The HSU #4 Branch Committee of Management met on Wednesday and considered the issues for members in the forthcoming federal elections.

The Branch Committee of Management passed the following resolution:

“The HSU #4 Branch is not affiliated to any political party and recognises the right of each member to decide how to vote in the forthcoming federal election.

We consider that the choice for working people is between the Greens and Labor. The Coalition has proved that they cannot be trusted on industrial relations.

The BCOM considers that the industrial relations policies of the Greens are superior to the policies of the Labor Party in that they offer the best protection to employees.

We recommend that members put the Greens first and Labor second in the Senate, and in lower House seats, vote Greens first where there is a Greens candidate OR Labor first where there is no Greens candidate in the House of Representatives

We recommend that the Liberals, the architects of Workchoices, should be put last.”

The BCOM noted in particular that the IR policies of the Greens include:

• Access to arbitration where negotiations over enterprise agreements fail. This is not an option under the Fair Work Act 2009, and is a major flaw in the current laws.

• Abolition of the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC) set up by the Howard government and retained by the Labor government. The abolition of the ABCC is HSU #4 policy adopted at the 2008 AGM. These are laws which allow for the jailing of workers and treat building workers differently from everyone else.

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