application of those same principles to themselves. [More…]
In recent weeks strike action has been taken by the unions whose employees are working on the site. [More…]
This has not been the result only of negligent government policy; it has been the result also of prejudice on the part of employers and also, I admit, on the part of trade unions. [More…]
I knew that I was at a meeting of a Youth Week sub-committee of the Executive of the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
Clearly, from the evidence in the minutes of the meeting of the Australian Council of Trade Unions sub-committee these people have perjured themselves. [More…]
At that time Mr Mayne discovered that there were opportunities in Tasmania for someone with political ideals to organise the unions in Tasmania- the small unions whose officers held honorary positions or received some allowance. [More…]
It was believed that the Tasmanian unions could be captured by any ideology, and the Federated Clerks Union stepped in and made the first move to see that it followed the true DLP line. [More…]
The evidence for my statement is contained in the files of the Australian Council of Trade Unions in Melbourne. [More…]
Are the minutes of the committee meeting of the Australian Council of Trade Unions wrong? [More…]
Since when have the unions of this country employed private inquiry agents to spy upon members of the ACTU executive? [More…]
The Minister no doubt will recall that on several occasions I have pointed out that the unions have met the Prime Minister and that some targets have been modified. [More…]
As far as I am aware the unions have not been told yet whether the deadline of 30 June will be altered. [More…]
I ask: Does the Prime Minister or the Leader of the Government in the Senate intend to make a statement in respect of the representations made by the unions about the staff ceilings? [More…]
The objectives of the Foundation will be to deepen and widen contacts between Australia and Japan in all fields, including business, academic, cultural, scientific and the trade unions. [More…]
Originally it was intended- this is the reason why, for example, trade unions were to be included in the membership of the Foundationto widen contact between those 2 sections of the Australian community. [More…]
Members of striking unions at the establishment at which the industrial dispute is in force are not eligible for unemployment benefit according to section 107c of the Act. [More…]
Whilst the honourable senator has asked a precise questionI will obtain an answer on that for the honourable senator- I would point out that the conditions I have just mentioned with regard to members of striking unions are matters that have been upheld by honourable senators opposite on previous occasions. [More…]
But in this half-way house situation, the information that I get from the Amalgamated Metal Workers Union and from other unions which have been interested in this matter is that from time to time people are being released in Chile after being imprisoned for their political activities. [More…]
To reduce the level of industrial accidents, the Government will be continuing to encourage greater consultation, participation and co-operation between employers, unions and employees with a view to formulating policies and programs with particular emphasis on occupational safety. [More…]
Indeed, where firms have acted in co-operation with their employees and unions, there has been a substantial reduction in the level of industrial accidents and injuries. [More…]
For its part, the Commonwealth Government is continuing the implementation of an occupational safety and health program developed by a Committee comprised of representatives from the Public Service Board, the Department of Employment and Industrial Relations (Chair), Department of Construction, Department of Industry and Commerce and the Australian Postal Commission, the Australian Council of Trade Unions, the Council of Australian Government Employee Organisations and the Committee of Chief Inspectors of State Labor Departments. [More…]
On 30 October 1975, following representations by a number of contributors and some Public Service unions, my colleague, Mr Garland, on behalf of the then Opposition announced a compromise solution involving three major changes in the Superannuation Bill 1975. [More…]
Senator Gietzelt referred to the trade unions sending a mission to Russia to engage in trade negotiations. [More…]
Preserve Democracy in Trade Unions by guaranteeing the right of all members to participate in rank and file ballots for officials and Committees of Management. [More…]
On all counts the cost comes back to the little person who pays the price for the irresponsibility of certain extreme, radical leaders within some of our unions. [More…]
I point out to him that wage indexation was approved by the Australian Labor Party and by the great majority of unions. [More…]
The Government would legislate to control unions that prevented retail discounting in the bread industry. [More…]
1 ) and (2) As I announced on 8 March, my Department and I are conducting consultations with State Governments, private insurers, unions, employers, motorists’ and welfare organisations and the legal and medical professions in relation to the development of options for a national compensation program for Australia. [More…]
1 ) Are many persons and organisations, including unions, in the Northern Territory, and members of the Legislative Assembly for the Northern Territory, concerned that the Government does not carry out Consumer Price Index surveys in the Territory. [More…]
She has announced that she is talking to insurance company representatives, the Australian Council of Trade Unions representatives and State Ministers about a proposed national compensation scheme. [More…]
I ask: If the Government goes ahead with plans to bring trade unions under the Trade Practices Act, has the Minister an estimate of the huge number of extra staff needed in the appropriate government departments? [More…]
I am broadminded enough to believe that even Mr Street at least tries to be reasonable with the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
There is no doubt that because of language difficulties it is impossible for the unions to control exploitation unless there are joint operations between the inspectors from the Australian and State departments of labour. [More…]
The final interesting point that I have forgotten to mention was that the Iraqis had said they would ‘put money into the militant unions- not the soft ones’. [More…]
I understand that the unions involved wish to see the legislation carried without delay. [More…]
I understand that after the change of Government there were discussions between this Government and the various unions which represented the Commonwealth Public Service. [More…]
Presumably those unions had to accept as best they could in those discussions whatever they could get. [More…]
I have had discussions over recent months with representatives of Public Service unions on some of the possible problems that may emerge. [More…]
It has been mentioned by Senator Wriedt and by other honourable senators that unions communicated with members on both sides of the Parliament urging them to give a speedy passage to the legislation with a view to having it in effect for those concerned by 1 July 1 976. [More…]
In October 1975, after a lot of negotiation with unions and other people concerned, the Opposition announced a scheme which was in effect a compromise, and that was broadly accepted. [More…]
In the light of this, how can the Minister justify his Government’s proposed legislation for control by the Australian Electoral Office of secret ballots in unions and employer organisations, which will cost in excess of $ 1 .5m a year? [More…]
There are some trade unions which demonstrate and have demonstrated over many years that basic representation of the rank and file worker, but no one can say that where there is a union membership of something like 170 000 people and only -2000 of them vote the people elected by those 2000 in any way represent the 170 000. [More…]
Has the Minister seen an article in the Adelaide Advertiser of 24 April of this year giving detailed proposals by the Minister for Employment and Industrial Relations concerning Government policy to control secret ballots for unions? [More…]
I also wonder why it is that members of the Australian Labor Party are so concerned about the efforts of the present Government to give an industrial representative democracy to members of trade unions. [More…]
The Minister is having discussions- as I think he told the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions that he would have discussions- about methods of implementation and details of the proposal. [More…]
In view of his earlier answers on the desirability of secret ballots for electing union officials, can he name those unions in Australia which currently do not elect their officials by either a secret ballot or the collegiate voting system, which I understand the Government intends to provide in its proposed legislation? [More…]
I think there are said to be something in excess of 300 unions in this country. [More…]
Surely the honourable senator does not expect me to possess the knowledge as to which unions conduct secret ballots, which unions have ballots authorised and conducted by the Commonwealth Electoral Office, and which unions do not, and be able to specify which unions they are. [More…]
The fact is that there are some significant unions in this country which do not have a postal secret ballot and which purport to have a secret ballot in accordance with rules and in accordance with legislation. [More…]
The Leader of the Australian Council of Trade Unions said he had pursued Australian trade union calls for troop withdrawals and said he had rejected suggestions that the Indonesian troops in East Timor were volunteers. [More…]
The horse is brought out by Mr Halfpenny, the secretary of the Victorian branch of the Amalgamated Metal Workers Union- he has the support of other unions- who stated that they have collected money, that they have chartered a ship and that they intend to float the ship into East Timor. [More…]
Mr Halfpenny is half inviting us to do that by creating the conditions of casus belli between Indonesia and Australia in demanding that an Australian covering force be provided to protect the ship which, unilaterally, the trade unions in Victoria and other parts of Australia are loading with supplies. [More…]
But the fact remains that there was no scope whatsoever for the formation of indigenous Timorese political parties, trade unions or the other movements which one found in the colonies of Britain, France or even, for that matter, the Netherlands, such as the Netherlands East Indies. [More…]
Does the Prime Minister or the Leader of the Government in the Senate intend to make a statement in respect of representations made by the unions about staff ceilings. [More…]
In the discussions with the ACTU and CAGEO mentioned above, I acknowledged that there could be a relationship between the implementation of the new superannuation scheme and the achievement of staff ceilings, but I assured the unions that the Government’s policy on staff ceilings would be sufficiently flexible to take account of this aspect. [More…]
Negotiations with the employee unions concerned are currently continuing with a view to completion as early as possible. [More…]
Will the Minister have the situation examined carefully to investigate whether or not the unions are making a target of the Government shipping line to prevent proper shipping services which that line provides, being operated, particularly to Tasmania? [More…]
My understanding also is that, as the honourable senator stated, the amendments impose very considerable difficulties on unions and only a percentage have been able to conform. [More…]
In May the New South Wales branch organiser of that union, J. J. Dwyer, was in Moscow attending the May Day celebrations at the invitation of the socalled Soviet All Union Council of Trade Unions which, incidentally, was under the control of Mr Alexander Shelepin, a former KGB boss. [More…]
Similarly, we have the Amalgamated Engineering Union which now forms part of the Amalgamated Metal Workers Unions. [More…]
1 ) Did the Whitlam Government promise to meet the legal expenses of maritime unions involved in the Hobart Bridge Disaster Inquiry; if so, has the present Government agreed to honour that commitment. [More…]
Have funds yet been received by the unions; if not, what is the reason for the delay and when can the funds be expected. [More…]
The funds have been provided to the unions. [More…]
-The Minister for Industry and Commerce is undoubtedly aware of the uncertainty that exists with respect to shipbuilding at Whyalla and the consequent apprehension of the unions concerned, the business community and the Whyalla City Council over the future of this industry. [More…]
The Government is hoping, for the purposes of that White Paper, to get some useful contributions from all the unions involved as to the part that they might usefully play themselves. [More…]
I think the findings of Mr Summers make it perfectly clear that it is quite wrong and inappropriate for people to blame the deficiencies of our shipping industry on various unions and union activity. [More…]
Sometimes the unions are at fault but the tendency is to blame all our troubles in this area on them. [More…]
I certainly learnt, I believe, that the exponents of political street fighting and in-fighting are not confined to parties, business or trade unions but are alive and well among some of our supposedly other worldy and objective, distinguished, dispassionate academic circles. [More…]
I am advised that the relevant teacher unions were not able to show that teachers would be unemployed as a result of the overseas recruitment. [More…]
In Victoria, where there are 3 unions, there was no objection to the recruitment program as such, nor to the teachers themselves who, the organisations felt, in many instances helped culturally in the overall program. [More…]
No objection was raised by the appropriate unions to further American teachers coming in May and August of this year. [More…]
In view of the Government ‘s strict guidelines on uranium mining and also the fact that the Ranger inquiry enables all interested bodies to submit evidence in respect of uranium mining, will the Minister ask the Prime Minister to seek the support of responsible bodies, such as the Australian Council of Trade Unions, to endeavour speedily to resolve this issue so that an industry which is vital to the nation and to the jobs of” thousands of Australians will not be jeopardised by the actions of a few? [More…]
Differing stands have been adopted by different unions on uranium mining. [More…]
The general approach of the Australian Council of Trade Unions has been that all aspects of uranium mining should be the subject of inquiry, and it has seen the Ranger inquiry meeting that requirement. [More…]
In view of the discussions in Estimates Committee B on Tuesday of this week when Senator Carrick indicated a timetable for the final decision by Mr Justice Fox regarding uranium extraction, will either Senator Carrick or Senator Withers take up with the Minister for Employment and Industrial Relations, Mr Street, a comparison between the position of trade unions and conservationists marking time until this historic decision is made and the action of Mary Kathleen Mines in tooling up in anticipation of a favourable decision? [More…]
Carrick was good enough to announce on Tuesday, I believe that Mary Kathleen Mines should act with restraint in the same way as the trade unions have acted. [More…]
I gave the general assurance that, overall, the Government has a keen interest in all the environmental impacts on the question of uranium but that we would wait for the Ranger report as the Australian Council of Trade Unions will do in this regard. [More…]
The trade unions have made it clear that they see a necessary link between wages policy and tax indexation. [More…]
We believe that our policy on tax indexation, as a permanent feature of our taxation system, should make it possible to work out with the unions a rational wages policy which will be of benefit to all workers and to the nation as a whole. [More…]
We hope that the measures being announced will contribute to fruitful talks with the unions next month. [More…]
The latter piece of legislation was introduced when the Government adopted arrangements agreed to by representatives of employers, unions and the Government in the National Stevedoring Industry Conference set up in 1965 under the chairmanship of A. E. Woodward, Q.C. [More…]
Participants were the Australian Council of Trade Unions, the Association of Employers of Waterside Labour, the Waterside Workers’ Federation, the Australian Stevedoring Industry Authority and the Department of Labour and National Service. [More…]
I have already forewarned the Director of the Authority, the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the relevant unions of the course the Government intends to adopt and I have outlined the steps that will be taken as to the future of the staff. [More…]
These include- application to them of the Government programs dealing with assistance to redundant employees in Commonwealth Departments and agencies and including discussions with both employers and unions as to the totality of the arrangements to apply; a special section of the Department will be devoted to co-ordinating the operations of the Commonwealth Employment Service in an exercise designed to provide maximum assistance aimed at locating the staff concerned in suitable alternative employment; and raising with employers in the industry the steps that they might take to offer to staff presently employed by the Authority new employment opportunities. [More…]
The important point is that the Australian Council of Trade Unions is looking towards a responsible view on this whole question. [More…]
With wages that are grossly inflated by every conceivable standard and operating manning standards 2 decades out of date, the maritime unions make masochism out of shipowning and were it not for political protectionism there would not be a single Australian-flagship operating today. [More…]
-It is a tragic fact that primarily due to the militancy, the loss of working time, the strikes and the go-slow of the Australian maritime unions Australia has virtually costed itself out of the shipping transport business. [More…]
For the information of honourable senators I present the final report of the Commission of Inquiry into Alleged Payments to Maritime Unions. [More…]
She replied: ‘I suppose it’s the radical communist extremists in some of the unions. [More…]
I notice that the Treasurer, Mr Lynch, indicated in his speech that he thinks that tax indexation will reduce the demands and the pressure from the unions. [More…]
I cannot understand the fascination that seems to go with tax indexation as some sort of panacea for the unions in their wage demands. [More…]
But what all Australians, and particularly the trade unions, must recognise, is that there cannot be any real increase in our standard of living unless there is a real increase in production. [More…]
Who else but the trade unions, the great so called protectors of the migrants? [More…]
He said that this in no way will reduce the pressure of wage demands emanating from the trade unions. [More…]
We have seen also examples of unions retaliating against unindexed taxation increases and applying their weight towards the implementation of tax indexation. [More…]
Will the necessary legislation refer to both trade unions and employer organisations. [More…]
Has the Minister, or officers of his Department, officially discussed these proposals with representatives of the trade unions and representatives of employer organisations; if so, when have these discussions occurred, and with whom. [More…]
How many trade unions in Australia are currently registered with the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission. [More…]
As at 7 April 1976 there were 149 unions registered under the Conciliation and Arbitration Act 1 904- 1 976. [More…]
The Conciliation and Arbitration Act 1904-1976 provides in section 133(l)(d) that trade unions registered as organisations under the Act must provide in their rules for the conduct of elections for each office holder by secret ballot. [More…]
Now in very strong statements about a so-called package, a package which the Government is trying to sell to the work force and the Australian Council of Trade Unions, the Government is saying that the package is enough to overlook all those massive cuts which have affected the public sector and important public works and have resulted not only in uncertainty but also in many people being put out of work. [More…]
Honourable senators will recall that whereas earlier the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the Fraser Government were heading for a headlong clash on union elections the Government has now agreed to meet the ACTU. [More…]
I believe that the Government has been particularly hamfisted in its attempts to obtain the co-operation of the trade unions. [More…]
I had a conversation with Mr Street and among other things I said to him: ‘I believe you people are being very shortsighted if you think that you are going to be able to persuade the unions to accept continuing wage restraint and at the same time tell them that you propose to abolish the Prices Justification Tribunal. [More…]
This will be seen by the unions to be saying to them: ‘You tighten your belts’, but to be saying to the employers: ‘Bob’s your uncle, charge whatever you like’.’ [More…]
According to the benighted lights, I believe, of the Liberals in the matter of trade unions- one would believe sometimes that they had never met a trade unionist- they had this magic formula of secret postal ballots that were supposed to solve all the problems of the trade unions and of the community, to get rid of troublemakers and to free unions of militants like Halfpenny and Carmichael. [More…]
It was based on the notion that if a higher percentage of members of trade unions were persuaded to vote they would not vote for militants. [More…]
To his credit, Mr Street also finally, I believe helped by my nagging, saw the folly of this and in the interests of trying to come to some sort of an arrangement with the unions- without which this Government will not be able to govern- dropped this idea, for which the returns would have been miniscule and which could have involved the country in an unnecessary confrontation. [More…]
The unions with muscle are mostly unions of skilled workers. [More…]
Senator James McClelland referred to many things which touched on the broad social consensus between trade unions and people and government which need to be stated. [More…]
It is suggested first of all that tax indexation will remove the pressure for wage increases from Australian trade unions. [More…]
We believe that it is just not likely that there will be a sufficient response from the unions in relation to the promise of tax indexation and the Government’s approach to wage demands and that this is a sort of non sequitur which is the weakness in the Government strategy. [More…]
To conclude this brief reference to small businesses, there is no doubt that small businesses have fallen between the 2 power groups in Australia, the unions and government, and it is not enticing to consider the prospect of entering small manufacturing processes with all the incidental costs and pressures which are loaded against them. [More…]
I know of no reason why building trade unions in Sydney would object to these nominees. [More…]
One of the reasons the unions fought for many years to get long service leave for employees was to encourage those people to stay in the job and to be contented in the job they were doing. [More…]
I do not doubt that unions have pressed for just that. [More…]
They consist of people from the associations of manufacturers, the consumers, the buyers, those who in effect are the users, the government departments concerned, members of the trade unions and, equally, members from both this side of Parliament and from the Opposition side of Parliament. [More…]
This amendment balances a similar requirement for consultation with trade unions which is already included in the Act. [More…]
As to the future, I think we all realise that in any industry, particularly where manual operations occur, it has never been the desire of the Waterside Workers Federation or of any of the other unions associated with it to object to labour saving devices. [More…]
But these unions have been equally vigilant to ensure that wages commensurate with the responsibilities involved should be paid for the operation of lifting appliances. [More…]
When we look at the situation at the moment we find a communique emanating from the Australian Council of Trade Unions, the Waterside Workers Federation, the Federated Clerks Union, the Miscellaneous Workers Union and the Foremen Stevedores Association. [More…]
These unions were adamant that the present statutory body should be no more. [More…]
True, the Federated Clerks Unions did not accept the elimination of the Australian Stevedoring Industry Authority, nor did it indicate any final view of that body’s future. [More…]
Our coastal operations, both foreign and interstate, are particularly subject to the control of the 2 monopoly maritime unions, the Seamen’s Union of Australia and the Waterside Workers Federation of Australia. [More…]
We are told, if the grapevine is to be believed, that this year it will notch up a loss of $ 15m or in excess of that amount and, further, that $6m of that loss was incurred through disputes by unions which in the waterfront and on the sea-going vessels have a monopoly situation enabling them to hold up shipping. [More…]
I can well remember discussions that took place on this matter in the mid-1960s when I was a member of the Australian Council of Trade Unions Executive and there were some substantial disputes on the waterfront. [More…]
I can tell honourable senators that suggestion went up like a lead balloon with the other unions on the waterfront. [More…]
I refer to the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Alleged Payments to Maritime Unions. [More…]
The Commission went on to say that the system is contrary to the best interests of the Australian community, trade unions and their members generally and to particular unions and their members. [More…]
There has to be a provision which will enable a flexible work force and a situation in which unions, whatever unions they be, are not able to take a position whereby they can pick off individuals, as employers or shipping companies. [More…]
We now have on the one hand suggestions of solutions through nationalisation and on the other hand suggestions of the industry and the unions finding their own solutions. [More…]
He has already told the unions concerned that discussions on these matters will take place once this Bill has been passed. [More…]
Now that the Parliament will be rising at the end of this week, the Government has raised with the Australian Council of Trade Unions the desirability of the talks being conducted on successive days rather than being split over the week. [More…]
The simple fact is that investigations were made during the tenure of the then Australian Labor Party Government- his Government- by the departments concerned in consultation with the teaching unions concerned. [More…]
The Government is committed to genuine consultations with employers and trade unions on its industrial legislation. [More…]
The Minister for Employment and Industrial Relations (Mr Street) has consulted with the peak trade union organisations, the Australian Council of Trade Unions, the Australian Council for Salaried and Professional Associations and the Council of Australian Government Employee Organisations, and the National Employers Policy Committee, representing the employers, on the Government’s proposals. [More…]
As honourable senators will know, it is already the practice to provide for officially conducted elections at Government expense- provisions which, I might add, the unions indicated, when they saw the Minister for Employment and Industrial Relations on 5 May, had their support. [More…]
During the Minister’s discussions with the unions they expressed very strong opposition to the proposal that the Electoral Office should conduct all elections. [More…]
At the same time the Government has appreciated the real concern expressed by the unions and has sought to meet their objections, consistent with its policy objectives. [More…]
However, in the light of the views which are expressed, particularly by the unions, it has opted for a maximum term of 4 years. [More…]
I indicated at the outset that the Government is committed to genuine and constructive consultations with employees and trade unions on its industrial legislation. [More…]
The matter now is very much in the hands of other groups of people in the community- the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission, the unions, the broad body of consumers and savers, the business people who invest and make capacity available, and the State and local governments. [More…]
It makes me wonder when I read in the daily Press that the unions will take a hard line on Medibank. [More…]
Is that what the unions want? [More…]
If that is what the unions want, that is what we are getting now. [More…]
Of course, what is happening is that certain of the radical unions are just attaching themselves to a slogan for their own purposes which have nothing to do with Medibank and which have nothing to do with the interests of the Australian people. [More…]
Senator Baume wonders why the unions are taking up the cause of Medibank. [More…]
The unions represent a very large proportion of the people in this community. [More…]
The unions know that that very large proportion of people in the community welcomed Medibank, welcomed its efficiency and economy and welcomed the fact that it took the terror out of being ill and took the terror out of having to pay excessive private health insurance funds, and because they care for their members and because they know that 74 per cent of the people of Australia want Medibank retained they are going in to bat for it. [More…]
Recently I attended a seminar in Hobart relating to women in the unions which was conducted by the trade union movement. [More…]
But even before I had a family I was, both on the Social Welfare Committee of the Australian Council of Trade Unions and on the ACTU Executive itself, in the forefront of the campaign to have child endowment payments raised. [More…]
I recall that there was an enormous outburst of outrage pseudo morality, particularly in certain sections of the media and especially that section of the media controlled by Rupert Murdoch, when Mr Jack Egerton, a VicePresident of the Australian Council of Trade Unions and President of the Queensland Branch of the Labor Party, was appointed to the same position. [More…]
The advantages of certification are of the utmost value to members of unions for the purpose of entitling them to enforcement of the provisions of the agreement. [More…]
So not only is it going to make it a moral and social obligation but also a legal obligation on organisations such as trade unions. [More…]
The Government hides behind the guise of democratising the unions. [More…]
The unions do not have to be parties to the arbitration system. [More…]
One can go right back to the period after the Second World War and follow through the basic wage cases, the margins cases and the national wage cases which took the place of basic wage cases, and one will find that in every one ofthe decisions in those cases the Commission has been asked by the Government and by the parties, be they employers or unions, to have regard to the state of the economy. [More…]
There is not one tittle of evidence in the Minister’s second reading speech to indicate that members of unions or employer organisations do not have a real opportunity to choose now. [More…]
I agree that if we want to go back to the late 1 940s or even the early 1950s we will find that there was substantial evidence to indicate that members of certain unions may have been subject to intimidation by one side or another, but there is no evidence in the Minister’s second reading speech or in the debate in the House of Representatives or in any other allegations to indicate that there has been intimidation and so on in the conduct of union ballots. [More…]
The Government hopes that the introduction of what it calls secret ballot legislation will have the result of involving members of unions much more in the conduct of ballots, and that the consequences of that will be that certain union officials who may be unpalatable to the Government will be so regarded also by members of their unions and there will be a consequent change in the composition of the boards of management and the officials of unions. [More…]
It is desired that the present position should be replaced by a position in which ballot papers will be forwarded to all members of unions, and a secret postal ballot will take place. [More…]
It is my view that some unions will welcome this legislation and find it convenient because it is accompanied by the undertaking that the Government will pay the costs of such ballots if they are conducted by the Industrial Registrar or the Commonwealth Electoral Office. [More…]
Many unions are already taking advantage of those provisions as they exist in the present Act. [More…]
The point we seek to make about the legislation is that it seems to us and to some unions to be an unwarranted interference in the affairs of the unions. [More…]
As I have said, nonetheless we do not think that, insofar as most unions are concerned, the provisions will be particularly onerous. [More…]
The unions, in fact, suggested 5 years and the Government 3 years; and the compromise was 4 years. [More…]
The Court has said, in a confusing variety of decisions, that the term of office of officials in some unions is appropriately 3 or 4 years and in others 5 years. [More…]
I believe that in the case of some unions the Court has said 6 years, but that may not be a correct recollection. [More…]
I think there is an advantage for unions in having a fixed term prescribed by the Act. [More…]
It gives evidence of a great measure of discussion that has already taken place between the Government, the employers and the unions in these matters. [More…]
Ballots may be controlled by the Commonwealth Electoral Office, in which case there would be no charge on the unions. [More…]
I understand that last year the Australian Railways Union conducted a ballot at a charge to itself- in other words, to its members- of some $40,000-odd, and of course that union is not one of the really big unions. [More…]
I understand that in some unions and in some circumstances that as much as 90 per cent to 95 per cent of union membership can be found in three or four specific areas. [More…]
It may well be that in certain circumstances referable to the far flung membership of unions the operation of a collegiate system on a regional or State basis would succeed in giving truer representation across the board. [More…]
It is merely stating in so many words that unions must find a way of achieving for their total membership the right actively to elect their executives. [More…]
It is claiming that it does not intend to proclaim the legislation other than minor provisions relating to the appointment of an additional judge to the Commonwealth Industrial Court until it has had a chance to hold discussions with the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
So it appears that the Government is not genuine in its attempt to improve industrial relations but is introducing this legislation only to provoke the unions into confrontation so that later on when the Government finds its economic measures are failing to get results it will be able to blame the trade union movement. [More…]
It is quite obvious that the Government will enter into discussions with the Australian Council of Trade Unions with a closed mind, otherwise it would have delayed the legislation until after the discussions. [More…]
I maintain where there is an improvement in the number of days lost through industrial disputes, for whatever reason, the Government should not introduce legislation which will only provoke the unions. [More…]
They will also encourage the unions to bypass the Commission and not to have any agreements certified. [More…]
There is no doubt that the unions will take the course of action which they think necessary. [More…]
Again the Commission rejected the Government’s submission and granted the applicant, the Australian Council of Trade Unions, the full 3.2 per cent increase it sought. [More…]
The Government will try to put the blame on the unions as an excuse for not having a formula that will reduce inflation and also reduce unemployment. [More…]
The unions are very perturbed that this legislation is only a gimmick. [More…]
It is only the officials of unions who have been elected by some devious means through the rules of their organisations and who do not carry out the objectives of their members and look after the welfare of those members who have anything to hide, who have any need to worry and who need to seek protection from the Conciliation and Arbitration Act to retain their jobs. [More…]
As Senator Button mentioned here tonight, several applications have been made to the Commonwealth Industrial Court regarding the tenure of office of elected officials of trade unions. [More…]
Yet, in this legislation although we are being asked to concede the rights of organisations to fix their rules and the terms of office of their officials and to conduct their own ballots, whether by postal ballot or secret ballot- which is the way in which most unions do conduct their ballots- we are also being asked to agree that no union should in the future be able to provide in its rules for a term of office for its officials of more than 4 years. [More…]
I would like to know what right the Commonwealth Government has to interfere in the internal affairs ofthe trade union movement by enforcing a term of office of 4 years on quite a number of unions which at present provide for a term of office of 5 years or 6 years. [More…]
For this reason I fail to understand why the Government has included in this amendment to the legislation the provision that unions can elect officers for only a 4-year term. [More…]
I can only assume that the Government has introduced this legislation because it wants to put it on the shelf and wait to see how the Australian Council of Trade Unions behaves during the next conference that it has with the Government. [More…]
Obviously the union ballots is related to the question of democracy in unions. [More…]
When one considers the tremendous costs involved in union elections, it seems to me to be quite incomprehensible that the unions should be disagreeing with our proposal. [More…]
I am not speaking on this matter with the experience that other people have, and I will be looking with great interest to the discussions on this matter that will take place between the unions and the Minister for Employment and Industrial Relations (Mr Street) in the next few months before 13 November. [More…]
It seems to me that the introduction of any method by which machine politics can be kept out of trade union affairs must be to the advantage of the individual members of unions, and if that is what we are seeking I would be in favour of it. [More…]
In regard to the collegiate system I make the general observation that it seems to me only reasonable that in order properly to obtain democracy in unions there should be only one tier between the individual member of a union and the final election to Federal leadership. [More…]
Also I believe that the members of the public are demanding in their own interests and in the interests of individual members of trade unions that we should have a situation where the Government can intervene in proceedings before the Full Bench of the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission and ask the Full Bench to take the question of public interest into account in making its decision. [More…]
There have been discussions in respect of the provisions of the Bill between the Government and the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
I belong to 4 unions. [More…]
One of those unions has a collegiate system of voting and another has the direct system of voting. [More…]
The 1973 amendments to the Act brought condemnation from large numbers of trade unions because they were not consulted prior to those amendments being introduced or carried. [More…]
Despite this body of case law and the obvious preference of most unions- I emphasise the words ‘most unions‘for the federalist or collegiate system, the Act was changed to withdraw the right of registered organisations to choose their best method of selfgovernment and to force them to change their rules by the direct or centralist system within 3 years of the commencement of the 1973 Act. [More…]
The unions were required to conform to these 2 provisions and to change their rules in line with these 2 provisions some time ago. [More…]
A minority of unions have conformed because many of the unions concerned- the registered organisations- find that they cannot conform with those provisions. [More…]
It cut right across the provisions of many unions’ rules which enabled the rank and file to have recall powers over their union officials. [More…]
One member of the Government in another place said, strangely enough, that only the extremists were supporting the rights of unions to choose the federalist system. [More…]
I do not know whether he was bemused by his silver headed friend but I want to say that before the 1973 amendments the majority of unions had that system. [More…]
Are the majority of the unions who had this system prior to the 1973 amendments extremists? [More…]
Admittedly, there have been discussions on this particular subject with the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
We heard Senator Messner with his limited knowledge of the Australian Bank Officials Association telling us all about trade unions. [More…]
The Minister in his second reading speech points out at some length how the Government has conferred with the trade unions. [More…]
However it is not conferring with the trade unions on the Bill if the Bill is introduced first, passed through both Houses of Parliament and then the Government talks to the unions about it. [More…]
If the Government wanted to introduce a Bill which was in conformity with the resolutions of a conference between the trade unions, employers and the Government, it should talk to those 2 groups first and then introduce a Bill. [More…]
A union could expect some degree of success before the Court but it could well be influenced by other unions not to ask a member ofthe Commission to make an award on a matter because the Act could be applied, with all its repercussions, against other unions. [More…]
For that reason this Bill could be a threat to the unions. [More…]
Whilst those who have not caused much trouble have a predominance in the ACTU, there is such complete disagreement on the part of unions because they are fed up and lack faith in the Government that the Government will find it very difficult to achieve its aim. [More…]
It is certainly not a measure such as we have before us tonight which will alter the unions’ attitude and lead them to accept this threat to their organisations which the Government is holding over their heads. [More…]
I am trying to emphasise that, no matter what sort of ballot system is used in union elections, unions get officials who are the product of their environment. [More…]
I wish to develop a football analogy in relation to trade unions. [More…]
I think it was Senator Scott who referred to the responsible attitude shown by certain European trade unions- possibly the West German or Scandinavian set-ups. [More…]
The simple fact of the matter is that what the Government is seeking to do is to provide what must be regarded as essential in a democratic community, namely, an opportunity for full participation by members of trade unions in what is a vital function- the election of their office bearers. [More…]
The Government is giving a choice to unions and is enabling them, if they so desire, to save money and to have the ballot conducted at public expense. [More…]
I want to recite the simple fact that the Government was asked not to proclaim certain sections of the Act, they having been passed by the Senate, until after discussions with the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
The effect of that amendment was to give notice to the trade unions that they must abandon by, I think, mid-November of this year, the collegiate system and return to direct voting for their office bearers. [More…]
Senator Cavanagh intervenes and says that every union has them, but the illustrations and the evidence before the Government and the people of Australia is that in a very considerable number of unions the participation of the electorate- the trade union rank and file- in the ballot is so minimal as to negate the whole idea of the secret ballot. [More…]
It will come in one way only, that is by persuading the rank and file and trade unionists that active, continuous and articulate participation in their unions is required. [More…]
In the original Act the obligation was on the authority to consult with the appropriate trade unions and during the debate on 1 1 December 1974 Senator Wriedt, the then Minister for Agriculture in the Labor Government, discussed this matter in the Senate. [More…]
I and my colleague, Senator Douglas McClelland, have often and still do put forward the views of unions with rural membership. [More…]
He was for many years- I think some 20 to 24 years- secretary of one of the more important unions in Queensland, the Federated Engine Drivers’ and Firemen’s Association. [More…]
This Act also prescribes acts of racial discrimination in respect of access to places and facilities available to members of the public, the disposal of land, housing and other accommodation, the provision of goods and services to the public, employment, and the right to join trade unions. [More…]
Does the Minister recall that, in answer to a question in the last session of this Parliament, I was promised information concerning the number of unions which had altered their rules in order to comply with the provisions of section 133a and section 140 ( 1 ) (d) of the Conciliation and Arbitration Act, as required by the 1974 amendments to that Act introduced on the recommendation of Mr Justice Sweeney by the then Minister for Labor and Immigration, the Hon. [More…]
Clyde Cameron was responsible and reveals how far removed they are from the industrial realities experienced by trade unions and other registered organisations? [More…]
My question, which is directed to the Minister for Industry and Commerce, refers to the very grave situation which has resulted from the Minister’s announcement on 13 August about shipbuilding policy which has been variously described by industry, unions and community leaders as being disastrous to shipbuilding and, it is claimed, will destroy the continuity of the shipyards. [More…]
Will he consider again the representations made to him by the Whyalla community group and the proposals by the Australian Council of Trade Unions building group? [More…]
Talks have been held with the people from Whyalla, the unions, the ACTU, the ship builders, the ship owners and the ship repairers. [More…]
The level of unemployment and inflation which an economy has to accept depends ultimately upon the degree of wage restraint that can be imposed upon and practised by trade unions and employers. [More…]
The acceptable forms for the new scheme will be the same as for the present scheme- savings bank accounts; fixed deposits with banks; shares or deposits in registered building societies or credit unions; and payments on land on which the home is to be built, deposits paid for the acquisition of the home and payments for the construction of the home. [More…]
According to the above mentioned article of the Constitution, neither workers, nor farmers, nor even scientific workers are allowed to form any professional organizations (political organizations are not even mentioned) for the protection of their interests, apart from the Government Professional Unions which are directed by the Communist Party. [More…]
That is one of the reasons we have industry advisory councils in the Department- to assist manufacturers, consumers, retailers, unions and parliamentarians to do precisely that. [More…]
What redress have the owners of the cargo from the Australian National Line or the unions involved? [More…]
The Australian Trader has been under ban by the maritime unions which refuse to sail her from Bell Bay to be decommissioned. [More…]
Since the ban on sailing was first imposed on 29 July last by the maritime unions the Australian National Line has endeavoured through negotiations to resolve the dispute so that the vessel can sail. [More…]
An approach to the unions to enable unloading of the vessel has been unsuccessful. [More…]
I am hopeful that during the conference before the Commissioner of the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission next Thursday the unions which have to date refused to sail the vessel will agree to do so. [More…]
The release of the cargo from the Australian Trader by the unions would be consistent with their expressed desire to protect the existing transport system servicing Tasmania and, more particularly, the interests of the Tasmanian people. [More…]
If it is not some trade unions making excessive wage demands or a variety of other scapegoats who have been referred to in the last few days, why not the Trade Practices Commission as an excuse for the Government’s failure to manage the economy and hence the rumours which emanate about the Commission? [More…]
The Minister will be aware that some unions in the Latrobe Valley, the nerve centre of Victorian power supplies, have called a 48-hour stoppage commencing at midnight tonight in an attempt to force the State [More…]
The central issue is the unions’ campaign in pursuit of a 3 5 -hour week. [More…]
The current stoppage involves members of both federal and State unions and, as the honourable senator knows, the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Act refers only to the former. [More…]
This Government has already admitted its failures and with the mentality of the 1950s, seeks to find a scapegoat in the unions. [More…]
But prior to the submission by the unions to the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission the Government was attempting to say that the earlier judgments this year of the Commission were partly to blame for the downturn in the economy. [More…]
Neither the unions nor the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission is in a position to effect an economic recovery. [More…]
This afternoon Senator Jessop blamed the situation all on the unions. [More…]
Senator Jessop claimed that the present situation was the fault of the unions through demarkation disputes. [More…]
I went with Senator Jessop on a deputation to Senator Cotton in the course of which we put to him that there should be consideration of a plan for shipbuilding which would embace the union movement and the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
It is up to us to devise a scheme which will allow the shipbuilders and the unions to meet and to reach some form of compromise. [More…]
His statement was that this situation was all the fault of the unions. [More…]
The only comment I make on this issue is that the Japanese, I suppose, are concerned about their relations with Australia in other than the shipbuilding area and may be concerned also about what the results might be if the Australian trade union movement, including the unions representing seamen, waterside workers and shipbuilders, decided to take some action against a country other than our own in connection with that order. [More…]
These are just a few examples of what this Government has done for the people of our community who have no strong trade unions behind them, who have looked to our Government and have not been disappointed. [More…]
Let us realise that it is only in a democracy that free trade unions exist. [More…]
In other countries where socialism, totalitarianism, communism or any other ism exists, there are no free trade unions. [More…]
Trade unions cannot strike for better conditions. [More…]
I believe that the moderate and responsible members of the trade unions movement recognise this fact. [More…]
I refer to the proposal put forward by the unions in South Australia and the State Government that the South Australian Government would, if necessary, amend the State Superannuation Act to provide a benefit to those who elect to remain in the State scheme. [More…]
The Commonwealth Treasury has prepared a proposal for these arrangements and I understand that it has been circulated to all unions concerned. [More…]
The proposal is to be considered at a meeting arranged for 31 August which will be attended by representatives of the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the various unions, together with Commonwealth and State officers. [More…]
Can he advise whether the continuing discussions with the Australian Council of Trade Unions shipbuilding group are to be preserved so that labour and industrial problems and recommendations in relation to that matter can be considered? [More…]
We read in the newspapers that the Australian Council of Trade Unions shipbuilding group, which I found in discussion comprised very useful people to talk to, intended to make representations to the Government. [More…]
Will the Minister draw the Prime Minister’s attention to these reports, including the reports from the unions, and suggest that a review be made of those ceilings to make sure that maximum employment opportunities will be available, particularly in the apprenticeship area? [More…]
Is the Minister further aware that the union delegates then referred the matter to a mass meeting of all workers at the Newcastle dockyard which in turn referred the matter to the Australian Council of Trade Unions shipbuilding committee which was to meet this morning? [More…]
Our Government had a policy of reaching consensus with the trade unions about wage indexation. [More…]
In assuming responsibility for government the Liberal and National Country Parties assumed responsibility for Australian society in which the trade unions, the corporations, profits and wages are integral parts of the system. [More…]
More importantly, at the same time it maintained the real value of wages and it maintained a social contract- admittedly a fragile social contractwith the unions and a consensus on the question of wage fixation. [More…]
It is in that situation that the Government seeks to make the unions the scapegoat for its failure to manage the economy, the scapegoat for its failure to keep its promises given in elections, the scapegoat for its continuing opposition to granting the Federal Parliament power over incomes and wages, and the scapegoat for its failure to deal with the incomes of people whose salaries and wages are not determined by boards of the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission. [More…]
So the unions are now to be made the scapegoat for that just as in June, the Prime Minister experiencing some feeling that perhaps his economic policies were not working, for which there was then abundant evidence, sought to make the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission a scapegoat and responsible for the level of inflation which we now have; and just as in the Senate in the last 2 days the Minister for Education, Senator Carrick, in answer to questions, has sought to make State governments for the first time in Australian history responsible for the level of unemployment. [More…]
Mr Heath tried to blame everything on the trade unions and to avoid responsibility for government. [More…]
He sought to make scapegoats of the trade unions for everything that was going on in the industrial relations field in Britain. [More…]
The point about the situation in the United Kingdom now is that a consensus on wages policy has been reached between the British Labor Government and the trade unions. [More…]
The British Government recognises that there must be a consensus reached with the unions. [More…]
That is something which, in an industrial relations context, the Government cannot ask trade unions to accept. [More…]
The result has been a monster which is controlled by people like Halfpenny and Carmichael who take no notice of the Australian Council of Trade Unions when it deals with the Government on matters affecting the pay packets of the workers of this country. [More…]
It has no industrial relations policy except to bash unions as we saw in the statement brought down by Senator Durack this afternoon. [More…]
We then heard a great tirade, which I must admit I have heard before in this place, against the union movement of this country and how all the evils of industry are due to the unions, the militant unions, and the terrible people in the unions. [More…]
It will produce cynicism in the unions and it will produce a resistance to reduction in their real wages. [More…]
Those who were in trade unions with me received the same service as anyone else received. [More…]
Senator Kilgariff had a shot about the trade unions. [More…]
Surely the trade unions are entitled to have colleges to which they can send their officials. [More…]
The Government patronises and sermonises about the trade unions. [More…]
I do not think unions in this country are very concerned about their ex-members but, unemployment, unemployed. [More…]
Rather than have people on unemployment relief it would be better if employers, who cannot economically employ someone, could be persuaded to employ people at a lower rate- this, of course, is if the unions would be prepared not to obstruct- as a temporary measure with the wages and salaries being supplemented by benefits being paid to the employees. [More…]
Having recently been abroad and seen and heard from one country after another of the difficulties that this country has in not being able to sell its products and in it being able to compete so well on international markets, I worry about suggestions such as that made by Mr Hawke the other day to the effect that our trade unions might block our trade with New Zealand, not for any political reason in Australia but for a political reason in New Zealand. [More…]
Secondly, members nowadays have better research facilities and postal facilities but when Jim Harrison came to Canberra he maintained a strong link with all trade unions, not just those in the railway group. [More…]
Some members had to give considerably more time than is required today to Labor councils, the Australian Council of Trade Unions and research work. [More…]
-Is the Minister representing the Minister for Employment and Industrial Relations aware that in many cases where employers have closed shop agreements with trade unions there is no legal requirement that employees be provided with copies of the rules of the trade union when starting work? [More…]
While I am aware that some unions may object to this on the ground of cost, is it not an infringement of the rights of individual workers that this is not done? [More…]
I have no quarrel at all with the right of unions to try to look after the legitimate interests of their members- their industrial conditions, pay and so on- or with their right to take industrial action in seeking to achieve their objectives. [More…]
I think that the Australian Broadcasting Commission Staff Association and other unions are vitally interested in the vigilance of the Opposition to see that the ABC remains at total manning strength. [More…]
Senator Douglas McClelland could have got a lot of applause from one of the unions connected with the ABC but he said: ‘No, I am not going to intervene’. [More…]
The trade unions were quick to exploit this bounty because if a shipbuilding firm could quote $500,000 light or $500,000 heavy- dependent on the way one looks at it- then a profit is to be made somewhere. [More…]
The unions were quick to exploit the situation and they creamed off the bounty very quickly by the use of incessant strikes and demarcation disputes. [More…]
The unions have creamed off the profits which is a fact honourable senators opposite do not realise. [More…]
This offer was refused by the unions. [More…]
The unions have wrecked their own industry. [More…]
I should like now to pass on to a few observations on trade unions because they are another legacy that we have inherited from the once great Britain. [More…]
With the industrial revolution over there the advent of unions was inevitable. [More…]
But the unions have grown. [More…]
On top of all this the unions have gone political. [More…]
I say that the unions are senseless. [More…]
But the unions are attacking the boards. [More…]
I think it is a silly move for unions to attack boards and not to work at management level. [More…]
I hope it does work and that we do not develop a new age of tyranny by trade unions. [More…]
In Great Britain a law has been passed to make trade unions the sole negotiators in all contracts between labour and management. [More…]
There is a feeling of fear in England right now and people are racing to join trade unions. [More…]
It would have been rather a unique and novel event if Senator Sheil had spoken this evening on matters other than trade unions. [More…]
He is concerned about unions having the audacity and temerity to interest themselves in political matters. [More…]
I am sure that most persons who have heard Senator Sheil speak before will realise the obvious hate that he has for trade unions. [More…]
Coombs report were given to various sectors of the Public Service unions which are more intimately involved in its recommendations. [More…]
Subsequent to the election the Government received representations from trade unions and other sections of the community to retain the Tribunal. [More…]
Public submissions on the future of the Tribunal were called for and, in response, submissions were received from individuals, firms, business organisations, trade unions and consumer groups. [More…]
Much of the ability to do so was due to the company buying the ship, Carrington Slipways that is to build it and the unions concerned. [More…]
Am I to understand that in view of this Government’s policy of creative federalism it is going to stand idly by or is it going to give unions the right to determine whether they remain under a State award or a Federal award? [More…]
Has the Government agreed to discuss all these problems with the Australian Council of Trade Unions, including the trade union reaction to a former proposal by the Government offering to place orders for ships? [More…]
I put to the Minister the question: Does the Government agree to discuss the issues with the Australian Council of Trade Unions? [More…]
I have talked on several occasions to the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
Is this not a significant attempt to protect the rights of individual workers which, with other matters, could be considered by other employers, particularly those with closed shop arrangements with unions, to ensure that union rules and industrial awards appropriately safeguard their employees? [More…]
However, if honourable senators remember, when this Bill was first introduced in May it was stressed by the Minister for Health (Mr Hunt) that during the winter recess it would be considered in detail and that consultations would take place with all interested parties- the funds, the unions and the hospitals. [More…]
Well, the Opposition cannot really grizzle if this Government did consult and did make alterations after those consultations, particularly those with the unions. [More…]
It said that the Government should consult with the unions, yet when it does so and when it accepts some of their advice Opposition members raise their hands in horror and say that the Government has changed its mind again. [More…]
When I was in Belgium about 5 years ago people from the Belgian trade unions had a place on bodies which arbitrated on disputes. [More…]
Honourable senators will be aware that already some unions and some employers are talking about the possibility of employers paying the Medibank levy for their employees. [More…]
This legislation has been introduced in accordance with a promise made by the Government following discussions with different groups, the health funds, the Australian Council of Trade Unions and other interested parties. [More…]
The Australian Council of Trade Unions, led by its President, Mr Hawke, suggested a 1.6 per cent levy. [More…]
We have consulted with the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the trade union movement. [More…]
Since we introduced the idea of a modified Medibank and the Medibank levy we have had Mr Hawke and the Australian Council of Trade Unions putting proposals to our Government which supported the levy, though they have argued with the level. [More…]
He entered into a public controversy with the Government over what he thought the trade unions would do or would not do, what his scheme was and what our scheme was. [More…]
That is exactly what was proposed by the Australian Council of Trade Unions in the case of a working husband and wife. [More…]
That is why Senator Cotton cannot go to the unions. [More…]
-I ask the Minister for Industry and Commerce whether he has had an opportunity to study the Australian Council of Trade Unions proposals with respect to the shipbuilding industry. [More…]
So it is no good for the Government to say broadly that the unions are to blame. [More…]
But for the Government to say that trade unions generally are to blame is to ignore the clear fact that youth unemployment, in the words of the Government’s own expert, will ‘persist in a greater or lesser degree irrespective of economic recovery and improved labour demands’. [More…]
Until our friends in the Opposition, the people in the Australian Labor Party and the people in the unions of this nation accept that fundamental economic principle the problems we have will remain with us. [More…]
Until we get back to the situation of a fair day’s work for a fair day’s pay, fewer strikes by the unions, fewer 48-hour stoppages over an issue like the 35-hour week, unfortunately school leavers will find it difficult to find work. [More…]
Now it has the effrontery to come here and suggest that the trade unions and everybody else must practise restraint. [More…]
If honourable senators opposite want to talk about freedom and the employer having the right to rationalise his industry and the unions having to live with it, they should not come here and bleat about lack of union co-operation. [More…]
If you as a former Australian Council of Trade Unions Executive member have given a false impression I will have to go back at the weekend and talk to the rank and file members of the clothing trades and rubber workers union and defend their position. [More…]
I might mention here that unions such as the Waterside Workers Federation of Australia never opposed containerisation. [More…]
Senator Mulvihill mentioned cooperation between unions and employers. [More…]
This is in fact being achieved, and quite successfully in many areas, but unfortunately I understand that the Cadbury organisation, even though it set out deliberately to encourage this co-operation, has not had the co-operation from trade unions that it would have liked. [More…]
I agree with the Labor Party when it says that we should not blame the unions. [More…]
I do not blame the unions for trying to maintain the buying power of wages consequent upon inflation. [More…]
I illustrate my point by referring to the present unresolved disagreement between the unions and the wool stores regarding the 180 kilogram bale weight. [More…]
The last point I wish to make- I believe it is worth thinking about- is that unions generally represent workers. [More…]
When the Government is negotiating with unions over awards and other matters, I suggest it try to get somebody other than unions to represent the unemployed. [More…]
Yet one would imagine that just by the sheer simple mechanism of appealing to the unions to accept lower wages all this can be changed and in point of fact it will bring about that consumer revival upon which this Government’s Budget strategy depends so much. [More…]
Is it not true that there has been complaint only from the Storemen and Packers Union out of the 10 unions involved since the 1966 agreement on 204 kilograms as the maximum bale weight, an agreement to which the Australian Council of Trade Unions was a major party? [More…]
My question to the Minister representing the Minister for Post and Telecommunications concerns reports which have reached the postal unions that one of Australia’s largest transport operators is endeavouring to obtain a share of the Australian Postal Commission’s mail and parcels business. [More…]
The President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, Opposition senators and the Leader of the Opposition in the other place do so. [More…]
For the first time unions were registered on the Island. [More…]
The unions said that they were not ready to proceed. [More…]
They said that their trade unions have no ties. [More…]
They were not talking about the World Confederation of Trade Unions but about the International Federation of Trade Unions. [More…]
In Telecom Australia deductions from staff pay are made in respect of a large number of organisations including assurance companies, credit societies, unions and associations and hospital and medical benefits organisations. [More…]
I refer to a statement made by the Leader of the Opposition in another place, Mr Whitlam, claiming that trade unions have the right to take industrial action on political issues. [More…]
The actions that trade unions may take to further their political beliefs or the political beliefs of their members is a matter, of course, essentially for the discretion of the trade unions and their members. [More…]
What we as a government are concerned about and what a large section of the community is concerned about is the use of power by unions to strike or to exercise that type of activity to futher a particular political purpose. [More…]
The Senate will be very well aware of the Government’s concern about the imposition of fines by a number of unions on individual members who chose to work during the Medibank stoppage. [More…]
We know the hang ups they seem to have about the National Party Government in that State, but the fact is that I would have thought that one of the major threats to civil liberties in this country has come from the actions of unions which have been the subject of questions in this House recently. [More…]
I am referring to people who are being fined by unions because they are exercising their right to work- people who wanted to go to work when the Medibank stoppage was called on by Mr Hawke and the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
I was very surprised indeed that Senator Keeffe who believes that there is an erosion in civil liberties in Australia failed to refer to such a major threat to civil liberties as that kind of activity by unions in this country. [More…]
I am somewhat disappointed to find that the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, (Senator Durack) decided to conclude his speech with some sort of ritualistic huff and puff in the Mohammed Ali tradition- sort of warming up for a fight but throwing no punches- by talking about his latest found malpractices amongst trade unions. [More…]
One has to remember the enormous economic power which is concentrated in the hands of the trade unions. [More…]
I repeat what the Minister said because I think it is of fundamental importance that the people of Australia and honourable senators on the other side of the chamber understand that the spurious attempts by the trade unions to fine people for legitimately offering themselves to an employer for work is a complete negation of the principles of democracy and civil liberty. [More…]
Unions in order to protect the civil rights of unionists who allegedly were subject to fines by their unions over the Medibank strike. [More…]
I revert to a basic matter, that is, the continuation of what the former Minister for Labor, the Honourable Clyde Cameron, attempted to do to circumvent the deadhand ruling in the Moore v Doyle case and what it has meant to trade unions which want genuine consolidation. [More…]
I would like to think that this matter could be wrapped up by some time in November so that the component parts of the Australian Council of Trade Unions can get moving on it. [More…]
I was sorry to hear Senator Mulvihill use simplistic terms to describe a major problem facing trade unions in Australia. [More…]
There is concern in the Administrative and Clerical Officers Association and in the other Public Service unions at the deleterious effect that the staff ceilings are having on the morale and efficiency of the Public Service and on the way in which public servants handle the affairs of the public. [More…]
As it is unable effectively to blame the previous Government any more for the failures of its own economic policies, it seems that the scapegoat will be the unions. [More…]
We see constant references in the Press to the burning desire of some Ministers, particularly the Prime Minister, incited as usual in these matters by a number of senior members of the National Country Party to have a showdown with the unions to try to provoke a national strike or a series of strikes if he possibly can. [More…]
Instead of the Government being blamed for the failure of its economic policies, some members of the Government hope that unions will be blamed for it. [More…]
Every time the trade unions put a case before the Arbitration Commission and prove they are entitled to an increase in their wages, what happens? [More…]
Every jolly thing that I told this Senate- and it was doubted by some people- has now come true except that the Government has not really finalised what Mr Fraser said he was going to do, that is, to take on the unions in the courts. [More…]
A Commonwealth Treasury proposal on superannuation arrangements for the staff of South Australian and Tasmanian Railways being transferred to ANR was discussed with unions under ACTU auspices on Tuesday 3 1 August 1976. [More…]
At the meeting the unions indicated they required staff to retain the state superannuation provisions and I understand they subsequently indicated this view to State Ministers. [More…]
I am informed that meetings are due to take place shortly between the Minister for Transport and State Transport Ministers for the purpose of seeking early resolution of outstanding differences in respect of transfer arrangements which will include terms and conditions of employment for the staff being transferred to ANR and I would expect that the matter of superannuation, having regard to the view expressed by the unions, will be dealt with at this meeting. [More…]
Not only myself but the staff associations and the trade unions in the Public Service have been arguing that. [More…]
My answer, like that of the unions, is: ‘We should not anticipate a situation in which employment opportunities in Australia are so restncted that we cannot train the people necessary to have a competent work force’. [More…]
All members of the Parliament are, I am sure, committed to democratic control of trade unions and employer organisations. [More…]
When I previously discussed the question of collegiate voting with the unions last May, Mr Hawke pointed out that there is a division of opinion within the trade union movement on this issue and that he could not put a monolithic trade union view on the matter. [More…]
With the passage of this legislation, organisations, whether of employers or unions, will of course no longer have to comply with the current requirement of amending their rules to provide for direct elections for officers. [More…]
I think it is overdoing things when this man can show that he has participated in trade unions and other organisations for 20 years. [More…]
One would think that Senator Grimes would be trying to get some sense into the waterside workers and the maritime unions that have almost ruined Tasmania through their industrial actions in the shipping trade during the last 30 years. [More…]
In 1927 there was a serious industrial upheaval at Queenstown but ever since then the mine management and the employees, through their unions and representatives in the various industrial areas, have come together at regular intervals to work out a system of operation between management and the employees which has led to a very happy relationship. [More…]
The unions involved in the Mount Lyell mine get together, talk together and bury their differences. [More…]
Last Sunday morning I happened to chair a meeting of the combined mine unions associated with the Mount Lyell mining company. [More…]
The unions involved included the Australian Workers Union and the Amalgamated Metal Workers Union, which in Tasmania in the past have been known to have differences, the Federated Engine Drivers and Firemen’s Association of Australia, the Electrical Trades Union of Australia, the Federated Ironworkers Association of Australia and the Building Workers Industrial Union of Australia- unions which in the past have not been noted for getting together as well as they should. [More…]
They were concerned, as the unions in mining towns generally and in Queenstown in particular are, to look after the 400 people in Queenstown who have been removed from their work. [More…]
The Vinyl Chloride Sub-committee of the National Health and Medical Research Council whose membership includes representatives of trade unions, employers and health authorities discussed this material at its meeting in May 1976. [More…]
The National Health and Medical Research Council has issued a statement on the general issue of health risks associated’ with vinyl chloride industry and stressed the need for medical examinations of VCM workers and joint consultation between management and trade unions on matters affecting their health. [More…]
If my memory serves me correctly, he said that one of the problems being faced by this Service was the fact that it was being held to ransom by the unions. [More…]
Whenever there is an industrial dispute he and his colleagues endeavour to lay the blame at the feet of the unions. [More…]
The unions particularly cannot be held totally responsible. [More…]
It is a most complex piece of legislation involving amendments to the Conciliation and Arbitration Act dealing with rules relating to elections in trade unions. [More…]
The Bill has been introduced both in the House of Representatives and the Senate, accompanied by a great deal of noisy rhetoric about the desirability of having democracy in trade unions. [More…]
The amendments which the Bill basically proposes deal with the question of elections of officers of trade unions and employer organisations. [More…]
The real issues of industrial relations in Australia are not necessarily the methods of election of union officials or catering for the wishes of minority interests in trade unions. [More…]
That system has never been tested in any real sense because the unions which were required to alter their rules to introduce a system of direct voting for their officials had until the end of November this year to carry out the necessary alterations to their rules. [More…]
The Minister is going to a very considerable length to see that union officials are properly elected- democratically elected- by their unions. [More…]
All through the election campaigns which followed in 1974 and in 1975, references were made by people such as Mr Fraser and later by Mr Street to the desirability of membership control of trade unions. [More…]
The secret ballot legislation which was introduced in June of this year, poorly drawn up as it was, was put forward as another example of the Government’s intention and concern to introduce a greater degree of democracy into the affairs of trade unions. [More…]
All members of the Parliament are, I am sure, committed to democratic control of trade unions and employer organisations. [More…]
The first fundamental criticism we make is that by denying or offering an alternative system to direct rank and file elections of full time officials, the Government is not only going back on its stated intentions but it is also catering to a rather 1 890-ish view of how trade unions operate because it is expressed by the Minister that the fear the Government has is that the majority of members of a union situated in one State might in fact control the committee of management of that union to the detriment of its members in a smaller State. [More…]
We were told only a few months ago how important it was to have a secret ballot for all members of trade unions. [More…]
It seems to us strange that at this stage in a variety of ways the members of the unions will no longer be directly involved in the election of their officials. [More…]
That provision is designed to protect current office holders in certain unions, such as the Federated Clerks Union. [More…]
The purpose of that was so that in determining a matter where an invalidity had arisen, the Industrial Court could make certain orders about the system of elections which unions should have. [More…]
I reiterate our fundamental objections in these terms: The legislation seeks, in the terminology of the Minister, to introduce more democratic systems of elections into trade unions. [More…]
Of course there are other peak councils beside the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
I said earlier that the difficulty about this sort of piecemeal, ad hoc, exorcist legislation which the Government keeps introducing in relation to trade unions is that it really does not grapple with the basic issues. [More…]
I share the Minister’s view about the desirability of the highest level of democracy in trade unions. [More…]
I agree that there should be democracy in trade unions to the utmost possible degree. [More…]
I believe that if trade unions are to engage in what are sometimes called political strikes the members of the trade unions concerned should be consulted as much as possible about those decisions. [More…]
The Government says in this glib sort of 1930 vintage way that there is an area of things which trade unions are legitimately allowed to be concerned with; namely, wages and working conditions. [More…]
Then to say that there is another area, which we please to call political strikes, which involves things which trade unions should not be concerned about, is both superficial and glib. [More…]
It may be that many people in this community who expect to gain a lot in terms of money from nuclear power will support that proposition, but many people involved in trade unions will oppose that proposition because they do not see it being in the interests of their society, their children or the community in which they live. [More…]
When we talk about democracy in trade unions I think it is very important that we should try to put a little substance in to the rhetoric, a little flesh on the bones of the Minister’s second reading speech. [More…]
He referred to collegiate voting as though it were some sort of a sinister scheme that apparently has been thrust on the unions without any concern. [More…]
The first is the common objectives of the worker in achieving his individual welfare, and that, of course, is the fundamental thing that brought persons together in trade unions in the first place. [More…]
The second principle is related to that matter and describes the rights and powers of individual unions to pursue their own objectives in their own way; to ascribe their own rules and to pursue them that way. [More…]
The third principle relates to the freedom of association of individual members of unions and the manner in which they express that freedom as members of unions. [More…]
The restrictions that can be placed on them through arbitrary means, by the way in which the laws of unions, that is their rules, are interpreted and read at the highest councils in unions, have the greatest effect upon their ability to express themselves and to become objective citizens in a free society to which we as a nation that upholds this sort of a parliament aspire. [More…]
In that legislation it was provided that individual unions could decide for themselves the system that they would select for the election of office bearers. [More…]
It has provided that unions should have the right to choose themselves which way they will act. [More…]
Mr Wran said that there ought to be fewer unions with larger membership. [More…]
There are 16 unions in West Germany. [More…]
Each of those unions has a huge membership. [More…]
There are only 16 unions for the whole of West Germany. [More…]
We in the Opposition oppose these amendments as they are at variance with our commitment to a proper democratic control of trade unions and all organisations, whether they be employer or employee organisations. [More…]
The full time officials are the administrators of the trade unions. [More…]
The previous Labor Government’s commitment to democratic control of trade unions prompted the amendments to the Conciliation and Arbitration Act in 1973 which have been referred to and which provided direct election of full time officials. [More…]
This was despite the fact that many unions in this country have had secret postal ballots for years and still elect persons who are, in the eyes of the present Government, left wing militant trade union officials. [More…]
This decision is made only by the leadership of the unions. [More…]
After all, the unions are their own organisations. [More…]
The introduction of this legislation makes a mockery of the Government’s commitment to consultations with trade unions when industrial legislation is mooted, because the unions were not given prior warning of the introduction of this legislation, nor were they given time to consider its ramifications. [More…]
The unions were merely informed that the legislation was going through. [More…]
In fact, the Government had no reason to want to consult with trade unions on this legislation as it knew of the widespread opposition to it. [More…]
Senator Harradine talked about people who came to Canberra and gave evidence and about whether the trade unions were consulted, What about the evidence’ that was given to this Government’s own industrial committee by people such as Charlie Oliver, Barry Egan and John Forrester? [More…]
Secondly, the collegiate system is open to abuse and manipulation by minority extremist groups in unions to entrench themselves and therefore remain permanently in control of those organisations. [More…]
Firstly, it is concerned to shore up the position of ultra right wing cliques in important unions such as the NCC and to place a buffer zone between them and rank and file ballots. [More…]
2) 1976 last evening I was drawing attention to the fact that it was immensely necessary that we establish a method of election of officers in the conciliation and arbitration system that permitted the greatest possible number of members of Australian unions at the grass roots level to take a real part in the election of those people who are to negotiate for them. [More…]
We feel that in the smaller branches of some unions located in the far flung areas of Australia it is almost impossible, by means of a purely direct voting system, to elect people who may have a real capacity and a real contribution to make to industrial relations. [More…]
I believe that the time has certainly come, particularly in the industrial circumstances and atmosphere of today, for the representatives of trade unions, for management and for government to get together and to have proper, constructive, responsible and, I would hope, unemotional discussion about the direction in which they should go. [More…]
It would be a circumstance in which all those members of industry and commerce and of the various trade unions- I am talking about those confined to a specific industrywould have a clearer recognition of the responsibility that interdependence places on every member and every association in our community. [More…]
It seeks to achieve a widespread and realistic involvement of the grass roots membership of Australian trade unions in order that the great majority of that membership may be assured that, according to the method that they choose, they will be represented in negotiations by people whom they are totally sure that they want to represent them. [More…]
Indeed one would assume that if Mr Young meant, by inference, what I have assumed he meant, that he places trade unionism in its traditional role of concern for the development of the conditions of the work force, wages and salaries, a measure of leisure time, how best to use it and how much to have, if these are the circumstances that are indeed basic to the trade union organisation- I believe they are and they are extraordinarily important- then Mr Young would regard trade unions as totally subservient to the political views and objectives of the people who lead those very trade unions. [More…]
It embodies a complete reversal of the constantly repeated promises during 1975 and 1976 by the coalition parties to make the unions more democratic. [More…]
The legislation embodies decisions taken without proper consultation with the unions. [More…]
I saw virtually no coverage of the debate on this legislation in another place even though the campaign which the media aided and abetted was based on the idea and a promise that unions were to become more democratic. [More…]
Here we have a piece of legislation which cynically reverses the moves that had been made by the Whitlam Government to make unions more democratic but the media are virtually silent. [More…]
Despite the hypocritical criticism by reactionary elements of the Parliament of this system of voting which is practised by such unions as the Waterside [More…]
I think it is important to point this out because so much of the coalition parties’ campaign against the unions was intended to suggest that there was very little participation by the rank and file in elections that did not include postal voting. [More…]
Prior to 1973 officials in unions were elected either under the rank and file system or under a number of collegiate systems according to the rules of the particular organisations involved. [More…]
Unions which were still operating under the collegiate system were given a period of 3 years to change their rules and to provide for rank and file elections. [More…]
Secondly, the Cameron legislation offered very significant encouragement to the unions to have ballots officially conducted by the Industrial Registrar or the Electoral Office by guaranteeing the cost of such ballots. [More…]
Both of these measures constituted major progress in increasing democracy in the unions but in its union bashing campaign in 1975 and 1976 the coalition chose to deceive the public about the effects of the Cameron legislation. [More…]
Coalition spokespeople continued to accuse the unions of being controlled by left-wingers who are unrepresentative of their leadership and so on. [More…]
Indeed the media together with the coalition parties succeeded in confusing the general public who I think did come to believe that there was no provision for rank and file voting in union rules and that the Cameron legislation had not made any progress towards democracy in trade unions. [More…]
I think it is worth drawing the attention of honourable senators and any other people who may be listening to this debate to the numerous undertakings given by coalition spokespersons to establish democracy in the unions. [More…]
Some of Australia’s most powerful unions are now controlled by officials who have gained their positions as a result of election at which only a very small percentage of members entitled to vote did in fact cast their vote. [More…]
The democratic principle is at the heart of the foundation of unions in Australia. [More…]
I shall not continue with these quotations, although I could continue for quite a long time as these promises were made so often; but I ask honourable senators to note that in the promises made by the Prime Minister and by Mr Street there is an emphasis on postal voting as being the essential element in introducing democracy into the unions. [More…]
In May and June of this year the Government introduced legislation requiring postal ballots in all unions; but the legislation before us will allow unions to opt out of the requirement of postal ballots through choosing the collegiate system. [More…]
For months the Government talked about the importance of establishing postal ballots and how democracy would be achieved by imposing postal ballots on the unions. [More…]
In the legislation now before us unions are given the opportunity to choose to continue with the collegiate system, which of course does not require postal voting. [More…]
Fraser, by linking postal ballots with the collegiate system, will force unions to turn to the collegiate system to protect themselves against the threat of cooked ballots conducted through the Commonwealth Electoral Office. [More…]
The point I hope I am making clearly- I think there was some confusion about this in the debate last night- is that by allowing for the collegiate system to be perpetuated the Government also is allowing unions not to have postal ballots; that is, not to have the very system which the Government claimed was essential for democracy. [More…]
It is interesting that it comes up right at this time, because we are now at the end of the 3 years prescribed in the Cameron legislation of 1973, during which time all unions would have to adopt the rank and file method of election. [More…]
At this time some unions, including all National Civic Council controlled unions such as the Federated Clerks Union and the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association, have not changed to the rank and file method. [More…]
I think it is perfectly reasonable for me and other members of the Opposition to place a very sinister interpretation on what the Government has done by developing amendments at the very moment when all unions, particularly the NCC dominated unions, would have had to transfer to the most democratic method of electing officials; that is, the rank and file method. [More…]
Suddenly the Government, violating all its previous undertakings, has introduced an amendment which will not require those unions still using the collegiate system to change to the more democratic method, or to the postal ballot method. [More…]
It seems reasonable to suggest that this demonstrates blatant prejudice by the Government in favour of the NCC unions, although ironically some communist controlled unions which still have the collegiate system will be able to maintain their leadership under the same provisions. [More…]
To me it is crystal clear that this Government has ‘done a deal’ with the Santamaria/National Civic Council group and has ‘sold out’ thousands of Australian unionists who saw, in the pre-election industrial promises of this Government, an opportunity to place their own acceptance or rejection on whom would be the Federal Officials of a number of Australian Trade Unions. [More…]
I believe the letter demonstrates that there has been blatant prejudice by the Government in its attempt to control NCC unions. [More…]
AH members of the Parliament are, I am sure, committed to democratic control of trade unions and employer organisations. [More…]
He then proceeded to table legislation which erodes very significantly that specific idea of democratic control of trade unions and employer organisations. [More…]
In answer to that claim I stress again that there was no consultation of peak unions with regard to the specific amendments- in particular the amendment providing that office bearers shall not constitute more than 15 per cent of the members of the college to which I shall refer later- which were introduced during the debate in the other place. [More…]
However, there is evidence which I have just quoted of intimate and lengthy consultations with sectors of the trade union movement, that is, the NCC unions which of course seemed to know about the Government amendments before they were introduced. [More…]
It is not the rank and file members of the organisation but the committees of management- the officials of the unions. [More…]
The defintion of ‘office’ is now extended to enable unions, that is, management of unionsagain not the rank and file members of unions- to appoint persons to undertake duties similar to those performed by an elected officer. [More…]
It is another measure towards permanently entrenching the factions currently controlling some unions. [More…]
In summary, I and other members of the Opposition, are opposing this legislation because it removes the right of the rank and file members of unions to participate directly in ballots for their full time Federal officers because it enables minority factions at present in control of some unions to retain control of those unions against the wishes of the rank and file members, because the legislation was drawn up without proper consultation with the union movement, and because particularly the 15 per cent amendment was introduced with no consultation and is an erosion of the democratic rights of the trade union movement. [More…]
Most of all, we in the Opposition oppose this legislation because it is a complete reversal of all the undertakings given by members of the coalition parties during 1975 and 1976 about introducing democracy into trade unions. [More…]
Under that legislation unions were given 3 years to alter their rules to fall into line, if necessary. [More…]
All unions are different. [More…]
All unions have different problems. [More…]
We have seen it happen in a number of large unions and a very good example is the Amalgamated Metal Workers Union. [More…]
This is necessary because at the moment there are two 3 -tier collegiate systems in some of the unions -in other words, that multi-tier collegiate system. [More…]
It still amazes me every time I hear members of the Opposition say that it is all right for the unions to take over the rightful position and the rightful power of the Parliament. [More…]
Senator Sibraa said that the Government had not had any consultations with the unions on this matter. [More…]
In that regard I point out to Senator Walters that most unions have newsletters or a journal. [More…]
Senator Sibraa and others talk about the role of the European trade unions. [More…]
Honourable senators opposite talk about having good industrial relations with the trade unions, but it would not have cost them anything to accept the Bob Hawke proposal for a reasonable Medibank levy. [More…]
Honourable senators opposite should consider the relations between Scandinavian trade unions and successive governments in Norway, Sweden and Denmark. [More…]
In relation to the concept of welfare, relations between unions and governments in those countries are much closer than they are in Australia. [More…]
That is what happened when Jack Kane tried to interfere with moderate trade unions, he was cut down in the way that one would cut down a little sapling. [More…]
First of all, I point out that I have dual membership of the Australian Railways Union and the Federated Clerks Union, so I am quite capable of analysing the forces in both unions. [More…]
Officials of most other unions take their chance at the ballot, even if they are on the brink of defeat. [More…]
If Senator Harradine, who is an ex-member of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, is afraid of allowing me, as a member of the Federated Clerks Union as well as a member of the ARU, to have the document incorporated in Hansard, I am staggered. [More…]
I suggest that Senator Harradine should go and see an ear specialist, because on 3 separate occasions my colleague, Senator Mulvihill, has said that he is a member of 2 unions, the Australian Railways Union and the Federated Clerks Union. [More…]
Firstly, it seeks to restore to unions an opportunity to choose a collegiate electoral system or a federalist electoral system which was taken away from them by the previous Government by way of an amendment moved in the House of Representatives by Mr Clyde Cameron without any consultation whatsoever with the trade union movement. [More…]
Secondly, we are dealing with an amendment to the Conciliation and Arbitration Act which proposes to alter the definition of ‘Office’ as has been requested by some unions- certainly not the unions with which I am associated- particularly those in industries which are seasonal in nature and in which organisers or collectors have to be appointed from time to time, depending on the seasonal basis, and in which those appointments then have to be terminated from time to time. [More…]
I believe that what the Government should have done was to take out the knife and cut out from the Act those sections which were inserted in 1973 in respect of electoral systems and methods of self-government of unions. [More…]
May I say that I was on the executive of the Australian Council of Trade Unions and we criticised the fact that the Government at that time refused to consult with the union movement in respect of the amendments. [More…]
Was it Labor Party policy to deny to unions their right to determine the method of self government most suited to their own traditions, preference, geographical and industrial coverage and administrative convenience? [More…]
In order to promote democracy in the unions. [More…]
Let us hear what this great promoter of democracy in unions has to say about the rank and file. [More…]
Let me put this to the Senate as a whole: Does it deny the proposition that registered industrial organisations- trade unions- have the right to choose the methods of self government most suited to their own traditions, preference, geographical and industrial coverage and administrative finance? [More…]
We have a situation in which the Government at least is trying to restore some choice to the trade unions in respect of their method of self government which we are talking about at this present point of time. [More…]
There are other unions in the same sort of category, which have different classifications of workers as members. [More…]
Many unions over a long period of time have worked out their organisation, making sure that the States have adequate representation at officer level. [More…]
Sure, unions have structures in which the State branches elect delegates to the Federal council, Federal committee of management or Federal executive, whatever it is called under the rules. [More…]
The Act and the Regulations require that committees of associations, that is unions and branches, must be subject to control by the membership of the organisation. [More…]
I argue that the collegiate system in many unions gives more effective rank and file control over the officers. [More…]
I think of the LiberalNational Country Party policy which states that the coalition was for greater effective control by the rank and file over the unions and their officers. [More…]
Most unions, since Federation almost, had such rules. [More…]
People have asked what we think about unions, what we think about the President of the ACTU or the president of some other organisation. [More…]
I believe the individual trade unions should contribute to the success of this principle by notifying disputes and working within the rules of the trade union movement. [More…]
Their attitude is: All unions on the waterfront into the Waterside Workers Federation. [More…]
If Opposition senators want to talk about the amalgamation of unions it should be pointed out to them what the situation would be in the future. [More…]
I was sidetracked when I was speaking about the entrenchment of union officials and whether Mr Cameron put into the legislation a provision which in effect denied to unions their right to recall officials for inefficiency or for any other legitimate reason. [More…]
That system is adopted by a handful of unions which are affiliated but not federated. [More…]
Those people in the House of Representatives who opposed these provisions have been elected by or participated in the collegiate system in their own unions. [More…]
The facts are that apart from unions which have compulsory voting and which impose fines on members who do not vote, such as the Waterside Workers Federation of Australia, unions with a direct system of voting have a lower rank and file return of ballot papers than unions with a collegiate voting system. [More…]
There is more participation by the rank and file in unions which elect their officers by a collegiate voting system- with a direct voting system at the State level- than there is by and large in unions with the direct system of voting. [More…]
It is written in the words of a member of the Liberal Party who is appealing to his leaders in Canberra to give him some protection against the scurrilous group which emanates from Victoria and Tasmania and which is trying to take over his union and other unions in Australia. [More…]
I was not appointed by a secretary in Victoria and sent to Tasmania to become secretary of that and a number of other unions. [More…]
Senator Harradine said that this was because of the false accusations of some other members of trade unions in New South Wales. [More…]
Clyde Cameron, whatever his weaknesses and however he got on with his Leader, nevertheless tried to get democracy in trade unions because its absence was one of his peculiar aversions. [More…]
Senator Harradine referred to the Bill before the Senate as setting up a more democratic system that will provide a choice for organisations and give more democracy to the rank and file members particularly of the small branches of unions. [More…]
I must learn to be silent when I see the vehicle unions crucifying the Australian car industry, doing to it what they succeeded in doing to the British car industry, using the same methods and perhaps the same people. [More…]
This is a classic example of trade unions using political excuses to delay ships going overseas or in fact in some circumstances to prevent ships such as the Enterprise from coming into port. [More…]
This attitude also was expressed, very well I thought, in a Bulletin article on an interview of Sir John Egerton, who pointed out that the fundamental purpose of the trade union movement in Australia is to ensure that the workers have proper wages or fair wages for what they do and good and fair conditions, and that the unions should be there to protect the interests of the trade union members against irresponsibility on the part of some employers. [More…]
Until we as a Government can restore the confidence of the genuine trade union members in their own organisations- I think this lead has to come from government- I believe that the trade unions’ future in Australia is a very black one indeed. [More…]
The responsibility for dealing with inter-union disputes in the Federal sphere surely lies in the hands of the Australian Council of Trade Unions Disputes Committee. [More…]
Well before the completion of that facility the company had gone to the unions, including the [More…]
This meant that other workers in other unions who were completely innocent in the argument had to suffer loss of pay. [More…]
These things ought to be dealt with positively by the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
We want to see responsible trade unionists taking a more aggressive interest to ensure that proper leadership persists in their unions. [More…]
I think this Bill we have before us will help in the gradual process that we hope will permeate the unions to ensure that some responsibility returns to unions, that people will be encouraged to work harder and will be rewarded in a greater way for working harder, and in so doing will improve their own lot and help to restore the Australian economy to sound health once again. [More…]
All members of Parliament are, I am sure, committed to democratic control of trade unions and employer organisations. [More…]
The present method of electing officers of trade unions is by direct ballot of eligible members. [More…]
Of course, other unions which are not notably left wing have also changed their rules. [More…]
But some of them have not and they are not all right wing unions. [More…]
Nonetheless, it is difficult to conclude other than that the Government has been greatly influenced in bringing down this legislation by the National Civic Council controlled unions such as the Federated Clerks Union and the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association in which unions the collegiate system enables a minority group to establish control. [More…]
The Premier of South Australia has made an odd reference at times in the House of Assembly to the effect that those people who are not members of unions are scabs and that one must have a licence to work in Australia, this so-called free country. [More…]
Not only are the unions directly involved with the employees of the Fairfax organisation striking but also they have been able to enlist the assistance of unions quite outside the ambit of that organisation. [More…]
Those unions have the assistance of the people who work for Australia Post in freezing the mail for the Fairfax organisation. [More…]
Do they support that amalgam of unions joining together against the Fairfax Press? [More…]
I do not support blackmail by unions acting outside of their organisations, or the political strikes which are entered into at the drop of a hat today. [More…]
Speaking personally, I support entirely the remarks made yesterday by the New South Wales Premier when he said that there needs to be industry based unions, and very few of them, in Australia. [More…]
What support is given today to any of the Conciliation and Arbitration Commissions in Australia and to the concept of industry based unions. [More…]
What I am saying is that rather than look individually at the increase in monetary terms of the wages of the members of our 350 unions, we should look at the economic capacity of Australia so that we understand what our trading capacity is. [More…]
There is no doubt that at this moment organised small power groups can take over most of the unions in this country; and most of the union leadership represents just that. [More…]
But all they do is to come into this place as servants of the divisions represented by the multiplicity of unions in Australia. [More…]
He is so powerful that he has an influential say in the deliberations of the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
We often find that the general secretary or the federal president of an organisation is also on the interstate executive of the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
Most of the bigger trade unions, such as the Amalgamated Metal Workers Union, also elect all their full time officers by a direct vote of the rank and file members. [More…]
As a matter of fact, more than 80 per cent of the trade unions elect their officers by that method. [More…]
None of the unions, nor the ACTU, criticised or disagreed with the proposals put forward in 1973. [More…]
Now, almost 3 years later, there has been a change of heart because pressure has been put on the Government by the right wing, extremist unions to change the legislation back before 13 November, which is the last day on which unions can have their rules registered to comply with the amendments of 1973. [More…]
The Opposition has tried for many months to get from the Government information on how many trade unions registered under the Conciliation and Arbitration Act have altered their rules to comply with the 1 973 amendments. [More…]
We also have tried to find out how many unions, although there are only 2 days left in which to comply with the 1 973 amendments to the Act, have ignored the provisions of the Act and have not applied to the Commonwealth Industrial Registrar to register their rules and to change their rules to comply with the provisions of the Act? [More…]
My understanding is that most of the unions, representing probably 95 per cent of the trade unionists in Australia which have Federal awards and are registered under the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Act, have already changed their rules to comply with the Act. [More…]
I think it would be safe to say that the officials of those unions which have not changed their rules to comply with the 1973 amendments to the Act have not made the changes because they are afraid of what might happen if they had to face the rank and file in a ballot for the positions which they hold. [More…]
Surely, after all these years, when the unions have complied with the Act as amended so that their rules were completely in compliance with the Act before it was amended, this legislation will create unrest and disharmony in the trade union movement. [More…]
As I am more conversant with the Australian Workers Union than most other unions I shall refer to that organisation. [More…]
How different that is from these proposals that we have been considering this afternoon and tonight by which the Government wants the bigger unions to be able to elect their top officers with this tremendous power to stay there indefinitely. [More…]
It appears that they are now going to support unanimously this legislation simply to please two or three of the right wing unions in Australia which have not complied with the legislation that the Government introduced in 1973. [More…]
That is very healthy and understandable interest because it is a Bill which deals with an important- indeed a vital- subject, namely, the control of trade unions. [More…]
For instance, it is a disappointment to the Government that the National Labour Advisory Council, which we hoped would be set up when we came into Government and would work effectively as a consultative body between government, employers and trade unions and would be in fact supported by the trade union leadership and would be an effective instrument for cooperation and consultation has not been established. [More…]
The question at issue here is by what method we can best achieve the mutual aim- I say mutual aim ‘ because it is shared on both sides of the Parliament and, I am sure, both sides of the nation- that is, to obtain the most effective democratic control of both trade unions and employer organisations. [More…]
It is strange that the Labor senators in this debate should have attached such enormous significance to this particular method of ensuring the election of the leadership of trade unions because, as I have said, from 1904 until 1973 trade unions had been free to adopt the alternative method of collegiate voting for their leadership. [More…]
It is found that these amendments created enormous difficulties for a great many trade unions. [More…]
The Government, after very anxious consideration of various methods by the Minister whom I represent in this chamber, has decided that a one-tier collegiate system of voting for the full time officers, leaders of trade unions, whether they be at the Federal level or at the branch level would be an effective method, an equally democratic method, of electing such leaders. [More…]
I propose to read a list of unions to the Senate. [More…]
I propose to read a list of unions which have still retained the collegiate system and which have found the greatest difficulty in complying with the Cameron amendments. [More…]
I do not have an exhaustive list but I intend to read out to the Senate the names of some of the unions. [More…]
These are the unions which still have a collegiate system and which would not have been able to comply with the Cameron amendments before they came into force on 13 November if it were not for this Bill: The Association of Architects, Engineers, Surveyors and Draughtsmen of Australia, the Australian Bank Officials Association, the Australian Insurance Staffs Federation - [More…]
Other unions are the Australian Theatrical and Amusement Employees Association, the Clothing and Allied Trades Union of Australia, the Federated Clerks Union of Australia, the Federated Cold Storage and Meat Preserving Employees Union of Australasia, the Federated Ironworkers Association of Australia, the Federated Liquor and Allied Industries Employees Union of Australia, the Federated [More…]
Indeed, 2 further unions are mentioned that I think would be of great interest to honourable senators opposite. [More…]
That is not an exhaustive list of unions which have always had the collegiate voting system and have retained it since the Cameron amendments. [More…]
It is those unions and the leadership of them and many others which are very anxious that this Bill should pass through the Senate this evening in order to preserve them from the effects of the Labor Government’s messing around with this Act 3 years ago simply to satisfy the vendetta and the ego of Clyde Cameron. [More…]
I have just read out to the Senate a list of a dozen or more major unions of this country that want these amendments. [More…]
Senator Sibraa spoke mostly about the need for the amalgamation of unions and related matters. [More…]
I should simply like to say that the Government has broadly indicated its support for amalgamations which would lead to industry based unions. [More…]
The mere fact of having fewer unions and bigger unions for their own sake is not necessarily by any means a solution to the problems in the trade union movement. [More…]
Senator Sibraa mentioned the German Federation of Trade Unions which, I think, is commonly referred to as the GDB. [More…]
The German movement had only 16 unions covering a large number of members. [More…]
It certainly was not due solely, by any means, to the fact that there are so few trade unions in Germany. [More…]
This Bill gives the trade unions 2 years in which to comply with its provisions. [More…]
So I think it must be clear now even to those Labor senators who seem determined to misunderstand or misrepresent the nature of this Bill which seeks to amend the Conciliation and Arbitration Act that this Bill simply provides an alternative democratic method of electing the leadership of trade unions. [More…]
We are not ramming down the throats of trade unions a collegiate voting system. [More…]
The unions, under their rules, have the fullest opportunity to determine for themselves which system they will adopt. [More…]
The provisions of the Act and its regulations ensure the fullest control of committees of the unions and their branches by members of the associations. [More…]
There is the fullest opportunity for the trade unions’ democratic control of their own rules and of their elections in future. [More…]
What I was saying was that there should be fewer unions with more membership in those unions. [More…]
The reason for it is that there are a number of unions- I think probably the most notable example is the Australian Workers Union- which have provision for a variable number of full time employees of the union for the time being but not permanent employees. [More…]
The Government believes, in accordance with the representations it has received from unions, that it is quite unnecessary and in fact impractical to require such officials to be elected in the same way as the full time permanent officials are. [More…]
In future, unions can choose, as I said, one system or the other. [More…]
Senator Donald Cameron asked whether I could provide the Committee with statistics as to the number and membership of the unions which have complied with the amendments introduced by Mr Clyde Cameron, compared with those which have not. [More…]
It has a knowledge of a number of unions which have not complied. [More…]
I read out the list of those unions which we know have not complied with the Cameron amendments. [More…]
There may well be a number of other unions which have not done so, but we do not have those statistics and I cannot provide them to the Committee. [More…]
I was rather surprised to hear Senator Donald Cameron say that I had read out a list of insignificant unions which had not complied. [More…]
I remind the Committee of some of the unions which have not complied. [More…]
I ask: Does the Prime Minister’s statement indicate that the representations from the South Australian Government and industry in South Australia are being rejected, or does the Government still have under consideration the proposals from the South Australian Government and/or the Australian Council of Trade Unions shipbuilding committee? [More…]
2) was introduced into the House of Representatives the major unions were presented with a fait accompli by the Minister for Employment and Industrial Relations (Mr Street). [More…]
Although the Minister for Employment and Industrial Relations did not bother to tell the unions most vitally concerned- the bulk of the Australian trade union movement- or to consult with them until the very week in which the Bill was introduced into the House of Representatives, it is apparent that he had been in consultation with the Federal Secretary or council of the Federated Clerks Union, whose council was able to display before the Bill was introduced into the House of Representatives knowledge not only of the Bill itself but also of the amendment which the Minister threw down on to the table one hour before he moved it some 3 weeks after the Bill was originally introduced. [More…]
There certainly seems to be widespread recognition that there are too many unions in Australia. [More…]
The President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions has been quoted as supporting that principle. [More…]
The Government’s policy on this matter was enunciated by me on behalf of the Government in the debate last week on the Bill to provide for collegiate voting in union elections, but I reiterate that the policy in this area is to foster and encourage the formation of industry-based unions. [More…]
There has been a steady trend towards the reduction of the number of unions over recent years. [More…]
For example, in the last 20 years the number of trade unions has been reduced by about 20 per cent, although this has occurred in part due to a process of amalgamation. [More…]
It is utterly wrong for Senator Jessop to say that the unions will not come to grips with that system. [More…]
It seems that the situation is difficult because industry, unions and government until recently have not got together on this problem. [More…]
That is a good example of the constant discussions which take place between officers of my Department and leaders of the unions in the various States. [More…]
Is it a fact than many of these strikes are being caused by radical sections within some of the trade unions? [More…]
It is true that in the case of many unions concerned in the Medibank strike and in strikes on other issues the decision to strike has been made autocratically by a union executive without reference to membership and a direction has been issued to membership to take strike action. [More…]
In addition, the Government is examining the recommendations of the Royal Commission into alleged payments to maritime unions concerning accounting practices and financial reporting in organisations. [More…]
Where there is evidence that funds may have been used in this way I hope that this will be considered by members of the unions involved and that they will take appropriate action to stop the practice. [More…]
If I may say so in passing, it is interesting, when one hears remarks about who is running the country and about the shocking malfeasances of trade unions in organising demonstrations against policies of the present Government, to note that there was certainly no objection from members of the present Government when they were in Opposition to the use of policy holders’ money by insurance companies and to the time that was taken by employees of insurance companies, which again was a burden on the policy holders of those companies and allegedly mutual life assurance societies, in demonstrations throughout Australia against the Labor Government which was then in office, having been twice democratically elected on a program of introducing legislation similar to that which we introduced. [More…]
The complaints have been coming not from representatives of the trade unions or representatives of the Australia Labor Party but from representatives of the employers in Western Australia, who say that they cannot bear the burden of the workers compensation insurance premiums which they will have to pay in Western Australia. [More…]
His package for the unions and the workforce generally will be to say to them: ‘You will have to pay more for your goods because of what we have done to the currency but we ask you to take less in pay because that is the only way we can keep prices down. [More…]
I predict- I hope I am proved wrong- that next year will see a further shattering of the consensus without which parliamentary democracy cannot be conducted, that is, that there will be a confrontation between this Government and the unions in an attempt to make the unions bear the burden of the Government’s errors. [More…]
Who can say that from time to time the trade unions have not been dissatisfied with the decisions of the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission? [More…]
If this claim is correct, can it be construed that it is the Government’s intention to use ASIO as part of its weaponry to enforce its policy of cracking down on outspoken members of the trade unions in an attempt to weaken the trade union movement? [More…]
It seemed to me to be an excellent way for the industry to have a look at itself for the buyers, the producers and the unions to get together to see what could be done. [More…]
The terms of reference of the Working Party were, in summary, to coordinate State Government Department and other programs for unemployed youth; examine the long-term aspects of the problem and make recommendations on State Government action; and consult, where appropriate, with a broad range of State and Commonwealth Departments, voluntary agencies, employers and trade unions. [More…]
-It is all very well for honourable senators opposite to say that, but it was not just my side of politics that opposed that lunatic referendum proposal of the then Whitlam Government; it was opposed also by the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the trade union membership. [More…]
Does the Minister agree with the Executive Member for Transport in the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly that the Minister was living in the past to suggest that Darwin waterside workers were the main threat to the Darwin Trader, given that their last industrial action was in April 1975 when unions affiliated with the Trades and Labor Council took action? [More…]
I can now tell the Senate that a total redundancy arrangement has been settled with the unions concerned. [More…]
I have already reminded honourable senators that a redundancy agreement exists with the unions and the provisions of this are designed to protect the staff of the Authority in the event that the Authority may be abolished. [More…]
The Minister is very conscious of this and he has already had discussions with the unions whose members are employed by the Authority in an effort to allay any uncertainties and to confirm the arrangements that already exist with the unions. [More…]
To what extent have the relevent unions been consulted about this provision? [More…]
I quote the figures provided by the Master Builders Association rather than those of the relevant unions because I believe that this Government might be more responsive to the views of the capitalists- the investors and the employers- than it would be to the views of the employees in the construction industry. [More…]
The real reason why this delay is sought is one that will be with us at the end of this 6 months, namely, that apart from ancillary unions there is one union that predominates on the waterfront. [More…]
I probably would have spoken because the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs (Senator Durack) and his colleague who handled this legislation the last time it was brought in would know that quite apart from the waterfront unions themselves, there is some feeling amongst the people who constitute the catering staff under the wing of the Department of Employment and [More…]
I do not want to engage in debate on costs that have been imposed by employees or their unions on the waterfront. [More…]
They are deposits with savings banks, except savings bank cheque accounts; fixed deposits with trading banks; deposits and shares with building societies; deposits with credit unions; and moneys paid towards the purchase of land or the construction of a home. [More…]
Urine tests on workers at the Mary Kathleen uranium mine have shown definite signs of radiation absorption, according to unions in Queensland. [More…]
A report by the Queensland branch of the Amalgamated Metal Workers Union read to a meeting of all affiliated unions of the Trades and Labour Council yesterday said a number of workers had absorbed greater than normal radiation levels. [More…]
That is what has prompted the ALP to take the initiative and write to every one of its branches throughout Australia, offering them video tapes and other material which will enable both sides of the question to be debated at every one of our branch meetings with all of the affiliated trade unions, and to hold at some time early in 1 977 a consultative conference at which all members of our party and affiliated unionists will be able to attend and debate the issue. [More…]
Which unions were involved in the maintenance bans? [More…]
Senator Jessop did ask one or two specific questions as to the number of members of unions and the number of members present if meetings were held and so on. [More…]
Has the Minister seen a statement to the effect that the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions has had discussions with the Prime Minister and other officials, I understand, as recently as last week, in connection with the problems of the shipbuilding industry. [More…]
-My best understanding is that which is derived from the Press- I think rather like that of the honourable senatornamely, that the President of the Australia Council of Trade Unions has had a discussion with the Prime Minister about arrangements for restraining wage and price increases. [More…]
When we were having discussions earlier with Mr Hawke, of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, and peak unions the possibilities of a reduction of indirect tax in order to achieve better results in the consumer price index were talked over thoroughly. [More…]
The Leader of the Government will no doubt recall that in answer to me Senator Cotton has said that the representations made by the Australian Council of Trade Unions, the South Australian Government and the New South Wales Government will be taken into account. [More…]
In particular, will the 6 unions whose members man such cranes, namely the Waterside Workers Federation, the Federated Engine Drivers and Firemen’s Association, the Transport Workers Union, the Australian Railways Union, the Federated Ironworkers Association, and the Australian Workers Union, be kept fully informed of what is happening? [More…]
When the next conference takes place will the trade union movement, through the Australian Council of Trade Unions, be a direct participant in the discussions? [More…]
I am sure that the matter which Senator Mulvihill has raised is of considerable importance and also of great interest to the unions to which he has referred. [More…]
I do not have with me at the moment any information concerning the attitude of the Victorian Government in these negotiations; but I am sure I can give the Senate an undertaking that the Minister whom I represent will be keeping the unions informed of what is happening in regard to this problem. [More…]
Has the department received criticism of the scheme from community organisations and trade unions? [More…]
Even then, there were those who predicted that if the Government based its policies on economic commonsense, the result would be confrontation with the unions. [More…]
This is a time when all our institutions, all Australiansbusinesses, trade unions, all in positions of leadership in the community- must seek to set aside narrow interests in favour of the overriding common interests we all share. [More…]
In the last few months continuous talks have been going on between the Majority Leader and the Executive of the Northern Territory Public Service, the Minister for the Northern Territory and the Department of the Northern Territory and the various public service unions involved. [More…]
The public service unions are in agreement. [More…]
My discussions with the Public Service unions have led me to believe that they are very frightened that the cream of the Public Service at the present time is not prepared to stay in Darwin and that they are frightened that good men will not be attracted if the legislation goes through at the speed at which it is being proposed. [More…]
1 ) To what extent have the relevant trade unions been consulted by the Government concerning its proposed legislation for management initiated retirement of Commonwealth public servants at 33 years of age or over. [More…]
Presumably they have a view which will be expressed, along with that of the trade unions, in the course of the debate. [More…]
While I am on my feet, let me say: Basically the question of the establishment and management of student bodies, whether they be for sporting or recreational purposes or for student unions, on the campuses of universities and colleges is the responsibility of the autonomous institutions as expressed in their by-laws. [More…]
I have invited the individual universities to look to their by-laws to ensure that they contain full democratic provisions to enable students to conduct their affairs with full democracy and I have suggested that, if some practice is obnoxious, the universities might see whether some kind of opting out can be made available as there is in some trade unions. [More…]
This was sought by the unions, and is also a practice followed by many maritime nations. [More…]
and (2) Concern has been expressed in the Lithgow area over the future of the Small Arms Factory by a number of local organisations, such as local government authorities and unions, going back to 1973. [More…]
Because of a dispute over tropical or isolated area leave and travelling allowances between the Public Service Board and members of the Public Service unions in the Darwin area, members of the Public Service unions once again went on strike in Darwin yesterday which resulted in the closing down of the power house for 13 hours. [More…]
The present position is that the Board announced to the unions last Monday that so far as existing staff are concerned, any reductions in leave will not apply until leave credits have been exhausted up to the end of 1980. [More…]
I add that if the unions are not satisfied with the conditions that have been determined by the Public Service Board - [More…]
The unions have the perfect right, as you know, Senator Bishop, to take the matter to the Public Service Arbitrator. [More…]
Clearly these interests are against the indigenous local manufacturing industries and the unions associated with them. [More…]
To a very great extent, the Commonwealth has itself to blame for that- it won’t be able to blame the unions, the States, or industry. [More…]
I was interested to learn of the vehemence with which the Public Service unions attacked that particular appointment. [More…]
With regard to the other propositions about what ought to happen to wages, what should be awarded in regard to wage increases and what should be the effect of indexation, I remind the honourable senator of something which he knows quite well: These aspects constitute a function of the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission and its hearings at which the employers, the Government and the unions are represented. [More…]
Following suggestions by some trade unions that Australian ships built overseas and not in Australian shipyards will be black banned, can the Minister state whether this proposed black ban will apply also to those Australian ships built in overseas shipyards and ordered by the previous Australian Labor Government? [More…]
-I am unable to say what will be the attitude of the unions or the Labor Party but I am able to expose the appalling track record on this matter of the Whitlam Government when in office. [More…]
When trade unions are trying to trace people whom they have not seen for 5 years it is amazing to discover the number of residences they have had. [More…]
It is interesting to note that the unions involved have rejected an offer of an increase in staff. [More…]
The present dispute, which resulted in the banning of overtime, is between the Public Service Board and the Public Service unions and actually has nothing to do with the power house itself. [More…]
I would be surprised, Senator, if you could go round Tasmania and convince people in the trade union movement- you did pretty well in the executive of the Australian Council of Trade Unions- that the trade union movement can look to its elected representatives to get unfettered progress of industrial legislation and at the present time fight an interim Senate election where a lot of what we want can be vetoed. [More…]
With the handing over of this country to the terrible trio of big government, big business and big unions as almost the sole holders of power in Australia we are reaching a stage where this Senate is the one body which can stand between the people and the power brokers. [More…]
What is being done is to advance a proposal to put to the people what we have described previously as a deceptive question which will mislead the people into thinking that what they are getting is simultaneous elections at a reduction in cost and inconvenience to them when, in fact, what they are getting is the loss of the one bulwark that stands between them and the executive power of big government combining with big unions and big business. [More…]
-I ask the Minister for Education: Is it a fact that tertiary institutions and student unions have not been contacted directly to seek their views on the inquiry into the desirability of implementing a system of student loans? [More…]
If so, is the Minister aware that many universities and student unions were forced to prepare rushed submissions? [More…]
The Government appeared prepared early last year to discuss industrial problems with the trade unions but it is now apparent that those efforts were a disguise to give the impression that the Government was seeking co-operation with the trade union movement and not confrontation. [More…]
As the fundamental role of the trade unions is to ensure that that does not happen, and as it is abundantly clear that the Government’s intention was to do that from the day it took office, the alleged co-operation with the trade union movement was no more than a charade. [More…]
But it is accepted by the overwhelming majority of Australians that notwithstanding the faults which may exist on the part of the unions, the unions are completely justified in ensuring that the living standards of their members are not allowed to decline. [More…]
I quote those figures to illustrate that the Government is on very shaky ground when it continues to argue that the real value of incomes in this country should fall, and it is for that reason that the trade unions have a genuine battle on their hands. [More…]
I believe that, through the trade unions, it is determined to beat the work force into submission by withholding jobs, by threatening the removal of unemployment benefits, and by forcing the work force to take substantial cuts in real wages. [More…]
Industry lacks confidence, and the Government’s promise to bring about better relations with the Australian Council of Trade Unions has been diminished. [More…]
All that has happened in recent months is that continual attacks have been made upon the unions, the ACTU and Mr Hawke, the ACTU President. [More…]
As the President of the ACTU has said, despite conflicts in their policies the trade unions are concerned about the future of Australia. [More…]
While there is a promise of more freedom for individuals and a promise to increase and foster the strength and independence and creativity of Australian people, it is clear that the sort of legislation to be brought down will make conditions worse for the ordinary working man and for the unions. [More…]
Of course in the past in odd debates we have been used to hearing Mr Macphee, who is now a Minister, saying something like what the Labor Party and the unions have said: There has to be a voice for the unions. [More…]
Instead of bringing in new laws to repress them or talking about penal clauses or an industrial tribunal, the Government should consult with the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
Is the Minister representing the Minister for Post and Telecommunications aware that journals of trade unions receive a much more favourable postage rate in the registered publications service than do journals of employer organisations, including farmers’ organisations? [More…]
To a very great extent, the Commonwealth has itself to blame for that- it won’t be able to blame the unions, the States, or industry. [More…]
In the period from 1930 to 1940 various sittings of the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission defined a living wage and margins for skill, and during that period coming out of the depression the requests of the unions were probably very modest. [More…]
Recently, at the request of 6 unions involved with the operation of lifting appliances, I became involved in the quest by the Commonwealth Government to standardise crane structures. [More…]
There is always a lot of talk about how the West German trade unions have been more docile and more responsible. [More…]
Yet this Government is hell-bent on attacking the trade unions and on attacking the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission. [More…]
It is not sick because of the activities of the unions or the wages of the workers because if they do not earn the wages they cannot buy the goods they produce. [More…]
Generally speaking, trade unions are failing to communicate effectively with non-English speaking migrant workers and cater to their needs. [More…]
There is also a reluctance to acknowledge that migrants are a particular group of members within unions with special problems. [More…]
A question often asked is: How many migrants participate in unions not only as fee-paying members but as members of the hierarchy? [More…]
In Victoria in that period there were approximately 300 union official representing 50 different unions. [More…]
Those 9 people worked for 6 separate unions. [More…]
June Hearne, who compiled that report, noted also that there are a number of unions in industries with a large migrant component, such as sections of the building and metal trades, the food, transport, footwear and service areas, with no representation in the leadership. [More…]
If we look at the Australian Council of Trade Unions Congress we find that only five of the delegates were non-British migrants. [More…]
Unions dominated by communist executives conform to an idea which was clearly expressed in a conference held on 3 October 1976 in Yugoslavia, in that beautiful town of Dubrovnik on the coast, under the title ‘Socialism in Today’s World’. [More…]
Is it any wonder that some of our trade unions- I do not say all- completely ignore the majority of their members. [More…]
A book has been written about the power of trade unions. [More…]
This general attitude of trade union leaders endorses the apprehension which many migrants feel towards unions. [More…]
This is how migrants feel about unions today. [More…]
These reports state categorically that trade unions are not recognising or understanding, let alone communicating, the needs of their migrant members. [More…]
In these circumstances trade unions can hardly claim to be representative of the interests of their rank and file, let alone those who make up the Australian work force. [More…]
It is a pity that unions should need to be forced to represent the interests of the workers in order to survive. [More…]
So the unions are blamed for their failure to appreciate that abandonment of a promise. [More…]
If the present Prime Minister proposes to use that son of operation to remove the power of the unions the same thing will happen to the Fraser Government in 1 978 as happened to the Bruce Government in 1929. [More…]
I have to agree with him to a certain extent but I know that in my State of New South Wales the Vehicle Builders Employees Federation of Australia, the Storemen and Packers Union of Australia and the Health and Research Employees Association of Australia- 3 unions that come to mind very quickly- are doing a lot about migrant education in the trade union movement. [More…]
If honourable senators talk to members of the trade union movement in this countrythey do not have to talk to the extremist unions; they can talk to what people consider to be moderate unions- they will find out that a confrontation is coming as a result of the introduction of this Bureau. [More…]
I do not think it can be said either that this Government seeks to avoid unwarranted intrusion or to protect the individual liberties of people, especially when one looks at the harassment of people receiving social security benefits at the behest of Government policy, or at the looming industrial relations bureau which, as I said before, is going to be used to act as a strong arm of government in dealing with trade unions. [More…]
Already there is a large number of registered industrial organisations which would opt out and become de-registered tomorrow if there were general support within registered industrial organisations affiliated with the Australian Council of Trade Unions for that particular move. [More…]
I have been involved in trade unions for many years and have always sought to uphold the principles of conciliation and arbitration- proper, meaningful negotiations and a system of conciliation and arbitration. [More…]
In my question I adverted to the fact that the Minister had quite clearly stated to the House that unions need not amend their rules. [More…]
The net result is that those unions which had either amended or not amended their rules since 13 November 1974 now find themselves in an impossible position. [More…]
Any one of those unions right across the spectrumwe are not involved in left, right and centre now; we are involved in questions affecting the administration of organisations registered under the Conciliation and Arbitration Act- could find themselves and their rules under challenge. [More…]
However, the decision in the case previously referred to stated that that was not so but that in fact, in respect of that provision, the unions had only 12 months in which to bring their rules into conformity; that is to say, they had to do so by 13 November 1974. [More…]
Therefore, those unions which have sought to bring their rules into conformity since that date or other unions which have accepted the guarantee of the [More…]
With all the Government statements about the possible need for more rigid deregistration procedures as a disciplinary threat to unions, it could fall flat on its face. [More…]
But what if the Australian Council of Trade Unions were to do what the British Trade Union Congress and the American Federation of Labor Congress of Industrial Organisations do and act as the arbiter in demarcation and membership disputes? [More…]
What if the ACTU, by agreement with all of its affiliates, were to be the protector of the field of coverage of affiliated unions and not the Industrial Court? [More…]
As I mentioned before the suspension of the sitting for lunch, the policy of a specific group of unions within the trade union movement is to opt out of registration under the Act. [More…]
I am not having a shot at the trade unions or the workers in the blue collar field or anyone else. [More…]
I should like to see the Government, the unions and management sit down together and have real talks-not just to score points off each other- and see what can be done to get this country moving again. [More…]
Yet the Government keeps on calling for wage restraint so that the unions will not at least get cost of living adjustments applied to normal wages. [More…]
At the same time as the Government is asking unions to reduce their applications for increases in wages and saying that they are not entitled to cost of living increases we find that company profits are increasing alarmingly. [More…]
Other examples of huge increases in profits that have been taking place while the Government has been asking the unions to exercise wage restraint are as follows: The profits of the Tasmanian Hardware and Engineering organisation rose by 49 per cent, those of the Nile textiles organisation were up 78. [More…]
Therefore I do not see how this Government can expect the unions to practice or accept any wage restraint while at the same time company profits are increasing higher and higher all the time. [More…]
The unions already have seen through the veneer of this attempt to hoodwink the people of Australia. [More…]
Governments in the United Kingdom have totally failed to solve the problem of unions regarding themselves as being above the law as we have failed to solve that problem in this country. [More…]
The task force went to the Public Service employee unions which were involved and talked to them. [More…]
Does the Minister recall that question and the fact that as a result of those assurances and those given by the Minister’s predecessor, Mr Cameron, many unions representing over 1 million workers could find their rules open to challenge? [More…]
Both Mr Cameron and the present Minister, Mr Street, were under the impression, presumably on advice that they had received, that a period of 3 years was available to unions to adjust to the Cameron legislation. [More…]
I suppose that if one had no humanitarian instincts, if one was out purely to make a fast buck and had a million dollars to expend, one would go to those countries where, because of the lack of trade unions, because of the lack of some sort of organisation to protect workers, one can hire and fire for $3, $4, $5, $6 or $7 a week. [More…]
The simple situation is this: I saw representatives of the unions concerned and of the Australian Capital Territory Teachers Federation late last week. [More…]
I undertook to ask the Australian Capital Territory Schools Authority to speed up the discussions with the Public Service Board and the unions concerned. [More…]
I remind the Senate that this is a matter which affects a large number and broad range of unions and registered industrial organisations throughout [More…]
There is a large group of unions in that category. [More…]
Those unions which cover in excess of one million workers could have their rules challenged by virtue of the fact that they place faith in the assurances of the Minister or his predecessor. [More…]
If the Government is not interested in trade unionists it should think about the union funds that are involved- the funds of those unions whose rules could be under challenge. [More…]
We are dealing with a large number of members of trade unions throughout Australia. [More…]
They are doing so because the Government is making it almost impossible for a large number of other unions to operate because of its failure to recognise current problems and to consult with registered industrial organisations about them. [More…]
For some unions the rule of law has ceased to apply to the administration of unions. [More…]
I believe it was prepared in the interests of the view that trade unions ought to determine their own mode of operation and method of self government consistent with their administrative requirements and the wishes of their rank and file and not have some form of reconstruction superimposed upon them by a court which has not the understanding of the history of the organisation or the wishes of the rank and file. [More…]
Unions have been registered for over 50 years. [More…]
I do not believe that the trade practices legislation is an appropriate vehicle to cover the activities of trade unions. [More…]
Naturally, there is very broad freedom within individual unions in this respect but each registered industrial organisation has such rules. [More…]
The Australian Council of Trade Unions has rules for the conduct and control of industrial disputes and the ideal situation would be for the ACTU to be left to uphold and enforce its own rules, if necessary by the threat of expulsion of affiliated unions which do not uphold those rules. [More…]
Possibly he has a grievance which he has continually referred to in this chamber over a period because of the incorrect information which was given to him by a representative of the Attorney-General (Mr Ellicott) on the rights of certain unions under the amended Conciliation and Arbitration Act. [More…]
However, Senator Harradine must remember that there has been some 12 months or more for the unions whose cause he is championing today to change their rules in accordance with the amendments to the Conciliation and Arbitration Act- the Cameron legislation- which were passed by this House for the sole purpose of the unions’ putting their house in order and having democratic elections. [More…]
Therefore, although the Minister possibly has acted in good faith, according to the decision of Mr Justice Smithers, the Federated Clerks Union of Australia and other unions were not covered by the amendments to the law. [More…]
There is no question in Senator Harradine ‘s mind of the unions’ adhering to the law and conducting democratic elections. [More…]
All the objections that have been raised seek to avoid the democratic vote of the people in certain unions. [More…]
Is the Minister aware that the reason was that the unions signed a productivity agreement with Telecom to do the same amount of work in 36% hours as the employees had previously done in 40 hours? [More…]
I make that point because the members of some of the unions, if not all the unions that I have mentioned, have had relatives involved. [More…]
I think that it has imposed unduly at times on Canada and Australia, but let us hope that in the light of the support of the unions I have enumerated justice will be done to those people across the Pacific. [More…]
It may even help Senator Gietzelt if he were to talk to some of the unions involved in the industry which have been working with me to try to solve these problems. [More…]
In return for reduced working hours the unions have negotiated a document and costed productivity package with Telecom within the guidelines set out by the Public Service Board last year, including existing service standards and output to be maintained; no significant increase in overtime; no increase in staff numbers; no significant increase in costs. [More…]
The Conciliation and Arbitration Commission can deal only with registered organisations; hence the consent award applies only to members of the respective unions. [More…]
Telecom policy has been that application to non-unionists had to be delayed for some time until the protracted negotiations with the unions had been finalised and agreed to by the Commission. [More…]
I repeat that trade unions have argued about safety measures and have had every reason to do so. [More…]
Can the Minister say whether the present provisions of the conciliation and arbitration legislation are adequate to deal with demarcation disputes such as this between unions and, if the legislation is not adequate, are there any amendments which the Government can make to it to provide for the speedy settlement of such disputes when they arise? [More…]
I view of his statement about the Government’s concern about demarcation disputes, is it not a fact that, when his Party was in Opposition, it opposed moves by the then Labor Government to encourage amalgamation of unions in order to reduce or eliminate demarcation disputes? [More…]
Will associated unions be requested or directed to exempt Tasmania from strike action that isolates Tasmania? [More…]
I refer the Minister representing the Minister for Employment and Industrial Relations to a question which I asked him on 23 February 1977 and to a further question on the same subject I asked on 22 March 1977 which related to assurances given by Mr Street and by Mr Cameron to unions concerning amendments to rules. [More…]
I ask the Minister: In view of the fact that the conferences or some part of those conferences are now being conducted, can that be taken to indicate that the Government is increasing the ambit of its earlier proposals and will discuss the wider issues raised by the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions and supported by President Moore? [More…]
Since the introduction by this Government last year of the secret ballot legislation can the Minister give the figures of unions which have changed from union run elections to elections run by the Commonwealth Electoral Office? [More…]
This represents quite a substantial increase in the number of unions utilising the provisions. [More…]
It is fairly obvious that the call for restraint will not work unless the Australian Council of Trade Unions, its colleagues and honourable senators opposite are prepared to fall in behind the 6 Premiers- 3 Labor, 2 Liberal and one National Party. [More…]
The other union, which is serviced by a very dedicated secretary, Mr Les Butler, would have no more than 1600 or 1800 people and it is obvious that in these times of financial demands on trade unions those 1 600 or 1 800 people will receive better service through this amalgamation. [More…]
Is the Prime Minister giving serious consideration to the proposal by the Australian Council of Trade Unions that a social welfare planning ministry be established in Australia. [More…]
The fact is that Mr Hawke, who can never quite make up his mind about whether he is President of the Australian Labor Party and therefore pushing a political line, or President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions and pushing a union line, would not come to the party. [More…]
The Opposition now tries to introduce red herrings such as its call for a national conference to discuss this, that and the other when all that Mr Hawke, the Australian Council of Trade Unions and all the peak councils had to do yesterday was come along and say: Yes, we also think that what the Commonwealth and the 6 Premiers have put forward is a good idea and we will use our best endeavours to go along with it, and there may be some other things we ought to discuss as well’. [More…]
The Council stated that these proposals- that is the amendments to the Conciliation and Arbitration Act proposed by the Government- would prevent unions from acting in a united manner. [More…]
The Council stated that the proposals were an invitation to irresponsibility and anarchy and would provide loopholes for workers to opt out of their responsibilities for the overall actions of their unions. [More…]
Firstly, industrial relations in Australia are best served by the encouragement of effective, responsible trade unions working in the best interests of their members and in the encouragement of the members to fully participate in union affairs. [More…]
Secondly, the power of trade unions to contribute effectively and responsibly to orderly industrial progress depends on the co-ordinated and disciplined action of their members. [More…]
The rules of individual trade unions registered under the Conciliation and Arbitration Act have contained self-disciplinary provisions. [More…]
Likewise, a central trade union organisation such as the Australian Council of Trade Unions and State Labour Councils have had rules for the conduct and control of industrial disputes with their own internal disciplinary procedures. [More…]
These procedures are designed and are necessary to achieve the objects of the unions in a united and co-ordinated manner with the least possible disruption. [More…]
Over the past few years a combination of factors has led to a decline in responsible unionism on the part of some unions. [More…]
Failure to uphold the ACTU and Labour Council disputes rules has itself contributed to the belief of some unions that they can please themselves as to what action they take without regard to the consequences to themselves as ACTU affiliates or to members of other unions. [More…]
Encouragement to union members to shed collective responsibility for the actions of the unions as a whole and hide behind their so-called individual rights’ leads to anarchy and allows the organised pro-communists to use their unions and the union movement as a whole for their own domestic and international purposes. [More…]
The Bill therefore prevents unions implementing their internal disciplinary rules which are designed to ensure a cohesion in policy and co-ordinated orderly industrial progress and from which there is an existing right of appeal by a member. [More…]
It opens the way for organised extremist groups to manipulate trade unions by enabling members who should be responsible the opportunity to opt out of their obligations. [More…]
Such a bureau will be resented by both the employers and the trade unions, not to mention the industrial registries. [More…]
In those circumstances many unions are questioning the merit of continued registration under the Conciliation and Arbitration Act. [More…]
Those unions are not confined to the extreme Left, unions which have traditionally had an attitude that there should be no system of registration. [More…]
The Bill ‘s amendment to the definition of employee in clause 3, taken together with the proposed amendment to section 132, will leave unprotected, particularly in Victoria and Tasmania, substantial numbers of workers who, while not strictly employees, nevertheless rely on unions for the protection of their interests as workers. [More…]
Because there is no registration of industrial unions in those 2 States which are thus not covered in the Bill, thousands of workers who are now legitimately union members will be left unprotected if the Bill becomes law. [More…]
Such illconsidered proposals could lead to greater divisions between Federal and State industrial systems and could force consideration in Victoria and Tasmania of the need for a system of State registration of unions in those 2 States. [More…]
Until yesterday the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions flatly refused any other attitude than that if a national conference were called of all sections- governments, employers and employees- he would call a conference of trade unions to consider how far they would go to meet the situation. [More…]
That situation stems from an attitude whereby the trade unions consider that they are a law unto themselves and that they are outside the law that other members of the community should observe. [More…]
When Dean Roscoe Pound speaks of the immunities of labour unions- they are not the same in the United States of America as they are in Australia but they are very similar with a different but not dissimilar history- he points out in the opening gambit of his treatise: [More…]
He refers to the church, to the state, to landlords and to commercial magnates gathering together in monopolies and then goes on to expound with all his understanding and knowledge of the law and objectivity in regard to politics that the immunities of the labour unions are unique and have to be corrected. [More…]
A whole series of authorities in recent years, particularly in the last 10 years, have pointed out how the unions having this monopolistic power to dislocate industry under the name of what Senator Harradine referred to as the right to strike and, presumably since he objects to the Trade Practices Bill, the right to employ secondary boycotts in enforcement of the right to strike, claim the right to dislocate the economy of the country to the great injury of other sections of the community. [More…]
None of us will decry the efforts that were made by his Minister for Labour and Immigration, Senator James McClelland, in the last three or four desperate months of the Whitlam era to try to curb the abuse of the use by trade unions of political pretext in order to create demands for higher charges and dislocation in industry. [More…]
That is because the unions add to their legitimate union strength and force the other coercive effort to call a strike or secondary boycott and dislocate the economy and artificially create an upsurge in what their opponents are prepared to yield rather than have that dislocation. [More…]
To suggest that we would reach the stage where unions would consider it in their interests to deregister from that system and expose themselves to the law of the jungle and to the chaos of the strike weapon is deplorable. [More…]
That shows that, far from the Government feeling that deregistration would ever be considered an advantage by a union, it is considered as one of the warning signals that unions should observe before they enter upon the sort of action to which I have briefly referred which can be considered as inimical to the public interest. [More…]
I find it quite incredible that anyone should suggest, as Senator Wright has suggested, that the unions would treat any proposal which emanated from this Government with anything but wary mistrust. [More…]
The unions were left in a position of not knowing just what was to be frozen. [More…]
But no, the unions were asked to buy a pig in a poke. [More…]
Even though the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission, when it met last week, had commended the proposal of the Australian Council of Trade Unions for a summit conference, Mr Fraser would have none of it. [More…]
He sent the unions away, refusing to hold the conference which they suggested. [More…]
It was merely to back the unions into a corner where they could not possibly accept his proposal for a freeze without selling out their members and so he could then say to the public, in the hope that they would be gullible enough to fall for it: ‘There you are, the sole responsibility for the continuation of inflation rests with the unions’. [More…]
The first is exemplified by the freeze, which I have just discussed very briefly as I have limited time, which was nothing but a public relations exercise to fit the blame onto the unions and also to throw a smoke screen around his own bankruptcy as an economic manager. [More…]
How can the Prime Minister expect the unions to trust him when he introduced into the Parliament the legislation which has been discussed so ably and in such detail by Senator Harradine, first of all in relation to this misconceived monster, an Industrial Relations Bureau? [More…]
The purpose of the Industrial Relations Bureau is to create a third arm of government which will do precisely what the employers have learned is counter-productive and of which they will have no part, that is, to ask a court to impose penalties on the unions for industrial actions. [More…]
This created great indignation among the unions and there was a rash of strikes. [More…]
The employers did what Mr Fraser now proposes to do: They rushed to what was then known as the Commonwealth Industrial Court and had fines imposed on all the unions involved in the disputes. [More…]
The unions were asked to trust a government which turns the clock back in this way, to cooperate with a government which is backward enough to think that this is the correct approach to industrial relations. [More…]
This Industrial Relations Bureau will be clothed with the right for unprecedented interference in the internal affairs of unions. [More…]
For instance, it allows- it encourages- unionists to become informers on their own unions. [More…]
I think that the categorisation that the unions have given to this body is the more correct one: They refer to it as an industrial police force. [More…]
But under the guise of protecting individual rights, the legislation which the unions are asked to see as containing nothing sinister encourages people not to join unions. [More…]
I invite honourable senators to examine a new section which is proposed to be inserted into the legislationthat is, proposed new section 144- which greatly widens the grounds upon which people can refuse to join unions. [More…]
I ask the question: If it is thought fair to exempt people from any obligation to join unions should they not be exempted also from the benefits which are won for them by the unions which they refuse to join? [More…]
The legislation also contains invitations to unionists and to people who do not join unions to scab during a strike and exaggerated protection is given to people who take this action. [More…]
These are the measures introduced by a Government which invites the unions to trust it blindly in the matter of a wages and prices freeze and which will not even discuss the details of such a freeze. [More…]
But more than that, a close reading of these provisions which have not reached us yet- I understand that they will be allowed to lie on the table of the House of Representatives for a few weeks in order to allow people to give their opinion of them- will reveal that these are the measures of a government which then turns to the unions and says: ‘Trust us to look after your interests as well as the interests of the rest of society’. [More…]
I suggest that the greatest crime to date of the Prime Minister (Mr Malcolm Fraser)- I fear that there are more ahead from him- is that he has destroyed the national consensus and has lost all right to be trusted by the unions. [More…]
I believe that the public will see through his shoddy manoeuvres of recent weeks and that they will lay the blame where it belongs- not on the unions but squarely at the feet of this incompetent and dishonest Government. [More…]
To those forces in this country whether unions, Labor Oppositions or whatever which opposed the implementation of policies that were so unanimously endorsed Australians owe no thanks at all. [More…]
Just 2Vi months after it was made, the promise of the Fraser caretaker Government to the trade unions and the working people of the Australian community was broken. [More…]
It has been departed from in failure to consult with the trade unions about amendments to the Conciliation and Arbitration Act; in failure to consult in connection with the so-called secret ballot legislation; in failure to consult in relation to the proposed amendments to the trade practices legislation; and in the series of broken promises in relation to the Commonwealth Government’s attitude to wage indexation. [More…]
The proposition was put to the Prime Minister by the unions that there should be a national conference on this issue and that there should, in return for a wage freeze, be taxation cuts of a specific kind which have been indicated as being necessary by the Australian Council of Trade Unions for a number of months. [More…]
It was in 1906, following the Taff Vale judgment in Britain when it was decided that unions could be sued and were liable for damages- and an award of damages was imposed on the railways unions in Britain- that the Trade Disputes Act, which made union funds exempt from claims for damages, was passed. [More…]
It would not be too melodramatic to say that the provision would return trade unions to something like the political position they occupied in mid- 1 9th Century England. [More…]
Following the wage-price freeze which was announced last week by the 7 ‘political leaders’- I put that in inverted commas- of this country, there was a meeting yesterday between the Government and the unions. [More…]
In the context of a record of broken promises, a record of total abandonment of the philosophy which Mr Street, as Opposition spokesman on industrial relations, put forward in 1975; a total abandonment of promises in relation to wage indexation and other matters in 1975, the Prime Minister (Mr Malcolm Fraser) rejected the proposals put by the unions and invited the unions to trust this Government. [More…]
What the unions were saying, simply, was this: ‘You, Mr Prime Minister, say there is going to be a voluntary price squeeze and a voluntary wage squeeze. [More…]
Similarly I take on board his concern that unions cannot discipline their members. [More…]
For this reason, and because of the fundamental importance of the legislation, it believes that there is a need for time to be given not only for the members of Parliament to give the proposed legislation their objective consideration, but also for the principal parties to industrial relations- the peak councils of the employer organisations and trade unions, individual trade unions and individual employers and, more importantly, the community at large- to examine the contents of the Bill and to be able to make their views known to the Government. [More…]
There are also the subsequent amendments, which I understand are still being prepared, to the Trade Practices Act which would affect the operations of trade unions. [More…]
I shall read from a document which is the submission by the Australian Council of Trade Unions to the Australian Conciliation and Arbitration Commission on 19 April 1977, put by R. J. Hawke, the president of the ACTU. [More…]
The trade unions were not able to obtain guarantees that the price freeze would occur for the next 3 months. [More…]
The basic reason Mr Fraser and some of his Public Service advisors were attracted to Mr Hamer’s vague idea in the first place was that they saw the possibility of creating an emotional climate where the unions would be forced to accept even bigger cuts in real wages or at the least the blame for the avalanche of prices increases which are already in the pipeline as a result of devaluation. [More…]
Basically, the freeze has never been seen as an economic exercise but as an exercise in transferring the blame for the inevitable deterioration in the economy from the Government to the trade unions. [More…]
In my view that in a nutshell is precisely what the Fraser Government’s industrial policy has been designed to bring about- a confrontation in the hope that it will enable the Government to shift attention from its own mismanagement and to blame it on the unions and so bemuse the people into believing that if it had not been for the unions taking what is the proper stand and the stand they are entitled to take on behalf of their members, this so-called wages-prices freeze or this myth- it cannot be described as anything else- may otherwise have succeeded. [More…]
This was a proposition which was put to both employers and unions by not only the Prime Minister (Mr Malcolm Fraser) but also every State Premier, both Labor and Liberal, and it would appear that the honourable senators on the Opposition benches just do not agree with it. [More…]
So it has not been sprung on the community or on the unions. [More…]
Senator James McClelland said today in an intimidatory way that unionists who went to the Bureau would be telling on their fellow unionists and he talked about scabs in the unions. [More…]
We have found in the past that all self employed people have been forced to join unions. [More…]
-They have been forced to join unions by discriminatory action being taken against them, by threat. [More…]
I believe that the rank and file unionists realise that in the past the unions have escaped from much responsibility for their actions, that they have held the Australian people to ransom, that they have tried to take over the job of the properly elected government of this country. [More…]
Is the Minister representing the Minister for Post and Telecommunications aware that journals of trade unions receive a much more favourable postage rate in the registered publications service than do journals of employer organisations, including farmers’ organisations? [More…]
As the Minister in this chamber represents the Minister for Employment and Industrial Relations, is he now in a position to tell me whether the road blocks have been removed to effect this merger of 2 unions? [More…]
It was a good one when it came, but I did not get the paper from the Australian Council of Trade Unions until about 8 October. [More…]
As members of the Committee there were Mr Brian Brogan, then consultant to the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet; Mr Rod Carnegie, Chairman and Chief Executive of Conzinc Riotinto of Australia, Mr Neil Currie, then Secretary of the Department of Manufacturing Industry, and now, if I am correct, Secretary of the Minister’s present Department; Mr Robert Hawke, President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions; Professor Ted Wheelwright, Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Sydney, and Mr Rattigan who was at that time Chairman of the Industries Assistance Commission. [More…]
My colleague Senator Douglas McClelland pointed out that the Committee was a highpowered committee consisting of some of our leading industrialists, economists and a leading pubic servant in the person of Mr Neil Currie, the then head of the Department of Manufacturing Industry, and Mr Hawke representing the unions. [More…]
This was because it got over the petty issues, with which our opponents are mostly concerned, of attempting to blame all the ills of society onto the trade unions. [More…]
But as this report of the Jackson Committee will show, it is a gross oversimplification of the problems of manufacturing industry, and it is an exaggeration that we hear every day from our opponents, to say that all the difficulties of manufacturing industry are due to the excessive wage demands of the unions and that if only the unions could be put in their place all would be well with manufacturing industry. [More…]
Every time we have attempted to facilitate amalgamation of unions and have introduced legislation into the Parliament to do that, we have been frustrated by the Liberal-National Country Parties which have always defeated such attempts to rationalise the union movement. [More…]
It is a matter on which there are irrational attitudes in the trade unions as well as in certain manufacturing circles. [More…]
These are not hysterical cries from the Labor Party or from the unions. [More…]
This Government will soon have been in office for nearly a year and a half and there is not much more time available for it to blame the Whitlam Government or the trade unions for all the ills of society. [More…]
In that article it referred to the ADAA Advisory Board, which has been referred to by Senator Knight, with, to quote Development News Digest, ‘Sir John Crawford as Chairman and representatives from business, trade unions, non-government organisations, community groups, scientists and politicians as its members’. [More…]
Of course, the work of the international trade secretariats- those are the international trade unions to which particular trade unions in Australia and the free world generally are affiliated- is very important in this particular field. [More…]
When will the Government proceed with legislation making it mandatory for unions not to cut off one part of Australia from the rest? [More…]
I refer to the allegations of CIA involvement in Australian politics and trade unions. [More…]
The Government proposed that in the event of broad agreement being reached on the prices and incomes pause, a special group comprising representatives of employers, unions and the Prices Justification Tribunal be formed to advise on the implementation of the agreement. [More…]
The company’s failure to adequately consult the Australian Government and the trade unions in respect of the above; and [More…]
The company’s failure to adequately consult the Australian Government and the trade unions in respect of the above; and [More…]
and, in fact, the trade unions and its employees and not attract adverse attention to both itself and the industry as a whole, it should think again. [More…]
The company’s general manager, Mr Chapman, must consider the Government, the Opposition and the unions to be pretty dull if he tries to convince any of us that 2 attempts to telephone the Minister for Employment and Industrial Relations (Mr Street) last Friday constitute adequate consultation. [More…]
Equally an urgent telex to the President of the Austraiian Council of Trade Unions and to the Vehicle Builders Employees Federation of Australia also would have brought some reaction. [More…]
If the Government is prepared to allow itself and the trade unions involved in the industry to be treated with what can be described only as a display of contempt, it is showing lack of resolution. [More…]
The company’s failure to adequately consult the Australian Government and the trade unions in respect of the above. [More…]
I do not take positions against companies or against unions. [More…]
On the other hand, I say very fairly that I have had nothing but the best relationship with the unions in the industry. [More…]
It was a unilateral decision of the company made without consultation with government or with the trade unions. [More…]
The attitude of the Government on this matter is simply reflected in the words of the Prime Minister (Mr Malcolm Fraser) when he said that the company should have consulted the Government and the unions before it adopted this course. [More…]
There is a degree of double standard in the Government’s attitude which can be seen in the mild admonishment of General Motors for the action which has been taken and in the Government’s threats day after day against the trade unions for embarking upon exactly the same free market enterprise course of conduct in which General Motors is indulging. [More…]
The trade unions have said: We will not work because we want to make bigger profits in terms of wages.’ [More…]
It mildly admonishes General Motors but makes threats of an industrial relations bureau and of savage amendments to the trade practices legislation to deal with industrial disputes by trade unions. [More…]
Trade unions are corporations which have responsibilities to society as a whole. [More…]
The Minister in answer to a question on the radio program AM, I think, said that he was in constant touch with the unions, and in constant touch with the motor vehicle industry. [More…]
Perhaps the company was not as diplomatic as it should have been in respect of proper consultation with the Government and the unions. [More…]
Understandably, the unions involved rejected the proposals. [More…]
Although the GM-H management has said that the proposal was necessary to avoid retrenchments, during discussions with the unions on 2 May it would not give any assurance to the unions that if the stand-down was agreed to by the unions there would be no retrenchments. [More…]
In the 23 August Prices Justification Tribunal report on GM-H the Australian Council of Trade Unions advocate, Mr Jolly, is reported to have made the following clear statement: [More…]
In the current circumstances a cut in sales tax has been advocated by both the unions concerned and the GM-H management. [More…]
The company’s failure to adequately consult the Australian Government and the trade unions in respect of the above. [More…]
We are not here to spend the time of the Senate debating whether GM-H adequately consulted the Australian Government and the trade unions in respect of its proposal. [More…]
Opposition speakers have had something to say about consultation with the trade unions. [More…]
In that context we recognise the desirability of employer companies consulting with trade unions on the various problems which will inevitably arise in the present tight economic situation. [More…]
It is difficult to see why the Government should be saddled with the sins and shortcomings of this company or of any other company because that company failed to consult with the trade unions in a particular situation. [More…]
There has never been an industry with fewer disputes or greater co-operation between management and unions than the motor body building industry. [More…]
We cannot blame the unions. [More…]
The company’s failure to adequately consult the Australian Government and the trade unions in respect of the above . [More…]
Clearly, in my opinion, the unions leaders have a vested interest in political disruption and in keeping unemployment in Australia as high as possible. [More…]
The company’s failure to adequately consult the Australian Government and the trade unions in respect of the above; and [More…]
On the one hand they criticise the unions, saying that the unions have lowered productivity in any industry in which they operate but on the other hand we have this episode of GM-H asking its employees to stand down because it has a surplus of production. [More…]
No wonder the unions are up in arms against what this Government is doing. [More…]
The fact is that all the trade unions have accepted containerisation. [More…]
I think I would be more inclined to mention this if Senator Wright, with his hangup about trade unions, were here. [More…]
I know that, at times, members of the maritime unions have expressed fear as to whether their jobs were being affected. [More…]
This week a decision was made by the Interstate Executive of the Australian Council of Trade Unions which is momentous indeed and which will have great significance and farreaching effects on the future of industrial relations in the whole of Australia. [More…]
The decision raised the real possibility of a mass deregistration of unions which would leave the Australian federal system of conciliation and arbitration in tatters. [More…]
It is indeed a saddening day when one sees a decision of this momentous character being forced upon the Executive of the Australian Council of Trades Unions by certain factors that I will enumerate. [More…]
In those circumstances many unions are questioning the merit of continued registration under the Conciliation and Arbitration Act. [More…]
Those unions are not confined to the extreme Left, unions which have traditionally had an attitude that there should be no system of registration. [More…]
Those unions who took his assurances at their face value and operated under them and a large number of other unions, because of the judgment, now find that even though they amended their rules, those rules could well be under challenge. [More…]
Those unions which cover over 1 000 000 trade unionists now have rules whose validity can be challenged. [More…]
I refer the Minister representing the Minister for Employment and Industrial Relations to a question which I asked him on 23 February 1977 and to a further question on the same subject I asked on 22 March 1977 which related to assurances given by Mr Street and by Mr Cameron to unions concerning amendments to rules. [More…]
The ACTU Congress, which is the supreme governing body of affiliated unions, will meet on 12 September. [More…]
Unless the Government heeds what is being said, it is obvious that a decision will be taken at that meeting recommending mass deregistration of unions. [More…]
He referred to statements made by the Minister for Employment and Industrial Relations (Mr Street) and by myself on his behalf, and indeed by a former Minister, Mr Clyde Cameron, that unions had a period of 3 years in which to comply with what is known as the Cameron amendments, which were being considerably altered by the legislation before the Parliament last year. [More…]
That legislation was passed by the Parliament on the assumption that changes to union rules could be made within the period of grace which was given to those unions affected by the Cameron amendments. [More…]
The unions had to comply with the amendments passed by the Parliament in November last year. [More…]
I was very sorry to hear him say that the Australian Council of Trade Unions Council has decided to make recommendations to the ACTU Congress in the event that the Government proceeds with this legislation. [More…]
After that, the unions and union leaders who are making these threats will have to consider their position. [More…]
Unions is putting to the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission in the current case that all award wages should be increased across the board? [More…]
If the answer to ( 1 ) is in the affirmative, does the Minister agree that the present ‘union bashing’ policy of the Government is therefore totally discriminatory in that it criticises unions for withdrawing labour, but condones the withdrawal of stock by primary producers. [More…]
Does not his new stand on the matter clearly show that once again he has bent to the demands of the radical section of the trade unions in South Australia? [More…]
Discussions with the unions concerned have now been going on for nearly 2 years, and it is clearly time that the matter be finalised to enable the ANR Commission to manage the total system directly. [More…]
For instance there are 24 unions and associations involved in the discussions, and 26 different awards covering State and Commonwealth employees. [More…]
The main provisions of this Bill result from agreements already reached with the unions. [More…]
The Minister for Transport has indicated to me that he is pleased with the constructive approach taken by his State counterparts towards overcoming the railways problems, and is confident that if the Government can continue to receive the co-operation of the States as well as that of the unions and employees, improvements in operation and the level of deficit will occur. [More…]
This man could produce income tax vouchers and evidence of 20-odd years of membership of various trade unions. [More…]
It deals with the attitude of trade unions to migrant membership. [More…]
In this case I believe that it would be much better if the Minister held a seminar type meeting with the trade unions in Melbourne and Sydney to clear up doubts on some of these guidelines. [More…]
I believe that when the trade unions themselves become involved in some of these cases they should get a better response than they are receiving. [More…]
Before we can sensibly and usefully discuss the question of the trade unions, the extent of their power and the use they make of it, we must identify the real basic sickness in our society. [More…]
When last I addressed this chamber on a motion a fortnight ago I referred to Roscoe Pound, that world famous jurist who likened the trade unions today to the vested interests of the church, the state, aristocrats, landlords and mercantile barons of old. [More…]
The unions should take the position squarely that they are amenable to law prepared to take the consequences if they transgress - [More…]
I saw some statistics recently which showed that the average person in Australia has through the usual channels- through savings bank accounts, through buildings societies or through credit unions- a record amount of money deposited and available at the moment. [More…]
This will require a greater degree of consultation between the Commonwealth and the State governments and with the many centres of influence and decision making within the community, including management, the trade unions and consumers. [More…]
A major national conference will be convened at an early date at which governments, industries, trade unions, consumers and others will be invited to take part in presenting and discussing papers on new long term directions for manufacturing industry. [More…]
This Government, in its campaign of vilification of the unions, has been caught on the wrong foot, especially in recent weeks, because it has been seen to be provoking and prolonging disputes in which representatives of the labour movement, especially the executive of the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the executives of the State Trades and Labor Councils, I believe, have acted in the role of industrial peacemakers. [More…]
I believe that it has been through common sense, firstly by the trade unions and, I must say, by the Minister concerned, Mr Street, that we have had this series of negotiations and compromises. [More…]
I am afraid that officials in some unions seem to delight in militant action rather than in being prepared to undertake sensible negotiations, particularly at a time when Australia cannot afford the luxury of strikes which disrupt industry generally and which overflow into areas that affect innocent trade unionists. [More…]
Since then the Minister for Transport (Mr Nixon) has indicated that he is in fact the Minister for confrontation, particularly with trade unions and minority groups in the community. [More…]
The Federal Government is being blamed for rising prices by an increasing number of people who 8 months ago put most of the blame on trade unions and their wage demands. [More…]
A national survey conducted among 240 consumers for the advertising agency Ogilvy and Mather shows that 29 per cent of people blame the Government for inflation while 20 per cent think rising prices are caused by unions. [More…]
-My question, which is directed to the Minister representing the Minister for Employment and Industrial Relations, relates to the problems confronting those unions which followed the advice of the Minister for Employment and Industrial Relations and his predecessor the Honourable C. R. Cameron, which advice, in the opinion of the Australian Industrial Court given in B No. [More…]
On 20 April the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, Mr Hawke, called for a national conference to compensate wage earners for the effective reduction in wages that they would suffer because of the postponement of indexation increases already in the pipeline. [More…]
I think that it has imposed unduly at times on Canada and Australia, but let us hope that in the light of the support of the unions I have enumerated justice will be done to those people across the Pacific. [More…]
This applies especially to the effect on unemployment levels and real wage rates, a subject much exploited by unions both in voicing and in attempting to justify their opposition to immigration. [More…]
We see allegation mounting on allegation that somehow or another the CIA is involved in the affairs of trade unions and the Australian Labor Party. [More…]
The Australian Council of Trade Unions has said that if anyone has any information at all so far as the trade union movement is concerned it ought to provide the ACTU with that information. [More…]
They are all for amalgamation of unions and collective bargaining, as they know it, as against the conciliation and arbitration process as we know it. [More…]
Naturally, in some of the organisations in America, there are industry-based unions. [More…]
Let us take, for example, an amalgamation of unions on an industry basis. [More…]
If there were an amalgamation of unions in the railway industry I could not see the Amalgamated Metal Workers and Sheetmetal Workers Union, for example, handing over its members in railway workshops to the one union which presumably would be the Australian Railways Union. [More…]
When people talk about overcoming demarcation or other problems by the amalgamation of unions, they are talking through their hats. [More…]
I ask whether, if the unions in the railways were amalgamated into the Australian Railways Union, would the AMWSU hand over its members to the organisation? [More…]
It is a widely based body which contains manufacturers, importers, consumers, motorist associations, people from the unions and people from both sides of the Parliament. [More…]
Perhaps the FED&FA and other unions that cover overhead crane drivers could use them in future arbitration award hearings. [More…]
We know that because of representations made by the unions and honourable senators efforts have been made to encourage the introduction of programs for apprentices, youth community groups and, of equal importance, the establishment of services for unemployed people who have applied for jobs to provide co-ordination between those who are registered with the Commonwealth Employment Service and employer groups to enable those unemployed people to secure jobs which are available on the labour market. [More…]
As a result of representations from the Public Service unions and, I would hope, as a result of our representations, an examination was made. [More…]
We all know that not so long ago when we had that very difficult air traffic controllers dispute in the aviation industry a lot of unions and government departments showed commendable restraint by not enlarging that dispute; but in its typically bucaneer style, James Richardson Company Pty Ltd within a day of that dispute commencing, was trying to have everybody stood down. [More…]
It is now, under the new arrangements which have come about as the result of discussions between the Minister, Mr Hawke and leaders of trade unions, to take over the powers, no more or no less of the Commonwealth Arbitration Inspectorate. [More…]
My question, which is directed to the Minister representing the Acting Minister for Transport, refers to the present negotiations, which are in their last stages, between the Australian National Railways management and the unions. [More…]
In fact this was a requirement which has been insisted upon by the railway unions. [More…]
The retirement scheme that has been put forward has now been dealt with sufficiently so that it seems to satisfy the unions concerned. [More…]
There are 24 unions, 26 awards and 600 classifications. [More…]
I notice that a speaker in the other House said that in his opinion there were too many unions. [More…]
After all, in terms of awards and conditions, the railway unions were the pace setters in regard to the concepts of long service leave and annual leave. [More…]
I am informed that discussions are to continue next week with the unions and that the negotiations with the unions are aimed at gaining agreement on all terms and conditions of employment. [More…]
Mention was made by the honourable member for Newcastle (Mr Charles Jones) of the number of trade unions in the Australian National Railways. [More…]
I think he has a point because 24 or 26 unions are associated with the Australian National Railways. [More…]
Contrary to what I thought a few years ago when I doubted whether we ought to be seeking amalgamation of unions, I think it would simplify matters if the number of unions was reduced to a certain extent. [More…]
As the Minister for Education (Senator Carrick) said earlier, the unions are still negotiating on matters associated with the amalgamation. [More…]
Perhaps I should say that I think this has been a very successful operation because I know that management and the union have met under the control of the Australian Council of Trade Unions since a Bill was passed during Labor’s term in office and great progress has been made in the area of wages, which I thought was a very complicated issue. [More…]
I refer to reported statements that some service station owners are intending to align themselves with trade unions in a campaign to end discriminatory pricing in the oil industry. [More…]
While the Government is concerned at the irresponsible attitude being taken by maritime unions over this matter which is causing a significant increase in transport costs from delays to vessels, responsibility for the problem rests clearly with the parties concerned. [More…]
They are placing their money in banks, building societies, credit unions and special loans to the Government at 10 per cent and I0!4 per cent interest. [More…]
However, the protection which employees are to be afforded from the prohibition will also be available to trade unions and their officers where the only persons with whom they act in concert are employees of the one employer and the conduct is engaged in for a dominant purpose of the type to which I have already referred. [More…]
In his second reading speech, the Minister stated the Government’s view that there was a need for time to be given not only for members of Parliament to give the proposed legislation their objective consideration but also for the principal parties to industrial relations- the peak councils of the employer organisations and trade unions, individual trade unions and employers and the community at large- to examine the contents of the Bill and to be able to make their views known to the Government. [More…]
The Minister subsequently invited representatives of the national employers and, through the Australian Council of Trade Unions, representatives of peak union councils to meet with him separately to discuss the Bill. [More…]
The unions indicated their strong opposition to many of the Government’s proposed amendments. [More…]
However, at the end of the discussions, the Australian Council of Trade Unions, with the support of the Council of Australian Government Employee Organisations, provided the Minister with a written statement which included: . [More…]
The Government has given very serious consideration to the views and proposals put by both unions and employers. [More…]
Both of these bodies had on them representatives of the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the national employers. [More…]
Six members nominated by the Australian Council of Trade Unions; and [More…]
What consultations did the Government have with relevant unions regarding those decisions? [More…]
A proposal was circulated to provide a basis for discussion with organisations representative of the Australian meat and livestock industries and in early November 1976 wide ranging consultations were held with over fifty representatives of major industry organisations, unions and consumers. [More…]
It could well include representatives of livestock producers, exporters, meatworks, meat packers, meat processors, livestock agents, unions and consumers. [More…]
We all know how farcical a promise that was, because 98 per cent of trade unions already conduct secret postal ballots. [More…]
In addition the Bureau will be able to interfere with what is now a fairly satisfactory arrangement between employer organisations and the trade union movement regarding membership of the various unions. [More…]
This action differs from the agreement which was reached with the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
However, he is establishing the machinery whereby the Director will enforce penal provisions and prosecute trade unions where a breach of a bans clause occurs- a provision to which the unions are opposed. [More…]
6 members nominated by the Australian Council of Trade Unions; and [More…]
5 members nominated by the Australian Council of Trade Unions; [More…]
It also provides for the Secretary; a member chosen by the Minister to represent public authorities; 6 employer representatives and 6 representatives of the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
The Council of Australian Government Employee Organisations is included and, of course, the Australian Council of Trade Unions is included, with 6 representatives in the Bill and 5 representatives in the amendment. [More…]
What the amendment does is to take one of the representatives of the Australian Council of Trade Unions and replace that representative with a representative of the Australian Council of Salaried and Professional Associations. [More…]
ACSPA-a confederation of 37 unions with 400 000 membershas consistently opposed the proposed Industrial Relations Bureau, and the union’s president, Mr Philip Reilly, last night repeated its continuing opposition to any penal clauses. [More…]
So the Minister will select who will represent the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
The Minister shall select who will represent the Australian Council of Trade Unions, who will represent the Council of Australian Government Employee Organisations and who will represent the National Employers’ Policy Committee. [More…]
That refers clearly to the statement made by Mr Hawke on behalf of the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
If ACSPA changes its mind and wishes to take up the offer made by Mr Hawke on behalf of the ACTU to give ACSPA one of the places given to the Australian Council of Trade Unions, certainly the Government would raise no objection whatsoever to that. [More…]
Is the Minister saying that his colleague has no information as at today’s date about whether ACSPA is prepared to accept the offer made by Mr Hawke of the Australian Council of Trade Unions to ACSPA on Monday of this week? [More…]
We are told that there are to be consultations with the trade unions regularly. [More…]
-I would have thought that the purpose of consultation between the unions and employers and the Government was to achieve co-operation in the functioning of the National Labour Consultative Council and the Industrial Relations Bureau. [More…]
The unions have agreed to abide by the principle of the Bureau. [More…]
The latest indication is that ACSPA would accept the proposal of the Australian Council of Trade Unions or one of its delegations. [More…]
Supposing, as Senator Cavanagh said, the Australian Council of Trade Unions was to appoint Mr Halfpenny to the Council? [More…]
To me that sounds very clearly as though he is saying that the Australian Council of Trade Unions would offer no objection to the penalties and processes that already exist in the hands of the Bureau. [More…]
I shall also read from another document entitled: Special Conference of Affiliated Unions held 18 May 1977 in Sydney’. [More…]
I shall read into the record 4 paragraphs of the other document entitled: ‘Special Conference of Affiliated Unions held 18 May 1977 in Sydney’. [More…]
She wants the Fraser policy of confrontation with the unions to continue. [More…]
She wants the fight with the unions to continue rather than wanting to get a settlement. [More…]
The Australian Council of Salaried and Professional Associations and its affiliated unions having met on 2 May to make a detailed study of the Government’s Bill to introduce an Industrial Relations Bureau declares- [More…]
If ACSPA can come in as one of the 6 representatives of the Australian Council of Trade Unions the Minister is perfectly happy to accept that situation. [More…]
Has the Government received telegrams from Mr Richardson, the general secretary of ACSPA, saying that it is prepared to take up the offer of the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
Are they the Australian Council of Salaried and Professional Associations and its affiliated unions which met on 2 May? [More…]
Suppose it was Mr Pat Clancy, who is on the interstate executive of the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
Even though they are unacceptable on that basis, they became acceptable by right of the Australian Council of Trade Unions. ‘ [More…]
What he said was accepted by the Government, by the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs (Senator Durack), by Senator Walters and by others who have spoken, as being the authentic voice of the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
That refers to the employers, the Council of Australian Government Employee Organisations and the Australian Council of Trade Unions - the organization on the nomination of which that member was appointed may nominate a person to attend that meeting in the place of that member. [More…]
The Australian Council of Trade Unions may well appoint as its representatives its President, its Secretary and four of the 6 secretaries of State trades and labour councils. [More…]
The parties which took part in the tripartite consultations were the Australian Council of Trade Unions, the Council of Australian Government Employee Organisation and the employers. [More…]
The dichotomy- the 2 strains -in Government policies is no better indicated than by the quite genuine efforts, I believe, of the Minister for Employment and Industrial Relations (Mr Street) from time to time to adopt the second approach and the quite obvious efforts of the Prime Minister (Mr Malcolm Fraser), in overbearing his Minister, to adopt the other approach from time to time in what he sees as an appropriate electoral response to dissatisfaction with the position of trade unions within the community. [More…]
Thirdly, there was a restriction on independent contractors becoming members of unions. [More…]
It is something which resulted in an amendment to the Conciliation and Arbitration Act- which was not opposed by the Liberal and Country parties at the time it was introduced- to encourage persons who were in the category of independent contractors to become members of unions. [More…]
All these steps were taken as part of a concerted effort to weaken both the numerical and financial strengths of the trade unions in Australia, which of course have been a consistent part of one strand of Liberal Party thinking on this issue for a long time. [More…]
The second position was to talk with the Australian Council of Trade Unions about this sort of problem. [More…]
The Government gave very serious consideration to the views and proposals put by both unions and employers. [More…]
I say that because in the field of industrial relations it is not often considered sufficiently that it is the abuse of monopoly power by labour unions- I say abuse although of course they have very many uses that are quite laudable- which is the chief contributer to inflation. [More…]
He then refers to the important immunities and privileges which labour unions have won. [More…]
That is the labour unions- to abstain from violence and intimidation. [More…]
If unions and their leaders were held financially responsible for damages caused by breach of contracts, illegal strikes, intimidation and violence, considerable moderation in wage bargains could be expected. [More…]
He brought to crisis point an issue which bears particularly on this subject, the issue as to whether or not England should be governed by the House of Commons or by the labour unions. [More…]
How can we come to terms with the reality of the new industrial power of the trade unions? [More…]
Trade unions are not malevolent institutions. [More…]
The fact remains that trade unions do have the capacity to wield immense power, indeed excessive power, across the community. [More…]
The first part dealt with individual rights, namely, membership of unions and the right to dissent from industrial action. [More…]
When one comes to the question of consequences, which is the part that has been dropped from this Bill- that is to say, the means by which the rules which Senator Button concedes are essential for discipline on the part of any organism of modern complicated society- one finds, I think, a very sad failure to appreciate what is appropriate in the world of trade unions and commerce. [More…]
The anathema to them stems from the fact that they were practically the only means used to harass trade unions during the last century, during the convict era when contract of service was enforced and even breach of the contract of service caused imprisonment. [More…]
But at the same time as we move from that, we do not want to take heed of Senator Button’s suggestion that if we criticise the Trade Unions Dispute Act of 1 906 and all its immunities we are going back to the reactionary stage. [More…]
It has to be corrected and trade unions must accept their responsibility as they do in America. [More…]
Limited liability was conceded to commercial corporations in 1862, 9 years later registration was conceded for the first time, and quasi incorporation was conceded to trade unions in 1871. [More…]
The one restriction on the trade union movement was that trade unions were not then given any limitation of their liability. [More…]
It would be essential now in relation to this civil obligation to pay damages for breach of an award or of an agreement to give the trade unions the satisfaction of limiting their liability so that a small trade union could not be completely annihilated if, as occurred in the air traffic controllers strike, it caused millions of dollars of damage. [More…]
We should limit the liability of unions in accordance with the membership until we find that such a provision is being abused. [More…]
Until we get some system like that it is a matter for tears and a matter of great regret to find that even the attempts of the original Bill to bring consequences and responsibility on trade unions have been jettisoned- abandoned- in what I think was an unmitigated defeat of the Bill, complicated as the situation was by the existence of the air traffic controllers strike and the confused intermingling of politicians at that time in an absolutely fatuous referendum. [More…]
I remind the Senate that the Bill proposed that it be possible to deregister unions if industrial action occurred in the course of interstate trade or in the Public Service. [More…]
I extend great sympathy to Senator Wright and to all the other great conservative elements in the Liberal Party who saw as their god, their chief and their leader one of the great conservatives whose intention was to destroy the trade unions in Australia. [More…]
It is not a question of whether one supports the banning of tankers; it is a matter of a group of unions trying to get cargo, trying to get trade, trying to get the use of an Australian tanker that has been built. [More…]
In the spirit of patriotism to their native land, the unions have decided upon certain action. [More…]
Senator Wright has expressed the view that what is needed is some legislation to prevent the abuse by unions of their monopoly power. [More…]
Mr Hawke went back to a combined conference of the federal unions and they agreed generally to accept legislation that would reconstitute the National Labour Advisory Council on which they would be represented. [More…]
The unions are now being condemned by Senator Wright who says that this is a recognition of the acceptance by the trade union movement of penalties. [More…]
In accordance with its policy, the Australian Labor Party would have to oppose the Bill even if it were satisfactory to the conference of federal unions. [More…]
The Government agreed not to endorse the use of scab labour and non-unionist labour if the unions would agree to the reconstitution of the National Labour Advisory Council. [More…]
The unions were previously members of the Council and knew its ramifications but this proposed new body is not the body that was envisaged by those who attended the conference between the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the Minister, because the Australian Council for Salaried and Professional Associations, one of the biggest organisations of employees, is not to be included in the Council. [More…]
In countries in which there are strong and militant trade unions, conditions of work and the standard of living of workers are much higher than in those countries which do not have such organisations. [More…]
Regardless of whether we would like to see trade unions go away, they will not go away, they are here. [More…]
But after the Bill was introduced into the House of Representatives and before it was debated the air traffic controllers dispute occurred, which clearly showed the Government that it could not succeed in crushing the trade union movement through a confrontation with the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
1 have had a long experience with the workers and the trade unions and I know that they are not unreasonable. [More…]
Trade unions exist for only one reason, that is, to improve or to maintain the conditions of their members. [More…]
Although the Government might think that the ACTU could not pull out the whole of the Australian work force, individual unions could pull out sections of the work force that could stop this nation overnight. [More…]
There have been and there continue to be some suggestions that this Government, in its industrial relations, seeks only to bash unions and to cause confrontation. [More…]
Consultation, negotiation and co-operation between employees and employers would be assisted by a structure of industry unions. [More…]
We would seek to work with the Australian Council of Trade Unions in the encouragement and formation of industry based unions, if that should prove to be the consensus of opinion. [More…]
In that context, it is interesting to refer briefly to a recent public opinion poll which indicated, amongst other things, that only one-fifth of Australians believed that unions should have the right to strike for wage increases outside the arbitration system. [More…]
Seventy per cent said that the Arbitration Commission should be able to fine unions and 52 per cent believed that the Commission should be able to fine union officials. [More…]
It is important to note that in the implementation of this legislation the Government has the support of Mr Hawke, of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, and of the Council of Australian Government Employee Organisations. [More…]
The question of bashing trade unions does not appeal to me in any shape or form and I would be the very last person to suggest that it was a proper course. [More…]
There is every reason in the history of industrial relations for trade unions to have developed along the lines that they have. [More…]
Mr Clyde Cameron was telling the Parliament about what Mr Hawke told the Government on 1 8 March when the Minister for Employment and Industrial Relations (Mr Street) stated that the Government intended to bring in legislation to set up the new Industrial Relations Bureau which was aimed at the unions and the employees. [More…]
Let me suggest to the honourable senator that in this case there were no prior consultations with the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
The consultations came only after the ACTU had examined the idea of the Bureau and decided that the Bureau was, in fact, a new attempt to impose more effectively penalties upon the union movement and also to reinforce, within employment, the actions and strengths of those people who do not believe in joining unions. [More…]
The strange thing, of course, is that when Senator Scott talks about polls, he does not talk about polls which are taken when the unions are on strike. [More…]
The Opposition does not oppose the new National Labour Consultative Council because it knows that it is an attempt to establish again something like the old National Labour Advisory Body, which was set up during my time on the ACTU Executive and which was supported to the stage when the ACTU and the unions considered that the then Government was using too powerfully the penal powers of the Conciliation and Arbitration Act. [More…]
The unions want it and, as Senator Button said, the Opposition believes that it should embrace another organisation. [More…]
Many people who work for their living do not agree with the unions because they object to paying fees for a start. [More…]
What did it do when the Labor Government introduced into the Senate the ideas about amalgamations to make sure that there would not be demarkation disputes between the unions? [More…]
All honourable senators know, of course, that one of the bad things in industry is the conflict between members of unions. [More…]
Some 300 unions still exist. [More…]
They are not used because the 2 main parties in industry are the employers and the unions. [More…]
Experience has shown that the employers are pragmatic in their dealings with unions and workers. [More…]
Everybody said what a great thing it would be to have a strong hand, a man who will fight the unions. [More…]
Good industrial relations, after all, depend largely on a high degree of consensus between employers and unions. [More…]
We say that it is better to have the employers and the unions directly dealing with these matters. [More…]
If the employers want to take action to fine the unions and to use the sanction powers under the Conciliation and Arbitration Act. [More…]
Senator Bishop did not like Senator Scott quoting from what Mr Clyde Cameron said about how the unions had threatened to bring Australia to its knees. [More…]
Listening to Senator Bishop, I gathered the impression that he was saying that if the unions did not like the law they would not abide by it; that no penalties should exist; and that they would bring the country to its knees. [More…]
Agreement was reached between the Australian Council of Trade Unions, the employers and the Government. [More…]
Mr Hawke agreed that, if the Government wished to put the responsibility for dealing with the existing pains and penalties and processes into the hands of a body which the Government wished to designate as the Industrial Relations Bureau, then the unions would offer no objection. [More…]
Senator Bishop said that the employers did not agree with the Government, but agreed with the unions on this matter. [More…]
If we read the whole of the agreement we find that the national employers were not in complete agreement with the unions and were not supporting the proposition put by them. [More…]
The unions and Mr Hawke are well aware of this. [More…]
Mr Hawke, on behalf of the unions, agreed that they will now abide by a restructured National Labour Advisory Council. [More…]
The membership of that Council will comprise the Minister for Employment and Industrial Relations as Chairman, the Secretary to the Department, one member chosen by the Minister to represent public authority employers, 6 members nominated by the National Employers Policy Committee, 6 members nominated by the Australian Council of Trade Unions and one member nominated by the Council of Australian Government Employee Organisations. [More…]
Along with that Mr Hawke and the unions have agreed to the reconstruction of the National Labour Advisory Council. [More…]
It seems to be opposed to the unions in this respect. [More…]
As President Hawke of the Australian Council of Trade Unions stated, it would cause economic dislocation and chaos in the Australian community. [More…]
Senator Scott also talked about the role of trade unions in a free society. [More…]
The unions spent a great deal of money before reaching the agreement. [More…]
We were told that savage penalties were to be imposed on those unions which earned the displeasure of the Fraser Government. [More…]
Trade unionism is probably the greatest force in this country today and men in control qf it have used their power in a way which was never intended when trade unions were created. [More…]
No, not Malcolm Fraser in 1977 but Stanley Melbourne Bruce in May 1928, when he was introducing a Bill that increased Federal powers in the conciliation and arbitration system and imposed proper controls on the unions. [More…]
That was done in similar vein to the way in which the Government rejected calls by the unions, by the employers, and by the State governments for a national conference to discuss the economy. [More…]
Because of public pressure, because of the reasonable and sensible proposals that were put forward by the Australian Council of Trade Unions, the Government was obliged to think again about its industrial relations proposals, and the legislation which is before us now is the result of that rethinking. [More…]
Moreover, the ACTU initiative in seeking to reconstitute the National Labour Advisory Council is one which endeavours to re-open the lines of communication between governments, the employers and the trade unions. [More…]
In so many cases disputes begin, continue and many times are prolonged because unions and management, or unions and governments, or employers and governments are unaware of the attitudes of the other party or parties involved. [More…]
We had a situation in which the Government sought only to antagonise the trade union movement, sought to blame the trade unionists for our economic woes, and subjected the unions to abuse both at home and abroad. [More…]
It is not by threatening to use any means at the Government’s disposal to break strikes or to place at risk the functioning of the trade union movement, it is not by pressuring employer organisations or business into confronting the unions and taking an especially hard line in negotiations with them, that industrial peace is generated. [More…]
I now come back to what Senator Scott said earlier about the role of trade unions in a free society and about the difference between trade unions in a free society and those in totalitarian regimes. [More…]
Industrial peace in this country is more likely to result from unions, employers and governments achieving a capacity to reach a satisfactory solution to deal with different problems as they arise instead of threatening the trade union movement in advance. [More…]
At the same time as it is looking at those systems the Government ought to be looking at the systems of industrial unions. [More…]
It ought to be looking at how it can bring about a lowering of the number of trade unions that are operating in this country. [More…]
It is also a breach of the agreement reached between the unions and the Government, regardless of what anybody on the other side might say. [More…]
-The Conciliation and Arbitration Bill which is now before us has been very substantially amended because of agreement between the Government, the unions and the employer organisations. [More…]
But personally I have my doubts about the ability of employers to enforce them in Australia because of the actions which unions would take against an employer who endeavoured to enforce such a contract. [More…]
Those proceedings might work in America where unions are used to them, but personally I doubt that they would work in Australia. [More…]
I congratulate the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the Council of Australian Government Employee Organisations for finally recognising the determination of this Government to introduce an Industrial Relations Bureau and then for offering no objection to its formation, on certain terms, and for offering to join the reconstituted National Labour Advisory Council. [More…]
Certainly the extreme left wing has recognised the danger of these consequences because as soon as the proposals were made they were attacked by the communist-dominated unions. [More…]
The spokesmen for these unions are totally committed to confrontation with the Government. [More…]
The moderation and understanding shown by the Minister for Employment and Industrial Relations, the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the other representatives of the employers and the employees in seeking the agreement represented by these Bills are to be commended. [More…]
Fifty-one per cent of unionists believed some unionists should be able to continue work if their unions go on strike and 56 per cent of those interviewed believed a union should be deregistered when it would not agree with the decision of the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission. [More…]
The provisions contained in the Seamen ‘s Union Funds Act have been incorporated into the Industrial Relations Act 1973 and now apply to all deregistered unions. [More…]
We have Federal jurisdiction over, I believe, some 54 per cent of trade unions; but the New Zealand legislation, in my view, formed the basis of some good suggestions. [More…]
I recall that soon after Mr Hawke was elevated to the position of President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions he came out and said that direct action would be his policy. [More…]
One of my friends, who happened to be a vice-president of one of the metal unions at Port Augusta, told me that he was delighted because that very week he had been conceded the sixth point in a log of claims that was lodged some 2 1 months previously. [More…]
The Conciliation and Arbitration Amendment Bill, in my view, is an attempt to reduce the functions of unions. [More…]
Therefore, I warn the Government that it ought not to take any action that disadvantages the unions. [More…]
It ought not to do anything that restricts the ability of the unions to function. [More…]
By this legislation the Government is increasing the need for unions to defend themselves against any punitive action that may be taken. [More…]
This leads, if I may say so, to the unions increasing their fees to meet the added costs brought about by confrontation, and the unionists will resist paying increased fees. [More…]
If the Government continues with this attitude the financial position of the trade unions will be weakened. [More…]
This would lead to a situation in which the unions would merely respond to the needs of the employers and of the government of the day, and that is not in the best interests of the society. [More…]
The reasons the Government has given for the professed need for this legislation are that the unions must be answerable to the Government and should not be allowed to take matters into their own hands. [More…]
This Government has attacked unions continuously in its 18 months in office. [More…]
There has been a consistent attack on the unions, but the area which is best organised to redress the fall in living standards by demanding better conditions is the trade union movement. [More…]
With regard to unions trying to improve education, which is something outside the normal rights and conditions which the Government tries to impose on unions, 61 per cent of all people felt that the unions ha ve the right to try to improve education. [More…]
With regard to unions seeking higher pensions, something which, again, is outside normal union activities, this received the support of 61 per cent of all people; 71 per cent of union members; 57 per cent of non-unionists and 76 per cent of ALP voters. [More…]
Trade unions have an essential right, as an association, to participate and to put a point of view and, if necessary, to take action. [More…]
The Government can be certain that the unions will adapt themselves to this confrontation, will protect themselves against the penalties and will protect themselves against the increased expenses. [More…]
In fact, while 5 1 per cent of the Australian work force is in trade unions, there has been a drift of membership from the blue collar sector to the white collar sector or even to the professional or subprofessional groups. [More…]
That dispute was prolonged not only because of the respective unions’ points of view but also because it was not in the acceptable canons of industrial law that 2 tribunals could get together in some bridging operation. [More…]
At times when trade unions argue on mergers people opposite question whether it would be a centralisation of power. [More…]
The real crux of the attitude of the Australian Council of Trade Unions to this legislation is borne out by a 2-page statement it issued, which reads in part: . [More…]
It arises from a special conference of affiliated unions held on 18 May 1977. [More…]
SPECIAL CONFERENCE OF AFFILIATED UNIONS HELD 18 MAY 1977 IN SYDNEY [More…]
We decide to recommend to the Special Unions’ Conference the endorsement of this decision. [More…]
In subsequent years the Government felt that there was no need for that review; that it could have friendly relations with the unions. [More…]
Unions cannot afford all these legal excursions. [More…]
At times the Scandinavian unions have met their Government- I think even at the moment they are involved in a number of disputesand have delivered. [More…]
If the Government wanted good industrial relations with the Australian Council of Trade Unions it should have accepted the Bob Hawke Medibank concept. [More…]
I do not agree with it fully, but the Government could have sold it to the trade unions. [More…]
This is where trade unions get into a cleft stick. [More…]
As far as I am concerned, if the law of the country says a certain thing the law of the country should be observed by the unions, the employers and everybody else. [More…]
The unions take it upon themselves to strike when they do not like something. [More…]
Only a week or two ago I saw the results of a poll related to unions. [More…]
People were asked whether they believed in compulsory unionism and whether they believed in unions going out on strike and so on. [More…]
There is no question that some of the people who lead the unions today are out to destroy the system that we have in this country. [More…]
As I was saying, it is the responsibility of the unions to accept the decisions of the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission in the same way as it is the responsibility of the employers to accept those decisions. [More…]
The unions have no more right to go on strike after a decision is made than the employers have to close down their factories and shut out the employees because they did not like the decision. [More…]
Because of the industrial strife that unions have caused over the years, I think the average citizen in this country has just about reached breaking point. [More…]
Who do the unions really attack when they go on strike? [More…]
When unions go on strike they are really attacking the ordinary citizen of this country and they are doing the country very great harm. [More…]
I know that the people of Australia would take the view that not only the employers but also the unions of this country ought to accept the decisions made by our Arbitration Commission. [More…]
Senator Georges talked about the right to strike in certain situations and he said that such strikes always did the unions good in the long run. [More…]
Industrial relations are best served by the encouragement of effective, responsible trade unions working in the best interests of their members and in the encouragement ofthe members to participate fully in union affairs. [More…]
The power ofthe trade unions to contribute effectively and responsibly towards industrial progress depends on the co-ordinated and disciplined action of their members. [More…]
The rules of individual trade unions registered under the Conciliation and Arbitration Act have contained selfdisciplinary provisions. [More…]
Council of Trade Unions and the labour councils, have had rules for the conduct and control of industrial disputes with their own internal disciplinary procedures. [More…]
These procedures are designed and are necessary to achieve the objectives of the unions in a united and co-ordinated manner with the least possible disruption. [More…]
Failure to uphold the ACTU and labour councils dispute rules has contributed to the belief of some unions that they can please themselves as to what action they take without regard to the consequences to themselves as ACTU affiliates or to members of other unions. [More…]
Encouragement to union members to shed their collective responsibility for the actions of the unions as a whole and to hide behind their so-called individual rights, as was proposed by the original Bill, leads to anarchy and allows the organised pro-communists to use their unions and the union movement as a whole for their own domestic and international purposes. [More…]
It is a matter of substantial importance to the moderate trade unions in this country. [More…]
This body which is to be established by statute is to have certain members from the employers and from the unions. [More…]
But it was only after this legislation to establish the Industrial Relations Bureau was first introduced into the Parliament that the Australian Council of Trade Unions was prepared to accept and to participate in a new revitalised national labour advisory council. [More…]
The Prime Minister (Mr Malcolm Fraser) is not, as Senator Cavanagh alleged, encouraging a move to destroy trade unions. [More…]
The Government clearly recognises the importance of trade unions and the rights of people and every employee to join a union. [More…]
A newspaper report states that a request for support from other unions has evidently fallen on deaf ears. [More…]
That refers again to the trade unions- shall be read as a reference to a person who- [More…]
I am concerned with many things other than wages and conditions that trade unions offer to their membership as ancillary benefit. [More…]
Other retirement pensions could be offered by unions. [More…]
All I want to say generally in relation to these sub-sections of section 45D is that they were introduced to give protection to individual members of unions so that the organisation would be caught rather than the members. [More…]
Roosevelt was elected in 1931 and gave the carte blanche to unions to go their hardest. [More…]
It illustrates how the trade union movement, if properly enlightened, has no need to resort to combined boycotts which Senator Harradine, as presiding officer of the Trades Hall council, would arrange, by which the various unions operating labour supply to the target corporation would boycott the goods of the corporation. [More…]
I have discussed this matterthe liability of branches and head offices of unions- [More…]
The essence of proposed new section 45 is that unions involved in secondary boycotts will be subject to legal restraints imposed by this particular proposed new section. [More…]
There are a number of other examples of a similar kind, such as unemployed workers engaged in a sit-in who would, I believe, be covered, and the expression ‘a person’, of course, now includes a trade unions- incorporated as they are. [More…]
Of course, by virtue of that provision substantial penalties can be imposed on persons, including unions, engaged in concert in secondary boycotts. [More…]
The penalties, I would think, are far greater than the sort of penalties which Senator Wright suggested might appropriately have been considered if unions had been registered with limited liability. [More…]
I believe those two major reforms have led to greater competition and, indeed, a breakthrough in the area of reducing control over businesses held by the horizontal and vertical price fixing arrangements which were very common in the 1 950s and 1960s and which, consequently, led to a lack of competition in business and to continued sweetheart agreements with trade unions which flowed through to the arbitration system, thereby imposing higher costs in the community. [More…]
The 1965 trade practices legislation exempted unions from its provision, and that exemption was generally continued in the 1 974 legislation. [More…]
A Government senator interjects and asks why unions should be exempt. [More…]
The purpose of the legislation before us is not to ensure free trade and competition, or not primarily to do that, as the Government has claimed; the main purpose of the legislation before us is to curtail severely and unnecessarily the legal rights of trade unions. [More…]
In fact many of the provisions of the legislation are so wide that I would say that this legislation will affect all persons who are members of trade unions, and that is the majority of the work force. [More…]
I have received representations from unions of widely different political complexion, ranging from the Australian Capital Territory Teachers Federation to the Amalgamated Metal Workers and Shipwrights Union against this legislation. [More…]
All unions are opposed to this legislation because they understand it. [More…]
It then went through a period during which it appeared to negotiate and compromise with the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
If we have a look at who and what are encompassed by proposed new section 45d we see just how wide-ranging the provision actually is and how it could affect all trade unions and the entire community. [More…]
Unions will be brought into the provisions under sub-sections (5) and (6) of section 45D. [More…]
The point of the legislation is to trap the unions by the actions of 2 members, whether or not those 2 members are acting with the agreement of the rest of the union. [More…]
It does not refer to what unions may do collectively. [More…]
Much has been made by Government speakers in the other place with regard to the exemption clause in order to exonerate themselves from the accusation that they are seeking to nobble trade unions in this legislation. [More…]
There is an exemption clause but it seems to me that many classes of industrial action that unions or members of unions may wish to take and, in my view, may wish to take legitimately, will in fact not be exempted under sub-section (3). [More…]
I would like to give an example of the kind of actions which unions and union members may wish to take which will not be exempted. [More…]
It is action of a kind which the present Government is able very easily to use in its campaign against unions. [More…]
We contend that under this legislation unions will be unprotected against new and severe penalties in respect of any industrial activity which has the effect of causing damage to a corporation. [More…]
The main effect of the legislation if passed in its present form would be to impose extraordinary limitations on the actions of trade unions and on the actions of individuals. [More…]
When objecting to the provisions of proposed section 45D (5), Senator Ryan said that it was dangerous to unions. [More…]
We are not attempting to bash the unions, or to do anything like that, by means of this legislation. [More…]
The position of unions is even stronger, if Senator Wright’s interpretation is correct. [More…]
It will separate unions and, although it may not have any power and does not intend to have any power over a strike situation within a union, it definitely does have the power to prevent support of strike action in a particular place of employment. [More…]
I am hoping, however, that the legislation will not be as effective as I thought in the first place and that this penalty of one quarter of a million dollars might be large for the purpose of frightening unions from taking any step which they may consider to be in conflict with the trade practices legislation. [More…]
But it could have the effect that employers- corporations- would take action against unions, not hoping to achieve a decision but hoping to involve a union in a very expensive exercise. [More…]
It seems to me that this legislation as well as the legislation we debated yesterday is determined to make it financially difficult for unions to operate. [More…]
The Board endeavours to give a service to members of trade unions. [More…]
Now the Government wants the Trade Practices Commission to cover the unions. [More…]
This Act imposes penalties of up to $250,000 on the trade unions. [More…]
That forces the trade unions to seek other means of achieving their desires. [More…]
Trade unions will always take action on non-union membership. [More…]
Despite what was said today about the penalty being imposed upon the unions- a penalty in excess of the capabilities of the unions ever to pay- the operations of the Act permit the making of an order against any member of a union who has some interest in union property which is held by virtue of his position in the union. [More…]
It brings in a question of things such as mortuary funds operated by unions and superannuation trust funds held by unions in which the member has individual operation. [More…]
It is something that the trade unions will not give away. [More…]
It is an area in relation to which the Arbitration Commission has given preference clauses to trade unions in certain awards, the federal clerks union being one example. [More…]
During the debate on the Industrial Relations Bureau Bill yesterday much was said about compulsory membership of trade unions and conscientious objection. [More…]
I have never believed in any way in compulsion and I do not support compulsory membership of the unions. [More…]
-I do not support compulsory membership of unions. [More…]
I have always maintained that if one objects to joining a union one should not go into an industry where conditions have been improved by the trade unions, if one does so to obtain the benefit of the financial contributions of other people. [More…]
The threat of possible action will have some effect upon individuals and unions. [More…]
We will rue the day that we forced the trade unions into a position where they cannot operate openly to advance the conditions of employment of their members. [More…]
He seems to be saying to the Senate that unions ought to be able to hurt a third innocent party to achieve their objections however desirable those objectives may be. [More…]
Labor speakers have tended to dwell on the problems of proposed section 45d because of its impact on unions in situations in which they have got together, I suppose I might say ‘fairly’ for the purposes of debate, which could prove difficult to interpret and which might produce some unjustified penalty. [More…]
It calls in the representatives of the unions concerned- the Federated Millers and Mill Employees Association, the Transport Workers Union, the Manufacturing Grocers Employees Federation, the Federated Storeman and Packers Union and the [More…]
What I am saying is that that sort of action by the unions will be closed off by virtue of the operation of proposed new section 45D (3) (b). [More…]
But the whole point, which is understood and accepted by everybody from the President of the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission, Sir John Moore, to the employer organisations and trade unions and everybody else, is that the day to day management of industrial affairs requires a co-operative spirit with trade unions. [More…]
It requires trade unions. [More…]
I can only say that the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the trade union movement generally will not accept that. [More…]
Why should the trade unions not have the right to provide protection for those workers who would join the union but do not through fear of losing their jobs, particularly in this time of high unemployment? [More…]
Senator Wright, the unions can certainly do that but that is to establish minimum working conditions and wages. [More…]
In the second half of 1977. relations between the Federal Government and the trade unions will be sorely tested by four issues; uranium mining, wage indexation, the federal Government’s industrial legislation, and the establishment of an Omega navigation station in Gippsland, Victoria. [More…]
Trade unions, on the other hand, have the power to exercise a practical veto over decisions of governments, using their industrial strength. [More…]
At present, most unions do not use their industrial power to veto decisions of governments- even where they vehemently disagree with them. [More…]
However, there are a number of powerful unions which reject this convention, and strongly assert the right of unions to take any action, within the selfimposed limits of political expediency. [More…]
The Medibank strike … the bans on Indonesian and Chilean trade, green bans and the Newport power house ban have had the effect of widening the ‘accepted’ area of political activity of unions. [More…]
Legislation such as the amendments to the Trade Practices Act and the Arbitration Act, now before Federal Parliament, have aroused opposition across the whole trade union spectrum, because they restrict legitimate trade union activity, as well as abuses of unions’ power. [More…]
Legislation such as the amendments to the Trade Practices Act and the Arbitration Act, now before Federal Parliament, have aroused opposition across the whole trade union spectrum, because they restrict legitimate trade union activity, as well as abuses of unions ‘ power. [More…]
It is even said that the United States trade unions are not smeared with or involved in the goal of socialism; but, in respect of some of the things about which Senator Wright has been talking, secondary boycotts were morally justifiable. [More…]
It is only the trade unions, warts and all, that can protect some of the Greek women and ensure that they get their entitlements. [More…]
1 ) Has the Government made inquiries into any of the allegations made by Victor Marchetti, a former Central Intelligence Agency agent, and Richard Boyce, a Thomson RamoWooldridge Corporation employee, that the Agency (a) had been funding the Liberal-Country Party since 1967; (b) had infiltrated and interfered with Australian unions; (c) had deceived the Australian Government over activities at Pine Gap; and (d) had been monitoring telex and telephone messages into and out of Australia. [More…]
Mr Clifford Dolan, Senior VicePresident of the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
Mr Dolan is national secretary of the Electrical Trades Union of Australia and senior vice-president of the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
We have reached, after painful negotiations, an understanding with the various unions involved in Western Australia regarding this important trade. [More…]
Given the Government’s commitment to its ‘federalist’ dogma, it is nevertheless difficult to understand why the Government is unwilling to entertain the intelligent compromise suggested by the unions- and accepted by the South Australian Attorney-General-to staff the autonomous State commissions from the Federal Public Service, so retaining the advantages of a unified career structure. [More…]
The national president of the Australian Government Lawyers Association, Mr H. Logue, is planning urgent meetings with other Public Service unions and the AttorneyGeneral, Mr Ellicott, to request deferral of the controversial bill until the next session of Parliament. [More…]
Given the Government’s commitment to its ‘federalist’ dogma, it is nevertheless difficult to understand why the Government is unwilling to entertain the intelligent compromise suggested by the unions- and accepted by the South Australian Attorney-General- to staff the autonomous State commissions from the Federal Public Service, so retaining the advantages of a unified career structure. [More…]
Arrangements are in hand for senior officials of AGLA and the other unions to meet with Mr Ellicott on Monday, 30 May to formally request deferral of the Bill to the Budget Session of Parliament. [More…]
That meant that if a combination of persons were exerting economic pressure in the course of a dispute amongst themselves- it may be competition between tradesmen or unions in demarcation or a dispute between employees and their unions- they are entitled unfortunately in too coercive a way not only to withdraw their labour but also to boycott the job of their employer. [More…]
By the introduction of sub-section (3) we have granted to unions in the course of their dispute the right to invoke a secondary boycott. [More…]
What unions are parties to the awards involved. [More…]
He became secretary of three small organisations on a part time basis because at that time small trade unions could not afford full time officials. [More…]
He organised the three trade unions and later, with his elevation to the position of trade union secretary, became secretary of the South Australian Trades and Labour Council. [More…]
He would come back from meetings of the Congress of the Australian Council of Trade Unions and, very proud of his capability of remembering, would recite word perfect everything that had occurred, including every resolution that was carried at the ACTU meeting. [More…]
I think Theo Nicholls contributed quite an amount to the Labor movement, first in the three unions which he represented and later as the Secretary of the Trades and Labour Council. [More…]
In Argentina, Chile and Uruguay, either during or after the coup d’etat, each of the governments dissolved the trade union confederations, and in many cases individual unions were also banned and their activities made illegal. [More…]
Those trade unions which are permitted are severely restricted in their activities. [More…]
It visualises a greater infusion of members of the ethnic communities and trade unions into what I call a monitoring service of our migrant intake. [More…]
A newspaper report states that a request for support from other unions has evidently fallen on deaf ears. [More…]
The unemployed seem to be statistics to play with or perhaps a club with which to attack the trade unions in this country. [More…]
No responsible observer of the Budget, whether in business, in the unions, in the newspapers or anywhere else, gives any hope for an increase in employment in this country next year which will make any difference to the number of unemployed in this country next year. [More…]
Whether the trade unions like it or not, what Treasurer Crean of the Labor Government said in early 1973 or 1974 was true. [More…]
I remind him of the maritime unions. [More…]
What about the report of Mr Justice Sweeney concerning the extortions taking place on the waterfront by the maritime unions? [More…]
The members of those unions are friends and supporters of Opposition senators. [More…]
-Senator Mulvihill, I hope you did not get your election funds from the maritime unions. [More…]
All that has been gained is general disagreement and resistance from the trade unions and the Public Service. [More…]
As the Australian Council of Trade Unions representative pointed out to the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission, that is quite untrue. [More…]
He is quoted in the book Inside Australia’s 100 Top Unions as saying: [More…]
While noting that there is a reasonably high degree of technological efficiency in the three industries, arrange for the Minister for Productivity to enter into immediate discussions with representatives of the textiles, clothing and footwear sectors, and with the appropriate unions, to determine the potential scope and commitment to a program of productivity improvement. [More…]
Does the Government intend to abolish paternity leave and severely curtail maternity leave; if so, (a) on what evidence of abuse did the Government base these decisions; (b) what consultations did the Government have with relevant unions relating to these decisions, and (c) will the changes be made by Parliamentary legislation or merely by Executive action. [More…]
I refer to the article headed ‘Uranium’s critical mass: The unions’. [More…]
The bitterest struggle involving unions and uranium may not be aimed at keeping the stuff in the ground. [More…]
The last part of the conversation was that they would teach the trade unions a lesson. [More…]
We find that the trade unions are to be taught a lesson, as was cooked up in that penthouse in Toorak some years ago when Senator Cormack organised a meeting, at which quite a few prominent members of the Liberal Party were present, to get rid of Mr Snedden and to put Mr Fraser in the seat. [More…]
If we can just talk briefly about the process of mining uranium, I note that it has been said already that we have already had some demarcation disputes between the trade unions determined to have control of the mining of uranium when it is approved. [More…]
The issue is whether the Senate should sit tomorrow to consider a Bill which contains very embracing provisions on the rights of labour, of unions, and members of the Commonwealth Public Service to abide by Public Service regulations or by union directions. [More…]
It is clear that the Australian Council of Trade Unions, the organised trade union movement, helped to solve that dispute. [More…]
I think that any honourable senator who has looked at the Bill and who knows anything about industrial relations, any honourable senator opposite who has had anything to do with management and labour relations and any honourable senator on this side of the chamber who has had anything to do with unions, will know that this Bill if it is carried into the law of the land will set back industrial relations about 100 years. [More…]
I want to draw the Government’s attention to the fact that only a few months ago it complained that the Australian Council of Trade Unions had withdrawn from what was previously known as the National Labour Advisory Council. [More…]
The Government promised the ACTU and the Public Service unions that when any important legislation such as this was proposed it would discuss it with that body. [More…]
It will turn the conservative unions in the Public Service into militant unions. [More…]
I understand that the secretary of one of the major postal unions is a member of the Commission. [More…]
What I was going to suggest and what I now suggest, even at this late stage, is that the Government leave this Bill aside and enable the Australian Post and Telecommunications Union and the Australian Council of Trade Unions to uphold their rules for the conduct and control of industrial disputes with the spotlight of Australia on them. [More…]
Why doesn’t the Government curb the powers of the agitators in the unions? [More…]
Well, such direct action would be playing into the hands of these anti-democratic elements in trade unions. [More…]
Our task is to inject greater responsibility into unions and industrial relations. [More…]
We want to see the great majority of ordinary members of trade unions, decent working men and women, having their say. [More…]
In the private field, it must be deplored that so much abuse has been made of the monopolistic power of unions to weaken arbitration and disrupt the private field. [More…]
The Government criticised the Australian Council of Trade Unions a few years ago for pulling out of the previous body. [More…]
We do not mind unions having nowhere to go but with this legislation we are going to give the Government of Australia somewhere to go in the running of the country. [More…]
The communist unions of Australia have been saying for years: ‘We will have a rolling strike. [More…]
A fundamental principle is involved- whether the Parliament and the Government of the day are to be supreme or whether the trade unions, led by Bob Hawke, will now take over the running of the country. [More…]
A person on the Government side would say: ‘As soon as those left wing unions get into it we will call it industrial action’. [More…]
It was going to tell the Australian people that it would not have these trade unions running the country. [More…]
I do not believe that the trade unions, individually or collectively, want to run the country. [More…]
The trade unions are entitled to them. [More…]
As Senator Button said, we on this side of the Senate do not agree that the unions are right every time there is an industrial dispute. [More…]
Of course the unions are not always right. [More…]
They use their considerable political clout and they hold their great power over the workers who are members of their unions to drag those workers into all sons of political situations in which they do not want to be involved. [More…]
It is worth looking at the basic rights and responsibilities of all employees in Australia as they relate to unions and industrial action. [More…]
Of necessity unions have highly developed rights in Australia. [More…]
From my experience in the work force and as a member of a couple of unions and involvement in those unions I suggest that those rights are necessary. [More…]
I am not one who happens to believe that unions are no longer necessary. [More…]
I am convinced that unions are necessary as a balancing and important factor in the welfare of individual employees in Australia. [More…]
However, I am less than impressed by the way in which certain unions avail themselves of their rights. [More…]
Truly, in his words, one could point so often, in the activity of certain unions, to the cynical abuse of the industrial process and, on many occasions, to the pursuit of the most base objectives. [More…]
Of course, this Bill relates to Public Service unions and to public service employees of the Government and their unions. [More…]
This brings with it particular rights and responsibilities for Public Service unions. [More…]
From the trade situation with Japan it is clear that the Japanese are fed up with the irresponsibility of certain of our unions. [More…]
T can just imagine what Mrs Fukuda said to her husband about Australian unions when she went home. [More…]
The members of the public are the innocent people who again are being exploitedexploited because the Government has a necessary monopoly, exploited because, as a result of this, certain unions have a monopoly on the labour in those industries, and exploited without any concern for what the people have paid for services or that they could reasonably expect, having consented to that monopolistic arrangement. [More…]
It is bad enough that certain Public Service unions in particular have exploited their position of privilege and completely ignored their responsibility to show respect for the power that they hold. [More…]
It would seem from comments made by Government speakers in the debate to this point that the Government is persisting with the myth that the legislation is aimed at the militant and, indeed, communist leadership of unions. [More…]
We have been told- the previous speaker in the debate also told us this-that the legislation is not concerned with the rank and file of unions; it is concerned to protect rank and file unionists from the manipulation of communist and militant leadership. [More…]
I would like to remind honourable senators and members of the public who may be listening to this debate just which employees are covered by this legislation and which unions will be affected. [More…]
They are Commonwealth Public Service unions and there is no communist leadership or, indeed, any militant or radical leadership in the unions whose members will be affected by this legislation. [More…]
Senator Steele Hall in the most restrained speech I have ever heard him make in this place on any legislation involving trade unions, and for that alone I congratulate him, has just given both the Opposition and the Government a very good reason to support Senator Button’s amendment. [More…]
We know that it has been sitting in a pigeon hole somewhere since then, deliberately not being shown to the Opposition, to the trade unions, to the newspapers and to the general public of this country. [More…]
recognises that the very great majority of government employees and their unions have acted, and do act, responsibly. [More…]
We talk about the minority in the unions causing industrial disputes. [More…]
I understand that the Tasmanian Minister for Labour and Industry has discussed the dispute with representatives of the unions involved and that he has criticised what he has referred to as the irresponsible actions of the unionists in causing this disruption. [More…]
I point out that the Australian Council of Trade Unions has taken a policy decision regarding these stoppages that affect Tasmania, which states: [More…]
My question, which is directed to the Minister representing the Treasurer, refers to the statement made by the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions on PM last night that a legitimate meeting attacking the Government’s Budget was disrupted by the Marxist-Leninist organisation, and the Socialist Workers Party, in Sydney yesterday. [More…]
Remembering the troublesome times of the Vietnam demonstrations and even the happenings of December 1975, does the Minister draw the conclusion that nobody from the trade unions or the left of politics ever resorted to the gun over a political dispute? [More…]
The best solution for many problems facing industry and especially issues between government, business and the trade unions, will be found through co-operative processes rather than through confrontations. [More…]
At this point I wish to refer to some of the radical sections within our trade unions. [More…]
This Government will harangue interminably the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission and the unions for lesser wage reductions than that. [More…]
Australian Council of Trade Unions, Survey of Young Workers (AGPS, Canberra, 1975). [More…]
As the Tasmanian Minister for Labour and Industry has not succeeded in his appeal for the Australian Council of Trade Unions to intervene in the present demarcation dispute between the Transport Workers Union and the Waterside Workers Federation tying up the whole of the northern coast of Tasmania, can the Minister suggest any action the Commonwealth Government can take to help to bring this dispute to an end? [More…]
I had not been aware of the fact that the pleas made by the Tasmanian Minister for Labour and Industry have been ignored by the unions concerned and even, I gather, by the ACTU. [More…]
As a first step the Government will establish the existing ‘Code of Practice on Radiation Protection in the Mining and Milling of Radioactive Ores’ completed in 1975 after extensive consultation with industry, trade unions and Government instrumentalities, both Federal and State. [More…]
One important element of the Code relating to radiation protection in the mining and milling of radioactive ores has already been prepared by the Commonwealth Department of Health in consultation with other Commonwealth and State authorities, with industry and trade unions. [More…]
The draft Code was circulated for comment to 94 recipients made up of appropriate Australian and State government departments and authorities, uranium mining and exploration companies and mining associations, and relevant trade unions and trade union councils. [More…]
A total occupational health program, provided by the Department of Health, in conjunction with the mining companies, unions and other relevant agencies will be carried out. [More…]
Prior to the establishment of the Postal and Telecommunications Commissions, it was agreed with unions and staff associations that officers of the then Postmaster-General’s Department should not suffer reduced promotional opportunities as a consequence of being allocated to the service of one or other of the commissions. [More…]
In other words, he sought to defraud the union to build up the slush fund to pay the Egan mercenaries who are currently engaged in unsuccessful sorties into other unions and States. [More…]
His speech, made to 160 representatives of 29 unions in Hobart last night, called on Bob Watling to boycott the kangaroo court tomorrow night, for the reasons to be sent in writing and for a firm stand to be taken against the pro-communist takeover bid. [More…]
This meeting or representatives of 29 Unions declares that if the attacks on Bob Watling and Peter Imlach are allowed to succeed the result will lead to the destruction of the Tasmanian Labor Government and Labor’s chance in the forthcoming Federal Election and will pave the way for a procommunist takeover of the TTLC. [More…]
and (2) The Twentieth Annual Report of the President of the Australian Conciliation and Arbitration Commission mentioned that on at least three occasions State and Federal Tribunals have conducted joint conferences or joint hearings because part of an industry was covered by State and part by Federal award or because one of two unions competing for particular work have State and not Federal registration. [More…]
Although recognising that substantial sums would be involved in modernising the facilities, the Committee proposes that consideration be given to the following interdependent actions directed towards the achievement of improved performance, as a possible basis for converting this generally uneconomic but nationally important industry into an economically acceptable industry: the industry to be rationalised; the existing ship construction facilities at Whyalla and Newcastle be retained; there be an injection of capital at both yards on a shared basis, sharing being between the Commonwealth and NSW Governments in the case of Newcastle, and between the Commonwealth and SA Governments and BHP in the case of Whyalla, the amount of capital to be that needed to bring the physical capability of each of the yards to a standard matching that of overseas shipyards of similar capacity; there be workload on a continuing basis for the rationalised industry resulting from a ‘build in Australia’ policy for Australian ships; a policy to build vessels which to the maximum feasible extent are of standard design; and, subject to a suitable manning productivity understanding with the maritime unions, an Australian flag policy for a proportion of overseas trade; there be a guarantee of improved industrial relations, particularly in respect of measures to improve productivity for ship construction and repair and an accepted objective of working towards a single shipbuilding union through a process of amalgamations; there be a system by which potential buyers of Australian built ships can be offered financial terms that are generally competitive on the world scene. [More…]
Government supporters themselves were surprised at the great support that was coming from the unions who would take part in such a package deal. [More…]
But I have seen the most encouraging ideas coming from the interviews I had with the ACTU shipbuilding group, the unions, and the workers in the two yards I have mentioned. [More…]
If the unions want the industry they have got to be pan of it and stop these unnecessary stoppages. [More…]
There might not be any shipbuilding unions if past and present industrial disputes continued . [More…]
Larrikinism by the unions had alienated some Labor MPs who had in the past supported Government assistance for the industry. [More…]
They said if this is the way unions are going to go on what is the use of us putting in 20-odd million dollars in subsidies to maintain the industry. [More…]
Dealing with what Senator Bishop said about the Australian Council of Trade Unions and assurances that there would be harmony in the industry and everything would be sweet, I would like to believe that and I would genuinely like to think that the honourable senator’s representations in that regard will be successful, but the record is not very good. [More…]
Those figures make it very difficult for me to believe that the unions concerned will be fair dinkum about honouring that sort of undertaking. [More…]
That working arty of officials held discussions with ship.uilders, shipowners and the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
In the same month Ministers met the Premier of New South Wales to discuss the shipbuilding industry in that State and made the following offer To defer contracts for the two Australian National Line vessels to be built in Japan if the Premier received from State Dockyard unions a moratorium on industrial disputes and wage claims. [More…]
An offer was made to Mr Dunstan in South Australia of Commonwealth assistance to secure orders for Whyalla if the Premier could obtain similar assurances from Whyalla shipyard unions. [More…]
But then he went on to say, after trying to blame the trade unions and the Whitlam Government for setting up the rot, that his Government has continued on with the policy of the Whitlam Government because the Fraser Government realised that the Labor Government was near the mark in its policy. [More…]
Australia’s shipbuilding industry could have been alive and well today if politicians, unions and management had not fallen into the common Australian shortcoming of not planning ahead. [More…]
I can remember also the housing industry which was to be developed to the south of Adelaide in conjunction with the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
Tonight we heard about the unions and their attitude to the dockyard. [More…]
As to the Newcastle dockyard, the unions agreed to virtually every condition that the Federal Government set down for the continuation of the subsidy. [More…]
The unions were prepared to accept 90 per cent of the demands, but the proposal put up was a package deal. [More…]
Of course, what would have happened with the acceptance of that package deal was that the unions would have lost their right to strike. [More…]
The unions agreed to limit wage increases purely to indexation. [More…]
They agreed to submit all industrial disputes to an agreed procedure between government, the unions and management. [More…]
The unions in Newcastle were prepared to say that there would be no demarcation disputes. [More…]
It seemed determined to close the yard against the wishes of the State Government, the unions and the people of Newcastle. [More…]
I know that he visited the Shop Assistants’ and the Australian Workers’ Union, but I in no way wish to imply that Officials of those Unions gave him any assistance. [More…]
Mr Keogh is still a member of the staff of this Union and like myself and all other members of the staff, except the Branch President, has broken with the National Civic Council and has come to detest their method of operation, their ballotrigging procedures, their campaigns of personal abuse against all officials of trade unions with whom they disagree, whether communist, anti-communist or neutral. [More…]
Last week in Perth the Party’s national conference went the rest of the way to electoral disaster by promising all Australians all the things they do not want right now-higher taxes, even stronger unions, more bureaucrats, less security, and a whole heap of way-out nonsense. [More…]
Rule 14(b) of the Australian Council of Trade Unions’ rules provides that no policy can be binding on the trade union movement if altered by the ACTU Executive between congresses unless it receives endorsement by four of the six [More…]
Unions on moderation in wage claims along the lines of the United Kingdom agreement? [More…]
Can the Minister confirm that the Australian Council of Trade Unions, unlike the Australian Labor Party, does not oppose outright the development of a uranium industry in Australia? [More…]
I have been advised by the Minister for National Resources that he has arranged in conjunction with the Minister for Employment and Industrial Relations for senior officials of the Departments of National Resources and Employment and Industrial Relations to visit Kalgoorlie next week for urgent discussions with local authorities, the mining company and unions to assess the extent of the problem caused by the nickel industry retrenchments and report back to the Ministers. [More…]
Concerning the staff, I am advised that surplus personnel at Salisbury and Woomera have now been identified and advised, using criteria agreed between the Department of Defence, the Public Service Board and the peak councils of the unions concerned. [More…]
The Minister representing the Minister for Employment and Industrial Relations will have seen the report of the speech of Mr Bob Hawke on Monday last, when he opened the Australian Council of Trade Unions Congress, in which he referred to the reduction in man hours lost because of strikes. [More…]
However, it is quite evident that the costs of the current guerrilla campaign by unions in the building industry are significant. [More…]
One calls to mind the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission, the Industries Assistance Commission, other organisations in the community such as trade unions, the consumers of Australia and all the people who have not responded as the Government had hoped they would. [More…]
If it mentions anything about the unions, it is accused of union bashing. [More…]
I dare say that if I were to mention anything about the unions engaged in this sector I would be accused of union bashing. [More…]
Has the Minister seen the report that management and unions in Japan’s Honda motor company have agreed to forgo four days holiday during the next seven weeks to increase car and motorcycle production to meet foreign demands? [More…]
The Minister will be aware of a statement by Mr Bob Hawke at the conclusion of the Australian Council of Trade Unions Congress last week which included, among other matters, a threat to block exports under existing uranium contracts if the Government refuses the request of the ACTU for a referendum on the issue of the mining and export of uranium. [More…]
We have recognised in the past 1 8 months or so a continual attempt at distortion and confusion by the Opposition, to some degree by the media, and certainly by the minority but outspoken radical leadership of some of the major unions. [More…]
If one reads the history of the Gollin case, trade unions bans did not contribute to the crash. [More…]
So honourable senators opposite should not get up here and talk about the sins of the trade unions when the big business buccaneers are doing that sort of thing. [More…]
Government senators talk about penalties being imposed on trade unions for not keeping agreements. [More…]
The other moral to this story is that if we are to have docile trade unions- I do not use that term but the implication in some editorials is that things should be that way- I would point out that the meek do not always inherit the earth. [More…]
On the other side of the coin, I apply that to trade unions who are not engaged in strike activity, and I instance the case of the shop assistants’ union and how effective the law can be in protecting them on award observances. [More…]
Therefore I deplore the attitude which is found not only in the Opposition but also to some measure in the media and to some measure in a very small minority, but a radical and vociferous minority, in trade unions who seem to be absolutely dedicated to distorting and destroying the Budget’s capacity to serve the purpose that I believe it certainly can serve and will serve in this community. [More…]
I do not think that anything could more clearly indicate the Government’s lack of concern about the problem of unemployment in Australia than the opening half of Senator Durack ‘s address to the Senate in which he did not attend in any manner whatsoever to the real problems of the economy but led us through one of those tired old tirades about the communists in the trade unions in Victoria. [More…]
All the Government can do is talk about communists in trade unions in Victoria and what the Labor Government did or did not do. [More…]
Of course, if the Government was really interested in testing public opinion on this issue, it would have taken up the offer, challenge or invitation of the Australian Council of Trade Unions to conduct a referendum specifically on this issue. [More…]
I hear a moan from Senator Georges but we have heard the various comments by trade unions. [More…]
The Australian Council of Trade Unions in Victoria is a great example. [More…]
We have heard calls from the trade unions for disclosure of accounts, for assessments of profitability and for profit levels to be make known. [More…]
It can be said that some unions are blackmailing our society at present. [More…]
Senator Georges defended the actions of the unions in relation to the Utah development and spoke of the influence of Spanish crews and other overseas crews. [More…]
In a rather peculiar way, Senator Georges attempted to say that the unions are endeavouring to use more Australian labor to counterbalance the influences of cheap labour in overseas countries. [More…]
He wants to be able to go out in a few weeks ‘ time and ask the people of this country: Who is running the countrythe trade unions or the Government? [More…]
It has brought in repressive legislation to control the trade unions. [More…]
It is not capable of sitting down and talking to representatives of trade unions about their problems. [More…]
They blame the trade unions. [More…]
If it were not for the work put in by trade unions some of the people opposite could not survive. [More…]
In regard to this area, I believe that we have to recognise that, whilst unemployment is great, it is partially contributed to by the greediness and by the demands which are being made by some sections of the community and, particularly, by some of the extraordinary demands that are made by some union leaders who do not care how many people they put out of work provided that it gives to members of their unions some immediate advantage. [More…]
if the representative system is to survive then we can no longer order our politics so that those of us who share basic under-lying assumptions about freedoms, about the supremacy of the individual over the state, continuously light each other in essentially mock adversorial political battles … We must also have the courage to call a halt to the increasing growth of those institutions, the state, the unions, the bureaucracies which are weakening our resistance to incursions on liberty. [More…]
It also gives the Prime Minister (Mr Malcolm Fraser) at the federal level another stick with which to beat the unions. [More…]
If unions these days come forward with excess demands, as was instanced by the award that was read by Senator Missen, Australia will get deeper and deeper into the mire. [More…]
The unions have to keep their feet on the ground if they want to get anywhere. [More…]
The left wing forces in this country have, like a parasite, entwined themselves with some of the unions. [More…]
The battles that the trade unions have ahead of them are immense because this parasite is entwined around the roots of the trade union movement. [More…]
It is pretty obvious that he knows very little about the ambit in which trade unions have to work when they are placing a log of claims. [More…]
What do we mean by ‘more responsible trade unions’? [More…]
Trade unions should make decisions at the point of production, management and control. [More…]
Similarly, blaming the problems of the community on the left wing unions, the Industries Assistance Commission or anyone else except the Government gets us nowhere and will get us nowhere. [More…]
The first scapegoat is usually the trade unions, despite the fact that there has been a vast improvement in the figures for time lost through strikes and industrial disputes and despite the fact that real wages have dropped in the last year. [More…]
Section 6 of the Family Law Act deems polygamous unions in the nature of marriages that have been entered into outside Australia to be marriages only for the purposes of proceedings under the Act The intention was to enable parties to such unions who have the required jurisdictional connection with Australia to be able to obtain matrimonial relief under the Act. [More…]
Is the looming power settlement the result of any rhetoric, threat, bluster, initiative or intervention by the Federal Government or is it in fact the result of the intervention by conciliation of the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, as was suggested by the Opposition ten days ago? [More…]
Draft reports are designed to enable the situation to be commented upon by people in general, the industry in particular, consumers, importers and the unions concerned. [More…]
I think I said then that it would consist of people from the industry, people from the unions and people who came from the department concerned, which is my Department. [More…]
As always, the people from the Department will be in the minority compared with those people who will come from the industry, the unions and other areas associated with the industry. [More…]
If trade unions are extra vigilant, they are thinking in terms of people with a working life, say, from 21 years to about 60 years of age. [More…]
It is true that some sections of the trade unions had distinct reservations. [More…]
Mr McLEAY; I have seen those reports and I think I have also heard the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions using the information. [More…]
It is entirely the result of industrial action by building unions, and in particular by the Builders Labourers Federation. [More…]
Do the political activities of someone in Australia become an international matter with Security snooping everywhere into the domestic politics of elements of the trade unions in Australia? [More…]
This is a policy which says that members of striking unions at the establishment at which the industrial dispute is in force are not eligible for unemployment benefit under section 107 of the Social Services Act. [More…]
Members of other unions at that establishment who are stood down as a result of the dispute will, however, be paid unemployment benefit, subject to the usual conditions. [More…]
What it is saying, in effect, whether the Australian Labor Party and the Australian Council of Trade Unions like it or not, is that we are in the nuclear age. [More…]
I presume that he has no objection at all to my putting the Vice-President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, Mr Cliff Dolan, on the Tertiary Education Commission, or the Secretary of the Queensland Trades and Labour Council on the Technical and Further Education Commission Council. [More…]
The Welfare Defence Movement, consisting of welfare recipients, welfare agencies, welfare workers, trade unions and concerned others, has arisen in response to the federal government’s cuts to health and welfare spending, which have occurred over the past year and which we anticipate in the next budgetary period. [More…]
While I am dealing with unemployment, let us look at this side of the matter: In my view, much of the unemployment is caused by the actions of those in the extreme left wing of the unions- those people who have no concern for the workers although they collect the union dues and are paid by the workers. [More…]
Let us have no nonsense about the attitudes of some of those in the extreme left wing in the trade unions today. [More…]
The unions have done a good job over the years, particularly in the early stages. [More…]
That is the kind of action I support unions taking. [More…]
But when unions get to the stage of holding the whole nation and the people to ransom without regard for the suffering of women and children, it is time we took a second look at ourselves as Australians and asked: ‘What are we doing? [More…]
I was quite upset on the weekend to hear the President of the Australian Labor Party and the Australian Council of Trade Unions talking about bloodshed in the streets if there is no referendum. [More…]
Is it not true that when wage indexation was introduced in this country it was supported by the Arbitration Court, the employer organisations and by the unions? [More…]
I refer the Minister to the statement of the Prime Minister made yesterday in which he urged the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the Melbourne Trades Hall Council to find solutions to the State Electricity Commission dispute. [More…]
I now ask the Minister whether he can advise the Senate as to the extent to which the Federal Government is helping the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the Melbourne Trades Hall Council to find an amicable solution in the interests of both parties. [More…]
The Government’s policy in relation to the power dispute in Victoria, as is its policy in relation to all industrial disputes, has been to support the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission and the arbitration system and to encourage to the best of its endeavours the unions and the union leaders to support that system and to give leadership. [More…]
A number of left-wing unions! [More…]
We do not see even the unions ruling; we see the shop stewards in, of course, one part in the Latrobe Valley ruling. [More…]
What I want to say to the Parliament briefly is this: We have before us a disgraceful example of an irresponsible Opposition- an Opposition that does not rule itself, of course, and which does not even seem to be ruled by the unions, now. [More…]
What are the unions going to go in relation to co-operation to bring about economic health for this sort of community in Australia and particularly in South Australia? [More…]
Before I resume my seat I think it is appropriate, in the atmosphere of confrontation which this Government is endeavouring to set up with the trade union movement, that I make some mention of trade unions. [More…]
Trade unions, as the organised strength of the lower and middle income workers, have an obligation to exercise their civic responsibility and they do it. [More…]
The standard of living of the Australian people depends upon the strong demands of the unions to improve conditions, social services, education, housing and a host of other things. [More…]
I have always felt that trade unions initiate the demands and they need to have a Labor Party in government to implement their policies. [More…]
Of course, as we know, he will have no chance of winning it when the people of Hawker are acquainted with all the things that Senator Hall has said over the years both in this place and when he was in the Legislative Assembly in South Australia as a back bench member and Premier, and the way that he castigated the members of the trade unions. [More…]
Yet we find him having the gall to stand up in this place tonight and read some extracts that he obtained from somewhere and try to show his concern not only for the members of trade unions in Hawker but also for the people whose birth place in outside [More…]
I ask the Minister: How is it that since that statement became public and his departmental officers knew about it there has been no support from any of the Government Ministers for those proposals which have been developed only by the Australian Council of Trade Unions? [More…]
In view of the lack of declaration by the Government, why is it that the Government now is producing certainly more repressive laws against the union movement when it might well wait for a settlement based on the proposals which are now declared by the Victorian Premier and the Australian Council of Trade Unions to be very constructive? [More…]
It relates to the deregistration of unions and to the deregistration of one section of a union against another section of a union. [More…]
I have in mind the enormity of the legislation, for whether or not we believe in trade unions or the worker’s right to strike, such actions have grown up over the years in this country and if we were to desire to end them every aspect should first have the fullest and most detailed consideration as to how best this could be done and not dealt with in such a way that the Senate cannot properly take into consideration whether the legislation contains the appropriate clauses. [More…]
Outside organisations, such as the Australian Chamber of Manufactures and the Australian Chamber of Commerce, the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the unions have had an opportunity to discuss and to think about the Government’s proposals contained in this legislation. [More…]
Members of the Government are doing their evil worst to divert the Parliament from its traditional role into an authoritarian role which is to be equalled only by the pre-war days of Hitler’s Germany when trade unions and the Parliament in Germany faced farcical things like the burning of the Reichstag and all the other ploys which were used to fool the people. [More…]
His political career and beliefs are based on a deep-seated hatred of trade unions and he is longing to throw into reverse all that the ALP and the union movement have fought for over decades to achieve wage justice and decent job conditions. [More…]
This is what the trade unions think of Senator Hall: [More…]
A look at just part of their record in recent years proves this- consistent, unjustified attacks on trade unions. [More…]
These provisions are based on the recommendations of the Royal Commission- Mr Justice Sweeney- into Alleged Payments to Maritime Unions conducted during the office of the previous Government. [More…]
The real issues are the soaring economic and social costs to the entire community, and the capacity of certain unions and groups of unionists to inflict this harm. [More…]
A second trend is that, in pursuing economic and social objectives- in seeking to give effect to their broader aspirations- trade unions have sought to extend their strength and influence by intensive recruitment activity and have endeavoured to impose greater restrictions on the freedom of individual employees and, indeed, non-employees. [More…]
This is evidenced in part by the conduct of some unions designed to compel certain self-employed persons, such as owner-drivers, or employers m a small way of business who ‘work on the tools’ to join the union concerned. [More…]
These unions have sought to impose bans or boycotts which directly or indirectly harm that person’s legitimate commercial interests in an endeavour to compel his membership of the union. [More…]
A certain common purpose must be shared by the members of a union, but as the objectives of unions broaden, this becomes less and less likely. [More…]
The Medibank strike of last year, a political not an industrial issue, will long live in the memories of many whose unions tried to discipline them for non-participation or who, under duress, took industrial action against their personal convictions. [More…]
I have already made general reference to the manner in which unions can erode the industrial rights of individuals. [More…]
A number of cases in which infringements of the rights of individuals by trade unions have occurred have received attention in recent months. [More…]
Non-employees will be able to join a State branch of an organisation of employees only where, and to the extent that, State industrial arbitration legislation authorises non-employees to be members of State unions. [More…]
I have already briefly referred to amendments to give effect to the Report of the Royal Commission into Alleged Payments to Maritime Unions insofar as it related to accounting practices and financial reporting in organisations. [More…]
During Mr Street’s meeting with the unions on 1 1 May, the ACTU handed him a document setting out their position in relation to the agreement subsequently reached. [More…]
Does he now recognise the constructive appearances by the Australian Council of Trade Unions- I refer in particular to Bob Hawke- in seeking to solve the current State Electricity Commission strike in Victoria and in solving the last two major strikes, including air traffic controllers strike? [More…]
Were the provisions relating to the de-registration of trade unions, the provisions relating to demarcation disputes and the provisions relating to actions under section 141 of the Conciliation and Arbitration Act, that is, the section dealing with ballots and rights of members- matters covered by this legislationdiscussed in detail at the National Labour Consultative Council? [More…]
If the honourable senator believes that there is reason for a criminal or civil action, why do the employees or the unions not take the correct action? [More…]
The Government could not stand up to the unions knowing that it only had ‘six months life in a parliament’, Mr Anthony said. [More…]
Contrast Mr Anthony’s attitude when talking to a group of farmers, whom he hopes he can persuade to believe that a large number of problems are the responsibility of trade unions and not of the Government, with the statement made yesterday by Mr Georges Polites, the Secretary of the National Employers Policy Committee, a man of vast political experience in the industrial relations area, a man who is intimately involved with that area and knows what it is all about. [More…]
We will get these fellows to blame the trade unions’. [More…]
One of the important provisions of this Bill is the deregistration provisions, which would enable the Industrial Relations Bureau to have a quite simple means of deregistering unions. [More…]
I do not know whether deregistration of trade unions is offered to the trade union movement in 1977 as a threat or a promise. [More…]
The threat of deregistration will shortly be no longer a threat to trade unions; it will be a promise. [More…]
It will be nice for trade unions to be outside the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission and not bothered with all these legalisms and legalitiesall these pieces of legislation which we keep on debating here in the Senate. [More…]
The fact of the matter is that the socalled deregistration provisions in this legislation are potentially disastrous, they will achieve nothing and they are certainly not a real threat to most trade unions these days. [More…]
All these things are contrary to the understanding of the nature of a voluntary association as trade unions, whether registered or not, basically are. [More…]
This is an important matter because demarcation disputes between trade unions have for years constituted about 13 per cent or 14 per cent of all industrial disputes in this country. [More…]
Between 1972 and 1975, in order to lessen the number of demarcation disputes between unions, the Labor Government on three occasions introduced legislation into this Senate to make it easier for unions to amalgamate. [More…]
This situation should not really surprise any outside observer when it is considered that we have 300-odd trade unions in Australia compared with 16 in Germany and 20-odd in Sweden, countries which seem a little more successful than Australia. [More…]
That legislation to enable the number of trade unions in this country to be limited was consistently opposed by the then Opposition. [More…]
At present the maritime and stevedoring unions are preventing trade in wheat to Indonesia. [More…]
Those examples illustrate the immense impact that the unions are making on an important area our economy designed to determine our trade policy. [More…]
It is central to that system, at the very heart of it, that the system enabled the creation of what are called federal organisations or unions. [More…]
We have a plethora of unions in Australia disproportionate altogether to the experience of other countries. [More…]
We have more than 300 unions, not all of which are federal unions. [More…]
The fact is that the system gave the trade unions the benefit of registration of trade unions under which structure the trade unionist was able to get the benefits that he had secured far exceeding benefits of any other working man in any other country. [More…]
I am saying that that system of arbitration enabled the registration of federal trade unions. [More…]
The unions have taken advantage of it, and they have used the benefits of it to get from the courts a level and standard of industrial conditions unequalled anywhere else in the world. [More…]
The central part of this Bill concerns itself with the operation of those federal unions in the registry using their rights under the Conciliation and Arbitration Act as registered organisations or unions. [More…]
In effect, it is legislation that was introduced in April, deferred by arrangement with the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the employers, and subjected to consideration from then till now. [More…]
It behoves the trade unions, having been given such a share in the prosperity of this country, to come to a realisation that they are part of the community and are not above the industrial law of the country. [More…]
No society can continue to exist with effect as the Australian society has done, and will do with prosperity and freedom, unless we ensure that trade unions, incorporated companies or classes of superior position and opportunity are under the law. [More…]
In West Germany, for example, and most of the European countries, trade unions in fact are present on works councils and are part often of the directorships. [More…]
West Germany is presenting legislation to allow trade unions to run enterprises jointly. [More…]
While the Government is saying every day of the week that it supports the trade unions, the fact is that day by day and year by year it is bringing in legislation to make it more difficult for trade unions to work. [More…]
It will be the Australian Council of Trade Unions and Bob Hawke again. [More…]
The issue today in Australia is an issue as to whether the Government can confuse the Australian people by saying that proper economic recovery can be achieved only through repressing the trade unions. [More…]
The old idea of freedom of association and the old British concept of trade unions are being knocked bit by bit. [More…]
If the Minister for Employment and Industrial Relations (Mr Street) told those officers to go out and help employers and the Australian Council of Trade Unions to solve disputes I am sure they would be competent and happy to do so. [More…]
I answer that by saying that the unions today have become more sophisticated in their approach to strikes. [More…]
The unions have absolute power to do that. [More…]
Do not honourable senators opposite remember that he was incapacitated right up to the time when the whole thing was brought to a head by the Victorian Government when the Victorian Government threatened to deregister the unions involved. [More…]
Quite frankly, the Australian people are fed up with pleading with the unions to behave and to be reasonable. [More…]
It is against any legislation which suggests that unions should be subject to normal law and order. [More…]
It says that unions are outside the normal provisions of law and order. [More…]
It is all right for the unions to say whether we should trade with Chile. [More…]
It should be left to the unions to say with whom we should trade! [More…]
I turn now to proposed new Part VIIIAA which deals with the accounts and audits of unions. [More…]
Obviously, she has not read the report from the Royal Commission into Alleged Payments to Maritime Unions. [More…]
We find that the unions at that time were trying to get payments for not supplying work. [More…]
The unions were demanding money even when they could not supply the labour. [More…]
We find that the Royal Commissioner said that all this work that was claimed for the shore unions was never, at any stage, a justified claim. [More…]
When the legislation is passed, it will make unions accountable in respect of such activities. [More…]
I turn now to the deregistration of unions. [More…]
I have been told that I have only one minute remaining to speak, so I will be able to make only a passing reference to deregistration of unions. [More…]
The Opposition sees this legislation as an attempt to divide the unions into smaller splinter groups. [More…]
The employers say that to avoid demarcation disputes they want amalgamation of unions- a bigger combination of unions. [More…]
The Government says that to control the unions it wants them in splinter groups. [More…]
If a dispute affects a number of unions within a State it is then under the control of that State’s Trades Hall Union Disputes Committee. [More…]
If it goes beyond that into the higher realm and spreads interstate it becomes a matter for the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
It affected some nine unions, four of them very important unions. [More…]
The message I give today to those upwards of half a million people in trade unions who are out of work is: Blame the irresponsible shop stewards at Latrobe Valley. [More…]
Honourable senators have to remember that nine unions are involved. [More…]
The argument sponsored by the Communist Party is to transfer power over disputes to shop stewards on the basis that it will eliminate the old craft unions as we know them and to have one union and one union only in each factory controlled by shop stewards. [More…]
This is what he said in part, to the National Press Club yesterday: perhaps the real incidence for the high level of disputation over wages is the fact that the unions have a monopoly power over the supply of labour. [More…]
I think we reached an all time low when, by snide innuendo, Senator Walters suggested that the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions was feigning sickness at some given time. [More…]
Senator Walters also mentioned the maritime unions. [More…]
As he has said all along, the object was to smash so-called militant unions. [More…]
One thing I am sure will happen, as sure as day follows night, is that if there is ever an attempt to introduce any of these repressive measures against any individual, group of individuals or officers of unions we will find again happening in 1 977 or whatever year it may be, precisely what we saw happen in 1968 when the present Governor-General, then the presiding officer of the Industrial Court gaoled one trade union officer. [More…]
That means they will join the sort of threat that is given by Mr Hawke who was given in today’s Age this headline: ‘Unions threaten walkout. [More…]
The basic problem in unionism in Australia today is that the union management has lost control of the unions. [More…]
The power to represent unions so often no longer resides at the top of the union structure. [More…]
What does he do to put the management of unions back where it ought to be- at the elected management level of the union structure? [More…]
The Labor Party opposes the clause which makes it an offence to force independent contractors into unions. [More…]
Honourable senators opposite are also against the provisions which provide for democracy in the industrial community by making it an offence to force individuals to join unions. [More…]
They believe that unions should attract people by dictatorial methods and union steward dictatorship. [More…]
If ever we needed a clean up of the type that this Bill can give there is a visual demonstration in the Storeman and Packers Union and in many other unions. [More…]
Those provisions which prevent unions from bullying people to join them against their will and conviction are no doubt the test of it all. [More…]
In saying that I want to make it clear that I also believe there are many well run unions in this community. [More…]
Senator Wriedt would know that there are a considerable number of well run unions in this country, lt is extremely disappointing that this legislation has to be brought in to deal with a very significant group of unions- but not all unions- which throttle this community by seizing its pressure points and its economic arteries. [More…]
I trust that, because of the discipline contained in this legislation, those who do run the unions responsibly will provide the lead in this community for others who must follow. [More…]
Of course he spent his time rubbishing Bob Hawke, the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, and he then went on to make some comment about the Labor Party not moving amendments to the legislation but in fact opposing it in its entirety. [More…]
A more emotional contribution came from Senator Shirley Walters, that self-appointed siren of trade unions from Tasmania. [More…]
I would suggest the reason we are opposing this legislation in its entirety is because of the very words that Senator Hall used towards the end of his contribution when he talked about the dictatorial methods of trade unions. [More…]
Senator Hall also made reference to the fact that there are some well run unions in this country. [More…]
I do not doubt that there are communistled and communist controlled unions in Australia that go on strike. [More…]
But there are also anti-communist unions that go on strike. [More…]
I understand that union is known as one of the left wing militant unions. [More…]
Why do we not get rid of all of this nonsense about differentiating between the Corns and the rest, the left and right wing unions and try as a Federal Parliament to analyse the problem with which we are confronted. [More…]
Between 1972 and 1975 the Labor Government introduced legislation to enable unions more easily to amalgamate and to overcome one of the main problems facing the trade union movement. [More…]
Yet the first thing that this Government did when it came into power, despite its undertaking, was to go to the Arbitration Commission and destroy the indexation principle and argue against the employees and the unions in this country getting what had been agreed upon between them and the employers in the Commission in 1975. [More…]
Obviously we have seen examples before of Westminster governments which have thought that they would introduce legislation to bludgeon the unions. [More…]
Even honourable senators on the Government side admit that there are good unions and there are bad unions. [More…]
All of the unions will be subject to this sort of treatment once this legislation is passed. [More…]
It will make it infinitely less likely that the trade unions will have any hope under the arbitration system of this country, when they know that there is a government which has a weapon in the form of this legislation with which to hit them over the head at any time it suits it to do so. [More…]
The Government has taken it upon itself responsibly to bring in legislation to protect the rights and the freedoms of individuals in this country, and that includes members of the trade unions in this country who at the present time are bring tied down by so many of the radical shop stewards involved in some of the trade unions throughout Australia. [More…]
I say at this stage, as has been said before by other honourable senators on this side of the chamber, that there are many good trade unions in this country. [More…]
All of those disruptions have taken place by key unions in key areas. [More…]
We have in this country at the present time the dangerous situation of the unions banning the movement of tankers into port to replenish the crude oil supplies of refineries until the refineries are down to only a few hours of supply. [More…]
The tragedy today is that so many workers are locked into their own unions. [More…]
There is concern in the community today that the unions have too much power. [More…]
The proportion of trade unionists whose unions were affiliated with the Australian Council of Trade Unions who believed that unions have too much power increased from 35 per cent in 1969, when the last survey was conducted, to 57 per cent in 1976. [More…]
The honest working person in this country is concerned because the unions are losing control and because a few radicals have moved into key positions. [More…]
I refer in particular to shop stewards who are disrupting the trade unions and also are destroying the benefits that have been built up over the years for the protection of their fellow workers. [More…]
The Australian Council of Trade Unions has found out that it was conned through the ditching of the uniform levy. [More…]
From the day when this Government came to office it expected the trade unions to be docile. [More…]
We were given a litany today about the trade unions that have been on strike in key situations. [More…]
I think the Government would insult the air traffic controllers if it suggested that they were part of the Peak Council or of the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
He talked about the role of trade unions in job making. [More…]
The fact of the matter is that the maritime unions have never been able to get to first base with the Minister for Transport (Mr Nixon) on a maximisation of Australian crews. [More…]
It is not good enough for honourable senators opposite to say that unions must remain solid in all situations and in fact that membership of unions means that we all become mates headed in the same direction. [More…]
The fact is that the unions themselves are undertaking activities outside the wishes of vast numbers of people who are members of those unions. [More…]
Finally, the requirements for unions to ensure that their accounting and reporting practices are in line with those required by shareholders of companies and all other organisations in the community are to be extended. [More…]
Trade unionists must know what is going on inside their unions. [More…]
The only way they can find that out is to be provided with information by the unions themselves. [More…]
To avoid having to do that is something approaching criminal behaviour, in my belief Unions are able to avoid their obligations and are able to make sure that trade unionists are kept in the dark. [More…]
I am not talking about just some sectors but about the broad section of the trade union movement whose members are kept in the dark about the financial and other affairs of the operations of the trade union, and consequently are not able to exercise their proper democratic rights when it comes to electing leaders of the trade unions or taking part in the ordinary affairs of trade unions. [More…]
I also might mention that there is in many unions no provision that a set of the rules of the union should be given to a member when he first joins. [More…]
I have heard unions claim that it is too costly to provide a set of rules, but how can an ordinary member extend his influence and use his democratic rights to the full unless he fully understands what the organisation is about and what the rules are that have been made by the organisation which is controlling him? [More…]
It is aimed at trying to get at that hard core that is developing in trade unions- people who are using trade unions for their own affairs and for their own political objectives rather than those of the community as a whole or those of the union membership. [More…]
Unions are the only backstop working women have as a reference for wages and conditions. [More…]
If the unions are deregistered, they will have no help and no backstop whatsoever. [More…]
What sort of protection are they going to get if their unions are deregistered and the women have no reference point. [More…]
Why have legislation which will destroy trade unions? [More…]
It will decide how unions will spend their funds. [More…]
The Government has the nerve to say that the unions run the country. [More…]
In May of this year the establishment of the Industrial Relations Bureau with the powers of the Inspectorate was accepted by the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
No longer are trade unions in Australia basically concerned with the conditions and wages of their members. [More…]
The girls in that factory who had never belonged to a trade union came to me for advice because they knew of my interest in trade unions and in the political movement. [More…]
Not one of those unions has taken the action because of militancy or communist influence. [More…]
I would venture to say that we would be battling to find a communist in those unions, least of all a communist occupying a position of influence. [More…]
Yet those are the unions in which the rank and file members have exercised their democratic rights by going on strike, in some cases after having availed themselves of the only opportunity to seek some for of justification and negotiation in respect of the matters before them. [More…]
That organisation is not even a member of the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
Deregistration of unions could be useful in bringing persons to their senses. [More…]
I think the only way we’ll get out is if the unions and ourselves come to terms, or if both political parties can come to an understanding to get out and stay out. [More…]
One thing which is referred to in detail in the report and which I think is worth mentioning today is that in Victoria in particular the evidence disclosed that there was a spirit of co-coperation between unions and management in industry to assist alcoholics engaged in industry in solving thenproblems. [More…]
By introducing the Bill on Friday when President Hawke of the Australian Council of Trade Unions and Premier Hamer of Victoria were still trying to solve the Victorian power workers dispute, there was very great danger of aggravating the dispute in the Latrobe Valley and making Commissioner Mansini’s task just that much more difficult. [More…]
In West Germany, Japan, Canada or even the United States of America the unions are part of the decision making process. [More…]
But when do we get time in the Senate to debate industrial legislation or to have a debate on any industrial matters which are to do with contructive issues such as worker participation, making it easier for the trade unions to amalgamate - [More…]
The other day we had spokesmen for the Government talking about militant unions, about how unions of the left were bringing down this country. [More…]
Trade unionism is probably the greatest force in this country today and men in control of it have used their power in a way which was never intended when trade unions were created. [More…]
No, not Malcolm Fraser in 1977 but Stanley Melbourne Bruce in May 1928, when he was introducing a Bill that increased Federal powers in the conciliation and arbitration system and imposed tougher controls on the unions. [More…]
If one looks at the legislation, one sees that under it unions can be deregistered. [More…]
I do not know whether anybody realises that if that happened the unions would be put right outside the system which, of course, would completely aggravate the situation. [More…]
Savage fines and penalties can be imposed on those unions which earn the displeasure of this Government. [More…]
In fact, the Australian Council of Trade Unions, which has come in for its share of abuse, endeavoured to reopen the lines of communication between Government, the employers and the trade unions. [More…]
In many cases disputes begin, continue and are prolonged because unions and management, unions and government or employers and government are unaware of the attitudes of the other party or parties involved. [More…]
It is not by threatening to use any means at the Government’s disposal to break strikes, by placing at risk the functioning of the trade union movement or by pressuring employer organisations or business into confronting the unions and taking an especially hard line in negotiations with them that industrial peace will be brought about. [More…]
Industrial peace in this country is more likely to result from unions, employers and governments co-operating in order to reach a satisfactory solution to deal with problems as they arise, instead of threatening the trade union movement in advance of the sort of legislation that will be used against them. [More…]
Announcing the Government’s confrontation with the union movement on Tuesday, the hapless Minister for Employment and Industrial Relations (it used to be called labor, but we can’t use that word now) Tony Street told a somewhat cynical press conference that the new scheme for an industrial police force wasn’t meant to please the unions, or the employers: in fact, Street said rather desperately, it wasn’t meant to please anybody. [More…]
Insofar as this understanding is based on anything, it seems to derive from a more than casual acquaintance with a number of members of the National Civic Council, who have convinced Fraser that the unions are really just tools of the handful of communist officials, and the employers either don’t know or don’t care, and the only thing that can do any good is for the government to make things as difficult as possible for the commos. [More…]
Today we find that the numbers in the important House, the House of Representatives, the people’s House, have been so reduced that the trade unions are saying: ‘If we rely on this Parliament, if we allow this Parliament to decide our destiny- the Parliament that has let us down and shown that it can be manipulated in such a way- we will be trodden down and all the gains we have made in 100 years will have been for nothing’. [More…]
The trade unions and the workers are taking extraparliamentary action because they have no voice in the Parliament. [More…]
It shows how hopeless the system is if we do not co-operate with the workers and the unions. [More…]
Thirdly, as the travel agency has stated that it would go out of business if the tours to Indonesia were stopped, does the Minister think that the unions pay little regard to farmers going out of business? [More…]
The Australian Wheat Board is trying to meet the challenge as far as it can in the circumstances, and that is in very sharp contrast to the attitude being adopted by the trade unions. [More…]
As to the other part of the honourable senator’s question relating to the Australian Council of Trade Unions maintaining its travel agency, I think that only emphasises further the contrariness of the union attitude on this matter. [More…]
He did not take it up and the reason why he quite properly did not, according to the ludicrous logic for which the Australian Country Party has become famous as demonstrated by its present leader, was that, if the Prime Minister said there was not going to be an election earlier than 12 months hence he would lose the last method available to him for controlling the irresponsible, militant left-wing unions. [More…]
Then, last Wednesday, as my colleague Senator Button has mentioned, he returned to this theme of controlling the unions and expressed the fascinating belief that since the Government had, as he said, only six months of life left it could not, of course, effectively control the unions. [More…]
The last strike on the Victorian coalfields was caused and maintained by shop stewards in defiance of their own unions. [More…]
Labour Minister’s mission to Australia to purchase uranium oxide had the endorsement of the United Kingdom trade unions? [More…]
That contrasts very sharply with the attitude taken by some trade unions in Australia. [More…]
One of the most important features of the amendments made by the Parliament a week or so ago to the Conciliation and Arbitration Act, to which I referred earlier, and which Mr Bob Hawke wants us to withdraw, and the Opposition of course opposed, was that of providing protection for individual unionists and widening greatly the scope and availability of individual rights for apprentices such as the honourable senator refers to, so that they may be able to make good their conscientious objection to joining unions. [More…]
But I was very heartened to hear another very well respected member of the farming community in this area stand up and say in reply that the primary producers should make a greater effort to sit down and discuss their problems with the leaders of industrial unions. [More…]
Not only the industrial unions are at fault. [More…]
We all know that Mr Hawke, the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, has been able to settle disputes because of his negotiating skills. [More…]
The result was that there was a quite extensive recruitment of labour in the Department of Employment and Industrial Relations and finally in the Department of Social Security, after about 18 months of complaints from and action by the unions and from within the Department. [More…]
It is true that at the turn of the century certain protective devices were introduced by various groups, including trade unions, because of employment trends of those times. [More…]
I say quite simply that this attitude of hit and run against trade unions causes the polarisation which many of us on this side of the chamber have objected to strongly. [More…]
The fact is that the composition of most unions includes people with nomadic work habits. [More…]
Mr Street is very vocal at times about trying to meet the unions halfway. [More…]
I do not think anyone would deny that most mergers mean that unions can cut costs and give a better service. [More…]
What I said was that the Government’s requests to us are perfectly fair and we can meet them on safeguards and nonproliferation and so on and we would therefore hope that we would be able to get a sustained contract, and as for the Labor Party and the trade unions, we would hope that they would see reason on this. [More…]
I refer to the Leader of the organisational side of the Austraiian Labor Party, the Federal President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, Mr Hawke. [More…]
-The Japanese GMS project involves the positioning and operation of a geostationary meteorological satellite over the equator to the north of Australia as part of the global atmospheric research program which is being promoted jointly by the World Meteorological Organisation and the International Council of Scientific Unions. [More…]
The Waterside Workers Federation is probably one of the few unions in Australia that has a ballot on a set day which emulates Federal and State elections. [More…]
It has been built up on huge capital expenditure and it depends for its stability upon work being carried out by unions other than the Waterside Workers Federation. [More…]
Situations have arisen in which the Australian Council of Trade Unions has had to fulfil a role with its affiliated bodies. [More…]
The Government would hope that the Australian Council of Trade Unions would exercise leadership in these matters and there is nothing which would prevent that from happening. [More…]
I have with me the minutes of a meeting held in Melbourne on 2 August this year between the Australian Council of Trade Unions and rural organisations. [More…]
Present were representatives of nine unions concerned with meat processing or meat exports and 9 producer organisations. [More…]
For the record, as I see it, there is on the horizon at least some hope that the unions and the rural organisations are likely- albeit belatedly- to get together. [More…]
I refer to the ban placed by trade unions on the shipment of wheat to Indonesia to the detriment of the Australian wheat industry on grounds of principle. [More…]
Is it a fact that the Australian Council of Trade Unions’ travel agency, New World, actively promotes travel to Indonesia? [More…]
If so, is this not another example of the selective application of principle by trade unions? [More…]
Australia’s reputation as a reliable supplier of primary produce is threatened by the total ban placed by maritime unions on trade with Chile and the ACTU ban on the handling of Indonesian flag ships? [More…]
It appears that the Australian Council of Trade Unions is taking little action to lift them and to enable trade to proceed with these countries- in particular, Chile and Indonesia. [More…]
Discussions are held with unions, with governments, with the local community and between Commonwealth and State governments. [More…]
I go on record again as saying that every increase the trade unions ask for on behalf of their members is justified. [More…]
This attitude can be likened to that adopted in the days of Hitler when the first assault was made on the trade unions. [More…]
By declining to serve, that is, by black banning the Broadcasting Council- a most reprehensible conduct if attempted by trade unions but apparently quiet all right if attempted by the commercial broadcasting sector- they have rendered it incapable of operation. [More…]
I am fascinated by that and would like to find out how many migrants are in top executive positions in trade unions, how many of them represent the tremendous power - [More…]
He then went on to talk about the fact that there were not enough Continental migrants either in the unions or in the Senate and the House of Representatives. [More…]
An additional 53,000 people were registered for unemployment because of the irresponsible actions of trade union leaders about which we never heard any complaints from the Labor Opposition and in relation to which no real suggestions and leadership have been provided by the Labor Opposition or the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
The motion of no confidence which was carried overwhelmingly, at the Toowoomba conference contrasts startingly with the rousing reception that was accorded Mr Hawke of the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
For years so many of our friends on the other side of the chamber have talked about the great benefits of socialism, how trade unions prosper under it, how Soviet Russia is the ultimate of it all and how honourable senators opposite worship at that shrine! [More…]
If South Australian companies are to bc controlled, in the future, by the joint forces of the trade unions and the Government, funds for new business projects and for business expansion will just not be available from the private sector. [More…]
Who, in these circumstances, would want to invest their own money in a company in which the right to make major financial policy decisions has been taken away from the shareholders and handed over to the trade unions and the Government? [More…]
The fact is that the principle of one-third of the directors being appointed by the unions, one-third by the Government and one-third by the shareholders is set out clearly in a policy document which was circulated by the South Australian Labor Party in 1975. [More…]
A real unity ticket existed between the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, Mr Bob Hawke, the Minister for Transport, Mr Nixon, and myself. [More…]
I speak for a number of trade unions which have as their officers men of varied Labor attitudes. [More…]
Whether I speak for brother Garland of the Australian Metal Workers Union, brother French of the Rubber Workers Union or the officials of a host of other unions I think I can say that the Latin American people in the unions are a little concerned. [More…]
I would like to believe that, if the Argentinian Government refuses to respond to the genuine requests I have documented of the Latin American communities and trade unions I have mentioned, we will get up at the United Nations and name the Argentinian Government as destroying all that we believe in and accept in the charter of the United Nations. [More…]
We have a situation here where the Opposition and the unions have rightly expressed great concern about the levels of unemployment. [More…]
The Government also has indicated to the unions and to those who have been concerned about this matter that any persons within the Public Service who felt that their applications had not received proper consideration could have their grievance examined by a panel on which there would be union representatives but that offer has not been taken up. [More…]
There is a concern that big unions, big business and big government are running everything. [More…]
The trade unions, the lawyers and the insurance companies all had their say. [More…]
Any interest group, whether it is the trade unions, lawyers or insurance companies would have to concede that its point of view must be meshed with equally serious points of view that must be taken into account by the Parliament. [More…]
However, I think it is time that people as serious as senators remembered that women are people and acknowledged that governments, employers, trade unions and husbands do not take seriously the very real problems of women in this community. [More…]
Trade unions, governments, and employers have let one man’s wage drift so far back that it will no longer keep a wife and family and so we have the family income made up of two people’s wages, and in my opinion one of those people gets less than justice in the market place. [More…]
He is not supported by unions. [More…]
Are we to take it from the Minister’s remarks that the Government is about to repeal that section; or is the Minister aware of any Government acquiescence, in the current review of the stevedoring industry, in moves to force clerks, foremen stevedores and others out of their own unions and into the Waterside Workers Federation under a misguided notion of industry unionism, thus creating monopoly control on Australia’s waterfront, a subject in which I would have thought farmers would be most interested. [More…]
I ask the Minister whether, in view of the enormous sums that this Government directs to university education, it is not overdue for the Government to insist as a condition that student unions exist for the benefit of students in their student affairs as distinct from political ends. [More…]
Is it not overdue for the Government to simply lay down that proposition to be complied with by the universities of the States in order to prevent funds compulsorily raised by student unions being used for unacceptable political purposes? [More…]
Without the safety precautions of trade unions which may be compelled to take action if necessary, I hope the Government itself which has some authority under the Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Act will take the appropriate steps to ensure that action of this nature will not be taken by the Queensland Government. [More…]
That may be a mundane analogy but I do not think Commonwealth Employment Service unions are worried about new blood coming in. [More…]
The policy that has been adopted by the Labor Party and the trade unions unfortunately will not allay fears or bring about the results they wish to obtain. [More…]
This is what the present policy of the Labor Party and the trade unions will bring about. [More…]
Clause 3 deals with the examination of business records; but does the definition of ‘business’ include such organisations as the Aboriginal land council and the trade unions? [More…]
If they are, the question arises as to whether the trade unions fall into this category. [More…]
I would have thought that trade unions would fall within the definition of ‘business’ as ‘any business, profession, occupation, calling, trade or undertaking’. [More…]
Last session we included the trade unions within the Jurisdiction of the Trade Practices Act. [More…]
Trade unions would be corporate bodies. [More…]
Recent legislation extended one section of the Trade Practices Act to trade unions, I think with a certain degree of futility as I stated in the debate. [More…]
It is a programme where management, unions and employees are involved and satisfied with the results. [More…]
Indeed, my Government has always maintained that such programmes should be based on a consensus of all those involved, management, employee and unions. [More…]
This creates a much more favourable climate for management, employees and unions to get together to develop meaningful programmes to bring about more democratic principles in the work force. [More…]
There is no doubt that a contributor to unemployment has been the constant effort of trade unions, particularly the radical elements of trade unions, to seek higher and higher wages and better and better conditions regardless of productivity and the capacity of an economy to pay. [More…]
It would be remiss of me to suggest that the pursuit of excellence and attacking the problems which confront us are just challenges to be met by labour and the unions. [More…]
Equally there is in Australia an interdependence, and at long last a significant number of Australians is recognising that beyond their organisations, their unions and their associations lies an absolute necessity to recognise that without success across the board there will be no success. [More…]
The call-a-conference syndrome reflects a need for a permanent consultative body consisting of the States, employers and unions to advise a Minister who is solely responsible for employment and related matters. [More…]
The prime point is that the unions sought to go through the normal conciliation processes and took the dispute before Mr Commissioner Brack. [More…]
The industry program group has appropriate representations from manufacturers, the unions and the Department. [More…]
During my earlier remarks I referred to the difficulties which some of the trade unions encountered in giving evidence to the Industries Assistance Commission or in the reports that were presented by the Industries Assistance [More…]
Perhaps it was a lack of knowledge on the part of the back-up support of the role that the trade unions play in Australian society. [More…]
A senior official of the Australian Workers Union came to me after the report had been published and told me that was the first knowledge that the Australian Workers Unions which covered the people employed in the industry, had of the IAC inquiry. [More…]
I made arrangements with my Department that every time a reference went to the Industries Assistance Committee the Department should ensure that all the trade unions likely to be involved were given adequate notice of the desire of the Industries Assistance Commission to conduct an inquiry. [More…]
One is that for many years I was Secretary of the Tasmanian Trades and Labour Council and a member of the Executive of the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
I believe that if we in this Parliament give leadership to the people of Australia, the interest groups, including the unions and the employers, will go along with it provided they know where we are going. [More…]
The Australian Labor Party, whose policy is one of opposition to the development of Australian uranium resources, and those unions which share the same view, should seriously reconsider and reflect upon the consequences that their action can have both for Australia and for mankind. [More…]
Will the Minister for Home Affairs retract his statement, which is an affront to the trade unions concerned? [More…]
I do not take exception to the fact that Senator Harradine claims that all unions make representations on behalf of their women members. [More…]
During the period since 1 July 1975, the Commonwealth Government has been working with the governments of South Australia and Tasmania, as well as with representatives of unions and railway management, to finalise a number of detailed operational and industrial issues. [More…]
The major research projects cover a wide field: The position of police unions and their impact on police administration; juvenile justice; and white collar crime, which I have mentioned already. [More…]
Whatever doubts the retiring authority may have and whatever optimism the unions, the employers and even the Minister may have, a gap exists and I just do not know how the Government will handle it. [More…]
It has been suggested to the Australian maritime unions that he is the paragon of industrial mediation. [More…]
On the other hand, it is obvious that in a tight employment situation there is justifiable militancy by unions to protect jobs. [More…]
As a matter of fact- I think Senator Bishop will concur with me- the trade unions adopt a much more intransigent attitude when they feel that something is being taken off them than when they are aiming at something higher. [More…]
It could be said that the Australian Council of Trade Unions has a role to play. [More…]
About a year or two ago I discovered from my questioning of officers of the Parliament- I was particularly concerned then about the air conditioning system and the lack of activity in that regard- that great concern was expressed in correspondence from the unions about the fire dangers and the problems which people working in this building could well suffer. [More…]
However, the Minister has included on the Council a broad cross-section of business interests as well as representatives of unions and consumers. [More…]
I am very concerned at the degree to which unions are restricting the export trade of Australia. [More…]
1 ask the Minister whether he has had an opportunity to verify those claims and whether he can make a statement to the Senate about the effectiveness of the unions’ present campaign to interrupt the oil trade in support of its claim that the trade should employ Australian crews on tankers. [More…]
Will the Government consider extending the suggested tax to corporate bodies, such as trade unions, so that the cost of their activities to the community can be firmly established [More…]
I take it that it flows from the questions put previously, particularly by Senator Sir Magnus Cormack, which suggested that when unions indulge in bans and boycotts which cause financial loss, particularly to exporters in this country, the people suffering loss should be compensated. [More…]
I take it the honourable senator is now saying that a tax should be levied on trade unions to pay the compensation. [More…]
It is significant that neither the Australian Council of Trade Unions nor the Victorian Trades Hall Council have endorsed the centre. [More…]
I have been told by a union official in Melbourne that a possible reason for the official trade union hostility is that on several occasions women associated with the centre have attempted to by-pass the elected officials of unions and enter factories and work places in order to spread their propaganda. [More…]
Only a handful of unions have provided finance to it. [More…]
After two years of operations the Centre, in a news sheet dated 1 1 October 1976, admitted that only two unions had approached it in order to obtain research and advocacy assistance for claims. [More…]
One of the unions which continued to support it was the Food Preservers Union. [More…]
Mr Ellicott ‘s remarks were an insult to all of those unions which, in their own way and under their own rules, free of pressure from extreme radical feminists, are attempting to do something for their women members. [More…]
I understand that that recommendation also has been made to the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
M. MacKellar, M.P., Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs, relative to the efforts of Sydney Trade Unions to aid Miss Rosa Mohaded, 1/50 Wiley Street, Waverley, NSW, to have her sister, Ana Maria Mohaded, released from the Cordoba Penitentiary in the Argentine where she has been subject to severe political duress. [More…]
A mounting resentment is developing amongst Sydney trade unions (and I spoke at several meetings during the last break) that Latin Americans in countries with military juntas in control backed by their Australian relatives don ‘t get anything like the solicitude given to the boat people. [More…]
I have also advised senior officers of the NSW Labor Council and unions with sizeable Latin American membership of ARV, AMWU, Rubber Workers Union that via the ACTU we will be forced to commence national agitation unless more evenhandedness is manifest. [More…]
1 ) Repatriation pensions are paid either fortnightly by cheque (in advance) or 12 weekly in arrears to banks, building societies or credit unions. [More…]
Under present arrangements for the payment of repatriation pensions, building societies and credit unions form pan of the same payment cycle as banks. [More…]
Repatriation pensioners may have their pensions deposited directly to accounts kept with building societies, credit unions and banks willing to participate in the present 12 weekly payment cycle. [More…]
It is understood the system of paying social security pensions provides for fortnightly payment to banks, building societies and credit unions. [More…]
The introduction of fortnightly payments of repatriation pensions to accounts kept with banks, building societies and credit unions, in addition to the methods of payment already available, would involve an additional annual cost of approximately $600,000. [More…]
In addition, the National Advisory Council for the Handicapped has had discussions with the Australian Council of Trade Unions, the Australian Federation of Employers Organisation and the Australian Council for Rehabilitation of Disabled, as a result of which it has been agreed to form a committee to examine all aspects of the employment of handicapped people. [More…]
The Australian Council of Trade Unions has called a special interstate executive meeting with affected unions. [More…]
The Australian religious community; the Aboriginal community; a national voluntary environmental organisation; the Northern Territory community; the Australian Council of Trade Unions; a person with experience in energy matters; the Australian uranium industry; a nuclear scientist; a medical practitioner or health physicist; an environmentalist with experience in natural resource development; an economist with experience in natural resource development; an expert in national, and international affairs or law. [More…]
Honourable members will be aware that the ACTU determined that affiliated unions should make labour available to facilitate the honouring of existing contracts from Mary Kathleen and from the Lucas Heights stockpile. [More…]
So, the unions will take over from the Parliament unless a little more vigilance is exercised. [More…]
One of the policies to which reference was made at that time was that the Liberal and Country parties in government would confer with shipowners and unions on improvement of careers at sea and the need for a merchant maritime college open to all ranks and providing technical education and qualification courses. [More…]
I remember that when the original Australian Maritime College Bill was debated, in 1976, the only two speakers in the second reading debate were me and Senator Rae, with Senator Harradine making a short contribution in the Committee stage concerning the unions. [More…]
Senator Harradine mentioned some unions and associations which he thought could be represented. [More…]
It has always been intended that the College would educate all levels of seagoing personnel and I believe that the Council should recognise that representatives of unions and associations of people who will graduate into our maritime service should be represented. [More…]
As a member of the executive of the Australian Council of Trade Unions I was privy to information concerning the discussions which took place at that particular time within unions and between unions about the location of the Maritime College. [More…]
The Centre was set up with the intention of informing unions about specific problems facing women in the work force; to encourage women to join their appropriate union; to educate women about trade unions and to encourage them to participate in union activity and to seek decision-making positions within the unions; to provide information and support for women who have problems which affect their work or ability to get work; to bring a grass-roots woman’s view of the effect of government policies and legislation to the attention of government Ministers and departments. [More…]
Several unions have sought the advice of the Centre. [More…]
Several unions have actually involved the Centre in the preparation of material for arbitration claims and in at least three instances the Centre has actually given evidence in arbitration matters. [More…]
ACSPA, the Council of Australian Government Employee Organisations and the Australian Council of Trade Unions comprise the three governing bodies of the trade union movement in Australia. [More…]
The ACTU in conjunction with other Peak Councils and through its affiliated branches and unions should initiate the investigation of the possibility of establishing centres similar in concept to that of the Working Women’s Centre, in other States, which would be accessible to all trade unionists’. [More…]
The Centre is financially supported at the moment by more than 70 unions, many of which are affiliated with the ACTU and whose leaders are involved in a wide spectrum of opinion in the trade union movement. [More…]
Other centres provide a service to members of their own unions. [More…]
It distributes them to all unions throughout Australia. [More…]
They are of such calibre that on the mailing list now are not only unions but also schools, universities, teacher training colleges and libraries. [More…]
Some examples of the sort of material on which these discussion papers are written are: Should Unions be Concerned About Women ‘s Issues? [More…]
’, Should Unions Support a Mother’s Wage? [More…]
I- Should Unions Be Concerned About Women’s Issues? [More…]
2- Should Unions Be Concerned About Childcare? [More…]
3- Should Unions Be Concerned About Migrant Women Workers? [More…]
I have been told by a union official in Melbourne that a possible reason for the official trade union hostility is that on several occasions women associated with the Centre have attempted to by-pass the elected officials of unions and enter factories and work places in order to spread their propaganda. [More…]
In the first place, there is no official trade union hostility to the Working Women’s Centre and, secondly, Senator Harradine gives no information of those instances when the Centre has bypassed the elected officials of unions. [More…]
Senator Harradine would have us believe that it had no contact; that it was set up as a front organisation and that it had nothing to do with trade unions. [More…]
The two hard working and over-worked women who work in the Centre personally visit trade unions for discussions with officials- evidence can be given of that. [More…]
As I said, they produce monthly reports and research papers which are distributed to all trade unions. [More…]
Their paper Women at Work’ is distributed through trade unions and in some instances unions have acknowledged that whereas the women tend not to read the official trade union journal, they most certainly read this publication because it includes matters which appeal specifically and immediately to them, and is of some assistance to them. [More…]
As a result, they are often invited to address the executives of trade unions and to address and participate in training seminars run by trade unions in Victoria. [More…]
For the record, the Working Women ‘s Centre, which is not recognised by the Australian Council of Trade Unions or by the Victorian Trades Hall Council, has received $40,000 from the International Women’s Year Secretariat, $8,000 in January 1977 from the Department of Social Security for child care study, $6,300 in April 1977 from a Federal Government grant, $200 in July-August 1977 from the Australia Council for arts information for the Working Women’s Centre newsletter, a total of $54,500. [More…]
I repeat that it is significant that neither the Australian Council of Trade Unions nor the Victorian Trades Hall Council has endorsed the Centre. [More…]
Senator Melzer referred to the ACTU’s Special Unions Conference on the Working Women’s Chaner. [More…]
As the honourable senator probably does not know, under the rules of the ACTU the decisions made at any conference which is called by the ACTU as a special unions conference must be submitted to the ACTU Executive for endorsement or otherwise. [More…]
That resolution, which was proposed at the ACTU’s Special Unions Conference and second by Mr Ted Bull, the Vice-President of the Communist Party of Australia, Marxist-Leninist, and the Secretary of the Melbourne branch of the Waterside Workers Federation, of which there are no women members, was opposed and rejected by the ACTU Congress. [More…]
As I said before, this is a free country, but we are talking about a centre which is not recognised by the Australian Council of Trade Unions or the Victorian Trades Hall Council but which presumably, for some reason, is recognised by the Federal Government. [More…]
The honourable senator stated that the organisation is not connected with the trade union movement because the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the Victorian Trades Hall Council did not recognise it. [More…]
We have been told that the Australian Council of Salaried and Professional Associations and the Council of Australian Government Employee Organisations recognise the Centre and that some 70 unions support them. [More…]
Recent Press reports allege that the attempts of Soviet workers to organise themselves into proper trade unions and for them to be recognised as such by the International Labour Organisation have been met by severe repressive measures by the Soviet Government. [More…]
I am sure that the Minister for Employment and Industrial Relations and all honourable senators would be most interested in the information conveyed by Senator Lajovic in his question about attempts by Soviet workers to form trade unions. [More…]
We should also be thanking certainly the Minister for Employment and Industrial Relations for the tremendous and tireless work he has put into trying to achieve agreement in this matter between the unions and their interests and the farmers and graziers and their interests. [More…]
-I point out to the Committee that so far as the discussions on the site were concerned, I was privy- as a member of the Australian Council of Trade Unions executive at the time- to information relating to the discussions that took place amongst maritime unions in respect of the establishment of a maritime college. [More…]
As mentioned last night, a number of those unions were not in favour of the establishment of the Australian Maritime College at Launceston. [More…]
In anticipation of the answer by the Minister to the suggestion put by Senator Lewis, I wonder whether consultation has taken place with the maritime unions. [More…]
-If I may deal first with the matter raised by Senator Mulvihill, the maritime unions are, and therefore were, represented on the Interim Council. [More…]
During discussions in the second reading stage of the Maritime College (Interim Council) Bill, I raised for the consideration of the Committee and of the Minister the need for representations of the maritime unions to be involved with the [More…]
I would have thought that he would have heeded the appeal by Mr Hawke of the Australian Council of Trade Unions that this is a period when people ought to stop making provocative statements so that industrial disputes of great magnitude can be settled sensibly, but evidently Senator Cavanagh has no interest in having the matter settled. [More…]
Oil companies have lost millions of dollars because of an unsettled dispute with maritime unions. [More…]
He said that he appreciated the co-operation of the WWF in recognising Tasmania’s dependence on sea transport, in line with the agreement between the State Government and the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
Then one finds, as far as the Empress of Australia is concerned, the following text that is fed out for parliamentary representatives to accept as their relative situation vis-a-vis the responsibility of the unions: [More…]
In 1972 the unions took strike action, in the absence of resistance by the Government. [More…]
In 1976, when the unions were negotiating hard for the expiration of the Authority’s jurisdiction and hoping that it would be dismantled so that new worlds in the stevedoring industry would open up for them to conquer, the unions went quiet. [More…]
Let it be remembered that when the Woodward conference got final agreement, and the Government acquiesced in an experimental basis in regard to permanent employment, it was carefully provided in the terms of that conference agreement that the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the unions of Australia recognised that the conditions to be established were no precedent for adoption in other industries; they were not to be made a basis of claim for extension into other industries. [More…]
As a senator from Tasmania, who has seen in the period in which I have been in this place the absolute destruction of Tasmania’s special apple industry, untold damage to an industry which had been especially established in Tasmania- the textile industry- and the whole of the shipping arrangements to Tasmania now dependent upon the meek pleas of a Labor Government to the Australian Council of Trade Unions, I wish to express my sense of utter shame at the failure of this Government and its predecessors to get sanity into this industry whose deficiencies have now been demonstrated and exposed, not upon my say so alone but by the last and final report of the Australian Stevedoring Industry Authority which has received in return its death sentence. [More…]
In Australia today there is a dispute which concerns this Government and the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
I am pleased to know, after listening to Government speakers in this place, that there is a quite conciliatory attitude that negotiations in this very important dispute, which has not yet been solved but which is nearly solved, should be conducted with the ACTU and the unions. [More…]
In the motor vehicle industry the unions have negotiated severance pay. [More…]
I quickly repeat my point that, as is well known in Australia, there has always been the circumstance where not the law, but the Australian Council of Trade Unions or some special organisation has had to come in and help settle disputes. [More…]
He objects to Mr Fitzgibbon, the Waterside Workers Federation of Australia and apparently other unions making contact with their international colleagues. [More…]
He says nothing about the multinational companies which have their own international unions and standards. [More…]
In the circumstances of the industry we have to negotiate a satisfactory arrangement between the employers and the waterfront unions to make sure that we do not create bad feeling which we know all about. [More…]
Anybody who has studied the subject of the Australian Council of Trade Unions and affiliations would know that that number used to be considerably higher. [More…]
The unions cannot adopt the Luddite technique of the nineteenth century when they smashed machinery which they saw as a threat to their jobs. [More…]
He pointed out that if Bob Hawke had suggested to an affiliated union three days ago what he might have suggested today the unions three days a go would have bitten his head off. [More…]
I refer to the Transport Workers Unions of Australia, the Federated Storemen and Packers Union of Australia and the Federated Engine Drivers and Firemen ‘s Association of Australasia. [More…]
A lot of people in the small white collar unions and technical unions would be horrified if it was suggested to them that they should vote for the Labor Party, much less for ACTU affiliation. [More…]
He has indicated his very great concern that employers and unions could co-operate in such a way as to secure unemployment benefits artificially. [More…]
Does the University allow conscientious objection on grounds narrower than those applicable to membership of trade unions generally? [More…]
I think that the grounds are relatively narrow and that I would be correct in sayingbut I would need to check it- that the conscientious objection grounds are more narrow than those applying to trade unions. [More…]
-Earlier today Senator Baume asked me a question on student fees and particularly their relationship to conscientious objection as it applies in trade unions. [More…]
So quite clearly Senator Baume is correct in saying that trade unions have a wider opting out provision for conscientious objection than would a tertiary institution relying on religious beliefs only. [More…]
There has been a series of discussions between the AASMB and the unions in an attempt to reach a consensus on this issue. [More…]
The stud merino breeders have till now not pushed a case for the immediate lifting of the ban to the extreme because they have been attempting to reach consensus with the unions. [More…]
You will be aware that one element of this Code relating to radiation protection in the mining and milling of radioactive ores has already been prepared in consultation with State authorities, unions, and the mining industry. [More…]
Will Mr Iwasaki run this operation as he runs operations in Japan, where he has a notorious reputation for being opposed to trade unions, with all aspects of the resort, including transport, hotels and everything else, under monopoly control? [More…]
That is why the Minister for Employment and Industrial Relations- I in this place and also the Minister have acknowledged this- and the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions were obliged to take a good deal of action to bring the parties together and to keep negotiations going so that ultimately, in this way, agreement was reached. [More…]
Generally, we would see the steps involved in arriving at approved codes of practice as including: initial drafting by the appropriate Commonwealth Department (for example Department of Health for health codes, Department of Transport for transport codes, Department of Environment, Housing and Community Development for general environment protection codes); consultation on the proposed draft code with relevant State and Territory Ministers; the release, where appropriate, of the draft code for public comment, particularly by in dustry and Trade Unions; consideration of the draft code by relevant Advisory Councils such as the Australian Ionising Radiation Advisory Council; final consideration within the Government and submission to the Governor-General; the provision of an order in writing by the Governor-General approving the code; tabling of the order approving the code of practice in both Houses of Parliament. [More…]
On the general question of progress with codes, I am sure honourable senators will be pleased to know that one important code of practice on radiation protection in the mining and milling of radioactive ores has already been prepared by the Commonwealth Department of Health in consultation with other Commonwealth and State authorities, industry and Trade Unions. [More…]
Thus the growers might wrongly come into confrontation with the workers in the industry when such confrontation should be between the CSR and the industrial unions concerned. [More…]
That division is also present in the trade unions. [More…]
We know that there are many trade unionssome powerful trade unions- that are wholeheartedly in favour, and have publicly expressed that they are in favour, of the mining and the exporting of uranium whilst there are other trade unions that are diametrically opposed to the mining of uranium. [More…]
They might also have to deal with a few people who may be Labor supporters in the sense that they belong to certain unions affiliated with the Labor Party and yet those unionists themselves and their unions are in favour of the mining of uranium. [More…]
For the sake of greedy mining companies the Government is prepared to use the most repressive provisions that have ever been known in Australia, lt is prepared to deny ordinary industrial rights to workers in unions and associations that are part of the industry. [More…]
He said that the Australian Council of Trade Unions will be represented on the Uranium Advisory Council. [More…]
By conducting uranium mining under this Act, the Government has the power to deny the ordinary industrial rights of workers and unions associated with the mining, handling and transportation of uranium. [More…]
For boycotting or threatening to boycott such projects, or for publishing about or advocating the boycotting or threatening boycott of such projects, the penalties are up to a year in jail and a $10,000 fine, h could have an impact on press freedom as well as the rights of trade unions, workers and other citizens. [More…]
I heard him so many times speak of his links in days gone by in the arbitration system, with the trade unions, how proud he was that he had won some famous cases for the trade union movement, and of his friendship and affection for trade union leaders such as Albert Monk. [More…]
Is the Opposition Leader indulging in his usual practice of exacerbating problems for political purposes by making outrageous, irresponsible and untimely statements, in this case designed to incite the trade unions? [More…]
Australian Council of Trade Unions before the Australian Conciliation and Arbitration Commission was the false premise that wages in real terms were falling. [More…]
‘They’re being lobbied by labor unions, lobbied by timber companies … [More…]
The people who don ‘t want any bill are using the labor unions to act as a battering ram for them’. [More…]
What the Deputy Arbitrator did do was to order both unions and their members to cease the imposition of the bans. [More…]
The unions took the matter to the High Court which held that the Deputy Arbitrator in fact had power to grant a right of appeal and that, as the other orders were made on the erroneous assumption that he lacked jurisdiction to deal with the unions’ claim, they could not be allowed to stand. [More…]
More recently the Government has received a report from the Automotive Industry Advisory Council which represents manufacturers, unions, importers and consumers. [More…]
Since the Minister announced his decision, all major guilds and unions have expressed objections to stopping the making of the film. [More…]
Also, in accordance with the recommendation of the Review, trade unions will be eligible for special project grants to improve migrants’ knowledge of and participation in union affairs. [More…]
To this end the Committee has proposed increased communication, consultation and personnel exchanges in the areas of business, trade unions, agriculture, science and technology, culture and general tourism- and has recommended that more attention should be paid in Australia to the training, in both language and culture, of personnel in both business and Government involved in dealing with Japan. [More…]
Many of the unions concerned had fears about the export of merino rams which I believe were ill-founded, but that cannot be decisively proven. [More…]
The unions were afraid that the Australian wool industry’s competitive position would be jeopardised by exports, and that conclusion is quite correct if the Australian merino had substantial genetic superiority. [More…]
I think it is unlikely that it has, and therefore to that extent the unions ‘ action was inspired by a false premise. [More…]
The best argument that they could put to the unions or to anyone else was the fraudulent argument of the AWIC, the International Wool Secretariat, William Vines and the Liberal and National Country parties. [More…]
If the Government is going to permit the export of merino rams it has a strong obligation not only to the unions concerned but also to the whole industry, the whole nation, to put an honest and rational argument, and it has so far failed to do that. [More…]
Did the Minister representing the Minister for Employment and Industrial Relations see the article by the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, Mr Hawke, in the Australian recently in which he gave his reasons for calling on the Federal Government to remove legislative obstacles to the amalgamation of unions? [More…]
Did the Minister say this morning that the Labor Party is in favour of compulsory membership of student unions? [More…]
Did Senator Button last night say just the oppositethat the Labor Party is not in favour of compulsory membership of student unions? [More…]
Until such time as that sort of policy is implemented, with the cooperation of State governments, trade unions, private industry and so on, it seems that we have to accept the procedures that apply now whereby individual sections of the community such as parliamentarians have to find some other way of resolving the problems. [More…]
Unions are suspicious about the Government’s intentions. [More…]
I have said that the main solution is the same as that which applies in the trade unions, that is, the full participation of students by voluntary effort in bringing about democratic results. [More…]
I ask the Minister representing the Minister for Employment and Industrial Relations whether he has seen reports by trade union officials that in the current economic situation unions are having greater difficulties in getting some employers to observe awards. [More…]
Australian public servants and unions are balking at their transfer to the Northern Territory Public Service in the first stage of a transfer program scheduled for 1 July. [More…]
Their travelling allowances are fixed by the Public Service Board, generally in consultation with the unions concerned. [More…]
The Government has now decided on a member ratio of 4:4- 4 members from the trade unions and 4 members from other sources in the community. [More…]
As I said to Senator Mulvihill a few moments ago and as he well knows, those problems included the in-fighting between the unions over the trade union training. [More…]
Some of the unions will not have anything to do with that training; they keep out of it altogether. [More…]
Many unions have been fighting over the Trade Union Training Authority and I believe that the restructuring of this Authority will have the desired effect. [More…]
The remaining membership will be made up of the following: The Secretary or, in his stead, another officer of the Department appointed by the Minister, five representatives of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, a representative of the Australian Council of Salaried and Professional Associations, a representative of the Council of Australian Government Employee Organisations, a representative of the Confederation of Australian Industry, a representative of the Commissioner of the Tertiary Education Commission- such representation being an innovation- and, as a further innovation, a representative who will be a member of the Parliament appointed by the Prime Minister, and one who will be a member of the Parliament appointed by the Leader of the Opposition. [More…]
As Senator Mulvihill has said, this will result in there being four members from the unions and four from other areas of the community. [More…]
As Senator Mulvihill will know, some of the branches are run by more right wing unions and in other States they are run by more left wing unions. [More…]
I believe that these appointments represent an insult to the top officers of the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
Professor Owen Harries is Chairman of the Committee, which includes eminent representatives from business, government, the universities and the unions. [More…]
1 ) That a Select Committee of the Senate be appointed to consider and report upon the possible planning, including terms of reference, for a national convention, to be held within two years, for a ten year indicative plan for the Australian economy, such convention to include representatives of all political parties, employers’ groups, unions and government, to attempt to establish basic guidelines on which all could agree and which would remain constant regardless of changes of government, with particular reference to- [More…]
If that report has been received, does he intend to make it known to the South Australian Government and/or the trade unions which are concerned about it? [More…]
The Minister may have received- I know that South Australian senators have received- representations from all the railway unions asking us to do what we can in respect of these matters. [More…]
The usual policy is that members of striking unions at the establishment at which the industrial dispute is in force are not eligible for unemployment benefit under section 107 of the Social Services Act. [More…]
However, members of other unions at that establishment who are stood down as a result of the dispute will be paid unemployment benefit, subject to the usual conditions. [More…]
I want to be excused from dealing publicly with a particular and individual case, but I am able to advise Senator Evans that an urgent approach has been made by my Department to the Department of Employment and Industrial Relations on which we heavily rely in matters of clarifying unions which are direct participants in strikes and disputes. [More…]
In particular we have sought urgently a clarification on the unions which were direct participants in the dispute on the State Savings Bank site in Melbourne. [More…]
It ought to be said by way of background that industrial disputes are occurring at various building sites in Melbourne at present, and bans are being imposed by a group of building trades and builders labourers unions. [More…]
The unit would be demonstrated to senior department officers, industry representatives and unions at Melbourne Airport on Thursday. [More…]
The problems involved in the organisation of social clubs are being dealt with in the course of their regular activities by the Socialist Alliance, trade unions and other socio-political and social organisations and are an area for their permanent cooperation with progressive parties and other organisations or trade unions in the countries in which our workers are employed ‘. [More…]
Whatever assertions have been made on either side, my information is that despite whatever letter may have been written the taxation people followed the accepted line of allowing as a deduction membership of one of the two unions in the retail and merchandising industry. [More…]
In respect to the first point raised by the honourable senator, I am advised that the present technical structures for manning Telecom exchanges were introduced in about 1970, with the agreement of the unions concerned. [More…]
1 think, that all areas of industry in Australia- by all areas I mean employers organisations, trade unions and people seeking employment- approve of these proposals. [More…]
The Federation also drew attention to the attitude of the building unions. [More…]
However, the attitude of building unions to wage indexation has had a profoundly adverse effect in building performance and as a consequence has weakened confidence in investment in building and construction. [More…]
I commend the Australian Labor Party for bringing on this matter today, but I wish that while its members are performing a service like this they would also use whatever influence they have over the trade unions with whom they are clearly identified. [More…]
I also wish that the Labor Party would have a word to its very popular Premier, Mr Dunstan, who has acceded, I understand, to the wishes of the trade unions which want to get their sticky fingers into the home building industry. [More…]
No trade unions involved in the home building industry are like those associated with commercial building, where the Gallaghers and other people put their sticky fingers in all the time. [More…]
For many years now- and unions should have looked at this matter too when they were looking at wage claims- it has taken two incomes to buy a house. [More…]
If the techniques employed are those of the present Government- savage general deflation, massive doses of induced unemployment, authoritarian suppression of legitimately reacting trade unions, the simultaneous feather-bedding of selected industries- then none of this sort of reaction will stop the all too visible decline towards us becoming, as someone recently predicted, the Uruguay of the South Pacific: a country where both rural and manufacturing industries have collapsed, leaving no jobs at all for most of the work force, and where the sole real wealth lies in capitalintensive low employment mining owned and exploited by foreigners. [More…]
But as long as the unions are kicked, gouged, bullied and blamed for all the ills of the economy, which overwhelmingly are not of their own making, and as long as they are completely ignored by organisations like [More…]
Indeed I moved the resolution at the critical Australian Council of Trade Unions congress on this particular matter. [More…]
Certainly the call-a-conference syndrome, which we heard earlier this year when I moved that motion and which we will hear in the very near future and have heard recently in the Senate, reflects a need for the permanent consultative body consisting of the States, employers and unions to advise the Minister who is solely responsible for employment and related matters. [More…]
Mr Dearson informed Mr Aper that at no time during the interview had Mr Aper said that he was fighting unions or that he was black banned or that he was against unions. [More…]
Will you get a transcript of the Australian Broadcasting Commission’s news service last evening in which this gallant non-unionist, who is occupied in the kitchen apparently keg squatting, made the statement that he did tell Mr Dearson that he was opposed to unions and would not join, which prompted the response: ‘You are the ideal man for the position’? [More…]
The matter of this man’s attitude towards unions was not mentioned. [More…]
Is the Minister representing the Minister for Employment and Industrial Relations aware of widespread Press reports of the utterances of one Miss Barbara Biggs in the last week when she was recorded as saying, among quite a number of other things, that she had been a member of other unions in the past and might again be in the future and that in the proceedings before the Industrial Registrar or his delegate on the conscientious objection exemption matter she was ‘virtually forced to say what she didn’t believe’, namely ‘that all unions and the concept of unionism are bad ‘? [More…]
Mr Dearson said this, not Mr Aper; that at no time during the interview had Mr Aper said that he was fighting unions or that he was black banned or that he was against unions. [More…]
However, when contacted at his home by the Canberra Times, Mr Aper told a reporter that the only mistakes he thought the article contained were that what he referred to as The Builders Workers Industrial Union’ was published as Builders Labourers Industrial Union’ and the word ‘unions’ in one section of the story should have been singular. [More…]
As the Minister responsible for funding tertiary institutions, does not the Minister think that this case reflects very gravely upon the concept of academic freedom as practised by the University of New South Wales, the fact that one can get justice only if one has the money, and the failure of the State Labor Government to end compulsory membership of student unions? [More…]
Governments, employers and unions should all be involved in forward planning. [More…]
They can be successfully implemented only if Federal and State governments, employers and unions cooperate and are involved in the planning and carrying out of the various schemes. [More…]
They have industry unions, which I think is an important factor. [More…]
-I am talking about Australians- the Government, industry and the trade unions. [More…]
The way in which militant left wing, communist unions try to take government away from where it should lie is a disgrace as far as I am concerned. [More…]
Until we develop a spirit of Australian nationalism- and that means a team approach by government, industry and trade unions working together and not pulling each other apart- we will find that Australia’s industrial reputation, our industrial competence, will continue to slide. [More…]
-I do not think that senators on this side of the House have a biased attitude towards trade unions. [More…]
But also the trade unions did not co-operate very well. [More…]
I refer to attempts by trade unions to prevent workers from earning a living unless they join a union. [More…]
Barbara Biggs’ rights were grossly violated despite a legal certificate of exemption and her treatment at the hands of the unions disgusted the nation. [More…]
This is not the occasion to state now in any detail that argument- I certainly hope to have the opportunity to do so before too many more sitting days are out- but I would put to the Senate that a perfectly reasoned argument, if indeed the Queensland Premier is susceptible to reasoned argument on this or any other topic, can be made in support of the unions’ position in these recent controversies and, in particular, in support of the proposition that one does not have to abandon or compromise civil libertarian principles in order to support the general position which the unions have adopted. [More…]
The real objection of the unions is not to the existence of conscientious objection clauses as such in legislation. [More…]
The real objection of the unions consists of three points. [More…]
I explained I was in trouble with the unions, that I was fighting unions, that I was blackbanned and that I was against unions. [More…]
I raised the questions whether the strength he appeared to have was his strength to fight against unions and whether, as he had no qualifications for the position of a kitchen hand other than fighting unions, there was an attitude in the administration of the Joint House Department which follows the government policy of being anti-union and anti-working class. [More…]
Did the manager of the refreshment rooms employ this man because of his qualifications for fighting unions? [More…]
Mr Dearson informed Mr Aper that at no time during the interview had Mr Aper said that he was fighting unions or that he was black banned or that he was against unions. [More…]
Mr Aper told a reporter that the only mistakes he thought the article contained were that what he referred to as the Builders Workers Industrial Union was published as the Builders Labourers Industrial Union and that the word ‘unions’ in one section of the story should have been in the singular. [More…]
Will the people in the kitchen, who had to go on strike for two days, have to sacrifice two days pay because of the actions of this despicable person who said that he was opposed to trade unions? [More…]
He has said on two occasions that he told the person who interviewed him that he was opposed to trade unions, and that he was a stirrer. [More…]
The Minister would be aware of the general concern expressed not only by the unions but also by management about the apathy which exists among young unemployed and the current request that they should receive benefits as soon as they become unemployed. [More…]
The ban of the Australian Council of Trade Unions on the export of merinos is based on completely false information. [More…]
Obviously the export of Merino rams is an emotive issue and on this occasion the Farmers’ Union appears to have acquired a strange bedfellow in the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
Senator Webster said that we were prompted by the trade unions to put forward this matter of public importance. [More…]
He forgets that some of the wool growing orgnisations called on the Australian Council of Trade Unions some years ago to support them in their ban on the export of merino rams. [More…]
Whilst on this subject I challenge Senator McLaren to tell this chamber which major rural organisation went to the trade unions and said that it was opposed to the export of merino rams. [More…]
Does this mean that Senator Walsh also believes that governments should not be pushed around by trade unions and that a government is elected by the people to act for the people and not to stand aside and let others try to take over government, as some of the unions are trying to do at present regarding the export of merino rams from this country? [More…]
It is a very serious situation and I wish that this Government would accept the call of the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, Mr Bob Hawke, for a conference on a non-party political basis so that we can get together to see what can be done for these unfortunate young people. [More…]
At least the Canadian Government gives an indication of what it plans for three years ahead so that everybody in the country- trade unions, consumers, workers and employers- can at least have some idea where they are going in the following three years with only moderate alterations each year. [More…]
We have recommended and are recommending nothing short of a permanent committee on which is represented all political parties, trade unions, employers and public servants. [More…]
We need an on-going committee in which all political parties can participate, in which the trade unions, the workers, the consumers, the employers can get together and take evidence and find out what the solutions are to the problems ahead of us. [More…]
By that I mean that if the Government tried to prime the economy, as some of the contributors to this debate would have us do, the strength of the unions is such, and the attitude of the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission is such, that wages would rise almost immediately with demand and we would again have galloping inflation. [More…]
People often talk about trade unions demands and the damage they have caused. [More…]
It is no use arguing that the problems we face have resulted from the failure of the trade unions to face up to change. [More…]
The brutal fact is that even on the waterfront there is competition for work between transport workers shore-based, waterside workers and employees of other unions with limited access. [More…]
He spoke in a grudging way about how the trade unions had obtained better long service and annual leave provisions. [More…]
There has been talk about the trade unions resisting change. [More…]
It has to work more closely with the trade unions. [More…]
I repeat that the time is opportune for summit talks to be held with the Australian Council of Trade Unions and all employer groups. [More…]
Will the Minister initiate some conference between government, railways management, unions, business and the general community to examine the total effects of cancellations? [More…]
contributions from persons, companies, trade unions and any other interested groups; and [More…]
He adopted the same tactic as many people who are opposed to trade unions. [More…]
Others, particularly the hard-line conservatives and some of the most extreme orthodox economists, would blame the unions and wage and salary earners for the difficulties. [More…]
I suggest that we should not fall for the simplistic notions that so many of our orthodox economists talk about, such as that our problems are due to the overhang in the wages and salaries area, to the work of the unions, to the failure of the business sector that is privately owned in Australia, to the activities of a State government, to too much public spending or, as we have heard so often in this place, to those three years in office of the Labor Government, from 1973 to 1975, that caused all of this. [More…]
The problem, of course, is how to prevent inflation through wage pressure from over powerful unions as the economy reaches full employment, thus wrecking everything that has been carefully built up. [More…]
The pressure of trade unions to raise the level of junior wages closer and closer to the level of adult wages is an immense disservice to the prospects of employment of teenagers. [More…]
We have not really tried to persuade the unions that the Government’s economic policy is aimed at benefiting the whole community. [More…]
If we cannot persuade the unions of this, wise Commission decisions may be wasted on the desert air. [More…]
It seems to me that we need urgently a conference of all interested parties- Federal Government, State governments, unions, employers, Federal and State arbitration systems- to try to find our way out of this morass. [More…]
Whilst on this subject I challenge Senator McLaren to tell this chamber which major rural organisation went to the trade unions and said that it was opposed to the export of merino rams. [More…]
On the matter of public importance last Wednesday relating to the export of merino rams, I said that a leading rural organisation approached the Australian Council of Trade Unions to see that the rams were not exported. [More…]
Whilst on this subject I challenge Senator McLaren to tell this chamber which major rural organisation went to the trade unions and said that it was opposed to the export of merino rams. [More…]
Is the Minister aware that certain tertiary student organisations and unions in Australia are still making improper use of compulsorily collected fees? [More…]
The debate and discussion outside the Parliament must include all of the industry representatives involved- the relevant trade unions, community groups, the Australian Broadcasting Tribunal and of course the general public. [More…]
If the inhumane aspects have been thwarted- I suggest they have been thwarted- let us give credit, firstly, to the Australian Labor Party, and the Australian Council of Trade Unions and all of its affiliated organisations which have indicated from the moment the Budget was presented their disgust with the endeavours of this Government to pursue a Budget which placed misery and hardship on the disadvantaged members of the community and in fact redistributed taxes away from those people to the wealthy and privileged sections of the community. [More…]
I believe that the whole system has to be rethought by the Australian Conciliation and Arbitration Commission, the Australian Council of Trade Unions and other bodies. [More…]
Some honourable senators will recall that in 1977 one of the justifications for an early election, although now, as a result of a royal commission in Queensland, we begin to hear others, was that the Government wanted additional muscle to stand up to militant unions in Australia. [More…]
Later that year, 1977, there was also the Conciliation and Arbitration Amendment Bill dealing with deregistration of unions. [More…]
This has all the marks of a government which has no policies, which is totally divided, which has a weak Minister who is overshadowed by the Prime Minister, who is full of huff and puff and bluster and noise about what he is going to do, but which in fact has done nothing and is content to leave the settlement of industrial disputes in this country to the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
He explained in his evidence that the airlines and the unions felt that they could settle the dispute but that it went on a lot longer than they hoped for. [More…]
Mr FitzGibbon drew attention to the importance from the unions’ point of view of amalgamations. [More…]
In this Senate in 1 974 and 1 975 the then Liberal-National Country Party Opposition, which had the numbers, three times threw out legislation which would have enabled unions to amalgamate much more easily than they can now. [More…]
Between 1975 and 1978 what has this Government done to assist amalgamations by trade unions in a country where we have approximately 300 unions compared with 16 in [More…]
There are 29 unions on the wharves alone, I am told. [More…]
Why did the Fraser Government tell Telecom that the Australian Council of Trade Unions could not enter the dispute two weeks before it in fact did so? [More…]
We cannot enjoy the luxury of condemning trade unions and not condemning the Australian Medical Association or the Australian Federation of Air Pilots when they take similar action. [More…]
Indeed, I moved the motion on equal pay for work of equal value at the crucial Australian Council of Trade Unions Congress when the communists and the radical feminists were trying to exert pressure to get equal pay for equal work. [More…]
The policies that were enunciated by the Federated Clerks Union were in the main accepted by the Australian Council of Trade Unions as far back as 1 967 and before. [More…]
I will not accept that we can blame solely the Australian Labor Party or the trade unions for this situation. [More…]
Instead, the industrial trade union movement of this country benefits a few unions to the detriment of many others. [More…]
Which unions does it benefit? [More…]
Why do the unions continue to obstruct a sane and well planned system of industrial democracy in Australia? [More…]
Another point that might be clarified with the unions- and here again I know I am speaking in the same way as many other people, but in fact the Australian Democrats I believe seven or eight months ago were among the first to bring up this point- is their apparent determination to keep tens of thousands of unemployed people permanently out of work by not reconsidering union attitudes towards permanent part time work and the abolition of weekend penalty rates. [More…]
I know the objection that workers not in unions have no moral right to share the benefits that union work and union solidarity have achieved. [More…]
My final point about unions is this: Can there be any serious disagreement that the only fair and honest way for a group of people in consultation to reach decisions is by a secret written ballot? [More…]
We will take notice of the people who make up the Labor Party- our financial members and the trade unions that are affiliated with us. [More…]
We are proud to have the trade unions, despite the fact that some of them came in for severe criticism in Senator Mason’s remarks. [More…]
When I refer to team work I mean that the effort has to be made not only by the Government but also by the Opposition, the unions, the man in the street, the employer and employee. [More…]
Despite this, that gloomy person, Mr Hawke, the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, in Darwin, in September 1978, said: [More…]
I am also advised that Mr Aper later referred to the building union as being a bad union but said he knew there were good unions. [More…]
I am further advised, however, that at no time was Mr Aper’s attitude to unions in general ever discussed or that he ever stated that he was opposed to unions in general. [More…]
I think it relevant to note in this connection that Mr Aper was reported in the Press as having subsequently indicated that a reference to ‘unions’ in one section of a Press story should have been in the singular. [More…]
I do not want to do that, but I do wish to say that your explanation of the dispute in the Parliamentary Refreshment Rooms was interesting and clears up the apparently incorrect impression, from Mr Aper’s statement, that there was no discussion about unions. [More…]
We now know that there was a discussion about unions and that the interviewing officer believed that Mr Aper had a hatred of the building unions and not of unions generally. [More…]
In fact, he said that Mr Aper agreed that there are good unions. [More…]
If there are good unions, I take it Mr Aper would have no objection to joining one. [More…]
However, one of the unions that is not good must be the Liquor and Allied Industries Employees Union because Mr Aper refused to join it. [More…]
One would have thought that when the interviewing officer found that Mr Aper had a hatred of some unions and in fact had a court case pending against them he would have made further inquiries. [More…]
It would appear that he has no serious objections to unions, which is an essential prerequisite for exemption under the Conciliation and Arbitration Act. [More…]
Mr Aper even admits that there are some good unions. [More…]
The first thing, before anything else, I explained I was in trouble with the unions, that I was fighting unions, that I was blackbanned and that I was against unions. [More…]
He said he was taking his stand because of the way he had been treated by unions in the past . [More…]
The Canberra Times went on to say that it had contacted Mr Aper by phone and that Mr Aper had ended up by saying that the article, apart from one instance where the plural ‘unions’ was used instead of the singular ‘union’, was correct. [More…]
In your statement, Mr President, you say: 1 am further advised, however, that at no time was Mr Aper’s attitude to unions in general ever discussed or that he ever stated that he was opposed to unions in general . [More…]
So he is now saying that on only one occasion was he quoted incorrectly- the word ‘unions’ in the article should have been ‘union’. [More…]
Mr Aper having said, and having verified it the next day, that he was opposed to unions, the first thing the interviewer should have asked him before engaging him and knowing full well that all the people working in the dining room and the bar were supporters of the Liquor Trade Union was: ‘Would you on your engagement join the Liquor Trade Union?’ [More…]
If this person had been interviewed and had not in his own words told the interviewer that he was opposed to trade unions, it would have been a different case. [More…]
But during the course of the interview, he deliberately told the interviewer that he was opposed to trade unions. [More…]
When I raised this matter the other day with the Joint House Committee, I was bluntly told that these people would not be reimbursed for the two days’ pay they had lost- all because a person was engaged after having told the interviewer that he was opposed to trade unions. [More…]
Is this view shared by other similarly placed unions? [More…]
It has advised that the dispute was a complex one involving two unions, with the employer wishing to deal with only one union while refusing employment to members of the other. [More…]
The possibility of combining the Works with Williamstown Naval Dockyard has been examined by the Government and its views were communicated to the Unions in July 1978. [More…]
No doubt the unions and others interested in the matters raised by Senator Mcintosh will be making comments on it. [More…]
The incidentals allowance is to assist students in meeting fees for student councils, unions and sports. [More…]
All that this will do is to force unions to go outside the Commission to increase the incomes of their workers. [More…]
If honourable senators opposite relate the problems that will be created to trade unions and political strikes I do not know what redress there can be under this legislation. [More…]
The unions have made it very clear- I could not be more in agreement with them- that annual leave is a right and a necessity for everyone in the work force. [More…]
If this right to annual leave that the unions, and everyone else I presume, consider and believe is a necessity is waived and people are persuaded by their employers not to take it for the benefit of the employer, the health of the employees will suffer. [More…]
If I might tender a word of advice, the Government, which is now so concerned about this principle, should perhaps have considered going to the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission if it was so worried about this matter and pointing out to it what unions have pointed out consistently over many years- indeed over decadesand what the Commission has itself decided in terms of annual leave and when it should be taken. [More…]
The conservation groups and the umbrella organization- Movement Against Uranium Mining (MAUM)- a growing national coalition of trade unions, environmental, women’s, church, peace and other community groups have continued to urge for a 5-year moratorium, claiming that this is in concurrence with the recommendations of the second Fox report. [More…]
Most of the unions who have voiced their opinion on the issue have voted against uranium mining and have called for moratoriums of varying lengths. [More…]
I think it is reasonable to say that the relationships between the Government and the Australian Council of Trade Unions over the years have been very good indeed and that the Government would want those relationships to be good. [More…]
What I have said is that I believe it desirable at all times that the relationship between the Government and the Australian Council of Trade Unions be as good as possible. [More…]
They involve a claim by the building industry unions that their members employed by some contractors at the Altona oil refinery site of Petroleum Refineries Australia work a 35-hour week. [More…]
He is also on the record in the Northern Territory News of 28 September admitting that he lied to the Northern Land Council regarding a statement by the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, Mr Bob Hawke, in order to convince the Council that it would not get trade union support. [More…]
This was said by me to support my advice to the council that if the council rejected the negotiated Ranger agreement they would not necessarily be supported by all unions. [More…]
Commonwealth funding enables AFADD to co-ordinate, in cooperation with State health authorities, a national program involving both industry management and unions. [More…]
There is one component which goes to student unions for what I call ‘socio-political’ purposes. [More…]
I preface my question, which is directed to the Minister for Social Security, with a reminder that since 1974 a total of $95,000 has been allocated by the Federal Government to the Australian Council of Trade Unions for research into the needs of trade unionists and their families. [More…]
They include: ‘Welfare in Industry: Changing Perspective’, reports; Worker Participation in Management: The Australian Context’; a submission to the Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs on migrants in the work force: ‘Social Policy and Problems of the Work Force’, volumes 1 and 2; ‘Adequacy of Income Derived from Work for Low Income Families in the Williamstown- Altona areas’; Development of a Working Women’s Charter’, submission to the Task Force on Co-ordination in Welfare and Health; a submission to the Senate Standing Committee on Social Welfare concerning the inquiry into the adequacy of Australian health and welfare services; and ‘The Collection and Dissemination of Information on Social Welfare Programs and the Role of Trade Unions in the Direct Provision of Welfare Services’. [More…]
An underhand attempt has been made to pay some recognition to the submissions that were made to the Government by the trade union movement through the Australian Council of Trade Unions and by the consumer organisations which represent a very large proportion of the Australian community. [More…]
This statement which the Senate is now examining suggests that companies which are prepared to give consideration to claims that are legitimately and properly placed before them by the trade unions as representing the views of wage and salary earners can be penalised as a result of actions by the Minister of the day. [More…]
It calls for co-operation from all groups- the trade unions, the consumers and the community at large- to try to assist in some better economic upturn and responses. [More…]
Actions such as those now announced by the Government will destroy any possibility of community groups, whether they be trade unions or other bodies responding to such blandishments from the Government. [More…]
For instance, Senator Button raised the question of whether representatives from unions should attend meetings of the Advisory Council. [More…]
I advise Senator Button that there have been discussions with the unions associated with the Organisation. [More…]
1 ) Has the Industrial Relations Bureau conducted any investigations into alleged breaches of awards by employer groups, individual employers, unions or individual employees, which have led to interventions or prosecution of offenders by the Bureau; if so, what are the details of the offences. [More…]
In view of the obvious importance of this matter to a large number of unions registered under the provisions of the Conciliation and Arbitration Act, will the Minister consider the call of the national president of Australia ‘s third largest union for an inquiry into the course of those protracted proceedings and whether amendments or repeal of any provision of the Conciliation and Arbitration Act is indicated to avoid a repetition of such protracted and costly proceedings? [More…]
Senator Ryan has acknowledged that the Commission has two representatives of trade unions, although she seems to think that they are not as representative as they might be because they voted in a way she did not approve of in respect of meeting a delegation of staff. [More…]
The only people who could be on the Australian Broadcasting Commission who are representative of anybody who has anything to do with the ABC would be people concerned with the unions in the ABC. [More…]
One particular misconception that must be dispelled- a misconception strongly held by some of the more militant doctors’ unions- is that the health industry operates in a free-market situation and will respond favourably to free-market pressures. [More…]
The Liberal National Country Party government will continue to encourage consultation between management and unions on all matters affecting Commonwealth employees. [More…]
The Minister is aware of questions by senators, members of another place and the trade unions concerned about this matter. [More…]
The unions will not accept oil drilling on the Great Barrier Reef. [More…]
It is rather ironical that the Senate Standing Committee on Trade and Commerce- it is chaired by Senator Jessop- of which I am a member had some of the captains of industry before it and they could not deny that probably the salvation of the Australian manufacturing industry is more militancy from the Asian trade unions. [More…]
In the present dispute in the paper industry the unions, the employers and the Australian Council of Trade Unions have been working very hard to resolve this problem. [More…]
My colleague Senator Douglas McClelland played a notable role in assisting the Australian film industry and he knows that we and the unions concerned resented very strongly ace cameramen from overseas coming here on tourist visas and seeking work. [More…]
Whatever may have been said by government sources about trade unions rightly trying to defend job security, the fact is that there have been no massive Luddite attitudes. [More…]
-Has the attention of the Minister representing the Minister for Employment and Industrial Relations been drawn to the editorial in this morning’s Australian calling for the Government to convene a meeting between unions and employers to hammer out what is called ‘a commonsense approach to dealing with the anachronism of penalty rates and the five-day week’? [More…]
That is a pertinent interjection because I was about to say that in the 1948 case before the Arbitration Court, when the unions argued for a reduction in the working week from 44 hours to 40 hours, those very arguments were put forward- that the costs would be so great that the country’s economy would be sent broke. [More…]
In addition, business, industry, trade unions and other non-governmental bodies and a large number of individuals ask for details that should be available to it, to enable them to plan their activities and carry out their various functions. [More…]
The Minister will recall that during debates on the conciliation and arbitration Bills there has always been the argument that the old inspectorate section which has now been taken over by the Bureau was never anxious to prosecute employers and prosecutions against unions were certainly more numerous than those against employers. [More…]
When I say ‘all the people’ I mean that there should be full consultation with the unions and the people in the areas and the towns, including the business people. [More…]
Mr Commissioner Smith guaranteed that there would be discussions with the unions and discussions by some of his senior staff with the employees at Alice Springs. [More…]
He simply suggested that the unions get together and put a case to the Commission. [More…]
The purpose of the meeting is to ascertain from Governments, the ANR, Unions, and other interested bodies, the future of railways in Tailem Bend and throughout the Murray Mallee area. [More…]
You also asked about discussions with the unions concerned. [More…]
So having regard for the general obligations and the need for coordination, the railway unions and many citizens have protested against what has been envisaged. [More…]
Furthermore, there will be no closures without an adequate period of notice being given to the railway customers and unions affected. [More…]
We have asked the Minister to consider something more than that: Rather than just give advice to the unions, the customers and regional people where lines may be cut out, such proposals as are advanced should be circulated publicly so that there can be an adequate reaction from citizens and staff organisations in respect of them. [More…]
A number of propositions have been floated about certain South Australian lines that are now in the hands of ANR, but they have not been discussed with the unions or the citizens. [More…]
I am advised that the ANR has a consistent policy of working in close collaboration with the unions and all who work for it. [More…]
Thus when the situation arose in which the Government invited public comment on the report, many members of the public, indeed trade unions and other official bodies, were unable to get a copy even within the first few weeks of the three month period that was allowed for discussion. [More…]
The Minister has said- I answered a question earlier today on his behalf to this effect- that he hopes that the unions and the employers will take a new attitude in relation to this matter. [More…]
It is not a question of the Minister, the Government or indeed employers imposing anything on the unions and workers in this matter in the way Senator Harradine seems to have interpreted it. [More…]
What the Minister is saying is that the Government will encourage both unions and employers to take a new attitude to this subject. [More…]
What the Minister is saying is that he hopes there will be a new attitude by both employers and unions to this matter. [More…]
The Ministers will recall previous questions asked by me in which I have indicated that the Australian Council of Trade Unions has said in a number of statements that it would take part in a national conference on unemployment and that Mr Hawke has stated more recently that he and his associated authorities are quite prepared to sit down with the Government and confer about the state of the economy? [More…]
It must be a permanent group consisting of representatives from the trade unions, the Public Service and farmers sitting together, not in a grandstanding exercise such as the exercise that will take place soon in Victoria, but in camera hearing evidence and trying to get together and reach a compromise. [More…]
The only solution is to have a task force representing all parties- the trade unions, employers and governments- each giving a little. [More…]
I am not asking the trade unions to give up penalty rates for nothing but why can the Government and the employers not get together with the trade unions and say to them that penalty rates, and indeed casual rates, are destroying the economy and sending many decent people out of work. [More…]
In conclusion I repeat that none of these solutions or many of the others that could be put could be contemplated unilaterally by the Government, by the trade unions, by the employers or even by this Parliament. [More…]
There is a case now being mounted by the Australian Council of Trade Unions to extend maternity leave to the private sector. [More…]
As Senator Ryan said, the Australian Council of Trade Unions is looking at the maternity leave provisions. [More…]
However, I believe that it is the duty of government to encourage discussion between industry, the unions and the Australian people of what our industrial goals should be 10 or 20 years from now so that a reasoned progression can be made towards those goals. [More…]
The unfortunate result of the present system is that it protects not only industries; sometimes it also protects inadequate performance, both by management and unions. [More…]
Certainly, the effects of the introduction of new technology must be discussed in advance with the work force and the unions. [More…]
Now we must increase efficiency and raise productivity, which means upgrading management skills and modifying union practices, principally by encouraging unions to move from a craft based organisation to an industry based one. [More…]
I am also advised that the Board has written to the various unions and that there are discussions in train with respect to the position of officers who are required by their duties as unattached officers to make public statements on matters which are critical of the Service and so on. [More…]
The Hansard report shows that I asked a series of questions concerning the collaboration that existed between the aviation unions, particularly those encompassing cabin crews, about quarantine arrangements. [More…]
We have, of course, had discussions with the unions to apprise them of the arrangements that we propose. [More…]
I sent copies of the relevant pages to the unions that I regarded as being involved- the Flight Stewards Association and the Airline Hostesses Association. [More…]
On several occasions mention is made of the Airline Hostesses’ Association and other unions having been a party to discussions with the Department of Health. [More…]
We have, of course, had discussions with the unions to apprise them of the arrangements that we propose. [More…]
Mr Searle I think I was seeking to indicate that when we are involved in contingency planning which could involve aircrews and so on in a new type of operation involving quarantine and disease, we do indeed consult with unions. [More…]
In addition to newspapers, they also rely on the mail for the delivery of various publications issued by nonprofit making groups, including the Returned Services League, trade unions, rural associations, charity organisations, pensioner organisations, incapacitated persons clubs and various religious groups. [More…]
The provisions deeming trade unions to have engaged in the boycott also remain applicable and individuals remain not subject to the pecuniary penalties of the Act for a contravention of the amended section. [More…]
I know that at a time like this we would have economic chaos if every tourist to Australia wanted to become a permanent resident but, together with one of my former trade union colleague, Senator Gordon Mcintosh, I know that the trade unions are adopting a reasonable attitude to this matter. [More…]
If the unions see a situation in which people have been exploited- I claim that these Uruguayans have been exploited- they will take a stand. [More…]
We want much closer liaison to occur between the State and Federal industrial authorities, the arbitration inspectors and the unions concerned. [More…]
At Meetings of this Unions Winery Employees held in the following areas: [More…]
Individual unions may combine to form Federations and these may in turn form Confederations provided they are recognised and registered by the Government. [More…]
Of course, by virtue of that provision substantial penalties can be imposed on persons, including unions, engaged . [More…]
That, of course, is not a malaise which results purely from the conduct of trade unions. [More…]
That strike was a direct consequence of this Government’s failure to do anything about the capacity of Australian unions to amalgamate. [More…]
One can examine every major strike that this country has had since the Fraser Government came to power and note that it has been settled through the conciliation and arbitration system and largely, if not exclusively, as a result of the negotiating efforts of the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, whom this Government indulges in the luxury of abusing from time to time. [More…]
I believe that trade unions also should be subject to such legislation and I have no doubt that it will be understood by the public that this is what this Bill does. [More…]
What it is about is the protection of the interests of business, not from the depredations of monopolies or from other people unfairly manipulating market power, but rather from the legitimate activities of trade unions and their members; protection from trade unions and their officials doing the kind of things for the protection of their members that they have done since time immemorial and that they will go on doing so long as they are to discharge the trust and the confidence that their members vest in them. [More…]
Under section 76 of the parent Act, trade unions or their officials are liable for statutory penalties of up to $250,000. [More…]
Under section 45d, any kind of industrial action which is aimed at hindering the movement of goods or services to or from a corporation- the corporation in question not being the immediate employer of those applying the bans- subjects unions and their officials to these sorts of penalties. [More…]
It has a particular, and immediate and an obvious application in the service industries to unions which are engaged in the packing, the storage, the transport and the distribution of goods from corporation to corporation. [More…]
That point, of course, has not been lost on employers in that area and in recent days writs have been flying around like confetti against unions like the Transport Workers Union and the Storemen and Packers Union. [More…]
Seventhly, it has to be said, acknowledged and noted that the certainly regrettable but all too familiar feature of our industrial scene- demarcation disputes between unions as to their respective coverage in a particular work place- would also be quite outside the scope of those exemption provisions. [More…]
But what I am saying is that there is an enormous range of forms of industrial action of the kind in which trade unions and their members have always engaged and will always engage from time to time so long as this is necessary to protect the interests of the working men and women of this country. [More…]
The argument is made, and no doubt it will be made again by someone in the course of this debate, that what this Act is really doing is simply giving a bargaining counter to the employers, giving them some muscle with which to force the unions into a posture of retreat and compromise, and that its real significance is as a counterbalance to the raw brute force of industrial bargaining power exercised by the unions themselves. [More…]
It is certainly the view of Bob Hawke, the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions; it has been put on the record on innumerable occasions. [More…]
It is true that many unions are engaged in that export trade. [More…]
Members of a union can be fined very heavily under the proposed new Act- up to a quarter of a million dollars- irrespective whether there is dissention between unions. [More…]
Some unions say that the farmers have the right to export live sheep. [More…]
Some dissatisfaction exists among unions. [More…]
Without the protection provided by the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the unions combining forces, this Government would pick off one union at a time. [More…]
There should be better understanding between the unions. [More…]
It was the most turbulent of all unions in this country. [More…]
Since 1967 the unions and management have worked together, which goes to show that it is possible. [More…]
Lawyers have written more laws into the statute books of this country to knock unions than is the case in any other country. [More…]
During the last confrontation between the farmers and the unions I believe that members of this Parliament on the Government side deliberately inflamed the farmers to the extent that the farmers carried guns and pick axes. [More…]
There has, however, been a degree of success from the arrangements made with the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the National Employers Industrial Council that will consider whether they can secure the lifting of a boycott or threatened- boycott before the Commission considers court proceedings. [More…]
As Senator Harradine points out- I was just going to mention this- there is provision for others such as businessmen, or the Government if the national interest is involved to take part in actions against the unions under this legislation. [More…]
Indeed, the Trade Practices Commission has been very careful to ensure that it did not become looked upon as some sort of heavy in trying to force issues on trade unions, and I commend that approach. [More…]
There has, however, been a degree of success from arrangements made with the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the National Employers Industrial Council that they will consider whether they can secure the lifting of a boycott or threatened boycott before the Commission considers court proceedings. [More…]
It is going to throw those within the unions who do not believe in confrontation against government, but who believe that the union is there to get the best deal possible for its members with the least cost to them and the community, into the fold of those extremists within the trade union movement who believe that the trade union movement can be use as a political battering ram. [More…]
It has already been said by the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the national employers that the Trade Practices Act is not, and should not be, the vehicle for the settlement of industrial disputes. [More…]
The reason for the opposition seems to be centred upon the concern that this provision will interfere with the legitimate activities of trade unions, that it is aimed at union bashing by the Government and that it will prevent members of unions from engaging in activities to protect their interests. [More…]
As a Government, we support strongly the conciliation and arbitration process in settling disputes, but we also have an obligation to have on the statute books laws adequate to protect the rights of individuals and of the community against what in many cases are the thoroughly indefensible actions of irresponsible unions and union leaders. [More…]
Those provisions of the Trade Practices Act are available as defences under the provision that we seek to assert, and preserve the rights of trade unions and trade unionists. [More…]
The Government time and time again has made it very clear that it opposes- as I am sure do the vast majority of the people- actions by powerful unions for political purposes, for demarcation disputes, and to enforce compulsory unionism. [More…]
The unions opposed it, suggesting that the Chief Minister was inviting a total industrial stoppage. [More…]
all practicable steps are taken to adjust working hours and conditions to suit the needs and culture of Aboriginal employees by way of joint consultation between the Joint Venturers, the Council and trade unions. [More…]
Unions involved in the aviation industry have recently stated that immediate attention should be given to the installation of the T-VASIS visual approach guidance system at Melbourne runway 27, Sydney runway 07, Albury, Gladstone, Hamilton and Grafton. [More…]
Early installation already had been planned at each of the airports mentioned by the unions. [More…]
Nothing was done about public transport until 1973, despite all the activities by the railway unions and by State governments of all political complexions. [More…]
I refer to the action of the maritime unions in seeking to have the Norwegian tanker Balderberg ostracised from operations on the Australian coast. [More…]
Why was it left to the maritime unions to pinpoint this tanker’s bad record? [More…]
We welcome statements such as that made by the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions: The trade union movement has ‘a responsibility in respect of those who are not in the workforce’. [More…]
This recognition holds out real prospects of constructive co-operation between Government, trade unions and industry which is fundamental to a real and lasting increase in employment opportunities. [More…]
God knows how much harder the task of the unions, accordingly, will be in defending themselves against the rigours of this extraordinary piece of legislation if they find themselves subject to possible proceedings before every judicial Tom, Dick and Harry right around Australia. [More…]
1 ) That a Select Committee of the Senate be appointed to consider and report upon the possible planning, including terms of reference, for a national convention, to be held within two years, for a ten year indicative plan for the Australian economy, such convention to include representatives of all political parties, employers’ groups, unions and government, to attempt to establish basic guidelines on which all could agree and which would remain constant regardless of changes of government, with particular reference to- [More…]
I recall that when I gave notice of this motion in the Senate last year there were some interjections from a number of honourable senators when I mentioned the mere possibility that there might be some basic guidelines on which representatives of all political parties, employer groups, unions and government might agree. [More…]
Again, I think it is very important, where unions and other organisations are concerned, that they should be able to have full consultation with the rank and file of their own organisations before they enter such conventions. [More…]
One of its most difficult and urgent and necessary jobs would be to sort out somehow the situation where we have so many trade unions, so many demarcation disputes. [More…]
That problem was solved in most other countries many years ago, to the benefit of all concerned, particularly the trade unions. [More…]
As far as I can see, we are back now to the type of industrial jungle situation where, not to put too fine a point on it, the unions which have clout and which can blackmail the community get the goodies but the people who are not in that position- the clothing workers, footwear workers and others- get the sticky end of the deal. [More…]
The unions would have to play their part. [More…]
It has the largest number of affiliated trade unions. [More…]
A number of trade unions were opposed to the idea. [More…]
Also, a number of major trade unions were in support of the idea. [More…]
If there are no skeletons in the closet, why is the Secretary of the Tasmanian Trades and Labour Council not replying to specific questions being asked of him by the premier of Tasmania and by unions affiliated with the Tasmanian Trades and Labour Council? [More…]
I have here two letters from different trade unions concerning this matter, written to the Tasmanian Trades and Labour Council. [More…]
Mr Watling admitted to the meeting that the State Government grants for trade union education were intended to be administered on behalf of all unions in Tasmania, not only those affiliated with the TTLC. [More…]
If sufficient community interest is shown in the proposals and the unions find the scheme acceptable, it is expected to operate from 1 July this year. [More…]
Depending on who made the statement, it is all the fault of the Government or it has all been the fault of the Opposition, the unions or the multinationals. [More…]
In a position paper the Australian Council of Trade Unions indicated the enormity of the problem if only the economic aspect is considered. [More…]
The position paper that was forwarded to affiliated unions for discussion and comment- I will refer to it in detail later- when referring to unemployment had this to say: [More…]
I think that the report will be of great importance and interest to the Government, to the Parliament, and, no doubt, to those many people in industry and unions who are so concerned about this problem. [More…]
It will be recalled that on a previous occasion when an attempt was made to do extensive drilling in the area the trade unions came to the rescue. [More…]
To suggest that funds provided since 1973 by the State Government specifically for trade union education for all unions and associations in Tasmania should somehow be part of TTLC funds shows his ignorance of the basis upon which the funds were provided originally. [More…]
It is also a reflection on respected trade union leaders, both present and former officials of the Tasmanian Trades and Labour Council and the State Branch of the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
He took over all the small unions that Jack O’Neill had been looking after and used these small unions without having to give a statement of the membership or the affiliation fees that were paid by them. [More…]
On another occasion 1 will develop the situation about the affiliations and the payment of fees from affiliated unions, but that is another matter. [More…]
The trade unions affiliated with the Tasmanian Trades and Labour Council asked about its audit procedures. [More…]
consideration was given to the calling of applications for a union education officer separate from the federally-funded Trade Union Training Authority but the plan was not feasible because there was not enough money due to the refusal of left wing unions to pay affiliation fees. [More…]
Other members of the Study Group were Sir Brian Inglis, Chairman of the Government Australian Manufacturing Council and Managing Director of Ford Australia, Mr R. J. L. Hawke, President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions and Mr N. S. Currie, Secretary, Department of Industry and Commerce. [More…]
The letter from the USSR allegedly warns the special committee against investigating charges that the Government of the USSR has harassed self-proclaimed trade unions and imprisoned their leaders. [More…]
I drew attention to the fact that in early 1978 attempts by Soviet workers to organise themselves into trade unions free from control of the state had been met by severe repressive measures by the Soviet Government. [More…]
The Soviet Union has warned the International Labor Organisation against investigating charges that it has harassed self-proclaimed trade unions and it imprisoned their leaders. [More…]
Two international trade union organisations- the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) and the World Confederation of Labour (WCL)- have alleged that the Soviet Government had disbanded the organisation and gaoled its leaders. [More…]
He gave evidence to the SubCommittee concerning the formation of trade unions. [More…]
I consider a political campaign for the rights of trade unions independent of the Soviet Government to be one of the chief priorities for the present day. [More…]
It may seem that a report on the priority of Crown debts is a rather esoteric legal subject of no great significance, but in fact it is a matter which I know from contacts in my home State of Tasmania is of great concern, not only to chambers of commerce but to trade unions. [More…]
Is it not a fact that at the conference with the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the unions themselves the Government agreed with both parties that the actions that had been taken in Malaysia had not received its support; further, that both the Minister for Industrial Relations and the Minister for Foreign Affairs understood the attitude of the International Transport Workers’ Federation in making its protest? [More…]
Is it not also a fact that two senior Ministers of this Government met representatives of the Australian Council of Trade Unions last week and it was generally accepted that moves should be made to do two things: firstly, to attempt to attain the release of Mr Donald Uren and at least the release if not the charging of the other unionists; and secondly, to extricate the matter from the current fare negotiations. [More…]
Is it not also a fact that the ACTU recommended to the 14 unions concerned that their ban be lifted. [More…]
Is it not also a fact that those unions agreed to a lifting of the ban? [More…]
Is it not also a fact that that recommendation was vetoed by a small handful of unionists who acted against the instructions of their unions and instead supported the manoeuvrings of pro-communist left operators at Mascot? [More…]
That has always been the case in the past because they belonged to different unions; they worked in different departments; and they came from different areas in this country. [More…]
I mention that because of the great variety of unions, because of the great differences in areas in which these people are employed and because of deficiencies of the compensation schemes which were brought out by the Commissioner for Compensation in his recent report, people affected by this failure of the Government had not been organised and had not been able to present their case. [More…]
What is being done in respect of the representations made by the unions on this matter? [More…]
I have had meetings with the unions representing employees affected by the Compensation (Commonwealth Government Employees) Act. [More…]
In relation to such bodies as the Joint Coal Board and the Australian Capital Territory Electricity Authority, the unions involved find the reports invaluable. [More…]
The Committee of Inquiry was chaired by Professor Bruce Williams, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Sydney, and its membership included: Mr M. H. Bone, the former DirectorGeneral of the Department of Further Education in South Australia; Mr C. O. Dolan, the National Secretary of the Electrical Trades Union, Senior Vice President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, a member of the Tertiary Education Commission and a member of the National Training Council; Dr A. M. Fraser, the Director of the Queensland Institute of Technology, a member of the Advanced Education Council of the Tertiary Education Commission and a member of the Queensland Board of Advanced Education; Miss Pauline Griffin, an Australian Conciliation and Arbitration Commissioner, and a member of the Council of the Australian National University; Miss E. M. Guthrie, a Regional Director of Education in the New South Wales Department of Education; Mr J. [More…]
I pointed out that this sort of situation had arisen because, firstly, there is a relatively small number of people in this situation compared with the large number of people who are being paid superannuation as a result of, say, retirement from the Commonwealth Public Service and, secondly, the people come from many different areas in the Public Service, are covered by many different unions, and come from many different geographical areas, and therefore they are not organised, are not combined and cannot put their case as strongly as they could if they were members of one large union. [More…]
It has not been initiated by either trade unions or employer organisations, but reputable tyre retreaders and retailers have told me consistently that there is a tremendous opportunity for the introduction of an apprenticeship scheme so that the people who work in the industry will also be well trained and will be more readily able to detect both faulty tyres and faulty methods of retreading. [More…]
Representatives from the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) did attend and they agreed to report on proceedings to the AMIEU. [More…]
I refer the Minister representing the Treasurer to the recent interest shown by the Storemen and Packers Union in Victoria and other trade unions in superannuation funds of private companies. [More…]
I refer to the trade unions’ moves to take over control of the management of those funds. [More…]
The best thing that trade unions, in fact all Australians, can do at the moment is to work together to keep all costs within such control that inflation continues to come down. [More…]
At page 1 93 of his report, he pointed out the considerable number of areas where communications of intelligence are made: To some State public servants; to some local government employees; to some other key point employees; to some university and other educational staff members; to some officers and members of trade unions and some other persons employed in the private sector. [More…]
I wrote to the Canadian Labour Congress, which is the equivalent of our Australian Council of Trade Unions, about its dealings with people of ethnic backgrounds on the matter of citizenship. [More…]
I am putting it to the Attorney-General: If the Tribunal consists of nine members, I would like one third of that membership to be selected from the trade unions and ethnic communities. [More…]
In the 1950s and 1960s the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation was hellbent on spying on, say, a Labor member of the Waterside Workers Union who might be seen talking in a hotel with a communist official of the Seamen’s Union because the two unions had a matter together before the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission in respect of a wage determination; and the fact that those two were seen talking would be reported on their files while all these right wing extremists were being allowed to go scot-free But, as I have said, we owe a debt of gratitude to our erstwhile colleage, former Senator Murphy, for some of the actions that he took in this regard. [More…]
It was in the newspaper that the Commissioner involved in the exercise said that no one was to be disadvantaged or victimised by anyone and that was the reason he made the awards he made, the reason he forced employers and the Unions to give in from where the positions they are in. [More…]
Will the unions sue for recovery of the debt? [More…]
Explain to them that without unions their world would be a lot different. [More…]
Unions have been responsible for our holiday pay, tea breaks, lunch hours, working conditions, long-service leave and pay leave-loading. [More…]
These have been mainly achieved by the militancy of pacesetter unions, usually by strike action. [More…]
Explain to them the danger of nuclear war and how the unions want the uranium kept in the ground so that their future may be safe. [More…]
Teach them to protect their environment and let them know how the unions want it left unspoiled. [More…]
Explain that without unions no one will be prepared to fight for their rights. [More…]
If you tell your children about the good things that are done by unions, your children won ‘t want to go out and do the bad things that are a result of a society full of greed and selfishness. [More…]
When the decision to build a new parliament house was announced, it was hailed by the various unions in the building, industry in the Australian Capital Territory. [More…]
In any event, if the unions went out on strike for any lengthy period during the construction of the building, I do not think that it would be a matter of sufficient public interest to warrant any decisive action. [More…]
It said that what has been achieved already in other countries- a package deal- would be possible if the unions and the management were asked to get together to make an arrangement as to productivity gains, which gains have since been achieved in Newcastle, and that there was a basis for getting a defence capability together. [More…]
At the time I was a young, ambitious secretary of one of the construction unions. [More…]
Not being a radical who wanted to pull all the workers off the job, we called a conference of all building trade unions to see what could be done. [More…]
It was attended by the Building Trades Federation of Victoria, which took a leading part, the Building Trade Union of South Australia and all federal building trade unions. [More…]
Boyce said that he was told of CIA activities and of infiltration of Australian unions at a special briefing at TRW. [More…]
Of the numerous CIA allegations Marchetti made from information he received from one Stallings, who was mentioned in the last elections, and Boyce and from his personal experience, the main ones are as follows: The installation of a super bug at Pine Gap which can monitor any telephone and telex messages in or out of Australia; the funding of the LiberalNational Country Party by the CIA since 1967; that Australia’s intelligence agencies knew of CIA activities in Australia; interference in Australia’s unions by the CIA; and CIA deception of Australia over the Pine Gap defence base. [More…]
In the statement outlining those changes, the Minister referred to the opportunity that had been given for views to be put to the Government on this matter and to the consultations he had held with the trade unions, business and other sections of the community before the Government took its decision. [More…]
They are in trade unions. [More…]
Some years ago articles were written in the Sydney Morning Herald by a special correspondent which stated that ASIO informants were in parents and citizens organisations, in progress associations, in returned services leagues, in trade unions and in political parties. [More…]
This goes to the heart of the problem; that is, unions taking industrial action of one kind or another prior to or during a hearing of their claims by the responsible tribunal. [More…]
Furthermore, it will be submitting to the Commission that it not proceed to hear the unions ‘ arguments while direct industrial action is continuing or order a secret ballot to determine union members’ attitudes to the industrial action being pursued where that is considered appropriate. [More…]
The Government will encourage State governments involved or affected, other employer interests affected and other unions whose members may be affected by the industrial action to lend their support to return to normal work. [More…]
It must be demonstrated to the unions that their cause will not be advanced by industrial disruption. [More…]
It has all been introduced into the Senate in an atmosphere of high drama because of some industrial dispute which has always in reality been solved by the intervention of Bob Hawke and the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
The Government could not stand up to the unions knowing that it only had ‘six months life left in a parliament’. [More…]
It makes this statement made tonight look ridiculous because in October 1977, Mr Anthony was suggesting in this Parliament that what the Government needed was an early election so that it could get the unions under control and this sort of problem would never arise again. [More…]
Through this statement the Government is saying to the trade unions: ‘You blokes have to go to arbitration. [More…]
Consequently it is normal for companies, industry organisations, unions and individuals concerned with these policies to make approaches to my Department, and they may choose to use the services of a lobbyist to do so. [More…]
The Australian Council of Trade Unions represents the great bulk of the Australian work force. [More…]
It is possible, in fact it is more likely to be possible than probable, that certain situations will develop in time which will put the Australian Council of Trade Unions, as the titular head of the trade union movement, in conflict with the policies of the government of the day, particularly in an area of some industrial disputation. [More…]
The Government is saying in this legislation that because the constitution of the Austraiian Council of Trade Unions involves a change of society, every member who is associated with that organisation, whether at the level of the executive or any of its affiliate bodies, at any time- it may be today- can be placed under surveillance by ASIO. [More…]
We are talking about hundreds and hundreds of paid officials of trade unions. [More…]
In effect what the Government is saying is that the democratic rights and liberties will be placed in jeopardy of every person who belongs to the Australian Council of Trade Unions or to an environmental organisation that may decide to do something about the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland and so involve itself in a challenge to the view expressed by the Queensland Government that the reef ought to be mined. [More…]
In my view Senator Gietzelt mentioned, quite unjustifiably, that the intention of the legislation was to enable surveillance of the activities of the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
To suggest that I, as secretary of a trades and labour council, or Bob Hawke, as President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, would be subject to surveillance by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation when addressing a mass meeting of transport workers or anyone else engaged in an industrial dispute is nonsense. [More…]
So too- and this is a point that perhaps Senator Harradine, given his earlier contribution will bear in mind particularly- it seems to the Opposition that this part of paragraph (b) has a potentially enormous application insofar as the trade unions of this country are concerned. [More…]
There is no doubt that all of the unions which are affiliated with the Australian Council of Trade Unions have at one time or another engaged, for good industrial motives, in actions which could be regarded as satisfying the literal and obvious definition that is contained in this particular provision. [More…]
If we take the proper literary and grammatical interpretation of this clause we must come to the conclusion, as Senator Sibraa indicated, that unions, for example, can be accused of engaging in subversive activities. [More…]
Without the assistance of the AttorneyGeneral (Senator Durack) to say whether our interpretation is right or wrong, we have come to the conclusion that such an activity would bring members of unions within the ambit of clause 5(D(b). [More…]
Trade unions have been carrying on their activities for 50 years. [More…]
We should restrict clause 5(1) (b) so that it does not encompass unions which have carried on their activities for many years. [More…]
We must indeed be careful of this cost push, because certain unions actually have a monopolistic position. [More…]
My question, which is directed to the Minister for Education, refers to the many different types of scholarships, bursaries and awards that are available to young people in Australia from such diverse sources as governments- State and Federal- industries, private schools, trusts, foundations, lodges, the Returned Services League, service clubs and unions. [More…]
Was the concept of the courses earlier opposed by a committee which consisted of representatives of the Department of Education, the Apprenticeship Board, the Trades and Labour Council, employer groups, unions, the Canberra and Bruce technical and further education colleges and the Department of Employment and Industrial Relations? [More…]
The Minister will doubtless be aware of the Bureau of Statistics estimates that more than 50 per cent of all employees in Victoria are employed under Federal awards and that all but four unions in Victoria are registered under the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Act. [More…]
I ask the Minister: Is it not the case that such Victorian legislation would in effect take over from the Commonwealth Government the responsibility it presently has for the regulation and control of these Federal unions and their meetings? [More…]
Will it sit back and allow the federally registered unions in Victoria to be controlled by a Victorian State government and parliament? [More…]
This in itself shows, I believe, that the IRB had been given its head by a government which is keen to create industrial unrest, to exacerbate industrial unrest and to cause industrial unrest in order to justify its laying the blame for the ills in our economy at the feet of the unions. [More…]
Will the Minister undertake to: (a) advertise widely the eligibility for special benefit of workers refused unemployment benefit in these circumstances, and (b) make the details of special benefit provision available to trade unions which, because of the Government ‘s refusal to do so, take responsibility for the welfare of their members. [More…]
As you would bc aware the bureau was set up to protect the rights of the individual against the powerful organisations of cither unions or industry. [More…]
That is the fact that there is a multiplicity of unions engaged in waterfront operations in this country. [More…]
There are all sorts of estimates given, but those members of the Senate who read their newspapers will know that either this week or last week there was a stoppage in the port of Sydney which related to this very question of relationships between that multiplicity of unions other than the Waterside Workers Federation of Australia which operates in that port and which affects the turnover of the port, the costs of the operation of the stevedoring industry, and a variety of matters which go to the whole question of the high costs of stevedoring in this country. [More…]
Time and time again it has consistently opposed in this Parliament any arrangements or amendments to the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Act which would provide for an amalgamation of unions in industry situations like the stevedoring industry. [More…]
He will realise that I have a view based on experience different from his, which does not blindly accept the proposition that an amalgamation of unions will do away with demarcation disputes. [More…]
Certainly I would not feel that the other unions, whose industrial record on the wharf has been far better than that of the Waterside Workers Federation, would agree to allowing the Stevedoring Industry Consultative Council the say as to whether a recommendation should be brought to the Government that those organisations ought to be amalgamated into the one organisation, namely, the Waterside Workers Federation. [More…]
Not the least of the reasons why these unions would not agree to that is that they are not represented on the Stevedoring Industry Consultative Council. [More…]
If one says unions should be amalgamated on the basis of an industry then one is saying that everyone in the railways should be a member of the Australian Railways [More…]
If the proposition is that there be amalgamation of unions in the one industry then there would be one union for the railways, one union for the vehicle industry and one union for the stevedoring industry. [More…]
The unions are seeking a $10 a week wage increase. [More…]
Subsequently, unions representing employees in other States sought an increase and Commissioner Walker sought to incorporate a $6 allowance into the award. [More…]
The Commonwealth Government will approach the Full Bench on the resumption of the national wage case hearing seeking an adjournment of the current wage indexation hearing because of the industrial action taken by railway unions. [More…]
The Commonwealth Government will be supported by the Victorian Government in seeking this adjournment should the Australian Council of Trade Unions be unable to halt the planned stoppages. [More…]
When does the Minister expect to have a report from Sir John Moore, the President of the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission, which may devise a formula which will give freedom of choice to trade unions which desire to remain in the various State industrial tribunals? [More…]
The classic lesson we can learn from this paper is that worker participation- not the kind of worker participation that terrified the unions when such a suggestion was put under another guise in previous years, but genuine worker participation, as Senator Button quite aptly described it- can create an environment for future discussion, for future consultation and for future consensus. [More…]
One could blame the employers for being so recalcitrant in even accepting it and thinking that this was just another way the unions were trying to screw them. [More…]
Why cannot we find men of goodwill to sit down across the table, not in the glare of publicity where people grandstand but in secretrepresentatives of the Government, of the trade unions and of the employers- to try to resolve these problems by compromise and consensus? [More…]
Why cannot a tripartite group of people who have got together on this - the three of them, the trade unions, the employers and the Government- sit together and come to some compromise in solving that problem? [More…]
Management is happy, the proprietorship is happy and the trade unions are happy. [More…]
The Government is not permitting an honourable senator to speak on this matter on behalf of one of the biggest unions in Australia. [More…]
The trade unions can look after themselves, but we are of the opinion that rather than having the continuous fights and industrial disputation we would achieve more if we could get some agreement on workers participation. [More…]
It was because of such conditions that the unions, not only in this country, but throughout the world, appealed to the International Labour Organisation for a provision to give all people the right of appeal. [More…]
He referred, among other things, to some State public servants, some local government employees, some other key point employees, some university and other educational staff members, some officers, members of trade unions and some other persons employed in the private sector. [More…]
The trade unions have tried to get the International Labour Organisation conference to accept an amendment. [More…]
I believe that people such as longstanding trade unionists like Senator Cavanagh would agree with me that, to take an extreme case, we could appoint to the committee a person who purports to be competent to deal with a trade unionist who had been denied promotion, or perhaps a migrant trade unionist without Australian citizenship who had suffered an excessively severe ASIO evaluation, yet if Bob Hawke were asked whether the Australian Council of Trade Unions could find a suitable appointee, I doubt that he would get somebody competent to do the job. [More…]
I ask the Minister representing the Prime Minister: In view of the concern being expressed at the present time by Public Service unions about legislation presently before the Parliament, can the Minister give the Senate an explanation of how the Bill will operate and of the grounds on which employees will be retired? [More…]
I was suggesting that by placing the emphasis on the inquiry function and by reducing the emphasis on prices notification the Tribunal would serve more generally to be a useful instrument for government policy and that the change resulted from consultation with the business community, consumer groups and the trade unions. [More…]
On 18 October last year the Minister for Business and Consumer Affairs (Mr Fife) made a statement inviting from business, unions and other interested parties submissions on the operation of the Tribunal. [More…]
The view is held deeply within trade unions, and probably among the public generally, that it is unfair that applications for wage increases should be subject to public scrutiny, to public debate and to strenuous opposition from this Government on almost every occasion that they come before the Australian Conciliation and Arbitration Commission. [More…]
Therefore it follows inescapably that an essential part of any package deal on wages policy, aimed at getting on top of inflation, should not only incorporate some reasonable assurancethat is something which is seen to be a reasonable assurance to the unions- but also that applications for price increases by companies with a great deal of market power should be treated in the same way as are applications for wage increases by the unions. [More…]
The unions must justify their claims in a public forum but companies need not. [More…]
For example, as far as I am aware, there is no provision in the Conciliation and Arbitration Act under which unions can claim that submissions made by them are confidential and are not to be released. [More…]
The Prices Justification Tribunal was established by the Labor Government to require companies publicly to justify and argue the case for raising the price of their goods, in the same way as unions publicly are required to justify and argue the case for raising the price of their labour. [More…]
It is little wonder that trade unions are champing at having to accept that while the wages of their members are determined in significant part by arbitration, firms are to be relatively free to set prices without any automatic notification to an independent statutory authority. [More…]
Representation was received from many quarters- trade unions in particular- that the Prices Justification Tribunal be retained. [More…]
Consultations were held with trade unions and the consumer groups before the decisions were taken. [More…]
The current child-care policy should be reviewed and the Government should give priority to funding child-care facilities at places of work, jointly managed by the employers and employees or unions. [More…]
However, to assist in the development of services among disadvantaged groups, grants are made available to bodies to work among migrants, or with, for example, trade unions and employers to assist in the development of applications. [More…]
Representation is determined by round table talks with industry and unions. [More…]
Where a number of unions are involved in an industry, representation is requested from the one or two largest and, by arrangement with the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, the remainder are kept informed through the ACTU. [More…]
It also conforms with what some unions have wanted in actual excess staff situations e.g. [More…]
It is only through the organisations that represent the workers and through the unfortunate illnesses and deaths of people in these industries that the unions have taken some action and found out the position. [More…]
It is far easier to attack unions for calling for a right to fight for wages that will enable people to live with the dignity and expectations of 1 979. [More…]
Does that view still hold good in the light of the emergence of the Australian Transport Association in the face of objections by transport employers and the Transport Workers Union about a further component in the transport unions? [More…]
-Senator Mulvihill raises a matter which has had vexed problems over many years, namely, the whole question of Federal and State unions and their competitive rights and demarcations. [More…]
Its determination to place the blame for its economic failures on wage earners, trade unions and the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission; and [More…]
I would have thought that good economic policy should have gone in the other direction, that at this stage, when the Government is clearly not controlling inflation and when wage demands of the trade unions are quite properly being put to meet with rising costs, a tax cut would have been appropriate. [More…]
It could say: ‘Look, the workers have more real spending money in their pockets, and that is a real case for you not to grant the amount asked for by the trade unions’. [More…]
Secondly, the grip of militant trade unions and trade unionists is not as dominant in the home building industry as in the commercial building industry. [More…]
Its determination to place the blame for its economic failures on wage earners, trade unions and the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission; and [More…]
When this legislation was passed and Mr Linehan and his industrial troubleshooters were appointed we thought that, quite apart from the capacity of trade unions to defend their rights, some of the functions of the Bureau would be to weed out these sorts of people. [More…]
During the time that the matter was debated we argued that, over the years, the evidence showed that there were more actions against unions than there were against employers for breaches of awards. [More…]
As we know, employer organisations and unions have said that in Australia we are short of 2,000 skilled employees. [More…]
As I recall, the defence offered was that the dismissal occurred not because the individual would not do what the union requested but because other unions would not work with him and the duties of the Council could not be carried out. [More…]
But, looking at the political realities, we know that people from Latin America who have come to Australia are taxpayers, belong to clubs and associations, and are members of trade unions and business organisations. [More…]
Also, can he review some of the matters, which are presently causing a great deal of industrial discontent among the unions? [More…]
The Prime Minister’s response to that written and oral request was to guarantee that the sheep sought- 20 merino ewes- would be delivered, saying as he did so that no unions would be allowed to interfere with exports as the Government would not tolerate it. [More…]
As recently as only last month, the Minister for Primary Industry, when he was holding discussions with the Australian Council of Trade Unions on the matter, was reported as having said that unless Australian merinos were made available to wool producers and potential wool producers in other countries, wool was in danger of becoming a minor fibre, which would have horrendous implications for the wool industry and so on. [More…]
How many times during each month since December 1 977 have interviews with and /or reports of statements by: (a) spokesman for farm organisations; (b) parliamentary representatives of the Australian Labor Party; (c) spokesman for trade unions; (d) parliamentary representatives of the National Country Party; and (e) parliamentary representatives of the Liberal Party of Australia, been broadcast on Australian Broadcasting Commission Radio programmes: [More…]
If so, how many visas have been issued, what are the conditions associated with those visas and was comment invited from the relevant trade unions before the visas were issued? [More…]
I do not want in any way to buy into the endeavours to lay blame between the constructing company, the unions and the Qantas management, except to say that the ultimate responsibility to this Parliament and to the people of Australia lies with Qantas. [More…]
The Liberal National Country Party government will continue to encourage consultation between management and unions on all matters affecting Commonwealth employees. [More…]
This Bill intertwines some worthwhile initiatives negotiated between the Government and the Public Service unions- I refer to conditions which the unions have been seeking for a long time, such as early retirement provisions- and other measures which are totally unacceptable to Government employees insofar as they allow the Government to sack employees for any reason it might wish to prescribe. [More…]
As I have indicated, this Government had some sort of record of negotiation with the Public Service unions about some of these issues, but those negotiations have not in any sense been reflected ultimately in the key provisions of this Bill. [More…]
These reasons are to be prescribed only following consultation with the employee unions. [More…]
But the claim that this Bill somehow operates to the advantage of employees in the Public sector rings quite hollow when it is weighted against the unanimous opposition of employees and Public Service unions to this particular measure. [More…]
It is in this sense that the claims of the Public Service unions and of many critical commentators on this Bill, that the Bill is really creating conditions for political manipulation of the public service, are fully justified. [More…]
The Public Service unions and employees already have shown that they are not prepared to lie down and be run over by this legislation. [More…]
It has expressed some surprise that the Public Service unions are not responding with dog-like devotion, with tail-wagging appreciation, to the Government’s largesse. [More…]
First of all, as far as the payments for voluntary retirements are concerned and the provisions for voluntary retirement, it is true that the voluntary retirement at the age of 55 years, for which the Bill provides, is something for which the Public Service unions have long fought. [More…]
It is something for which the Bill does provide and, on the face of it, the unions as a result ought to be grateful. [More…]
There are all sorts of good reasons for the unions and employees, for the Public Service and for the community at large, to applaud the enactment of the voluntary retirement provisions of this Bill. [More…]
The unions have demonstrated their good faith throughout this whole controversy. [More…]
I do not criticise unions for taking action, but when they do so let them take good and proper action and not be party to a fiasco such as that of last week with an on-again off-again situation or merely absenting themselves from work. [More…]
The Administrative and Clerical Officers Association and the other major Public Service unions are opposed to the legislation in its present form. [More…]
The Senate will recall what happened last year when the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, Mr Hawke, was endeavouring to resolve an air traffic controllers dispute. [More…]
The unions and employees are excluded from consideration. [More…]
Simply because the employees and the unions are excluded from discussions on redeployment and redundancy affecting them. [More…]
I am supporting the very strong stand that the Public Service unions are taking on behalf of their members. [More…]
Top public service unions are incensed that there is no provision for a review or appeal from these assessments. [More…]
The unions further point out that there is a positive disincentive to appeal for the reasons I have already outlined. [More…]
The unions are correct when they claim that clause 1 5 is difficult to understand. [More…]
Is it any wonder that the unions and the Opposition call for the Bill to be withdrawn and redrafted? [More…]
It is unacceptable to the Public Service unions. [More…]
Let me move to the attitude of the unions to the Bill. [More…]
The Government could “avoid all conflict” by legislating for voluntary early retirement and leaving the other provisions on one side for “further negotiations with the Public Service unions.” [More…]
The Public Service unions traditionally do not strike. [More…]
In redrafting the Bill the Government should have real discussions with the peak unions, not simply token discussions, and should be guided by the advice which they will give and by the advice which the Coombs report and other reports have given. [More…]
PS UNIONS GET SUPPORT OVER BILL [More…]
Public Service unions opposed to the Commonwealth Employees Redeployment and Retirement Bill at present before Parliament received support yesterday from an unexpected quarter- the Returned Services League. [More…]
The unions have threatened industrial action against the legislation though a strike called on Tuesday by the Administrative and Clerical Officers Association attracted little support. [More…]
Of course, it is the case that employees and Public Service unions are most anxious that there should be a right of appeal at that threshold stage of the decision-making process in order that the actual key consideration of whether there is an over-manning or over-staffing situation within a particular department might be able to be made the subject of argument and the subject of determination by the Commonwealth Employees Redeployment and Retirement Appeals Tribunal. [More…]
The unions and employees likely to be affected by this legislation take the point that, if their appeal rights are confined simply to the question of whether a particular employee is a riper candidate than some other employee for getting his marching orders once an excess in staff decision has been made, then that right of appeal is likely to be rather empty indeed. [More…]
However, that is unsatisfactory to the Opposition and it is unsatisfactory to the relevant unions. [More…]
The only point that the Opposition wishes to make in further defence of its attitude and the attitude of the Public Service unions on this clause is in answer to the numerous assertions by various Government senators that there is really no difference between these procedures and the procedures which presently apply in relation to promotion appeals. [More…]
In the view of the Opposition, the Public Service unions and associations, as well as the Returned Services League, it is a Bill designed to provide the Government with machinery to offload thousands and thousands of persons employed in the Commonwealth Public Service in order to reduce its deficit. [More…]
The Government claims to have discussed this legislation with the Public Service Board and the relevant unions. [More…]
There may have been consultation of a sort with the Public Service unions and associations, but the result of that consultation clearly is totally unacceptable to those very unions and associations. [More…]
What Senator Button did not point out is that that letter referred previously to the question of staff ceilings which had been raised by Public Service unions. [More…]
That quotation has been used by Public Service unions in the campaign against this legislation. [More…]
The employees, and those whom they elect to represent them- to protect their economic and social interests- the members of the various associations and unions, have seen fit to employ their own research organisation on the Bill and its ramifications. [More…]
Several of those issues have been discussed between the force and the unions concerned and also the Minister for Administrative Service (Mr McLeay) in previous days. [More…]
The Sub-committee comprises Commonwealth and State health officials and representatives from the trade unions and relevant areas of industry. [More…]
On behalf of the Kindergarten Union of South Australia, and no doubt on behalf of all kindergarten unions in Australia which are suffering the same plight, I make the plea to the Government to reconsider its attitude and to make more money available for this very wonderful cause, that is, for preschools in Australia. [More…]
I make this plea not only on behalf of all of the kindergarten unions in South Australia but especially on behalf of the people of the Murray Bridge South Kindergarten at Murray Bridge who I know are working very hard to try to raise money through fetes, raffles and in any other way they can, to keep this kindergarten going and to provide the funds for a full time staff. [More…]
There has been no consultation with the trade unions about this at all and, if it continues, there will be complete industrial chaos in the hospitality industry. [More…]
The unions will ensure that. [More…]
Honourable senators hear a lot from the Government about the fact that unions hold stop work meetings and nobody turns up; only a militant few are able to manipulate union meetings. [More…]
1 ) Who are the parties to the agreement made in 1 973 to which the Minister referred in answer to a question without notice in the Senate on the subject of student unions (see Hansard,2 March 1979, page 803). [More…]
The Commonwealth did not accept responsibility for funding non-academic amenities and facilities at tertiary institutions or the activities of student unions or student representative councils. [More…]
There are also other types of financial institutions that actively compete with banks in providing at least some of the facilities offered by banks: these include finance companies, money market corporations, building societies and credit unions. [More…]
One cannot help but note that legislation of this kind can do nothing but encourage unions, particularly the Public Service and white collar unions, to seek the extension of benefits of this kind to themselves. [More…]
I am not knocking the Population Council, which has on it people like Hawke and Nolan from the Australian Council of Trade Unions, George Polites from the Employers Federation of Australia and a host of demographers and others. [More…]
They should be part of the Public Service unions. [More…]
I suppose it might also be said that the trade union movement has an active interest in the matter, since I understand the decision given provides that award wages are payable to persons who are parties to the awards, namely, members of trade unions. [More…]
This was sought by the unions, and is also a practice followed by many maritime nations. [More…]
Only a few nights ago the Minister for Defence, Mr Killen, said that he had made arrangements with the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the shipbuilding unions for this new ship to be build for the Royal Australian Navy. [More…]
Unions of the workers believed the plutonium dust may have leaked through the plant’s ventilation system. [More…]
Business, government, unions and the Crawford report all agree that the way to create jobs in Australia is by stimulating the exports of manufactured products. [More…]
Can the Minister also indicate whether such action by the Labor Party would mean one rule for the unions and another for the rest of the community? [More…]
My question is directed to the Leader of the Government in the Senate and refers to recent offers by Mr Hawke, the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, to confer with the Government about the economy, wages and jobs. [More…]
The fact is that protection is often utilised- to the ultimate disappointment of the trade unions that ask for it- as a means of allowing industry to “adjust’ by automating low skilled jobs out of existence, using the assured higher prices to pay for labour-displacing machinery. [More…]
To the credit of the Australian Council of Trade Unions Congress which is taking place at the moment, the working people of this country and their representatives are determined to resist such a cut in living standards. [More…]
We know that this week in Melbourne the Congress of the Australian Council of Trade Unions is debating the adoption of a new wages policy. [More…]
This claim, as many people will understand, and as the people of South Australia will know, has resulted from political pressure by the left wing unions of the State fo: a settlement of the strike which the metal trades planned to call in the early part of this month. [More…]
As to the reference to the Australian Council of Trade Unions, it is important to note for the record that within the last few days the President of the ACTU made an offer to the Government to sit down with its representatives and those of employers to discuss a comprehensive policy with respect to employment, wages and general economic regulators. [More…]
Worse than that, they are put out of competition with the unions who are attracting the high minimum wages. [More…]
I see the latest assault on technology, coming both from the trade unions and the Australian Labor Party, as devastating for Australia’s progress. [More…]
He is a millionaire five times over, yet he is telling the trade unions that they have no right even to expect the incomes of their members to keep up with inflation. [More…]
We are prepared, in conjunction with the Australian Council of Trade Unions, to talk to the Government about a rational sensible policy. [More…]
The renta.crowds and the hangers-on are the tools of the militant left wing unions. [More…]
I will refer to this later in my remarks when I refer to the actions of the militant left wing unions and what they are endeavouring to do to erode or white ant the economic state of the country as it is today. [More…]
If those honourable senators had crossed the track and had taken a balanced view of the Budget and its responsibilities- it is after all a framework, a body of economic guidelines for the future- I am sure that they would have had to say that the community and unions also had a part to play. [More…]
Naturally, without our unions there can be no development. [More…]
The Arbitration Commission system was developed so that the employer and employee could come together, but now one learns that that system is to be tossed into the gutter because the militant unions want more than the Commission is prepared to recommend as representing the preservation of a fine balance in the development of a fine country such as Australia is today. [More…]
Yet we have the preposterous situation of left wing unions wishing to destroy that industry. [More…]
We had the situation only this week of the militant unions seeking an extra $40 a week. [More…]
One would expect it but, at the same time, one would also expect that the people of Australia would be fearful of the militant unions and the strikes that surround them day by day. [More…]
I say once again that the Government has produced a framework for the Budget that can put Australia back on the rails but it is up to the unions, employers and employees to play their part. [More…]
It was recommended that consultation should take place with the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the trade unions concerned. [More…]
Only in the last few days the Minister for Defence, Mr Killen, has reached an agreement with the ACTU and the trade unions concerned in respect of a request to build the new Royal Australian Navy ship in Australia. [More…]
After discussions regarding the promotion of the most co-operative attitude from the unions concerned in the industry a target price was put forward which was less than that proposed by overseas companies. [More…]
I know, and honourable senators opposite know, that for many months Bob Hawke has been saying that, if the Australian Government would agree, the Australian Council of Trade Unions, with its advisers and its economists, would sit around the table with the Government and discuss the economy, jobs and employment, and that they would be only too happy to do it. [More…]
What will it do in relation to the unions? [More…]
It is intended that unions and unionists will be free of the law if they take matters into their own hands while they are pursuing strikes. [More…]
1 ask the Leader of the Government whether he has seen reports in this morning’s Press on the Australian Council of Trade Unions Congress. [More…]
I can assure the Minister that the chambers of commerce and the trade unions in Tasmania, and no doubt in other States, have been equally supportive of this report and are anxious to see it implemented. [More…]
It is a sad day when, 15 months after consideration by the Government of a unanimous and bipartisan Senate Committee report, the Minister comes into this chamber and tells the Parliament in a misleading way that it has adopted the spirit of the report but not the substance, or so little of it that I can assure honourable senators that those who are looking forward to relief, whether they be the small traders or employees represented through the chambers of commerce or trade unions, will be most vociferous in their rejection of the Government’s decision. [More…]
It was very interesting to go to union meetings, and I learned a great deal about the performance of unions, the way they work and the people associated with them. [More…]
That Government was an active participant in dividing the community as it encouraged trade unions to pursue massive wage increases often through industrial action. [More…]
The National Labour Consultative Council has been established as a fundamental part of the Government’s policy of encouraging effective consultation and communication between Government, employers and trade unions. [More…]
While employers and unions have their responsibilities, the Government recognises that it has its own responsibility to protect the public interest. [More…]
As will become clear, the basic proposition which runs through the Labor Party’s platform is that the trade unions should be placed virtually above and beyond the law. [More…]
From its beginnings, one of the principal aims of conciliation and arbitration was to legitimise the role of trade unions. [More…]
Consequently, the trade unions were given certain privileges under the law which carried with them specific responsibilities. [More…]
The Labor Party, by persisting with the archaic belief that trade unions should still be granted extraordinary additional privileges, has isolated itself from the views of the community, including a large proportion of trade union members. [More…]
The words and lockouts’ were taken out, meaning that while unions would be free to engage in strike action without penalty, employers would be penalised for retaliating by engaging in a lockout. [More…]
Very significantly, the Labor Party’s policy goes beyond unions taking action simply over pay and conditions. [More…]
An ALP Government would recognise that the legitimate role of the trade unions is not limited to legally defined industrial matters’. [More…]
Labor does not accept Parliament as the proper place for voicing its concerns and opinions, but has deferred to the unions in acknowledging that they can strike on any issue at all and force their views on the Australian public. [More…]
The Labor Party has also given a commitment to recognise ‘the rights of unions to regulate their own affairs in a democratic way free from Government and judicial interference . [More…]
While the Labor Party mouths platitudes about democracy in trade unions, it has denied an ALP Government any way of putting it into practice. [More…]
A further example of the Labor Party’s ‘hands off attitude to trade unions is its policy to ‘encourage the membership of registered organisations through the provision of preference to unionists in the taking of leave and … in their engagement and promotion and their retention in cases of retrenchment’. [More…]
Under a Labor Government, unions would be positively encouraged to trample over the rights of individual workers with a genuine conscientious objection to union membership or to engaging in industrial action. [More…]
Furthermore, the Labor Party would exempt unions from the provisions of the Trade Practices Act. [More…]
Their approach is to say that employers should be subject to regulation, but unions should not. [More…]
To the Labor Party, unions should be free to take whatever action they choose on whatever issues they choose. [More…]
The Labor Party would place unions above the laws everyone else is expected to observe. [More…]
Their policies are a direct inducement to the trade unions to operate outside our system of conciliation and arbitration. [More…]
The uncertainty as to whether and to what extent employees will receive a wage increase has influenced some unions to take industrial action for wage increases outside the wage indexation guidelines. [More…]
This clearly is a minimum on which the unions with industrial muscle would be free to build to get even larger wage increases. [More…]
According to the ACTU, employers and the Government should abide by decisions of the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission, while unions should be free to pursue any wage claims they want, over and above increases awarded by the Commission. [More…]
Furthermore, the ACTU has encouraged unions to threaten or use industrial disruption to line their own pockets. [More…]
Yet, on the 18th of February this year, he said, ‘For their part, the unions must accept that the economy cannot bear unreasonable wage claims’. [More…]
Instead, they have now supinely added wages policy to their ‘hands off the unions ‘list. [More…]
The Labor Party may try and claim that if elected this policy gives them the opportunity to seek some kind of social contract with the trade unions. [More…]
That kind of contract, and how large the wage increases would need to be to buy off the unions, are questions they are not particularly keen to answer at the moment- and of course, they can’t. [More…]
We believe that if Government, employers and unions are willing to place the national interest first, there is no reason why all parties cannot cooperate to get the most out of what the Australian economy has to offer. [More…]
It is only now that there is a higher level of industrial disputes because in spite of the high unemployment the standard of living of the families of this country has been so eroded by this Government’s policies that unions have increasingly resorted in more recent months to industrial disputation and involvement in industrial disputation. [More…]
The Government could not stand up to the unions knowing it had only six months life in the Parliament. [More…]
First of all, throughout the last four years there have been repeated statements that unions and wage claims are responsible for the Government’s economic difficulties, or if it is not the unions, it is the Arbitration Commission or anybody other than the Government. [More…]
As is set out in the statement, it has investigated a number of complaints about unions but nothing has ever happened except in one case which occurred in Melbourne and which involved a prosecution of the Melbourne City Council. [More…]
The Minister for Industrial Relations talks about that as an important initiative of this Government and he talks about the secret ballot legislation in respect of which a number of unions have been granted exemptions, so making nonsense of the whole legislation. [More…]
He talks about the legislation for the National Labour Consultative Council in respect of which this Government made the petty-minded decision to exclude white collar unions at the establishment of that body; he talks about the trade practices legislation as if to indicate that that was a great and important step in the industrial relations policy of this Government. [More…]
It is very interesting to note that the Trade Practices Commission, which had its Act amended to deal with industrial matters, in the last two years has developed a very sophisticated arrangement with the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the national employers policy body to refer any disputes which come to the Commission and which have an industrial relations content to those two bodies for resolution. [More…]
When Mr Anthony, in 1977, said that this Government needed a mandate, as he put it, to stand up to the unions- a piece of irresponsible waffle of the first order- Mr Polites was asked this question: [More…]
If honourable senators opposite will not listen, as a government, to the overtures made by bodies like the Australian Council of Trade Unions and to the National Labour Consultative Council, which the Government set up as a piece of rhetoric and nothing else, on these important issues perhaps they should listen to the national employers. [More…]
National employers are concerned because from day to day they have to negotiate with unions and reach sensible and coherent agreements with them. [More…]
The only disputes which have been settled by initiatives have been settled by initiatives of the employers or the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
Changes in decision-making processes should be attempted only with the willingness and full involvement of management, employees and unions . [More…]
Unions for the most part have conservative traditions and find it no easier, perhaps harder to adapt than do firms. [More…]
It invites them to tell the Government what the attitude of commerce and industry and the trade unions is to particular situations and to the Government itself. [More…]
Credit unions have $64 a head. [More…]
The lower rates are offered by credit unions. [More…]
The Bankcard scheme could certainly be extended to credit unions. [More…]
I move now to the eighth factor in consumer credit, the credit unions. [More…]
The same phenomenon has happened with credit unions. [More…]
I have been able to show step by step that trading bank personal loans have come down from 8.2 per cent flat to 7.75 per cent over our period in office; that overdraft rates for small loans have dropped from 1 1 .5 per cent to 10 per cent; that savings bank new mortgages have dropped from 1 1.5 percent to 9.5 percentdown 2 per cent; that finance companies fiveyear borrowing rates have dropped by Vh per cent; that retailers credit has remained stationary; that permanent building societies have not been forced to put up their rates; that Bankcard, against which Senator Gietzelt inveighs and which he sees as iniquitous, is the creation of his own Treasurer and of his own Government, with the Bankcard interest rate established by his own people; and that credit unions have been able to remain stable. [More…]
The amount on loan from finance companies in the last 12 months has grown by only 5.7 per cent while those from Bankcard and credit unions have each grown by 39 per cent. [More…]
I do not think that the recent debate by the Australian Council of Trade Unions on the mining and export of uranium should pass unnoticed by this Parliament. [More…]
The unions directly involved have too much sense and too much at stake to take any notice of it, but it does create the dangers of inter-union strife which is always very damaging to the community. [More…]
I remind the Senate that for four years we have been told that one of the factors preventing greater stability in the Australian economy was the demands of unions in respect of wages. [More…]
It always amazes me that, when we get into a discussion on this issue, the Government talks about the role of the trade unions. [More…]
The Minister for Industrial Relations (Mr Street) could go into a huddle tomorrow with the Australian Council of Trade Unions and say: ‘We will give you what the Scandanavian and Eastern trade union movements have got in relation to stability of health costs’. [More…]
While I am on the subject of trade unions, senators will know that I have been questioning the Attorney-General (Senator Durack) about his role and the role of Mr Street in the matter of industrial relations. [More…]
The company got an increase of $1.30 on every fourlitre tin of Ranch House brown, but the unions had to battle for 12 months to get a hearing and ultimately a decision which was in their favour. [More…]
I was able to marshal considerable agitation from the New South Wales Branch of the Australian Workers Union under Mr Oliver and a member of the Slovene community in Canberra, Mr Roman Bizjak From that we got La Fiamma and Novo Dovo and a host of other newspapers into the act along with quite a lot of other ethnic clubs, the Melbourne and Sydney Trades Hall Councils and Mr Bob Hawke and the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
Possibly the biggest threat in this country stems from the dominance of the Marxist Left of the Australian Labor Party and the union movement, a threat of such magnitude that it has driven the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions out of his job, and he is attempting to find another one. [More…]
On June 22, after work had commenced a dispute developed over the employment of a foreman to operate a boiler whilst the maintenance Unions on the job were on strike and caused the meat employees to cease work for the day. [More…]
I am considering reporting this matter to the Tasmanian Trades and Labour Council and the State branch of the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
Members of unions are waiting for their just pay. [More…]
The Bill will be welcomed by all of those groups involved in the shipping industry, whether it be the statutory authorities which operate in the federal or State jurisdiction, the shipowners, or the trade unions concerned. [More…]
I believe that, with co-operation between ship owners, governments and unions, the Australian shipping industry can expand. [More…]
It represents a step forward and, given proper cooperation between the ship-owners, the unions and the Government, sensible solutions can be arrived at and a better shipping industry can be achieved in this country. [More…]
He had the assistance of the maritime unions in the Port of Sydney. [More…]
I have a petition covering four pages, signed by his work mates and the manager of the company, quite apart from his own union comrades and members of several other unions which are involved, asking that he be allowed to remain here. [More…]
Very often certain people criticise the role that the trade union movement is playing, but these two cases have the imprimatur of Mr Barrie Unsworth, Secretary of the Trades and Labour Council, and his assistant, Mr John McBean, and the weight of at least 10 unions. [More…]
Can the Minister inform the Senate of the details of the Acting Treasurer’s statement yesterday and reaffirm the Government’s determination that this project, which is vital to South Australia, should proceed in spite of the reported threats of the Hayden Opposition and the militant unions associated with the South Australian Trades and Labour Council? [More…]
As soon as it secretly receives money from trade unions and other supporters it loses its objectivity. [More…]
Surely Senator McLaren is not asking me to be naive enough to believe that the trade, unions do not finance the Labor Party in its election campaigns; The principle is precisely the same although I will concede to Senator McLaren that the amount of money given to the Labor Party by trade unions nowhere near compares with the amount of money given to the Liberal and National Country parties by God knows whom. [More…]
Representatives of the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the Council of Australian Government Employee Organisations did not attend that meeting. [More…]
Many unions, or sections of them, are strategically placed to interfere with the provision of goods and services to the community. [More…]
I stress that that is not an attack on the trade unions or the workers, or anything like that. [More…]
The trustees of the fund are representatives of shipowners and unions and include Mr Patrick Geraghty of the Seamen’s Union of Australia, Mr Les Mullens of the Federated Marine Stewards and Pastry men’s Association of Australasia and Mr Bill Heath of the Marine Cooks, Bakers and Butchers Association of Australasia. [More…]
The question might arise as to whether any consultation has taken place with the trade unions that might be involved in this wider aspect of compensation. [More…]
Is it a fact that since the hearings in Adelaide earlier this year in connection with the Adelaide licences there have been some 40 additional instances where detailed reasons for the decisions are still awaiting publication and that not only the licensees, through their commercial organisations or associations, but also the responsible unions within the industry are expressing concern at the delay? [More…]
It decided the matter in the National Labour Consultative Council at a time when the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the Council of Australian Government Employee Organisations could not attend because they were then dealing with the other Bill to which I referred. [More…]
The vast resources and expertise and staff of the Government and the law often are unable to solve disputes, but the ACTU President, with his officers and in co-operation with employers and unions, is able to find solutions. [More…]
He has made reference to the fact that the proposals are unprecedented and that the unions have not been consulted about them. [More…]
The reason why the unions may not have expressed their views about these proposals is that they refused to attend the meeting of the National Labour Consultative Council at which it was foreshadowed these amendments would debated and considered. [More…]
The Minister for Industrial Relations, Mr Street, was advised that the unions would not attend that meeting. [More…]
The Minister wrote to the unions on 26 July stressing the importance that the Government placed on the role of the Council and explaining the desirability of the unions attending this meeting. [More…]
But the unions, for reasons of their own, decided not to attend. [More…]
It is a practice that of course has been observed by the Australian Council of Trade Unions which made it clear to the Government that at no time was it in fact invited to any consultations. [More…]
As I mentioned earlier- this was told to the Government- the Autralian Council of Trade Unions told the Government that it was not only prepared to talk about this Bill, but prior to the Budget Mr Hawke told the Government that it was prepared to discuss anything affecting the economy and that he would go along to the Government. [More…]
The Bill also deals with the question of the jurisdiction of the Commission regarding strike pay; the manner of dealing with stand-down applications; the question of references of matters to a Full Bench; the withdrawal of matters from a single member of the Commission where the President so decides; and, more importantly, the issue of the deregistration of unions, about which we are very much concerned. [More…]
The Australian Council of Trade Unions has already agreed that a reform of the Act is needed. [More…]
We know that during Labor’s term of office many of the unions went crazy with their demands, and the industrial strife that occurred during Labor’s term of office was one of the reasons that Labor was thrown out of office. [More…]
Their defence of the unions was absolute: it permitted no qualification . [More…]
Their defence of the unions was absolute: it permitted no qualification and no restraint on union behaviour. [More…]
Anybody inclined to discount the extent to which a Labor Government would consider itself bound by that part of the platform that grants trade unions exemptions from the law and parliamentary control would be well advised to think again. [More…]
The Australian Council of Trade Unions, the Council of Australian Government Employee Organisations and all the registered unions have been ignored in the process leading up to the presentation of this legislation to the Parliament. [More…]
That action would justify the Government’s program of misrepresentation and its general propaganda offensive in portraying unions as irresponsible. [More…]
This morning in Melbourne, the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, Mr Bob Hawke, and the principal employer spokesman, Mr George Polites, joined me in launching a slim but significant booklet entitled ‘Employee Participation: A Broad View’. [More…]
This booklet sets out for the first time in Australia on a national level an agreed view on employee participation policy by employers, unions and government. [More…]
Employers and unions sat down with government to discuss their mutual problems. [More…]
The co-operation and consensus between employers, unions and government, evidenced by the book launching this morning and the dinner last night, means that those objectives are closer to becoming realities rather than merely being cliches. [More…]
Let us have a look at the policy of the Labor Government when it comes to fighting for or looking at the rights of the people of Australia when they are put at risk by irresponsible communist led unions in this country. [More…]
It is the policy of the Labor Party that these communist led unions: [More…]
It also made these socalled democratic unions able to exercise their right to strike, immune from any pains or penalties. [More…]
There was no suggestion of any mechanism that would make sure that these unions were conducted in a democratic fashion. [More…]
The fact that the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the Council of Australian Government Employee Organisations, Mr Hawke and his fellow unionists refused to attend that National Labour Consultative Council is not the problem of Mr Street. [More…]
If the Government attempts to make radical unions answerable to the law, why is it called confrontation ‘? [More…]
The Government is attempting to make the radical unions answerable to law. [More…]
It is the radical unions, such as the communist-led unions, the unions led by Mr Halfpenny and Mr Carmichael, which this legislation is endeavouring to do something about. [More…]
It is time that the Opposition and the radical unions realised that profit’ is not a dirty word. [More…]
Senator Tate also said that there was no consultation with the Australian Council of Trade Unions and with the Council of Australian Government Employee Organisations. [More…]
They are the people who, it must be remembered, are more or less equally representative of governments, employees and trade unions and who in their appointment have been the product of consultation and acceptance- one among the other- of each of those groups. [More…]
How can we believe that the Government is seriously committed to the improvement of the system and the correction of manifest deficiencies in it when not only has it treated the business of consultation with the judges and the commissioners in this way, but also when- as has been pointed out in the course of this debate, but which needs repeating- it has not consulted the unions which are so closely involved in this process. [More…]
It occurs under the same speech in which the Minister complains that some unions have failed to bring their disputes to the Commission and have ‘rejected the proper processes for settling their disputes’. [More…]
One of the key practices of totalitarian and authoritarian regimes is to dissolve trade unions and to put puppets in their place. [More…]
Mr Hawke, the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, has repeated a call- or has made a fresh call, I am not sure whichasking the Government to consider the deregistration amendments proposed in this Bill. [More…]
At this stage he refuses to consult with the ACTU and the unions about the deregistration section, section 143a. [More…]
It does not seem to be a matter of such urgency that the Government might want to drop on the unions or prevent certain things tomorrow. [More…]
Unions that are deregistered become outlaws in the full medieval sense of that word. [More…]
It is ill drafted, ill thought out, draconian in its implications for unions, and thoroughly nasty in its implications for the independence of the whole conciliation and arbitration system. [More…]
Why should unions be above the law? [More…]
Unions in Australia have acquired a monopoly power over the supply of labour similar to that which the 1 9th century industrialists had on the demand side for labour. [More…]
However, this unique position of a monopoly power over the supply of labour must never place the unions above the law. [More…]
Bob Hawke ‘s leaving the Australian Council of Trade Unions can hardly be seen as a unifying or moderating influence on ACTU policy. [More…]
We find that precedents set by members of the Federated Engine Drivers and Firemen’s Association of Australasia or by unions working in such industries as the oil industry or the transport industry often give rise to monetary increments that workers in other industries naturally feel they are entitled to receive. [More…]
There has been a cry from the unions that they had no input into these legislative amendments. [More…]
I believe that on two occasions the Minister wrote to such bodies as the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the Council of Australian Government Employee Organisations, but to no avail. [More…]
The executive members of the unions simply stayed away. [More…]
We have always boasted that our trade unions were more militant than their counterparts in the United States. [More…]
One of the reasons is that our trade unions have not been prepared to bargain with safety. [More…]
The President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, the federal secretary of the particular union, rank and file delegates and federal councillors could be present. [More…]
Trade unions, rightly, will be protecting their own planks. [More…]
Quite frankly, if the trade unions do not move in and protect their flanks, nobody else will. [More…]
1 predict that there will be industrial disputation of a kind that we have never seen in this country because of the erosion of the real wage, the vacuum left by the resignation of Mr Bob Hawke from the Australian Council of Trade Unions and other factors. [More…]
Did he take away information from Mr Street to assuage the objections of the 25 commissioners, Mr Justice Staples and virtually the whole of the trade union movement including the Australian Council of Trade Unions? [More…]
I make an appeal to the NLCC, particularly to the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the Council of Australian Government Employee Organisations. [More…]
I believe that the people whom the Government has declared its avowed enemies, and rightly so- the extreme left wing communist, militant leaders of trade unions- would love section 143A. [More…]
It is playing right into the hands of the big unions particularly. [More…]
It would hurt the small unions, which can be manipulated and would then be without registration, but I should have thought that an extreme left wing communist-led union with lots of muscle, with the tiered system where power is vested in the top, would love to go back to the jungle of open bargaining, particularly in the big industries. [More…]
The changes proposed by the Bill cover a requirement for consultation by commissioners, the jurisdiction of the Commission to award strike pay, the manner of dealing with stand-down applications, reference of matters to a Full Bench, the withdrawal of matters by the President from a single member of the Commission, and the deregistration of unions. [More…]
The other matter that I want to deal with is the deregistration of unions, but before I do that I want to raise a matter which has not been referred to previously either here or outside the Parliament. [More…]
I speak regularly with officers of major unions which are registered under the Conciliation and Arbitration Act. [More…]
It has been said that the Australian Council of Trade Unions has not been consulted, the peak councils have not been consulted. [More…]
It is part of the so-called Liberal ideology that they support the right to strike, and they support the right of trade unions to operate. [More…]
Yet we hear a lot about irresponsible unions, about the Pommy shop stewards, about workers holding the country to ransom, about wage restraints- all those phrases that flow so glibly from the lips of Government members. [More…]
It seeks to say that there is no legitimacy on the part of those millions of people in Australia who belong to trade unions. [More…]
He is concerned, as are many members of trade unions. [More…]
It probably will be the militant unions who will be concerned about the skilled workers who are currently underpaid, whether they be in the metal industry or in an industry where advanced technology and the skills associated with it have to be recognised, as we have seen in the recent dispute in the telecommunications industry, a dispute that has been with us over the past year or two. [More…]
Under the heading ‘Backlash against striking unions’, the editorial states: [More…]
Some powerful trade unions seem to be intent on demonstrating the need for restrictive legislation to curb their reckless strike activity. [More…]
In November 1978 we introduced legislation to prohibit certain conduct by members of trade unions where that conduct had the purpose and effect or likely effect of preventing or substantially hindering a third person from engaging in interstate or overseas trade or commerce. [More…]
It appears that the Australian Workers Union and some other unions are anxious to develop the mining potential of the northern part of the State. [More…]
But the three Liberal Party governments that are trying to create a dispute with the trade unions have served half of their elected terms. [More…]
The State governments that have just had an election are trying to work with the trade unions. [More…]
I repeat that the three governments that are trying to create a disturbance with the trade unions are those that must soon face an election. [More…]
Unions were formed even before that time. [More…]
In Australia we have had a Federal Conciliation and Arbitration Act since 1904 to regulate wages and we had unions and strikes even before that Act. [More…]
Machinery was devised to impose various restrictions on workers and unions. [More…]
I believe that Senator Jessop pointed out the trouble that occurred over union ballots which the trade unions resisted. [More…]
Now that we have secret ballots, the unions are electing communist leaders. [More…]
Even if the Government abolished or disfranchised trade unions, as it is seeking to do, it would not stop strikes. [More…]
Just as you cannot get rid of strikes, you cannot get rid of the trade union movement either, because unions are here as a part of our industrial life. [More…]
We have to meet with the unions; we have to seek and get some common ground on which talk to them. [More…]
The Australian Council of Trade Unions may have been wrong by not going to the conference that was called, but does one seek to scrap it because of fault in someone else? [More…]
Men strike and put a ban on a particular job without any reference to the unions. [More…]
The Government is making it desirable for trade unions to get out of the industrial system, but it is still going to have trade unions and still going to have strikes. [More…]
They got together on the day of settlement and the metal trades unions organised a meeting in a vacant allotment for the purpose of selling to thenworkers the settlement terms that had been reached. [More…]
The contention which follows is that what is needed is a battery of legislation to abolish strike action, so that when unions have a case to put they will be forced to go to the appropriate tribunal and accept its judgments. [More…]
I think that there is merit in what has been said; that this proposal is mainly to facilitate compliance with guidelines or principles laid down by a Full Bench of the Commission; that there ought to be uniformity; that someone should not lead the way in one area and cause all the other unions to follow suit; that it is better that uniformity can be pursued. [More…]
I refer to the provision in regard to deregistration of unions. [More…]
It also enables the Government to do other things in regard to the unions and their members. [More…]
For a considerable period he was on the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
That amending Bill provided for the deregistration of unions, the seizing of union funds and property, fines on officers and rank and file trade unionists, suspension from office of union officers, and the debarring of members of trade unions from elevation or election to full time or part time office in their union. [More…]
The Queensland essential services legislation provides for the imposition of massive fines, the deregistration of unions, the encouragement of scab labour against unions, and the sacking of employees who go on strike. [More…]
The right to claim damages against Unions is unclear and could be read to cover class actions by the whole community and not just the areas and bodies in disputation. [More…]
The method of strict control and recording of ‘responsible persons’ who Unions of Employees now refer to as ‘strike breakers’ could cause greater ill feeling than needed when the dispute was settled. [More…]
I read it three or four times a year to keep me abreast of what justice is required for freedom of association not only in trade unions but also in employer organisations. [More…]
I suggest to honourable senators opposite that after they have read Senator Missen ‘s speech they should read the relevant sections of the International Labour Organisation’s conventions regarding freedom of association not only for trade unions but also for employers. [More…]
I have explained that the track record of this Government over the past two years is one of confrontation with the unions. [More…]
I submit that that is not so and that, in terms of the legislation before the Senate tonight, the words he was using relate to the support of workers and in no way destroy the unions in a constitutional way. [More…]
In so doing, it was fairly clear that Senator McAuliffe sees this legislation as an attempt somehow to undermine the freedom of association of trade unions. [More…]
The unions are not. [More…]
They are elected by members of the unions themselves. [More…]
It has the massive task of trying to deal with the affairs of some 300 trade unions spread across six different State jurisdictions. [More…]
I want to make the point in the shortest possible time- for the sake of the Oposition- which was made clear in the middle 1 950s in the Boilermakers case, that the role of the Arbitration Commission in Australian society is of fundamental importance to the future of the society itself; not only to the future of the trade unions, not only to the future of the employers or indeed only to the economy. [More…]
The power and the source of the power is the Parliament and the Commission, and the unions should listen to that power and to the expression of that voice through the Parliament. [More…]
The Constitution, the Governor-General, the Senate, the courts, the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Commission, the States, the trade unions and the people of the Commonwealth are all means to an end as far as this Government is concerned. [More…]
Not only Mr Justice Staples but also his fellow justices and commissioners- all 25 commissioners- and the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the Council of Australian Government Employees Organisations are appalled at the arrogance and the arbitrariness of this measure. [More…]
This Bill will take its place in the mosaic of legislation to suppress and to destroy the unions. [More…]
It is strange to hear the Attorney-General arguing about the chances that the Australian Council of Trade Unions had to consult with the Government. [More…]
Can it be said that the deregistration procedures will in any way help the unions? [More…]
The minister has the power, under certain prescribed pro forma, to take control of the unions and to affect the rights of members. [More…]
The surprising thing is that, for some reason, although there appears to be no urgency, we are here tonight at nearly one o’clock in the morning because the Government, as the result of a whim or the decision of the Prime Minister (Mr Malcolm Fraser) who is determined to attack the unions and the worker movement, has decided that, this legislation has to go through. [More…]
The Australian Council of Trade Unions says that the requirement to consult will also fundamentally alter the existing relationships and work loads in the Commission and may promote disaffection amongst members especially since no clearly defined decision making process is provided for in proposed section 22A. [More…]
He is surprised that we should be more concerned with the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission than with a clause dealing with the deregistration of unions. [More…]
The fact is that the Government has not taken the opportunity it has had to confer with any of the unions, singly or collectively. [More…]
In the mid-1950s a provision was inserted into the award of the Waterside Workers Federation to cover the very thing that the Government is trying to prevent other unions from receiving. [More…]
I have been through very bad times, when unions and management would not give an inch. [More…]
Most of the people on this side of the House who have spoken in the debate have been active trade union members in the past, have been officials of unions and have played a very prominent part in the trade union movement in Australia. [More…]
1 told the Senate that Mr Fraser ‘s next proposal was, after he unseated Mr Snedden, that his faithful friend Tony Street would be Minister for Labour and his first task would be to take the unions on in the courts to teach them a lesson. [More…]
I have no doubt that the right wing of this Government will see that the provocateurs are planted in unions and cause a strike so that it may bring about the deregistration of the union. [More…]
That is what the Government will do when this legislation passes through this House, and it will be a very black day for the trade unions and the work force of Australia. [More…]
We heard Senator Jessop today saying that many trade unions members come to him with their problems. [More…]
The paper is headed ‘Trade Unions and the Liberal Party: A Fresh Approach?’ [More…]
The article also seeks to discuss whether the party should: Establish formal consultation between itself and the unions. [More…]
The very thing that the Government is doing, against that convention, is contained in clause 15 of this piece of legislation- the dissolving and the deregistration of trade unions. [More…]
Senator Walters is a pretty poor example of a trade unionist, the way she comes in here and bashes the trade unions every opportunity she gets. [More…]
Sure, they were paid for those six days after a long struggle and a hard fight by the unions- those bad Communistled unions. [More…]
I think it is unionists who are in the unions. [More…]
The Government is now taking things to a stage where the unions will draw out of it. [More…]
The unions will pull out. [More…]
Marx and Pedon and the others continually argue for their unions to stay in the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission for the sake of the smaller unions, but the Government is now dragging them to the stage where they will pull out, and that will be on the Government’s head. [More…]
The feeling that exists amongst a lot of unions now is this: ‘I don’t know what it is, but whatever it is I am against it.’ [More…]
We should be looking at this new technological era and tackling it with the unions, finding out where we are going as a nation and how we intend to get there, instead of waiting until the whole lot falls on our heads and we are fighting the next election against an army of unemployed. [More…]
Indeed, the case it has put seems to be based on the assumption that this legislation is aimed at provoking the unions, at bashing the unions, and at upsetting and destroying the arbitration system and the process of consultation and conciliation between management and unions and between employer and employee. [More…]
In fact, only the last provision- that is, that dealing with the deregistration of unions; I propose to say something further about that- directly deals with unions or the position of unions or could be said to meet in any way the violent objections which the Opposition has made to this measure. [More…]
Further, after the meeting of the NLCC failed to produce consultation with the peak union councils, the Minister sent a copy of these proposals to the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the Council of Australian Government Employee Organisations. [More…]
It was regarded, apparently, as much more important than the proposal to deregister unions. [More…]
Yesterday the Opposition was saying that the most important provision was not the provision dealing with deregistration of unions but the provision in regard to the need to consult. [More…]
The other matter is the question of new powers and provisions in relation to the deregistration of unions. [More…]
What are the terms of the agreement reached with the Australian Council of Trade Unions relating to industrial disruption at the dockyard during the period of construction of the vessel. [More…]
Fears have been expressed by Telecom management, as well as by the unions covering the employees at Telecom, that if a communications satellite is to proceed, the workload for Telecom will be quite seriously reduced and many jobs will disappear. [More…]
I hope that whatever we contemplate here in a genuine tightening up on the cheats in no way inhibits the rights of the Minister, the trade unions, ethnic associations or church groups to raise the case of a person who comes here as a tourist and, while he is in Australia, something happens in his homeland to create a different situation. [More…]
I warn the Government that it has to have fairly constant consultation with the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the Labor Council. [More…]
I know of two cases that are before that Committee and in one of the cases, which the trade unions in Sydney have recently taken up, the person has been here for three years. [More…]
The Code in its preparation was sent to over 90 organisations, including governments, employer groups and unions. [More…]
The earlier advisory bodies were well supported by the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
That enabled the employers, the Government and the unions to get together on areas which were very contentious. [More…]
I know that on occasions unions will reject in some respect, recommendations which are adopted. [More…]
When it speaks of productivity, the Government appears to expect trade unions in some areas of activity to adapt quickly to changed techniques. [More…]
My hope is that a lesson will be learnt from any long and tedious negotiations by a union or a group of unions with Ian Macphee, which results in a formula for settlement being achieved, and that the Minister will carry that experience to the Council to assist when other plans must be evolved. [More…]
They can hardly be called radical journals and their objection is the same as that of the Opposition: This is social services legislation; it is designed to help people in need; it is not legislation which should be used as a bludgeon to attempt to cower unions into obeying the Government’s dictates whether they should strike. [More…]
I see it as a weapon in what Mr Fraser has referred to as his armoury to fight the unions. [More…]
It is more concerned with forcing legislation through the Parliament to mete out some injustices to trade unions rather than to get legislation through which will benefit the pensioners of this community. [More…]
It has been interpreted that a member of a striking union or unions at a establishment where there is an industrial dispute is not eligible for unemployment benefits. [More…]
Members of unions at an establishment where members of other unions have been stood down have been in the past eligible for unemployment benefits. [More…]
I think most of the reasonable people in this country realise that, as has happened in other efficient and enlightened capitalist societies such as West Germany, there is urgent need for a rationalisation of the number of trade unions in this country and that industrial harmony will probably come only when an effort is made to tackle the already very difficult and complex task of bringing the unions down to a much smaller number than now. [More…]
As honourable senators would know, for our population we have one of the largest numbers of individual trade unions in the world. [More…]
With this legislation the Government is guaranteeing a perpetuation of demarcation disputes in Australia into the indefinite future, and probably a future splitting of unions or trade associations into even smaller groups- the definition is very broadsimply for the reason that it is a protective mechanism to defend themselves against what I might say is a very bone-headead piece of legislation. [More…]
If people are not prepared to join trade unions and to share the responsibility and the expense of going to the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission to get a better living standard and wage structure they will be protected by this Government. [More…]
If a trade union is divided into branches (whether or not the branches are themselves trade unions), the persons who are members of the respective branches shall all be deemed to be members of the first-mentioned trade union. [More…]
This clause is accepted to be both a penalty against industrial action- to support the industrial legislation of this Government- and an attempt to discipline trade unions. [More…]
I think this provision is intended to discipline people to control their unions more thoroughly. [More…]
Some of the larger unions will end up withdrawing from the conciliation and arbitration system even if it is only a means of hiding the names of their members so that this provision of the Bill cannot be implemented. [More…]
-If I heard the interjection properly, I thought it was said that this part of the legislation will make the trade unions answerable to the public. [More…]
That is where this Government is meeting itself coming backwards because it does not know about the day-to-day operations of individual unions and how they work. [More…]
Two difficulties are involved: The first is a humanitarian one, and the second is an administrative one, one aspect of which was just outlined by Senator Harradine when he explained the difficulties which will be created for the unions if this sort of approach to industrial relations is adopted. [More…]
I point out that one thing which came out of that dispute was that a large percentage, something like 50 per cent, of the people who were put out of work by the strike, many of whom belonged to the same unions because a number of unions were involved in the strike, had practically no savings- I think the figure was less than $75- in the bank. [More…]
That will lead to further administrative difficulties; not the administrative difficulties which will arise in individual unions, which Senator Harradine pointed out, but the administrative difficulties which will arise for the Director-General of Social Services, or more often for his delegates- the people to whom he delegates the power to decide. [More…]
I think it has been clearly demonstrated by Senator Cavanagh, Senator Harradine and others that the manner in which trade unions operate in this community- the manner in which trade unions are structured in this community- will mean that the industrial situation will not get better as a result of this legislation being enacted; in fact, it may get worse. [More…]
The implications, if Senator Harradine is right- I have no reason to believe he is wrong- are that we may be put in a situation in which some unions will be asked to act illegally under the Government’s arbitration legislation if they are to fulfil the letter of this law. [More…]
As Senator Grimes has pointed out, proposed new sub-section (8) closes off every escape hole concerning branches of unions. [More…]
Proposed new sub-section (8) (c) states: if a trade union is divided into branches (whether or not the branches are themselves trade unions), the persons who are members of the respective branches shall all be deemed to be members of the first-mentioned trade union. [More…]
So bit by bit whatever rights men had as free men under the concept that is applicable to Western society- the right to organise into trade unions; all the things that have been treasured in the past- are being closed down. [More…]
The Director-General could be guided by a committee representing industry and unions. [More…]
All Unions represented at the Conference with me in Sydney on 23rd April accepted the principle that the Commonwealth could not permit unemployment benefit to be used for financing strikes. [More…]
In the case of strikes, the Department of Industrial Relations is the department which at present relates to my Department the conditions under which members of certain unions are not now eligible for benefit. [More…]
I was interested in Senator Bishop’s constructive suggestion with regard to assistance being obtained either from a committee or by reference to the trade unions. [More…]
Members of trade unions are on various salaries. [More…]
Instead of larger unions, which I believe are essential for this country, there will be a tendency through legislation such as this to divide big organisations into small groups. [More…]
Because of this type of legislation, all types of unions will be forced into taking major action where it should not be taken. [More…]
I thought I pointed out by practical example, because of my knowledge of the day to day running of unions, that it is not just and it will not seem to be just. [More…]
I warned the Government, when that piece of legislation was put up in 1 977, that it would not be a deterrent to unions imposing discipline in order to achieve orderly industrial progress. [More…]
That is done by creating an atmosphere in which unions will be encouraged to exhibit responsibility. [More…]
If members of a trade union cause a strike which in turn means that others in other unions or in the same union are stood down and there is a great deal of unemployment as a result- even if a key-worker strike is disowned by the federal executive body- it would seem to me that collective responsibility in that instance ought to be stressed. [More…]
The Minister for Industrial Relations (Mr Street) took it to the National Labour Consultative Council for discussion but the unions chose not to attend that particular meeting. [More…]
Everybody agreed that whenever there was a dispute it was better to talk to a big union than to 20 small unions. [More…]
For example, in Queensland at present there still exist small railway unions such as the fettlers’ union, what is called the permanent way employees’ union, the Queensland Railway Sta.tionmasters Union and the carpenters’ union. [More…]
If in Queensland there was a strike over a hazard or safety matter and the members of, say, the fettlers’ union decided not to work on a part of a job which was declared to be unsafe, the people punished as a result under the Conciliation and Arbitration Act and under this legislation would be the members of a small group of unions. [More…]
We know that over the years the small unions registered with State industrial commissions have amalgamated bit by bit and generally gone to the federal sphere. [More…]
There is no doubt in my mind that the old system will apply and that, unless the law is changed, more unions will be created. [More…]
I wish to reinforce the point just made by Senator Harradine about protecting members of unions. [More…]
What will happen is that the unions will protect their members by not revealing their names. [More…]
I ask this on behalf of the 120 unions affiliated with the Labour Council in Sydney. [More…]
Is Telecom about to enter into an agreement with all 27 unions covering its employees to offset jobs displaced by automation? [More…]
When the present Government came into power at the end of 1975 it conducted discussions with the unions and the employers. [More…]
I think that in those circumstances the Minister might well consider an appropriate meeting with the South Australian Minister for Transport and with the community and the railway unions. [More…]
Yesterday Senator Lewis asked me a question without notice concerning an agreement between Telecom and the unions covering its employees to offset jobs displaced by automation. [More…]
Most of the unions have accepted the document. [More…]
It is expected that the decisions by two unions which have not advised their acceptance will be known before the end of 1979. [More…]
Once the position of all unions is dear, final consideration will then be given to the document by the Australian Telecommunications Commission. [More…]
There is the World Peace Council, the World Federation of Trade Unions, the International Association of Democratic Lawyers and many other such organisations. [More…]
Among the witnesses from whom we heard was Mr Leonid Plyushch, a Soviet citizen, a man who was allowed to leave the Soviet Union as a result of pressure which was applied by the French Left, by the French trade unions, by the French Communist Party, and who still described himself as a Marxist. [More…]
I might add that similarly to try, as the Government apparently intends doing, to dismantle the national network of employment discrimination committees, those tripartite bodies of employers, unions and government which have engaged very successfully in the - [More…]
That is a matter on which the Australian Council of Trade Unions, the Confederation of Australian Industry and the Chairman of the National Committee on Discrimination in Employment and Occupation, Dr Colin Hughes, remain quite unpersuaded. [More…]
Such a policy might well include a series of public statements by the NLC Chairman on the evils of mining, and at least tacit support for efforts by others (trade unions, environmental groups) that had the effect of delaying a decision. [More…]
continue discussions with all groups who might also oppose large-scale mining on aboriginal land, including trade unions, etc. [More…]
Complaints have come from civil liberty groups, employer groups, church groups, the United Nations Association of Australia, trade unions, a number of important citizens in our community and people in the legal fraternity who know what discrimination means because they have to deal with the rough side of discrimination almost every day in the law courts. [More…]
There is also the treatment of trade unions, which is quite offensive to the historical notion of freedom of association of labour which has manifest itself in a number of ways, most recently in the essential services legislation in that State. [More…]
The issue is, and always has been, a little bit more complicated than that when one is talking about the membership of unions or associations from which the members derive some obvious benefit. [More…]
Trade unions are the most obvious context in which this question has been traditionally debated. [More…]
It is within the students’ unions to rectify the matter. [More…]
I have been advised that the remarks attributable to the Director of the Industrial Relations Bureau were made in the context of a talk given by him to the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia at a Symposium on Trade Unions and the Law. [More…]
I can only say this: The rules of the Liberal Party on the collection of fundsincidentally, we are much more outgoing in stating them here than is the Australian Labor Party; it would be good if the Labor Party were to tell us, for example, how much funds it gets from communist unions and for what purpose - [More…]
Did the Public Service Board offer funds to unions covering the Australian Public Service to advertise similarly their side of the dispute; if not, why not. [More…]
It is not my place to indulge in unnecessary battles with members of the Public Service unions but I have never been backward in taking on the Public Service Board in relation to inadequate staffing. [More…]
If the answer is in the affirmative I would like the Amalgamated Metal Workers and Shipwrights Union and other unions to be kept conversant with what flows from that Government to Government discussion. [More…]
Is this not another cynical attempt by some militant unions- evidenced in other areas by attitudes to such things as crippling penalty rates- to gain maximum benefits for their members in work and to ignore the unemployed? [More…]
What if a thermal powerhouse fails because of some action taken by the unions and thousands of people in a city are disadvantaged? [More…]
In closing I mention this: I believe I heard in the media in the past few days that the unions have conducted an inquiry into the safeguards and the feasibility of workers mining in the uranium industry. [More…]
My recollection is that the person who has carried out that inquiry on behalf of the unions has said: ‘Yes, there is every reason for workers to work in the uranium industry. [More…]
It may well be that unions with the membership of the Amalgamated Metal Workers and Shiprights Union or the Australian Workers Union can do it. [More…]
Other unions cannot. [More…]
Depending on who made the statement, it is all the fault of the Government or it is all the fault of the unions. [More…]
I think honourable senators would know that for well over 18 months, on behalf of a number of major ethnic clubs, newspapers, the Sydney and Melbourne trades hall councils and major trade unions we have been endeavouring to get this matter finalised. [More…]
I know that a rather caustic motion was adopted by the 118 trade unions of the Labor Council of New South Wales. [More…]
People remote from the shop floor who staff governments, traditional firms and the unions do not appear to be conscious enough of these long term problems, or well enough prepared to deal with them. [More…]
In some unions one sees a high participation rate. [More…]
It is a quite scathing indictment of the attitude of some trade unions to migrant women, particularly those who are process workers in Melbourne. [More…]
The grant is unique to Tasmania as the Tasmanian Training Council is the only example of a State body which involves both levels of government, employers and unions as equal partners. [More…]
The tax would be, as I have said, carefully considered in conjunction with industry and the unions. [More…]
The applications have come from a wide variety of organisations including ethnic community groups, church groups, trade unions, cultural and other vol untary groups. [More…]
Was the Prime Minister correctly reported in The Weekend Australian, 18-19 August 1979, in an interview with political correspondent Russell Schneider, to have stated that trade unions have gone a long way with annual incomes of up to $ 10m; if so, which union or unions was the Prime Minister referring to. [More…]
I did not say, and was not reported as saying, that trade unions have gone a long way with annual incomes of up to $ 10m. [More…]
I believe I was correcdy reported as making a general observation that trade unions are so powerful and their annual incomes often so great that they should be subject to some discipline in the interests of their own members. [More…]
Until the trade union movement recognises this fact and reasonable elements within it move collectively to ensure that unions act responsibly and pursue their claims within the conciliation and arbitration system, full economic recovery will be delayed even further. [More…]
The human problems associated with technological change have for some years been a matter of concern to the National Labour Advisory Council - the body through which national representatives of employer organisations, trade unions and the Commonwealth Government consult together on employment, industrial relations and related industrial and economic matters. [More…]
The guidelines set out the matters which need careful consideration by employers, trade unions and Government to ensure that the introduction of technological change is not arbitrary or disruptive for individuals or groups. [More…]
It is well known that ballots for office in trade unions have been the subject of activity by various groups seeking to gain control of the unions. [More…]
-The deregistering of unions is one thing about which the Department of Foreign Affairs does not have to worry. [More…]
My only information about the talks that have been going on is that at the moment I am given to understand that the Austraiian Council of Trade Unions will not support the concert reached by the Prime Minister and the Premiers. [More…]
Does this Government apply that sort of provision to trade unions in its industrial legislation? [More…]
The Minister will be well aware, of course, that by the acceptance of the Government there is a well-established agreement to consult the Australian Council of Trade Unions, which the Government does on all occasions, on a wide variety of matters. [More…]