Union demands IR pledge from Beazley

SYDNEY — The NSW branch of the National Union of Workers (NUW) has called on the Labor Party to commit to a reversal of PM John Howard's industrial relations agenda should it win office in 2007.

In a June 15 media statement, NUW state secretary Derrick Belan described Kim Beazley's reluctance to pledge a roll-back of Howard's industrial relations reforms as "weak and disappointing".

Belan believes that Beazley's sidestepping of any definitive pledge to remove Howard's reforms demonstrates either a weakness in Beazley's leadership or a lack of dedication to the plight of working people.

Belan argued that unions may have to reassess financial and logistical support for Beazley's leadership and for the ALP at the next election if Labor is not going to get "fair dinkum" about fighting Howards' reforms.

Shane Bentley

From Green Left Weekly, June 22, 2005.

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From GLW issue 630