National Union of Workers

Over 750 Delegates from Victoria and Tasmania have sent a strong message to the Howard Government over its IR laws on the eve of the Federal Election, after conferences in both States.

More than 700 Victorian Delegates filled the Atrium Room at Flemington Racecourse today (Thursday, September 27) for the annual State-wide Delegates' Conference.

The meeting was one of the most important of its kind for years, with a Federal Election likely in just a few weeks. Delegates from across Victoria agreed, with a record number coming to hear what they could do in their workplaces and communities in the lead-up to the poll.

With the election undoubtedly seen by many voters as a referendum on the Federal Government's workplace changes, the laws - and the three-year union campaign against them - were discussed at length during the meeting.

Delegates heard talks from Victorian State Secretary Antony Thow, as well as NSW State Secretary Derrick Belan and National Secretary Charlie Donnelly.

All three NUW leaders thanked Delegates and other NUW members for their contribution to the union movement's campaign against the laws. In Victoria, members had contributed over $800,000 since 2005 to TV commercials aiming to raise public awareness about the changes.

Thow told Delegates there was only one more part of the campaign to complete - a vote for a new set of IR laws from a new Federal Government.

"We have the chance at this election to replace these laws and make our community a fairer, better place. That is what we have to do," he said.

Belan - the first NSW Secretary to address the Victorian Delegates' Conference - spoke of how New South Wales employees had suffered under the Howard Government after being transferred to the harsh new Federal system.

"Workers are suffering everyday up there. It has to be stopped," he said.

Donnelly told Delegates there was a clear choice between both major political IR parties on IR.

"The Howard Government's IR system promotes Individual Contracts that strip conditions. The ALP's alternative is a vast improvement for working people because it recognises the right of working people to collectively bargain."

Delegates also heard from Shadow Minister - and former NUW National Secretary - Simon Crean, who warned Delegates about the negative campaign against unions the Howard Government would use during the election campaign.

"Unions have been central to Australia's current prosperity. Not only will the ALP's IR policy be good for working people, it will also be good for the economy."

In Tasmania on Tuesday (September 25), at least 50 Delegates met in Launceston for their annual Delegates' Conference.

Launceston is located in the marginal Federal seat of Bass, and is one of two marginal seats in Tasmania that are crucial to the outcome of this year's Federal Election.

National Assistant Secretary Tim Kennedy, who spoke at the Conference, told Delegates it was crucial that union members in marginal electorates voted for a new IR system at the Federal Election.

"Another Liberal Government - especially one lead by Peter Costello - would go even further on IR, stripping more working rights from Australian families," he said.

"The only way to prevent the worst IR laws in the western world being passed onto our children is to vote the Howard Government out at this election."