Bill Shorten’s career shows need for union conduct reforms

Today’s Sunday Age gives striking insights on how ambitious union bosses manipulate unions and workers to advance their political careers.

 This article focusses on Bill Shorten’s rise to power, but he is just one amongst many.

 Ambition and advancement built on good work for those you represent is one thing; selling out low-paid workers and using them as pawns in a numbers game is something else.

 This open and unchecked abuse of union power is not only corrodes our political system, it corrodes our economy and it corrodes the rule of law.

 Decent and fair-minded people across the political spectrum need to throw their weight behind union conduct reforms to raise standards and support those union officials who put their workers first.

 Reforms should require union officials to declare and avoid conflicts of interest, spell out the duties that officials owe to workers, and provide effective remedies against those officials who sell out their members.

 For the Sunday Age’s report, see Bill Shorten, the man who grew good at manipulating Labor’s machine.