Fracking a sore point for Labor Party factions ahead of May Day march

KEY right wing unions who have backed the development of onshore gas may not participate in the May Day march if this year’s focus is anti-fracking

May Day will be celebrated next Monday.

THE traditional May Day union celebrations could be a victim of the split engulfing Labor Party factions over hydraulic fracturing, the NT News can reveal.

Key right wing unions who have backed the development of onshore gas may not participate in the May Day march if this year’s focus is anti-fracking. May Day will be celebrated next Monday.

Union sources have told the NT News the left-wing controlled Unions NT want to send a strong anti-fracking message to the Labor Government ahead of its conference.

A Labor source condemned the move saying it was “out of step” with the current federal campaign highlighting weekend awards.

“For a 100 years unions have been fighting for wages and conditions and to make May Day all about fracking would show just how out of touch the union movement is,” he said. “There is a very strong television campaign running at the moment and if the march with this focus goes ahead as planned we will look bad.”

The Sunday Territorian revealed yesterday an internal Labor war is set to ignite during the next fortnight as Queensland CFMEU union heavyweight Michael Ravbar tries to overthrow the NT division’s secretary Kent Rowe.

Mr Rowe survived one attempt in June last year.

It is understood factional tensions have also risen regarding the number of union delegates. The NT News has been told for the first time union delegates will not make up 50 per cent of the conference. Australian Workers’ Union NT organiser Damian Hale said he wanted to know how the NT Labor Administration came up with the decision. The AWU has backed the development of onshore gas.

“The final delegate position should’ve come to us,” he said. “I want to know why they decided to leave it vacant? If there is a commonsense answer then no problems.”

Unions NT president Thomas Mayor and NT Labor Pary president Erina Early were contacted for comment.