Issue No 26 | 13 August 1999 | |
NewsRural Council Workers Push to Quit ALP
Country delegates of the Municipal Employees Union moved this week to disaffiliate from the Labor Party over Carr Government policies before being convinced it was better to fight from within.
The flashpoint has been reached amidst growing concern of the impact of contracting out and competitive tendering in NSW country towns, driven by Transport Minister Carl Scully and his Road Transport Authority. Scully is pushing on with competitive tendering, where big multinational companies compete for work against small local councils. MEU state secretary Brian Harris says its a contest the councils just can't win, given the big companies often have economies of scale that allow them to offer artificially low prices to snare a contract. Harris says what the accountants and bureaucrats who judge these contracts overlook is that for every country job lost, another 2.5 are lost in the flow-on. He's called for a full Social Impact Assessment before Scully drives any further down this path. The union estimates more than 1700 rural jobs are at risk, totally gutting small towns where the local government is the largest employer. The northern NSW town of Kyogle, for example, has just lost 18 positions - a massive impact on the community. When rural delegates were asked to vote to pay affiliation fees to the Labor party this week, Harris says there was great reluctance amongst the delegates. Ultimately, the MEU resolved to remain affiliated - but only to pressure for a review of contracting out policies at the October conference. The MEU joins a growing number of unions including the CFMEU, the AWU, the RBTU and the ETU who have voice their disgust at the Carr Government's position on the issue. The MEU has earmarked September 16 for a major rally against the government.
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