On 25 August I briefly spoke to Paul Turton on ABC Radio Newcastle, about the Rail Tram and Bus Union’s (RTBU) industrial action and the role and future role of trade unions. I stopped short of singing The Internationale (but only just).
Tag Archives: industrial action
“Union Thuggery” Should Not Be Conflated With Misogyny
John Setka is a charismatic leader.
He embodies a lot of what the Australian trade union movement stands for: vocal about worker’s rights, visible through industrial action, and intimidating when necessary.
He is the archetype of a union ‘thug’. A big bloke with tattoos who is part of a ‘militant’ trade union. Setka and the Construction Forestry Maritime Mining Energy Union (CFMMEU) regularly push the boundaries of industrial action, incurring $15 million in fines since 2005.
There is nothing wrong with this.
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