By Jen Crothers
SYDNEY — National Challenge, the umbrella group embracing rank-and-file activists within the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU), is offering members an alternative leadership in the upcoming national union elections. The Challenge team includes Kim Sumner from Department of Social Security in Windsor, NSW, as candidate for national president. She is a councillor for the Social Security section and a NSW branch conference delegate. The other Challenge team candidates are Val Edwards, Tim Gooden, Robert Finn, Mark Swift, Philippa Stanford, Phil Shannon and Bronwyn Asquith.
"Our concern is that for too long, members have been left without direction and motivation from the current leadership", Sumner explained to Green Left Weekly. "The Caird team have rejected members' calls for strong action — it's always too soon, too late, too this or too that.
"The CPSU is suffering the effects of the Accord years — when it was too easy to forget to work at membership levels and to keep activism going.
"Nevertheless, members begged for the strongest possible action over the Workplace Relations Act when we had the chance last August 19. If the labour movement didn't see that as the time to have an all-out strike, when would it have been right?"
Instead of declaring a strike day, Sumner said, the union leaders advised members "to take booked leave and not tell the boss we were going to Canberra. What kind of message must that have sent to Howard?"
Inaction by the union brings heavy consequences, Sumner points out. "This time, the legacy is the Workplace Relations Act, which has changed the game rules so completely and devastatingly.
"The things we in the Australian Public Service have historically relied upon for industrial action — low grade, drawn-out action like bans — now constitute action that would lose pay. The WRA was obviously aimed at the public service.
"We probably relied too much on bans. It was easy action to take; it annoyed management when revenue wasn't raised or performance standards weren't reached, but people still got paid. That's changed, and instead of biting the bullet and saying well, we have to sacrifice something if we want to achieve outcomes, we seem to have simply stopped doing things.
"The WRA was the beginning. Now the second wave of Howard's attack is upon us — no more APS-wide industrial agreements, reorganisation and corporatisation of public service agencies, savage staff cuts — and we have to start at the beginning to rebuild a campaign. We could have had a truly great APS-wide campaign by now, but the build-up has been non-existent."
National Challenge, Sumner says, doesn't believe that it's too late. "We are willing to stand up and have a go, along with the members who have been frustrated for such a long time now."
Sumner has spent a lot of time thinking about why inaction has become the hallmark of the Caird leadership of the CPSU. She believes a great deal of the problem lies within the union's predilection for an ALP numbers-machine style. "Far too much energy is consumed in excluding people — members, activists — from participating and contributing effectively."
"Last year, the CPSU restructured. The official slogan was 'Bringing the Union closer to members'. It hasn't been all bad, but one unfortunate outcome has been that a lot of crap has been brought closer to members, too.
"Factionalism and numbers games have leaked down to almost all levels of the organisation, and it's having a devastating effect upon the delegates' ability to represent their membership. If the numbers are against you, it's an uphill battle to be effective."
It would be all right if the "numbers" were the result of representation of a majority of members' views, Sumner says. But they're not.
"People are finding themselves caught between faction demands and what may actually be better for the membership and the organisation. They shouldn't be made to choose.
"Good outcomes for members are being sacrificed where it conflicts with the need of a few to have a sense of control. It's frustrating and energy-consuming. If that energy, from all sides, could be directed at getting wins for membership and dealing with the crises we face, we could achieve so much."
Sumner says that part of the task is to urge CPSU members to vote. Activists should not take it for granted that other members will even know that there is an election occurring. "Take a moment to talk to fellow members about the elections, and point out the ability they have to make a choice for themselves about who leads their union."