TWU thuggery threatens economy in new ALP term

If Anthony Albanese is to make good on his election night promise to govern for all Australians, he must channel his inner Bob Hawke and stop the threat by the Transport Workers Union to “shut down Australian transport”, including airline flights, goods deliveries and garbage collections. In a speech to be given to the TWU national conference next Wednesday and in an exclusive interview with workplace editor Ewin Hannan, TWU national secretary Michael Kaine declares the union must seize on Labor’s landslide election victory to pursue the “largest co-ordinated industrial campaign in Australian transport history”. It is a move that follows the government shifting workplace relations power heavily in favour of unions in its first term on issues such as multi-employer bargaining; the right to disconnect; same job, same pay; and rules covering casual work.

Mr Kaine says the TWU is prepared to shut down Australian transport: “From airports to highways, from distribution centres to city streets, whatever it takes to stop the client pressure killing workers, community members and good businesses.” That shameful plan, in support of unspecified wage rises, better conditions and new safety measures, is a power grab that would wreak economic havoc at a time poor productivity is eroding Australians’ living standards.

The TWU statement of intent amounts to a very loud and public welcome to incoming Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Amanda Rishworth. Unless the Prime Minister can persuade the union to back down and pursue a reasonable wage claim, within the bounds of inflation and reason, the minister will have no alternative but to send a strong signal that she will be prepared to use her power to attempt to stop the action through section 424 of the Fair Work Act. The section states that the Fair Work Commission “must suspend or terminate protected industrial action that is being engaged in or is threatened, impending or probable” if satisfied it would threaten “to cause significant damage to the Australian economy or an important part of it”. The TWU’s proposed thuggery fits that bill. More significantly, if Mr Albanese and Ms Rishworth fail to stop it, they will set the tone for their second term to be marred by other union demands and industrial actions that undermine the nation’s economic performance. Trade unions, which represent just 13 per cent of the workforce – down from 40 per cent in 1992 – are not entitled to dictate terms and cripple essential services in a way that would damage Australians’ living standards.

Post election, it is clear the TWU wants to unleash a campaign that has been years in the making, with the simultaneous expiry in 2026 of 200 enterprise agreements across the aviation and transport sectors. Companies to be targeted by the union include Qantas, Aldi, Amazon and Qube Logistics. Agreements also are due to expire in mid-2026 at Linfox, Toll, Boral, K&S Freighters and national garbage collector Cleanaway. In April, the TWU used the same job, same pay laws to strike an agreement with Qantas Freight to deliver pay rises up to $8000 for labour hire workers who work alongside ground crew.

In his interview, claiming to be practising “positive militancy” and promising to “recast what strong unionism is”, Mr Kaine said: “We are all celebrating Labor’s stunning re-election but we must also seize the moment.” Voters “rejected divisive tactics and endorsed a vision of higher wages, secure jobs and a central and very legitimate role for unions in the Australian economy”, he said. But if Labor skews workplace policy further in unions’ favour and fails to stop the widespread disruptions proposed by Mr Kaine, business operators, shareholders and the public will quickly sour against the unions’ agenda and Labor’s acquiescence.