Ed Davis

RESEARCH REPORT

The ACTU Congress of 2006 and its Aftermath

The 2006 Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) Congress was opened by President Sharan Burrow at 10.00am 24 October. It closed the next day after an extended morning's business at 1.15pm. It was the briefest Congress for at least 30 years; its focus was the sole and singular challenge of overturning the industrial relations policies of the federal government led by then Prime Minister John Howard. The previous Congress, in 2003, had lasted for four days and considered some 30 items of business.¹ The Congress was held at the Crown Promenade Hotel on Melbourne's Southbank, with the business conducted in a large room with theatre style seating for approximately 650 delegates and media. Notable by their absence was the usual significant cohort of international union leaders. None attended the 2006 Congress; their greetings and good wishes were instead relayed in a short video shown to delegates. This was the third Congress for the leadership team of Sharan Burrow and Secretary Greg Combet.

ACTU Assistant Secretary Richard Marles reported on the first day of Congress that there were 543 delegates from 62 organisations with 1,625 votes.² The organisations comprised 46 unions and 16 state and local labour councils. Approximately 60 per cent of the votes were in the hands of the largest nine unions: Australian Education Union (AEU), 134; Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU), 112; Australian Services Union (ASU), 80; Australian Workers Union (AWU), 102; Communications Electrical and Plumbing Union (CEPU), 82; Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU), 84; Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU), 92; Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Union (LHMU), 100; and Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Union (SDA), 174.³ There was no occasion on which votes were counted reflecting the practice of recent Congresses. Consensus had again been forged pre Congress and prevailed.

The three years following the 2003 Congress had been hard going for the ACTU and its affiliates. Australian Bureau of Statistics data showed that absolute union membership had barely increased between 2003 (1.87 million members) and 2005 (1.91 million members).⁴ Overall density had fallen from 23 per cent to 22.4 per cent. Density had enjoyed a small rise for public sector employees, from 46.9 per cent in 2003 to 47.2 per cent in 2005. Private sector union density fell over this period from 17.6 per cent to 16.8 per cent. Falling density had been identified as a critical issue for unions since the mid and late 1980s.⁵ More recently the former head of the ACTU's Organising Centre, Michael Crosby, had taken up the challenge with missionary zeal. In his book, Power at Work: Rebuilding the Australian Union Movement, he presented a graph demonstrating the decline in union density from above 45 per cent in 1986 to under 25 per cent in 2004. In what became known as 'the scary graph' he extrapolated the trend to show zero membership by 2012.⁶ Unions were well aware of the scale of the threats to their existence; with some notable exceptions, few had succeeded in turning the tide.⁷

The 2003 Congress had highlighted the damage to workers, members and unions associated with the policies of the Howard government. The next election was seen as a vital opportunity to mobilise opinion in favour of a change of government.⁸ The outcome was calamitous for the industrial and political wings of the labour movement with John Howard's Coalition winning a resounding victory in October 2004. Not only had the government achieved a strong majority in the House of Representatives, it had also secured an unanticipated majority in the Senate. This was a luxury no federal government had enjoyed since 1981.⁹ Prime Minister Howard indicated he would be pressing ahead with the industrial relations reform agenda previously blocked in the Senate.

The reforms took shape in the Workplace Relations Amendment (WorkChoices) Act 2005, passed in late 2005. The government put in place an advertising blitz, priced at $55 million, which promoted the reforms as delivering greater freedom, choice, flexibility and fairness.¹⁰ Unions, led by the ACTU, protested that WorkChoices shifted the balance of industrial power sharply in favour of employers through the restrictions imposed on unions' ability to strike, organise and bargain.¹¹ The unions' response included their own major advertising campaign and the coordination of rallies across Australia. The ACTU was reported as planning a $24 million campaign against the reforms, funded by a special levy on all affiliated members of $5.50 in 2005 and to be repeated in 2006.¹² Features of the advertising campaign included a focus on rights at work with stories reflecting the hardship and pain suffered by workers and their families. The intention was to galvanise as much community support as possible. The rallies too were designed to bring together a wide range of community groups and reflect broad based concerns with government policy. The National Day of Community Protest on 15 November 2005 engaged between 500,000 and 600,000 people at 300 venues around Australia. It could therefore claim to be the labour movement's largest ever demonstration.¹³

The success of the advertising campaign and the strong attendance at the rallies were promising signs in an otherwise gloomy landscape.¹⁴ In the midst of strong economic growth, falling unemployment, low inflation and improving real wages, there was scope to question whether the electorate would deny the Howard government a further term. Indeed, their re-election seemed the more assured in the light of a succession of challenges and changes in the leadership of the federal Australian Labor Party. The Leader of the Opposition at the 2003 Congress, former ACTU President Simon Crean, was replaced in late 2003 by Mark Latham. He stood down soon after losing the 2004 election with Kim Beazley returning to the leadership in early 2005. Delegates to the 2006 Congress were well aware that John Howard retained a significant lead in published opinion polls as 'preferred PM'.¹⁵By contrast, and remarkably, the Australian Labor Party (ALP) retained government in all states and territories. This had been the way of things since March 2002.

Congress Preparation

In the week before Congress delegates received a folder containing the agenda; a report on ACTU Finances; the proposed Industrial Relations Policy; a report on a new recruitment initiative, 'Unions Australia'; and the Fair Go at Work Report prepared by an ACTU delegation. Following the approach adopted in 1986, the ACTU determined that a group of senior union officials, comprising the leaders of key unions and labour councils, should visit several countries to explore their approach to industrial relations and the lessons for Australia.¹⁶ The delegation was led by ACTU Secretary Greg Combet and ACTU Industrial Officer Cath Bowtell. Other members were Joe De Bruyn, SDA; Doug Cameron, AMWU; Susan Hopgood, AEU; Jeff Lawrence, LHMU; Bill Shorten, AWU; David Carey, CPSU; John Sutton, CFMEU; Linda White, ASU; and Mark Lennon, Unions NSW. The countries visited were Canada, the USA, the UK and New Zealand.

The trip began with meetings in Canada in late April 2006 and finished in late June in Wellington. A comprehensive and detailed report, endorsed by all on the delegation, was prepared; it shaped the industrial relations policy put before delegates at the Congress. The report commented:

We are not recommending that a new system be rebuilt on the old blue-print, based on compulsory conciliation and arbitration as the means to settle industrial disputes and determine wages and employment conditions, ... Instead, the primary mechanism to improve wages and conditions of employment, over and above the safety net, should be collective bargaining with parties obliged to bargain in good faith with each other. Good faith collective bargaining balances flexibility with fairness. It is the means to ensure that workers can contribute to the creation of production and profitable enterprises and fairly share in the gains that are generated by their efforts. Collective bargaining gives workers a say and a fair go at work.¹⁷

Delegates to the Congress were left in no doubt as to the focus of the proceedings ahead. The Overview at the front of the folder commented:

[T]he resources of the ACTU and its affiliates have been directed to the campaign to highlight the fundamental unfairness of the laws, to remove them from the statute books, and to replace them with a fair set of industrial relations laws. That is the business of this Congress.¹⁸

Proceedings

Delegates were welcomed by President Sharan Burrow; there were also welcomes to country on behalf of the traditional landowners, and to the Crown Promenade on behalf of the workers on site. A feisty five-minute video reviewing the last three years and union attempts to counter the strategies of the Howard government set the scene for the President's Address. Speaking for just over 30 minutes Sharan Burrow described the Howard government as 'a government against its own people'.¹⁹ Its policies had damaged the Australian economy, education, health, housing, industry and infrastructure. Added to the list were the government's continued participation in the war in Iraq, its attacks on the ABC and 'scaremongering on native title'. Turning to WorkChoices she described the fight to reinstate rights at work as essential to preserve a decent Australia.²⁰ The new laws posed sharp threats to the most vulnerable at work; those not covered by collective agreements or protected under state awards. She peppered her address with stories of the distress of individual workers and their families who had been made redundant or who had suffered major deprivations in their pay and conditions.

President Burrow emphasised the lot of those on minimum award rates; they had experienced a 17-month wage freeze. Many of those on Australian Workplace Agreements (AWAs) had suffered the removal of annual leave loadings, cuts in penalty rates, shift allowances and overtime payments. 'AWAs are the antithesis of family friendly. They are family hostile'. She expressed outrage over the removal of protection for four million workers from unfair dismissal. She pointed to the impact of the changes on collective bargaining; workers rights to associate organise and bargain collectively had been undermined.

The way ahead for unions lay in continuing with the advertising campaign, the rallies and efforts to build a community campaign to ensure the overthrow of the Howard government at the next election. Sharan Burrow was buoyed by a pilot study of union members. While it showed that approximately a third of union members had voted for the Coalition at the 2004 election, it also showed two thirds of this cohort were considering changing their vote next time.²¹ Her speech drew frequent applause from the full hall of delegates.

Leader of the Opposition, Kim Beazley, was the next item on the agenda. He entered the hall to a standing ovation. Two recently sacked workers, Arthur Ledwidge and Karen Palmer, were deputed to introduce him formally to the Congress. Their grim stories added fuel to the mood of anger and expectation in the hall. Kim Beazley began by assuring delegates that he was well convinced of the need to get rid of the Howard government's industrial relations reforms:

Today I pledge I will build a modern and balanced industrial relations system with collective bargaining at its core – and I'll do it for the future of our kids ... Today I announce that under my modern and balanced industrial relations system:

If a majority of employees want a collective agreement, they will get one;

Employees and employers will be required to bargain in good faith; and

There will be no employer greenfields agreements.²²

Describing it as the fight of his life, Beazley emphasised his commitment to rip up 'these extreme and unfair laws'. Stepping more delicately, he stressed that while he would always be a friend and ally of unions, he would also listen to business, experts and others. It was an attempt to persuade the broader national audience that his government would not be union dominated.

His caution aside, it was a speech brim full of commitment to tackle the industrial relations strategies of the Howard government and music to the ears of delegates. I counted 20 rounds of applause during the 30 minute speech and at its end, Kim Beazley was rewarded with a further standing ovation. Secretary Greg Combet thanked him for his speech and commented: 'We are with you, mate ... We support you and will fight for you'. Kim Beazley left the hall to his third standing ovation and must have wished for more receptions like this one.²³

It was now midday and Sharan Burrow informed delegates that three matters would be swiftly dealt with before breaking for lunch at 12.30pm. She reiterated that the focus for the rest of the Congress would be on industrial relations and the unions' campaign. ACTU Assistant Secretary, Chris Walton, addressed Congress on the 'Unions Australia' initiative that provided a 'One Stop Shop' for workers wishing to join a union. The new centre facilitated recruitment via the web or over the phone. He indicated that the ACTU's largest 20 unions had joined up but also stressed that the initiative was not designed to replace on-the-ground organising. Workers recruited through this new path were then allocated to the appropriate union on the basis of their workplace, industry and award.²⁴ There were no questions following the presentation and no vote was taken. Sandra Moait, Chair of Australian People for Health, Education and Development Abroad (APHEDA), the ACTU's union aid abroad agency, followed with a video and presentation on APHEDA's challenges and achievements. Finally, Assistant Secretary Richard Marles advised delegates that nominations for the election of ACTU Senior Vice-President and the Executive were open and would close that day at 5.00pm.

Congress reconvened at 2.00pm and Secretary Combet began the afternoon session by thanking Graeme Gillies for his service to the ACTU. For 35 years he had fielded calls on the ACTU's switchboard. Graeme Gillies responded and with a deft comedic touch recalled several bizarre experiences. It was an unusual moment of light relief.

The ACTU Secretary's Address followed. Speaking for about 40 minutes, to a full hall, he traversed familiar ground.²⁵ The government's industrial relations laws were extreme; they undermined job security, pay and employment conditions, the right to union representation and the right to bargain collectively. They were a direct attack on democracy. In response unions had made industrial relations a leading national political issue:

We have raised millions of dollars, and built campaign infrastructure, pioneered new internet campaign methods, established deeper and broader relationships with churches and community organisations, and targeted marginal seats in innovative ways.²⁶

Combet commented on the success of the TV advertising campaign and called for more funding from unions for the next round: 'we will have to give it everything we have got in the year ahead'. At the heart of the campaign was the unions' commitment to 'decent collective bargaining laws'. He urged unions to pull out all stops to support the national day of protest planned for 30 November 2006; the goal in Victoria was to fill the Melbourne Cricket Ground. It was an intense and compelling address and well received.

Following Secretary Combet and at around 3pm ACTU Industrial Officer Cath Bowtell presented an overview of the proposed industrial relations policy. She set the policy against the background of the ACTU delegation's report, A Fair Go at Work. Using overheads projected on large screens at either end of the stage she took delegates through the policy contained in the Congress folder. The policy identified as critical:

Principles for fair workplace laws;

Fair minimum standards and the importance of a 'decent safety net';

Freedom of association and rights to organise;

The framework to support fair collective bargaining, and

Equal treatment for all workers.

Bowtell noted that the policy endorsed a 'national' approach to industrial relations which might not sit easily with those unions which had relied on state industrial relations systems as a haven from a hostile federal regime.²⁷ WorkChoices had changed the game by relying on the corporations' power in the Australian Constitution. While the ACTU supported the challenge to the Howard government's approach by state governments and other organisations to be heard in the High Court it doubted the success of the challenge. The policy suggested a path through the tangle of national and state rights:

Congress supports the use by a future national Labor Government of all of the powers available to it under the Australian Constitution for the purpose of legislating an industrial relations system which is consistent with the principles and measures contained in this policy.

Congress recognises that State Governments will continue to have a role in the regulation of the workplace, in particular in the area of State Government employment and organisations and businesses which are unincorporated. It will be a matter for unions representing these employees to determine a policy approach to their future regulation.

Congress would support the inclusion of provisions in the national industrial relations laws enabling parties to opt to be bound by State industrial relations laws rather than the national legislation, in particular where the community of interest of the employees is best served by regulation in a single jurisdiction.²⁸

Secretary Combet indicated that while he formally moved adoption of the ACTU's industrial relations policy he would reserve his right to speak. Linda White, ASU and member of the overseas delegation, seconded the motion. At this point, President Burrow suspended standing orders to facilitate thorough consideration of the policy.²⁹ She commented that a number of delegates had signalled their wish to speak and she asked them to restrict their comments to within five minutes. She did not however enforce this.

The rest of the afternoon was taken up with statements from members of the delegation and other union leaders indicating the respective support of their union or labour council for the policy. The speakers were Joe De Bruyn, SDA; Doug Cameron, AMWU; Mark Lennon, Unions NSW; Grace Grace, Queensland Council of Unions; Brian Boyd, Victorian Trades Hall Council; Susan Hopgood, AEU; Jill Iliffe, ANF; Bill Shorten, AWU; Peter Tighe, CEPU; and John Sutton, CFMEU. Common themes were condemnation of WorkChoices; their strong commitment to the ACTU's policy proposal; their conviction that unions should put an agreed proposal to the federal ALP to maximise the opportunity to influence Opposition policy on industrial relations; and a call to arms to mobilise support to overthrow the Coalition federal government at the next election. Both Doug Cameron and Bill Shorten, true to form, delivered strong addresses while Peter Tighe provided a flicker of dissent, reflecting that the CEPU liked the old rules; it liked having recourse to state systems but understood the need for Congress to present a united front.

By the time that Congress adjourned at just past 5pm, the hall was half full. It had been a most extraordinary day with addresses and reports occupying all the time scheduled for Congress business. With the exception of the brief reports on Unions Australia and APHEDA the focus had been firmly fixed on industrial relations policy and the perceived need to organise, mobilise and campaign for a federal Labor government.

Vintage Hawke

The day was not yet done. Delegates and friends of the union movement met for the Congress dinner in the Casino's ballroom. The highlight was a vintage speech from former ACTU President (1969–80) and former Prime Minister (1983–91) Bob Hawke. There was no escape from the topic of the day with a swingeing attack on the policies of the Howard government and comparison with the record of the previous federal Labor government. In that era strong economic progress was the product of partnership between unions and government. Echoing his speeches as Prime Minister to the ACTU Congress he remarked:

For the indisputable truth is that no other organisation in our civil society comes anywhere near close to the organised Australian trade union movement in terms of the contribution it has made to the character and standard of Australian life.³⁰

Hawke went on to reflect on his experience as the ACTU advocate and later President. He was 'on every occasion up against the serried ranks of organised employers and conservative governments'. The gains made in wages, annual leave, long service leave, sick leave, maternity leave and superannuation were won by unions past and present and, 'always against the opposition of employers and the conservative governments'. Together, government and the ACTU had built 'a stronger economy and a fairer society'. The Howard government, 'fully blinkered in pursuit of ideology' had dismantled the infrastructure and institutions that had been instrumental to Australia's progress. Bob Hawke endorsed the call for all-out mobilisation to see the end of 'this most reactionary government'.³¹ To top it all off, he led two rousing renditions of Solidarity Forever.

Day 2

Congress resumed the next morning at 9.50am and it began with a report from Returning Officer, Bill Mansfield.³² He stated that all the nominations were in order and there were no contested seats. Joe De Bruyn was confirmed as senior Vice President (see Appendix for a list of the people elected to the Indigenous, Youth and Small Unions seats on the Executive together with a list of those nominated by the largest 25 unions). Since there were insufficient female nominations, additional female nominations would be sought in accordance with the affirmative action measures provided for in the ACTU's rulebook.³³

With this necessary business over, debate on industrial relations policy resumed. Standing orders remained suspended. A further 11 speakers were listed and rose to have their say; Stephen Jones, CPSU; Carol Gordon, Finance Sector Union; Jeff Lawrence, LHMU; Carolyn Allport, National Tertiary Education Union; Charlie Donnelly, National Union of Workers; David Carey, CPSU-State Public Services Federation; Tony Sheldon, Transport Workers Union; Ben Kruse, United Services Union; Dave Noonan, CFMEU; Louise Connor, Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance; and, Paddy Crumlin, Maritime Union of Australia. Following the pattern of the previous afternoon, speakers stressed the support of their union for the proposed policy. The hall filled during the morning and speakers were roundly applauded for their attacks on the Howard government and their vows to see it replaced.

Finally at 11am, President Burrow concluded the suspension of standing orders to allow formal debate on the motion to approve the policy. Five amendments had been proposed by unions and two by the Victorian Trades Hall Council. For the most part the amendments strengthened provisions placing collective bargaining at the heart of the policy, added clauses in relation to gender equity and the rights of disabled workers and made specific reference to groups such as owner drivers. One amendment condemned the misuse of guest workers. Proposers and seconders were asked to be brief. At 11.30am Secretary Combet rose to reply to those seeking amendments. He remarked that all the amendments had been discussed with him and a consensus reached: 'this is the way we do business'. He emphasised his sense that achieving and maintaining maximum unity in support of the policy was critical. A united union voice at the next ALP Conference would influence the industrial relations policy to be taken to the next federal election. And an elected Labor government would be under significant pressure to repeal the laws so roundly condemned at this Congress.

Secretary Combet appealed for unanimous support for the motion to approve the ACTU proposal on industrial relations policy. President Burrow indicated that all the amendments were acceptable to the ACTU Executive. She put them in turn to the vote and all were approved without dissent. She put the amended motion which was carried unanimously and celebrated with loud applause.

The debate and its anticipated outcome provided a stunning indication of the ACTU leadership's ability to deliver unity when it mattered. The overseas trip had been fashioned to bring key union leaders together to forge consensus. This was achieved and the agreed policy proposal was then brought to the Congress for its approval and support for the next leg of its journey.

Three further matters were presented to Congress before its conclusion. The CFMEU launched their forthcoming TV advertisement drawing attention to the diminished rights of construction workers and unions under the Howard government's industrial relations legislation. At around noon, the ACTU's Media Officer, George Wright, and Assistant Secretary, Chris Walton, presented the ACTU's Your Rights at Work campaign. The intent of the broad TV advertising campaign was to take the issue of workers' rights and fair industrial relations into every Australian home. ACTU polling had suggested that the ads had made a significant impact. In May 2005 polling had found 38 per cent stating they were aware of government plans for industrial relations change, with 35 per cent of the sample seeing the changes as bad for workers. After the first round of ads, a poll conducted in August 2005 found 77 per cent describing themselves as aware of the changes with 64 per cent describing the changes as bad for workers. Further polling in 2006 suggested that the government's defence of WorkChoices had had little impact and that voters remained concerned. The ACTU pledged to maintain its advertising campaign in the hope that this would play a significant part in ousting the Howard government.

Chris Walton outlined the marginal seats campaign strategy which was designed to complement the ads. He argued that the next election was winnable for Labor; a five per cent swing bringing 16 seats was required. If more union members voted Labor, this would turn the tide. The ACTU had therefore developed a strategy, targeting twenty two marginal seats across Australia (two more were added later). Unions were asked to supply organisers to work on these campaigns and 20 full-time union organisers were already dedicated to the campaign and working with other community groups. John Robertson, Secretary of Unions NSW, followed and referred to experience in his state that suggested the next election was hopeful for Labor. The hall, still packed, applauded with enthusiasm.

The last item to be considered was the ACTU Finance and Organisation Report. Secretary Combet drew attention to the report in the Congress folder. He asked for delegates' approval for a marginal increase in ACTU affiliation fees per member from $2.85 in January 2007 to $2.91 in January 2008 and $2.96 in January 2009. More importantly he sought endorsement for the $5.50 per member IR campaign levy for 2007. No questions or comments followed his report and the Finance Report was adopted. The matter had taken less than five minutes.

At just before 1pm Secretary Combet made his concluding comments. He thanked all delegates for their discipline and their efforts to unite in support of ACTU policy on industrial relations. The period ahead would be crucial; it would determine whether rights at work continued to be eroded. He was followed by President Sharan Burrow who sought and gained delegates' approval for a raft of other matters to be taken to the next ACTU Executive. She commended Greg Combet on his extraordinary leadership, thanked delegates for their participation and closed the Congress. It was all over by 1.15pm; Congress business had lasted for approximately nine and a half hours.

Features of the Congress

It was a most unusual Congress; very short and focused on a single issue. Politics ruled. The ACTU and its affiliates were committed to the replacement of the Howard government at the next election by a Labor government. There was, in effect, no debate. Rather a list of union leaders delivered statements of support for ACTU policy. Proceedings were tightly scripted and it worked to plan. The Congress voted unanimously in favour of the detailed proposal on industrial relations policy. Further, Opposition Leader Kim Beazley had received a very firm message of ACTU intent and he too had signalled his strong support for the main thrust of the ACTU's proposal. Unity was also demonstrated in the lack of any contests for the ACTU Executive seats determined at Congress and in delegates' willingness to accept and not quarrel with the agenda before them. A mood of optimism prevailed. Polling had suggested that the ACTU's TV advertisements had had a telling impact and that national opinion was shifting against the Howard government in spite of the favourable economic climate. There was confidence that the marginal seats campaign would prove effective. Delegates left the Congress in good spirits.

The Congress reaffirmed the standing and influence of the ACTU leadership. Sharan Burrow and Greg Combet had worked tirelessly to include leaders of the key unions and the labour councils in their deliberations on strategy. The overseas delegation had proved a crucial vehicle in forging an agreed view on the way forward. Congress approval conferred further authority on the ACTU leadership should any affiliate show signs of going their own way. Without doubt it enhanced their bargaining power in the run up to the ALP National Conference and it presented a strong face, through the media, to Australian consumers of newspapers, radio and TV.

The Aftermath

The months immediately following the Congress were eventful. The National Day of Union and Community Action, 30 November, failed to fill the Melbourne Cricket Ground but saw substantial numbers attending metropolitan and country venues around Australia. The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI), with astonishing dexterity, both labelled the protest a 'fizzer' and calculated the cost to business at $31 million!³⁴ The more startling development was Kevin Rudd's successful challenge for the leadership of the ALP. He secured 49 votes to Kim Beazley's 39 in a caucus ballot in early December 2006.³⁵ The new leader indicated that industrial relations reform was high on his agenda.

2007 began with most opinion polls showing a strong two-party lead for the ALP over the Coalition (58 per cent:42 per cent) and, more remarkably, a significant lead for Kevin Rudd over John Howard as preferred Prime Minister (48 per cent:43 per cent).³⁶ The change of Labor leadership was generally seen as instrumental to the promising poll results; there was inevitably some nervousness within Labor ranks over the durability of honeymoons. The ALP National Conference, held in April 2007, endorsed the thrust of the industrial relations policy passed by the 2006 ACTU Congress. The new policy, Forward with Fairness, promised to abolish AWAs; reinstate unfair dismissal provisions; and promote a framework for 'good faith' collective bargaining. Disappointments for unions included the limits on measures to restore union rights to organise and take industrial action.³⁷

The 2007 Election

The long anticipated federal election was held in late November. The ACTU's 'Your Rights at Work – Worth Fighting and Voting For' campaign³⁸ had built steadily through 2007. Features were a further round of TV advertisements and the marginal seats strategy. The Coalition responded with its own advertising campaign warning that a Rudd government would be a plaything of unions; it claimed that 70 per cent of the shadow front bench had union backgrounds.³⁹

The ALP scored a famous victory ending more than 11 years of Coalition government. It achieved a swing above 5 per cent and claimed 23 new seats in the House of Representatives.⁴⁰ It was not as successful in the Senate where the Coalition retained the largest number of senate seats. It counted 36 seats to the ALP's 32, therefore requiring the ALP rely on support from the five Greens and two Independents to secure a majority. Unions were quick to claim credit for the impact of their advertising and their marginal seats strategy. Of the 24 marginal seats targeted, Labor candidates were elected in 21, with above average swings.⁴¹ The icing on the cake for the labour movement was the defeat of their arch enemy, John Howard, in his own seat of Bennelong.

Workplace Express estimated that some 20 new Members of Parliament (MPs) and Senators came from a union background. New MPs and Senators included former ACTU Secretary Greg Combet, former AWU National Secretary, Bill Shorten; former AMWU National Secretary, Doug Cameron; and ACTU Assistant Secretary, Richard Marles.⁴² The new crew would meet up with former ACTU colleagues already in parliament. Of the past five ACTU Presidents only Cliff Dolan did not make the move to federal parliament. Bob Hawke, Simon Crean, Martin Ferguson and Jennie George all took the road to Canberra.⁴³ Crean and Ferguson remain in Parliament as Ministers in the Rudd government; George is on the backbench.

In the months following the election, the ALP has attended to its Fair Work proposal. In early 2009 a Senate Education Employment and Workplace Relations Committee began hearings into it. New ACTU Secretary, Jeff Lawrence, has stated strong support for the Bill; he also called for it to be strengthened to broaden the matters able to be negotiated in workplace agreements and improved rights for unions.⁴⁴

New Guard

With the exception of President Sharan Burrow, it has been change at the top in the senior executive roles at the ACTU. Secretary Greg Combet resigned as ACTU Secretary in August 2007 to devote his time to winning the federal seat of Charlton. Jeff Lawrence, federal Secretary of the LHMU, was elected unopposed by the ACTU Executive, as the new Secretary. Combet will be much missed. Taking over from former Secretary Bill Kelty he demonstrated a flair for strategy, success in forging consensus among union leaders and resolve in major ACTU campaigns. He will be identified in particular with the 1998 waterfront dispute, the fight with James Hardie to secure compensation for victims of asbestos diseases and the anti-WorkChoices campaign. Former Assistant Secretaries Richard Marles and Chris Walton have also left the ACTU; Marles for federal parliament and Walton to become chief executive of the Association of Professional Engineers, Scientists and Managers, Australia (APESMA). Geoff Fary, with a background in trade union training, government and APESMA, and Tim Lyons, ex-National Union of Workers, have taken their places. The ACTU Executive will also have a different feel without Doug Cameron, Bill Shorten and others now in federal parliament.

These are challenging times for the ACTU and its affiliates. The global financial crisis which erupted in 2008 will not abate quickly and will have implications for union membership, revenue and bargaining strength. Union membership, on its own, remains a source of major concern. The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported that in August 2007 there were 1.7 million members, representing a 5 per cent fall on the previous year. Density had fallen to 41 per cent in the public sector and 14 per cent in the private sector, with overall density at 19 per cent.⁴⁵ And while the ACTU had seen the ousting of the Howard government in 2007 and former ACTU and senior union officials were well represented on the Rudd government's front and back benches, the path ahead in industrial relations looks far from smooth. President Sharan Burrow and the new recruits to the ACTU's leadership will be kept busy.

Ed Davis is a Fellow of the Labour-Management Studies Foundation and Emeritus Professor at Macquarie University. He has been a long-time observer of ACTU Congresses. He has attended every Congress since 1979, writing accounts of the 1983–1991 Congresses for the Journal of Industrial Relations; 1993–1995 for the Economic and Labour Relations Review; and 2006, for Labour History.
<emjkdavis@hotmail.com>

Endnotes

^1.� E. Davis, 'The ACTU Congress of 2003', Labour History, no. 85, 2003, pp. 229–246.

^2.�Minutes of 2006 ACTU Congress, p. 4.

^3.� ACTU, 'Constitution, Rules and Standing Orders'; each union is entitled to two delegates for each 2,500 members or part thereof. There is also provision for multiple voting whereby an accredited delegate may cast one, two, three or four votes. This provision allows unions to send smaller delegates and reduce costs. See S.5.2.

^4.� Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), Employee Earnings, Benefits and Trade Union Membership, Australia, August 2005, catalogue number 6310.0.

^5.� See for instance, E.M. Davis, 'The 1987 ACTU Congress: Reconstructing Australia', Journal of Industrial Relations, vol. 30, no. 1, 1988, pp. 118–29 and E.M. Davis, 'The 1989 ACTU Congress: Seeking Change Within', Journal of Industrial Relations, vol. 32, no. 1, 1990, pp. 100–110.

^6.� M. Crosby, Power at Work: Rebuilding the Australian Union Movement, Sydney, Federation Press, 2005, pp. 12–17.

^7.� An exception is the Australian Nursing Federation. See T. Bartram, P. Stanton and L. Elovaris, 'The role of job representatives in an organising strategy', Journal of Industrial Relations, vol. 50, no. 1, 2008, pp. 25–44.

^8.� Davis, 'The ACTU Congress of 2003', pp. 230–232.

^9.� R. Cooper, 'Trade Unionism in 2004', Journal of Industrial Relations, vol. 47, no. 2, 2005, pp. 206–208.

^10.� R. Hall, 'Australian industrial relations in 2005: the WorkChoices revolution', Journal of Industrial Relations, vol. 48, no. 3, 2006, pp.291-304.

^11.� A. Barnes, 'Trade Unionism in 2005', Journal of Industrial Relations, vol. 48, no. 3, 2006, p. 371. For forensic elaboration on this theme see J. Isaac, 'Reforming Australian Industrial Relations', Journal of Industrial Relations, vol. 49, no. 3, 2007, pp.410-435 and R. McCallum, 'Australian Labour Law and the Rudd Vision: Some Observations', Economic and Labour Relations Review, vol. 18, no. 2, 2008, pp. 23–32.

^12.�Workplace Express, 25 August 2005, 'ACTU plans $24 million campaign against second wave', <www.workplaceexpress.com.au> (accessed 2–6 February 2009).

^13.� Barnes, 'Trade Unionism in 2005', p. 376.

^14.� See R. Hall, 'the Politics of Industrial Relations in Australia in 2007', Journal of Industrial Relations, vol. 50, no. 2, 2008, pp. 372–376 for a detailed examination of the impact of the ACTU's campaign as reflected in opinion polling between 2004 and 2007.

^15.� An A.C. Nielson/Herald poll published before the Congress found that 71 per cent of voters believed John Howard would win the next election, despite a Labor lead over the Coalition of 54 per cent: 46 per cent on a two-party preferred basis, Sydney Morning Herald, 16 October 2006, p. 1 and 9.

^16.� See Department of Trade, Australia Reconstructed, Canberra, AGPS, 1987; this was the report of the 1986 delegation. For further discussion, see Davis, 'The 1987 ACTU Congress'.

^17.� ACTU, 'A Fair Go at Work: Collective Bargaining for Australian Workers', 2006 ACTU Congress folder, p. 6.

^18.� ACTU Congress 2006 folder, ACTU Overview, p. 1.

^19.� Sharan Burrow, 'A Government Against Its People', address, 24 October 2006. See ACTU website <www.actu.asn.au> archive section, 2006 Congress, p. 1 (accessed 2 February 2009).

^20.�Ibid., p. 4.

^21.�Ibid., p. 14.

^22.� Leader of the Opposition, Hon. Kim C. Beazley, 'Shoulder to Shoulder with Working Families', Address to ACTU Congress, 24 October 2006, p. 1. See archive section, ACTU 2006 Congress <www.actu.asn.au>

^23.� Sharan Burrow noted that Deputy Opposition Leader, Jenny Macklin, and Shadow Industrial Relations Minister, Stephen Smith, were also at Congress; neither spoke.

^24.� See ACTU 2006 Congress folder for an outline of the initiative.

^25.� Greg Combet, ACTU Secretary, Speech to the ACTU Congress, 24 October 2006, archive section, ACTU 2006 Congress, <www.actu.asn.au>

^26.�Ibid., p. 6.

^27.� 'Industrial Relations Legislation Policy', ACTU 2006 Congress folder, p. 6.

^28.�Ibid., p. 6, point 20.

^29.� Under the 'standing orders' of the Congress, 'not more than two delegates shall be allowed to speak for or against any question'. The standing orders follow Rule 22 of the ACTU's Constitution, Rules and Standing Orders. Given the absence of dissent following the rules would have led to a very short formal debate.

^30.� Speech by the Hon. Bob Hawke AC to the ACTU Congress Dinner, 24 October 2006, p. 2. Hawke made a copy of his speaking notes available to me. On his addresses as Prime Minister to the ACTU Congress, see, for instance, E.M. Davis, 'The 1991 ACTU Congress: Together for Tomorrow', Journal of Industrial Relations, Vol. 34, No. 1, 1992, pp. 92–94.

^31.� See Bob Hawke's 2006 ACTU Congress Dinner Speech.

^32.� Bill Mansfield resigned as Assistant Secretary from the ACTU in 2002 to take up the post of Commissioner in the Australian Industrial Relations Commission.

^33.� See ACTU Constitution, Rules and Standing Orders, rule 14 (ii).

^34.� ACCI, 'Union Protest a Fizzer', media release, 30 November 2006.

^35.�Australian Financial Review, 5 December 2006, p. 1.

^36.�Sydney Morning Herald, 12 February 2007, p. 1.

^37.� D. Oliver, 'Australian Unions in 2007', Journal of Industrial Relations, vol. 50, no. 3, 2008, pp. 455–457.

^38.� Peter Lewis, 'How unions brought the workers back to Labor', Labour History, no. 96, May 2009, pp.

^39.�Australian Financial Review, 18 October 2007, p. 1.

^40.�Australian Financial Review, 26 November 2007, p. 1. The upshot was that the ALP won 83 seats in the 150 seat House of Representatives.

^41.� Oliver, 'Australian Unions in 2007', pp.454–5. See also Australian Financial Review, 26 November 2007, p. 5, 'WorkChoices does the job for Labor', and Australian Financial Review, 3 June 2008, p. 5.

^42.�Workplace Express, 27 November, 'Rudd victory brings influx of former unionists to parliament'.

^43.� Terms as ACTU President were Bob Hawke, 1969–80; Cliff Dolan, 1980–85; Simon Crean, 1985–89; Martin Ferguson, 1989–95; Jennie George, 1995–2000.

^44.� 'Liberals and Nationals must support Australian workers and back new industrial relations laws', ACTU media release, 26 January 2009, <www.actu.asn.au>

^45.� ABS, Employee Earnings, Benefits and Trade Union Membership, Australia, August 2007, Cat. No. 6310.0.

Appendix

Returning Officer's Report

Returning Officer Bill Mansfield reported that all nominations were in order. He reported that, given the number of nominations, no elections were required. The following persons were accordingly declared elected to the following positions:

Senior Vice President:	Joe De Bruyn
Indigenous Executive Position:	Darcel Russell
Indigenous Executive Proxy:	Valda Graham
Youth Executive Position:	Mary Burke
Youth Executive Proxy:	Grant Gibson
Small Unions Executive Position:	Stephen Parkins
Small Unions Executive Proxy:	Daryl Watkins

In addition the following nominations by unions to the Executive were accepted:

Susan Hopgood	AEU	Australian Education Union
Graham Bird	AMIEA	Australian Meat Industry Employees Association
Doug Cameron	AMWU	Australian Manufacturing Workers Union
Jill Iliffe	ANF	Australian Nursing Federation
John Vines	APESMA	Association of Professional Engineers, Scientists and Managers, Australia
Paul Slape	ASU	Australian Services Union
Bill Ludwig	AWU	Australian Workers Union
Peter Tighe	CEPU	Communication Electrical Plumbing Union
John Sutton	CFMEU	Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union
David Carey	CPSU	Community and Public Sector Union
Paul Schroder	FSU	Finance Sector Union
Michael Williams	HSUA	Health Services Union of Australia
Dick Shearman	IEU	Independent Education Union
Jeff Lawrence	LHMU	Liquor Hospitality and Miscellaneous Union
Paddy Crumlin	MUA	Maritime Union of Australia
Chris Warren	MEAA	Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance
Brett Holmes	NSWNA	New South Wales Nurses Association
Carolyn Allport	NTEU	National Tertiary Education Union
Charley Donnelly	NUW	National Union of Workers
Mark Burgess	PFA	Police Federation of Australia
Robert Hayden	RTBU	Rail Tram and Bus Union
Ian Blandthorn	SDA	Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association
Tony Woolgar	TCFA	Textile Clothing and Footwear Association
Tony Sheldon	TWU	Transport Workers Union
Peter Marshall	UFU	United Firefighters Union

Source: Minutes of 2006 ACTU Congress, pp. 37–38.

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