In further signs that Labor’s claims that it is moving away the dark-ages on industrial relations issues are a load of air, ACTU secretary Greg Combet has announced that he will run for a federal seat with Labor in the next federal election. So much for Kevin Rudd’s claims that ‘there can be no return to the past’ on industrial relations. This is a prime example that Labor’s true intentions are to reinvigorate union power in Australia and return us to the past.
And what is wrong with that?
Because not everybody wants to be represented by a union. In fact, union membership is declining and a minority of the workforce belong to unions. Therefore it shouldn’t be public policy to force union policy upon people. It’s an issue of basic human rights – freedom of representation and freedom of choice.
Oh come on Pete, you’ll have to do better than that. Combet’s a high profile, extremely canny candidate. It’s a no-brainer politically speaking. This doesn’t prove that Rudd is the Unions gimp, it proves (as if we needed more proof,) that Rudd is a very smart politician. I wonder what you make of Maxind McKew? Does it prove that under Rudd’s fiscal conservatism there lies a beating latte filled heart?
I agree with your point in comments, but i have a counter. It shouldn’t be public policy to force Lawyer policy upon people! or BCA policy for that matter… and also i suspect that Union membership is no longer declining.
BTW, i just wrote something on a related subject so i thought this was as good a time as any to hook you up with the emooandmikey blog like we were talking all that time ago in the ‘dale – long way from Oxford (or Chile for that matter.)