TWU MEDIA RELEASE, 30 December 2015
The Transport Workers’ Union is demanding that the Royal Commission formally apologise to the union’s 90,000 members after a final report found no new information during its two-year investigation into the trade union. The TWU has called for the $1 million of members’ money it was forced to spend in answering questions from the Commission to be returned.
“The Transport Workers’ Union should never have been called before the Royal Commission. This final report refers to a matter which the TWU already had investigated and turned over to the appropriate authorities. No new information was found in the Royal Commission’s inquiry into the matter,” said Tony Sheldon TWU National Secretary.
The Royal Commission report states, “the TWU deserves commendation” for its investigation into improper conduct by officials in the Western Australia branch. It says the “TWU referred the matter to this Commission” and “it cooperated fully with the Commission”.
It is the latest in a series of vindications for the TWU after the Royal Commission began its investigations. Last year then Minister for Employment Eric Abetz apologised after making a false claim over the use of TWU members’ funds. This false claim was the basis for including the TWU in the Royal Commission investigations. This year the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission cleared another Royal Commission claim against the TWU after it found there was no anti-competitive agreements with transport companies.
“We demand an apology and our money back. We represent transport employees who have jobs with the highest rate of workplace fatalities in Australia. Our job is to fight for their safety and the safety of other road users,” Sheldon said.
He added: “It is clear that the TWU employs the highest standards when dealing with misconduct. We are happy to discuss with the Government changes which would strengthen governance in trade unions. But we will not support ideologically motivated, hastily-drafted legislation which impacts unfairly on union members,” Sheldon added.
“The banks are still refusing to cooperate with the authorities after defrauding thousands of customers. Major Australian and foreign companies continue to evade tax with little government reprimand. If Malcolm Turnbull is serious about strengthening trade unions as he said today then he should give working communities more rights in their workplace. He should also support the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal which is defending owner drivers and transport companies against wealthy retailers which are driving down safety and conditions through their low cost contracts,” he added.
The Transport Workers’ Union is demanding that the Royal Commission formally apologise to the union’s 90,000 members after a final report found no new information during its two-year investigation into the trade union. The TWU has called for the $1 million of members’ money it was forced to spend in answering questions from the Commission to be returned.
“The Transport Workers’ Union should never have been called before the Royal Commission. This final report refers to a matter which the TWU already had investigated and turned over to the appropriate authorities. No new information was found in the Royal Commission’s inquiry into the matter,” said Tony Sheldon TWU National Secretary.
The Royal Commission report states, “the TWU deserves commendation” for its investigation into improper conduct by officials in the Western Australia branch. It says the “TWU referred the matter to this Commission” and “it cooperated fully with the Commission”.
It is the latest in a series of vindications for the TWU after the Royal Commission began its investigations. Last year then Minister for Employment Eric Abetz apologised after making a false claim over the use of TWU members’ funds. This false claim was the basis for including the TWU in the Royal Commission investigations. This year the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission cleared another Royal Commission claim against the TWU after it found there was no anti-competitive agreements with transport companies.
“We demand an apology and our money back. We represent transport employees who have jobs with the highest rate of workplace fatalities in Australia. Our job is to fight for their safety and the safety of other road users,” Sheldon said.
He added: “It is clear that the TWU employs the highest standards when dealing with misconduct. We are happy to discuss with the Government changes which would strengthen governance in trade unions. But we will not support ideologically motivated, hastily-drafted legislation which impacts unfairly on union members,” Sheldon added.
“The banks are still refusing to cooperate with the authorities after defrauding thousands of customers. Major Australian and foreign companies continue to evade tax with little government reprimand. If Malcolm Turnbull is serious about strengthening trade unions as he said today then he should give working communities more rights in their workplace. He should also support the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal which is defending owner drivers and transport companies against wealthy retailers which are driving down safety and conditions through their low cost contracts,” he added.
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