FED: Kelty faces growing lack of support

AAP General News (Australia)
12-21-1998
FED: Kelty faces growing lack of support

By Alan Gale, Industrial Correspondent

MELBOURNE, AAP - "Kelty must go."

Three words that until now have been muttered in private by small groups of unionists - and
never to journalists - are now increasingly coming out on to the record.

Described as the "architect of union failure" by political opponents and damned with faint
praise by the dwindling band of loyal supporters, the man who resembles a crumpled, greying
wombat has dug a deep tunnel and won't come out.

The writing was placed clearly on the wall by Victoria's union leader Leigh Hubbard, who
until recently was a long-time supporter of Mr Kelty.

"The ACTU has been at the crossroads since Labor went out of office (federally) and I think
it's time for a change," Mr Hubbard, who is the Victorian Trades Hall Council Secretary, told
AAP.

"Bill Kelty's done an enormous job and made an enormous contribution over a period of time
... it's probably time now that there is a new direction and a new dynamism that I'm not sure
could be provided by Bill.

"I think Bill recognises that ...

"I think he admits himself it's not a question of if he'll go before his term's up (in five
years' time), but when.

"He wants to make sure that happens in a way that's best for the union movement.

"Generally, people have got the sense that nationally the ACTU is not as dynamic as it
could be and I think that will require new and younger leadership - there is no doubt about
that.

"That's not a personal comment about Bill (Kelty) or anybody else - it's just inevitable
when people have led things for over 20 years there comes a time when things have to change.

"There are new leaders out there ... we've got a number of unions in Victoria that are lead
by younger officials who are more hungry and more keen to do things.

"There are younger people coming through to replace the people who led us in the mid-80s
and ultimately will inevitably bring around a major change."

Mr Kelty, known for his low media profile, failed to respond to numerous requests for
reaction to Mr Hubbard's comments.

However ACTU President Jennie George was surprised when told of Mr Hubbard's views.

"I would have thought Mr Hubbard had enough challenges to his own position instead of
worrying about Bill Kelty," she said.

"As far as I am concerned we have just been all re-elected (for a six year term) ... I
think Bill Kelty stands out as certainly the most influential union figure in the last two
decades.

"I think Bill and I have shown we have the capability to hold the union movement together
despite factionalism ... we are still a force to be reckoned with."

For the moment, however, the ACTU will be warming up the old union campaigns of last
century over working hours as its answer to 22 years of membership decline.

It has already tried the free air trips and holiday homes, telephone saver accounts and a
health insurance campaign - formulated in 1995 when the union movement had lost 110,000
members in two years.

"We are going to turn it around in absolute terms. We are going to turn it around in
percentage terms," Mr Kelty said at the time.

They haven't.

According to the latest Bureau of Statistics union numbers have never been so low. Now only
28 per cent of Australia's 7.2 million workers carry union cards, compared with 50 per cent in
1986.

Slated for lack of innovation and leadership by an internal review, ACTU leaders have told
unions the federal body is not responsible and it is the unions who have to mount membership
campaigns.

"Bill Kelty and I are not the ones who will be signing members up, the unions will be,"
ACTU president Jennie George said.

Now that offering bags of goodies has failed to reverse the downward trend, ideology will
be proffered: in the form of a working hours campaign based on the eight-hour day campaigns of
the 1850s.

Announcing the move at this year's December council meeting, Ms George admitted unions had
not kept pace with industrial change.

"The changes have outstripped our capacity to keep up with contracting out and
casualisation, which are a manifestation of substantial economic changes," Ms George said.

Launched in 1856, the struggle for eight-hour days continued with the slogan 888 (eight
hours work, eight hours rest, eight hours recreation) for 30 years until it was won as a right
across all Australian unions, with membership increasing accordingly.

"We've gone back to the 1850s in a sense to have a look at the campaign that was conducted
for the eight-hour day and living at (heritage listed) Trades Hall you can't avoid exposure to
that influence," Assistant Secretary Greg Combet said.

Strapped for cash and seeking cheaper offices, the ACTU executive moved this year from ACTU
House and now occupies the north wing of Melbourne's Trades Hall, a Victorian pile on the city
fringe cluttered with posters and murals commemorating the 888 campaign.

Having failed to act quickly enough over increasing casual labour and increased working
hours following massive retrenchments across all industry sectors, unions now pin their hopes
of increasing memberships on more social-based tactics, Ms George said.

That means more lobbying of political parties such as the democrats, instead of being able
to rely on the ALP to implement union policy, and forging stronger links with church and
community protest groups to gain added authority for their campaigns, Ms George said.

There was a time when unions could do the job unassisted.

AAP ag/mh/cjh

KEYWORD: YEARENDER ACTU

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