On August 23, members of the Community and Public Sector Union participated in nationwide stop-work meetings to decide the next steps in the union's campaign against the federal government's cuts to the public service.
A motion put by the union's national executive (NE) — condemning the federal budget and proposing bans on implementing office closures, doing the work of vacant positions and a two-hour Friday morning ban on client contact — was passed in all states and territories.
A second NE motion calling on members to strike for the rest of the day was passed only narrowly by some meetings.
Paul Oboohov reports that only 800 members turned up in Canberra, compared to 2000 at the last mass meeting. Despite exhortations from NE member Sally O'Loughlin, 75% of members opposed the motion to strike for the rest of the day, condemning it as a token gesture and calling on the union to plan a "proper" campaign and more substantial action.
An ACT branch executive motion rescinding ACT bans limiting working time was passed.
Prior to the meeting, members of the CPSU opposition group in Canberra, Public Sector Fightback (PSF), drafted a supplementary motion calling for a 24-hour strike on August 29, the day of anti-budget action called by the National Union of Students and supported by the National Tertiary Education and Industry Union.
Despite participating in drafting the 24-hour strike motion, the International Socialist Organisation put another motion to the meeting calling for a 48-hour stoppage. After a lot of discussion, amendments and a destructive display of left disunity, the meeting voted against the amended ISO motion and was closed down before the PSF motion could be put.
Despite a small turnout at the Sydney central meeting, Jen Crothers reports, members voted overwhelmingly in favour of both NE motions. CPSU national secretary Wendy Caird condemned the attacks on the public service in the budget, but then went on to criticise those unionists involved in the conflict at Parliament House on August 19.
The CPSU opposition group in NSW, Rank and File Action, put a supplementary motion for a 24-hour strike on August 29. However, left unity was broken when ISO members put their own motion calling for a 48-hour strike. The result was that neither supplementary motion was carried.
In Wollongong and Adelaide, meetings of 120 and 270 members respectively voted in favour of both NE motions.
In Melbourne, both NE motions were passed, the second only narrowly, by the 650 members in attendance. Kim Linden reports that a motion for a 24-hour strike on August 29, put by opposition group National Challenge, was lost 60-120. This followed protracted discussion on an ISO motion for a 48-hour strike, during which most members left the meeting. Members eventually voted to hold another stop-work meeting on August 28 to further discuss a strike.
Tom Daniels reports from Darwin that the CPSU meeting was broken into two lunchtime meetings by the union leadership, which maintained that there was no venue large enough to hold all members.
At the meeting Daniels attended, along with 40 others, the NE motion to impose bans was passed overwhelmingly. Participants then voted against the motion to strike for the rest of the day, expressing broad agreement that the union needed a proper strike fund and a plan for serious, sustained and targeted action.
From Brisbane, Mark Cronin reports that a meeting of 500 members overwhelmingly endorsed both NE motions. The meeting then strongly supported a resolution put by National Challenge which called on the Senate to block the budget and urged the NE to organise a 24-hour strike "to join with unionists and students ... in striking and rallying against the budget cuts" on August 29.