This was a statement of moral clarity by Sally McManus: John Setka must go

Sally McManus spoke clearly, directly and powerfully as she called on John Setka to resign.

It was a statement of moral clarity, an important intervention by the leader of the Australian trade union movement.

ACTU secretary Sally McManus fronts the media after a meeting with Mr Setka.Credit: Jason South

The past week has wrought tremendous damage on the union movement and the Labor Party both in Victoria and federally.

The labour movement has done much to combat the scourge of violence against women.

It has been a key priority of the government of Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews, while the union movement over the past decade has won world-leading rights for domestic violence leave.

Last Saturday, The Age and Sydney Morning Herald reported details of the harassment by Setka of a woman. That included that he had, in a single evening, called the woman 25 times and sent her 45 text messages calling her a “weak f--ken piece of shit” and a “treacherous Aussie f--ken c---”.

There have been other credible allegations of physical violence against the woman, although they have been denied by Setka.

We also revealed that Setka had linked Rosie Batty’s advocacy to a reduction in men’s rights. It was a classic argument that men's rights activists make.

On Wednesday, I argued that the unions and Labor had taken too long to respond. Three weeks ago Setka had indicated he would plead guilty to the criminal charge of harassing a woman.

McManus said on Thursday she had been constrained as the matter was before the courts. Now she was unambiguous.

"There is no place for perpetrators of ... violence in leadership positions in our movement.

CFMEU boss John Setka leaves the ACTU office after meeting with Sally McManus.Credit: Jason South

''Everyone has a right to a safe home, workplace and community and we have been campaigning for many years for this.

"We also believe in equality for women and know that instances of violence against women are not just unacceptable, they stand in the way of achieving equality.’’

McManus has no formal mechanism to remove Setka. His union is democratically constituted and his removal is a job for other leaders and its members.

But McManus was direct and clear. Setka had to go for the good of the whole union movement.

"No one is bigger than the union movement," she said.

The crisis has given the Coalition an opening to revive laws that will make it easier to remove union leaders and deregister unions themselves.

It is clear that if Setka stays, it is almost inevitable those laws will be implemented with the help of the crossbench.

But Setka has failed to hear the message. He said after the meeting with McManus that he would stay. If he persists, the government will come crashing down on him.

There is every chance his union will be deregistered - just as the CFMMEU's predecessor the Builders' Labourers Federation was in 1986 - and other unions will face tough new laws.

John Setka will go, one way or the other.

Staying on would be his final act of destruction and selfishness.