CPSU Elections: ITS TIME TO RESIST, Support Members First : Melbourne Indymedia

CPSU Elections November 18 to December 7: vote Members First

Its time to resist: Unite with other unions against Howard’s anti-union laws; Oppose Australian Workplace Agreements; Pattern bargaining: equal pay and conditions for equal work

SUPPORT THE MEMBERS FIRST ACTIVIST TEAM FOR CPSU NATIONAL OFFICERS
Judy McVey for National Secretary
Paul Oboohov for Assistant National Secretary
Terry Costello for National President
Jonathan Sherlock for Deputy National President
Mike Byrne for Deputy National President
Nick Everett for National Executive Member
Paul Aalto for National Executive Member

Support Members First unionists for Governing Councillor, Section Officer and Section Councillor positions in the CPSU. Visit: http://www.users.bigpond.com/membersfirst/

TIME TO RESIST - TIME TO UNITE

WORKERS want to defend our rights and our standard of living. That's why the Howard government and big business want to destroy our unions. They want to make us all work longer, harder and for less
money. And they want to force more and more of us onto individual contracts (AWAs).

CPSU members want to defend our pay and conditions. That puts us right in the front line of their anti-union attacks. The Howard government hates and fears the power of united action. The rallies and mass meetings around Australia on June 30 and July 1 put him on the backfoot.

Industrial action by members in the Australian Department of Workplace Relations won broad community support and a union collective agreement. We need a CPSU campaign across the public sector, Telstra and other non public sector areas where our members work, to oppose AWAs, which were used to divide DEWR staff.

Our next key fight is in Centrelink. Centrelink wants AWAs; to tie their lousy 11.3% pay offer to reductions in sick and carers leave; no union recognition; and to strip most of our conditions out of our Agreement into a 'policy' handbook they can change at whim. We can support the Centrelink members and ensure they win a decent union agreement by mobilising the collective strength of the whole union membership. A victory in a large agency such as Centrelink can strengthen all union campaigns.

We need to rebuild grassroots structures and put the union back in the hands of its members. We need membership mass meetings to determine the direction of our campaigns a union where officials are accountable to us. Delegates and union staff should be able to act without fear of victimisation.
The abolition of the union's state branches and regional structures has weakened the union's internal democracy. The closure of the Newcastle office, and the transfer of the Hunter regional organiser to Sydney, is a dramatic example of the union's over-centralisation.

Let's start by pulling out all stops to make the November 15 National Day of Action against the anti-union laws as big as possible.

Join the Members First campaign in the CPSU elections' uniting members through collective action.

TEN REASONS TO VOTE MEMBERS FIRST (For the full platform visit our website http://www.users.bigpond.com/membersfirst/

1. Unite with other unions against Howard’s anti-union laws

The CPSU must throw itself into the campaign to stop the anti-union laws. Members First stands for:

- A systematic program of workplace meetings and city-wide, cross-agency delegate meetings to discuss the new laws and the campaign against them;

- Working with other unions to achieve the largest possible mobilisations on November 15; and

- Industrial action by our members to support this campaign.

2. Oppose Australian Workplace Agreements

Members First believes that the CPSU needs to prevent AWAs gaining ground. We need to:

- campaign to discourage public servants from signing AWAs;

- campaign to convince public servants who are on AWAs to rejoin the relevant collective agreement; and

- join other unions in a big public awareness campaign, calling on workers & students, to reject AWAs when accepting jobs offers.

3. Pattern bargaining: equal pay and conditions for equal work

Since agency bargaining was introduced to the public service in 1993, public servants doing the same type of job in different agencies experience widely differing pay rates and working conditions.

Members First believes public servants in the same type of job should have the same pay and conditions. We stand for:

- Establishing benchmark conditions, based on the best conditions achieved across the APS and fostering cross-agency cooperation, to spread these conditions;

- Certified Agreements having common end dates, to enable CPSU members across agencies to campaign at the same time to improve core conditions of service such as permanency, leave entitlements and pay bands; and

- To enshrine core conditions in an APS award and in awards covering Telstra and other non-APS staff.

4. Opposing casualisation and outsourcing - locally or overseas

Members First stands for fighting outsourcing with an industrial campaign, whether to an overseas or local company.

5. Defending delegates’ right to organise

Members First stands for a campaign to:

- defend the right to organise in the workplace; and
- win the right to use work email for union purposes.

6. Opposing the privatisation of Telstra

Members Fist stands for building a union and community campaign, with the 70% who oppose the sale, to:

- defend Telstra public ownership; and
- defend Telstra jobs.

7. More grassroots organisers instead of reliance on the Member Service Centre

Members First stands for a re-allocation of CPSU resources to enable more face-to-face union organising.

8. CPSU democracy, regional structures and mass meetings

Members First stands for:

- the re-opening of the Newcastle CPSU office;
- the re-establishment of state/regional decision-making structures; and
- mass meetings on a city-wide basis for important issues affecting all members.

9. Elected officials’ pay: more like our pay

Recently the union officials voted themselves pay increases, their pay now ranging from $85,000 to $113,000. Members First believes that elected officials’ pay rates should be at the average of the APS. If elected, Members First candidates will put this proposal to the incoming governing council.

10. Social justice campaigns: union rights are community rights

Our union needs to defend our vital community services like Telstra, public education, and public transport. Members First:

- opposes the war in Iraq that is destroying lives, creating thousands of refugees and costing billions of dollars that could be better spent on social services; and

- opposes sexism, racism and homophobia, both on the job and in the community.

CONTACT DETAILS To get in touch or GET INVOLVED

Do you agree with the above vision? Get in touch with us, give us your thoughts, distribute this material, donate your money and/or your time, help us organise events, and/or stand in the elections with us in your agency.

Phone: ACT – Paul 0417 048 217; Melbourne – Judy 0418 347 374; Qld – Mike 0418 185 804

Address: PO Box 410, Civic Square, ACT 2608 or PO Box 2023 Lygon St Nth, East Brunswick 3057

Email: membersfirst@bigpond.com

Web: http://www.users.bigpond.com/membersfirst/ <http://www.users.bigpond.com/membersfirst/>

No union resources were used in the production of this election material.
Authorised by Alison Thorne, 580 Sydney Rd Brunswick 3056

Members First to contest national CPSU election
By Paul Oboohov, Canberra

The rank-and-file group Members First has announced it will contest the national governing council and agency-based section council positions of the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) in elections due later this year.

The Members First team comprises Judy McVey of DEWR in Victoria for national secretary; Paul Oboohov from DEST in the ACT for assistant national secretary; Terry Costello of iPrimus in Victoria for national president; Jonathon Sherlock of Centrelink in Victoria for deputy national president; Mike Byrne of Telstra in Queensland for deputy national president; Nick Everett of DEWR in the ACT for executive member; and Paul Aalto of the ATO, originally from Newcastle and soon Victoria, for executive member. Members First will also contest a range of governing and section council positions.

The Members First platform argues that the CPSU must join other unions in the fight against Howard’s new industrial laws, and specifically against individual workplace agreements (AWAs). It also says the union must move towards pattern bargaining, and equal pay for equal work. It also calls on the union to oppose the privatisation of Telstra and resulting job cuts and the adverse impact on regional communities.

Members First wants the union to re-establish regional decision-making bodies, re-open the Newcastle organising office and hold mass meetings in city centres to discuss major industrial issues. It calls for grassroots organising rather than relying on a Member Service call centre, and says the union must defend workplace delegates’ right to organise, which in some agencies has been restricted. Members First also wants the union to take up community causes, such as opposition to the ongoing occupation of Iraq.

The CPSU election takes place as the Howard government prepares to introduce its new workplace laws. Differences have appeared within the CPSU national leadership. Current national secretary, Adrian O’Connell declared mid-year that he could no longer work with the current assistant national secretary Margaret Gillespie, and that neither he, Paul Ingwerson nor Evan Hall would be standing again.

Stephen Jones, previously on secondment from the CPSU to the ACTU as a communications specialist, is the current leadership’s candidate for national secretary. Margaret Gillespie is recontesting her position of assistant national secretary and Mark Gepp is recontesting for national president.

The incumbents have the CPSU National Council’s agreement to create another assistant national secretary position. This will give Jones the figleaf of incumbency in the national leadership.

Some CPSU activists told Green Left Weekly that, having once supported the CPSU leadership’s Progressive Caucus ticket, they are now disillusioned with what seems to be all rhetoric. This has led to the formation of a third ticket, CPSU Action, which is also critical of the current national leadership. CPSU Action has activists in various federal public service agencies and will also be standing for governing and section council positions. It has had some discussions with Members First.

The Members First platform, and a short sign-on statement for endorsement, can be downloaded from <http://www.users.bigpond.com/membersfirst/>.

To help out in the campaign in Queensland phone Mike 0418 185 804; in the ACT phone Paul 0417 048 217, and Victoria phone Judy 0418 347 374. ALternatively, email <membersfirst@bigpond.com> or write to PO Box 410, Civic Square, ACT 2608 or PO Box 2023, Lygon St Nth, East Brunswick VIC 3057.

From Green Left Weekly, September 28, 2005

When reading this post people should remember that the last time the Socialist Alliance had controlling influence over a trade union. When the Socialist Alliance had significant influence in the AMWU, they encourgaged CJ to organise a violent run-through of Johnston tiles. As a result:

* Workers first lost control of the Victorian AMWU.
* The conservative union leadership, the capitalist media and the Tories were given a propaganda victory that still holds currency.

So anyone thinking about voting for members first - think again - put in a serious union leadership - not a bunch of amateurs in red t-shirts.