Bill Shorten to turn on corrupt unions as part of election strategy

LABOR wants harsh punishment for trade union corruption in a bid to fend off anticipated Coalition election campaign claims the Opposition is soft on rorts.

LABOR wants harsh punishment for trade union corruption in a bid to fend off anticipated Coalition election campaign claims the Opposition is soft on rorts.

The range of new oversight bodies and disciplinary measures also is aimed at ending the ugly revelations of improper union practices which have tainted the entire union movement and made recruitment harder.

The policy announcement comes the day after two senior Victorian union figures were charged with blackmail.

The ALP maintains links to the unions for historical and funding reasons and Opposition Leader Bill Shorten is a former union executive. But voters are heading in the other direction and just 11 per cent of the world-force has union membership.

Mr Shorten today is pledging a critical step in cleaning up the image of organised labour through “deterring and detecting corruption in unions”.

The measures outlined today by Mr Shorten would in some cases also cover employer and industry groups as “registered organisations” and include:

Authorising the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), which has, coercive powers, to deal with “the most serious contraventions of the Registered Organisations Act”. It’s funding would rise by $4.5 million. This will be in addition to the existing Fair Work Commission’s powers to investigate relatively minor cases of noncompliance.

Extending electoral funding laws to include donations and expenditure related to all elections managed by the Australian Electoral Commission, such as those for union elections. Labor would also reduce the disclosure threshold for political donations from $13,000 to $1,000.

Former HSU boss Kathy Jackson was found to have misused union money to fund her lavish lifestyle.

The maximum penalties for all criminal offences under the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act would be doubled and paid officials guilty of “the most egregious conduct” could be hit with fines of up to $216,000. Courts would be able to disqualify an official for

serious contraventions under measures similar to those used against publicly listed companies under the Corporations Act.

Giving union misconduct whistleblowers the same protection as exists in the public sector. These protections would be extended to the private sector, registered organisations and the not-for-profit sector.

The package confirms Labor and the union movement have a big problem caused by the misconduct of trade union officials who have misused union funds — notably and recently in the Health Services Union and the National Union of Workers where members’ dues were used to pay for escort services and rock concert tickets.

The Trade Union Royal Commission has been looking at allegations of criminal activities. Recently two Victorian CFMEU officials were charged with blackmail after an investigation by a joint police taskforce examining matters arising from the TURC.

Mr Shorten will make clear it is up to Labor to address these serious issues first and not leave the field to the Coalition.

“Labor has identified a problem and we’re separating it from the politics, unlike the Abbott-Turnbull Government,” he said today.

“At the core of the Liberals and their political ideology, is a desire to destroy the ability of unions to effectively represent workers, making it easier to rip away pay and conditions like penalty rates.

“It is the Labor Party and unions that will ensure workers are represented with honesty and integrity, and will stand up against attacks on wages, penalty rates and workplace safety.”

And the proposed crackdown would come with a related promotion of trade union membership benefits.

“Unions play a critical role representing workers in a democratic society. It is unions we have to thank for superannuation, universal health care, the eight hour day, and the minimum wage among many other achievements,” said Mr Shorten.

“For the sake of workers and their families — to protect these hard-won reforms — it is essential that unions remain strong and modern.”

Originally published as Bill Shorten to turn on corrupt unions as part of election strategy