Jeff Lawrence, the ACTU’s Secretary Elect, says that the union movement must continue the campaign to defend workers’ rights, whatever the result of the federal election.

When the federal government introduced its WorkChoices legislation early last year, the Prime Minister thought it would all be too easy.

John Howard kept his radical IR plans secret from the public at the 2004 federal election.

Then with the support of big business, he hoped to push through WorkChoices and ignore any opposition until it went away.

But the federal government badly underestimated the determination of the trade union movement – and almost two million union members around Australia.

Together we have run a very strong campaign – under the Your Rights at Work banner – to inform the public of the threat posed to working conditions by the new IR laws.

Thanks to our campaign, most Australians now oppose WorkChoices. Many will vote against John Howard because of his attacks on working families.

I know I don’t have to remind trade union members of the critical importance of this year’s federal election.

A Rudd Labor government would replace WorkChoices with a far better and fairer IR system.

Labor’s policy is not perfect – but it does guarantee the most fundamental rights and protections for working people:

-         a system with an independent umpire;

-         a system with a fair safety net;

-         a system that delivers respect for the rights of working Australians, including g the right to join a union and the right to have a collective agreement.

That’s why I urge all trade union members to continue to actively support the Your Rights at Work campaign over the coming months as the election approaches.

We cannot win this campaign through the media and TV ads alone.

We also need rank and file union members to take the message out – to your friends, your family, your workmates and your communities.

The election will be very close but, whichever side wins, the challenges facing the union movement will remain the same.

We will need to organise, campaign and bargain. We will need to continue the campaign for Your Rights at Work.

One of my first priorities as ACTU Secretary will be to sit down and meet with affiliated unions and peak union councils. I want to hear to what our unions have to say about our priorities for the next period.

I’ll also be leading a review of the important 1999 unions@work report – looking at what the union movement has implemented from the report and where the report needs to be updated.

Another key project at the ACTU will be assisting unions to develop properly research growth strategies for their industries.

I’m also determined to help make unions more representative of Australian society. I will actively seek to recruit more women and more workers from diverse ethnic backgrounds.

I do not underestimate the challenges we face in coming years.

But let us also never underestimate the passion, the strength and the ability of the hundreds of thousands of trade union activists around Australia.

Together we will meet the challenges ahead. Together we will win the fight for Your Rights at Work and a fairer deal  and respect for working families.

About Jeff Lawrence

Jeff has led the LHMU, one of Australia’s largest unions since 1990.

He became Secretary Elect of the ACTU in June and will replace Greg Combet as national leader of the union movement.