
Issue No 100		29 June 2001

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Interview

Baptism of Fire

Interview with Peter Lewis

It's been a rugged few weeks for Labor Council's new honcho. But John Robertson accepts it comes with the territory.


	John Robertson

Do you have any regrets about the past two weeks?

No, I don't have any regrets at all. In fact, I think the past two weeks have been important in setting up the agenda for Workers Compensation, and I think it has put Workers Compensation on the agenda - certainly within the media and the broader public.

The issue of the Parliament House protest is still something that is causing a lot of discussion in the movement. Was it a picket or a blockade?

Well, I don't know whether it is relevant whether it was a picket or a blockade. We were asking ALP members not to cross it because we wanted their support in having further amendments made to the Bill, and I don't know that it s necessary to work through what it was. The fact is, we didn't want them to cross it - we wanted them to support our position. It was also important to demonstrate to union members that the trade union movement is prepared to their entitlement to fair and just workers compensation.

Are we any further advanced than we were before the incident at Parliament?

On Monday we made some progress in terms of the Bill that was to go before Parliament. I think we are certainly more advanced tin comparison to the Bill that was introduced into Parliament in April. I also think we are further advanced in terms of having some of the ALP members understand the level of anger towards this Bill. I think the unfortunate part is that there are people within the ALP at Parliament House who are trying to put a spin on this that it was orchestrated by the CFMEU, when in fact that wasn't the case. The Campaign Committee was unanimous in its decision and all of the unions that are on the Right were supportive of it. They moved it, not the Left.

Do you still think that there is an under-estimation in Macquarie Street at the depth of feeling about Workers Comp?

Absolutely. Any discussion you have with the MPs up there, their view is that this will all go away, when in fact that is not the case. The unions have been out there talking to their members and trying to get them to become active around the issue and the response from members reflect how genuinely concerned they are about the reform agenda. And I think that there is a view within Government that the level of anger is not really there. I think they really do need to start to seriously think about how angry workers are.

Workers Compensation is a really critical issue for workers. They would prefer to go home un-injured each day, but they like to know that if they are unfortunate enough to get injured in a workplace accident that they can rely on the fact that they will get workers' compensation, and that is important. They don't want to see that entitlement taken away.

It certainly appears to have been a baptism of fire for you. How do you feel, when people say, for instance, that unions are now putting a Beazley Labor Government at risk?

I don't accept that that is the case. I think for the trade union movement that one of our greatest difficulties has been, certainly in the last 10, maybe even 15 years, that we were seen to be in the pocket of Labor governments. I think there has been a view within a whole range of workers that that is the problem with unions. That they don't, if there is a Labor Government, represent their views, and I think it is appropriate for us to demonstrate that. Yes we would prefer to have a Labor Government than a conservative government, but at the same time that doesn't mean that we are going to sell our members out for the sake of a Labor Government.

Have you got a line though, at which you do hold back in the interests of the Labor Government?

You are very aware of the actions that you take and the possible implications of that, but at the end of the day, I think that if you are serious about the job that you have to do, you have got to strike the balance between the two, but you have got to fall in favour of the workers. That is what you are here for. That is what you are here to do.

Now, having a Labor Government is obviously also in the interest of workers, and I guess depending on what the issue is, you have got to strike that balance at a particular point in time.

One of the roles of Labor Council has traditionally been to act as an intermediary between its affiliates and the government of the day at Macquarie Street. How would you characterise relationships with the Government at the moment?

I think the Government still recognises that the Labor Council has got a key role to play in that relationship. At the moment the relationship probably is - I'm not sure I would say strained - but there are tensions there because of what happened the other day, but I still believe that the government recognises the role that Labor Council can play, and the Government, I think, at the end of the day wants to ensure that the Labor Council continues to play that role. That requires goodwill by both parties, and I think over time, through this dispute, we can re-establish some more goodwill.

One criticism of the Parliament House incident is that you have fired the biggest bullet that a union movement can possibly fire in the first stage of the campaign. What else do the unions have up their sleeve in the ongoing Workers Comp Campaign?

I'm not sure if I want to forewarn people about what we might do, but I still think there is a couple of big salvos that we have got in the cupboard, and I think at the appropriate time if they need to be used, they will be used.

One of the critical things in this whole process, and in any campaign for that matter, is to not be predictable. That is, that maybe industrial action is not the critical issue in getting the Government to alter its view, and certainly I don't believe that it is the industrial action that is going to be the thing that turns this around. I think there are some other issues that we have still got, or some other actions that we can take that can influence the government and the way this dispute is resolved.

What do you see as the next flashpoint being in the Workers Comp Campaign?

The two issues that are still outstanding are thresholds - the thresholds will be what determines whether a worker gets access to common law and also to lump sum payments. And the other one is going to be the common law inquiry. The outcomes there are obviously going to be critical.

One of the issues with common law is that if you are injured and you are not at work, you have got the right to sue someone for negligence, and our concern is that if you happen to be unfortunate enough to be at work and get injured and the employer is negligent you won't be able to sue them. Now, we say that is unacceptable, because when there is negligence you should have the right to sue, whether you are at work, whether you are wandering around a shopping centre, you should still be able to sue someone who is negligent.

Looking beyond WorkCover, what are your other priorities as Secretary of the Labor Council?

I would like to integrate the ACTU Organising Centre into the Labor Council. I believe that if we are to continue to drive organising, it is appropriate for that particular operation to become part of, or certainly work more closely with the Labor Council. I think there is a lot more we could do in that area.

I also would like to have some discussions with the regional labour councils about how we can better utilise the functions that they perform in New South Wales, because I believe, certainly in regional and rural NSW, there are great opportunities to go out there and organise workers in those areas. I think our Sky Channel meeting on Wednesday certainly highlighted the fact that regional areas are seen to be involved - and for the first time in history, they had the opportunity to be involved in what has become a fairly significant campaign.

Is it difficult following on from a character like Michael Costa?

It is because Michael had a very powerful personality, and they are certainly big shoes to fill. I certainly believe Michael taught me a lot, and I hope I can fill the hole that he has left behind. But at the same time Michael and I are different in a whole range of areas, and some of the things that Michael did I won't do, and I guess he would say the same things - that some of the things that I have already done, he wouldn't have done.

Traditionally, the Labor Council's relations with the ACTU have been strained at best. Will that change under your leadership?

As long as the ACTU recognises the role that Labor Council plays, I think we can work closely. I am certainly prepared to endeavour to work more closely with the ACTU, but I think that requires a recognition on their part that Labor Council is the pre-eminent Council and that we are not going to be dictated to by the ACTU on issues. From time to time we will have alternate views - and they have got to be accepting of that. If they can do that then yes, I think we can work more closely, and I am planning to try and do that. I have already started talking to Greg Combet about a range of things where we can work cooperatively, and I am prepared to see how things go.

Finally, what would be your benchmark for success as a Labor Council Secretary?

Probably the same as Greg Combet - and that is that I would like to see a turnaround in the declining membership, certainly in NSW where there is still a decline going on. I am keen to go out and demonstrate to people that the trade union movement is vibrant; it is active; it is prepared to go out there and struggle for good causes. My focus is also going to be on industrial issues, but at the end of the day I would like to think that we can make a difference and actually turn around the decline. Part of that will require the Labor Council to drive unions towards becoming more active on issues and organising new members. I am committed to encouraging unions in this direction and providing the assistance of the Labor Council where it is required.

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Issue 100 contents

Interview: Baptism of Fire
Itï¿½s been a rugged few weeks for Labor Councilï¿½s new honcho. But John Robertson accepts it comes with the territory.

Politics: Seven Days that Shook Our World
Chris Christolodulou surveys the wreckage from a week when the political and industrial wings of the labour movement collided.

History: History Sometimes Repeat
This is not the first Labor government to attack workers compensation entitlements. Some believe the Unsworth Governmentï¿½s 1987 reforms were the beginning of the end for that administration.

Technology: Unions Online: Where To Now?
Social Change Online's Mark McGrath goes looking for what's on the virtual horizon for the union movement.

Media: The Printed Word Revisited
Rowan Cahill looks at the resurgence of the workers press and the lessons for unions in better communicating with their members.

Unions: Time For Second Gear
The trends are in the right direction but unions are still drinking small beer in the IT world and need to allocate more resources to communications generally, argues Noel Hester.

Satire: Texan Governor Faces Execution
The governor of Texas has been sentenced to death row after a jury found him guilty of killing hundreds of people.

Review: The Insider
Neale Towart looks at a literary anti-hero who brings the factional machinations and double-deals of the ALP machine out of the back rooms and into the light.

» Picket MPs Face More WorkCover Heat

» Della Tries a Henry VIII

» Privatisation Opens New WorkCover Front

» The Crucifixion and Resurrection of Virtual Democracy

» Bank Staff Forced to Flog Insurance

» Email Surveillance Report Gathers Dust

» Fifty Years On, Women Still Short-Changed

» Firefighters Withdraw Strike Threat

» Telstraï¿½s Sells Off Skills Base

» BHP - Billiton Faces $1.8 Billion OHS Claim

» Activist Notebook

» STOP PRESS: Quite Frankly, Reith Goes!