ACTU secretary's threatened wage hike backed by WA union

22/2/96

The Western Australian union movement had backed a plan by ACTU secretary Bill Kelty to push the Australian economy back into the wages-driven inflation spiral of the 1980s by threatening to push for a 30 per cent pay rise under a Federal Coalition Government, according to WA Labour Relations Minister Graham Kierath.

"The average wages of the WA worker have been responsibly boosted to twice the national average under the Coalition Government but Bill Kelty's threat to push for a 30 per cent wage hike under a Federal Coalition Government would drive this country back into the 80s," Mr Kierath said.

"Such a bloody-minded approach would once again return Australia to the doorstep of the Banana Republic Prime Minister Paul Keating lead us to a decade ago."

Mr Kierath said Federal Opposition industrial relations spokesman Peter Reith was right when he said on Perth radio this morning that these threats were trotted out each election campaign by the union movement and while Mr Kelty had forecast industrial war in past campaigns, the industrial record in WA had very much proven him wrong.

"Mr Reith was 100 per cent correct that the number of working days lost per thousand employees in this State had dropped in the first 12 months of the Court Government compared with the last 12 months of the Lawrence Labor government," Mr Kierath said.

"Threats by TLC secretary Tony Cooke to plunge the State economy back into unproductive strike action like last October's day of action will not only stifle long-term investment but drive a wedge between employers and employees who are preferring to work out their own agreements outside the union movement.

"The average worker does not want industrial confrontation and this has been reflected in union membership in WA dropping to its lowest level on record with about 70 per cent of the State's workers no longer in a union.

"If we return to the days of strike action instead of negotiation then the whole economy, including workers, will suffer.

"Mr Cooke's attitude obviously has not changed from the lead-up to last October's strike when he said the union movement had to 'inflict harm on the economy of this State'."

Media contact: Steve Manchee 481 2133 or 222 9595