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Electrical Trades Union of Australia

For the former British Trade Union, see Electrical Trades Union (United Kingdom).

The Electrical Trades Union of Australia (ETU) is an Australian trade union.

ETU
Electrical Trades Union of Australia
Founded24 December 1919
HeadquartersRosebery, New South Wales
Location
Members
61,260 (For the year ending 31 December 2020)[1]
Key people
Michael Wright, National Secretary
AffiliationsACTU, ALP
Websitewww.etunational.asn.au

The ETU is a division of the Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union (CEPU), and is the largest of the three divisions. Under State Government laws, the union often exists as a separately registered union.

History

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On 24 December 1919 Electrical Trades Union of Australia federally re-registered under the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Act 1904 as an association of employees. This date is now taken as the official registration date of the Federal Union.

In 1985, ETU members were sacked after the Joh Bjelke-Petersen Government sacked them for refusing to sign individual contracts (see: SEQEB strike of Queensland, 1985).[2]

In 2005, plans were made to picket the former premier's State funeral, however those plans were subsequently abandoned following requests by the union leadership.[3]

In 2007, the ETU leader Dean Mighell was expelled from the Australian Labor Party for supporting the Greens during the federal election.[4] In the lead-up to the 2010 federal election, the Victorian ETU withdrew its support for the Labor Party, citing Labor's refusal to scrap laws restricting union action on building sites.[5] However, since then it has rejoined in the Australian Capital Territory and Victoria.[6][7]

Traditionally the ETU has sided with the Labor Left or equivalent faction in the state branches of the ALP with the notable exception of the ACT and NSW, where it aligns with the respective Centre Coalition and Centre Unity (Labor Right) factions.[citation needed] It enjoys a close relationship there with the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association (SDA) and the Australian Workers Union (AWU). Despite reaffiliating with Victorian Labor, in the leadup to the 2018 Victorian Election the ETU donated $50,000 towards a competing party, the Victorian Socialists.[8]

In November 2019, the ETU ceased donations to the federal Labor party over Anthony Albanese supporting free trade agreements.[9]

References

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  1. ^ "FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020" (PDF). Electrical Trades Union. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 May 2021. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  2. ^ "Union rejects Sir Joh funeral protest - ABC News". ABC News. 25 April 2005. Archived from the original on 22 October 2023. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  3. ^ "Protesters drop Joh funeral picket plan". The Sydney Morning Herald. 28 April 2005. Archived from the original on 17 October 2023. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  4. ^ Lavelle, Ashley (2008). The death of social democracy : political consequences in the 21st century. Ashgate Pub. Co. p. 71. ISBN 9780754691662. Victorian based Electrical Trades Union (ETU) leader Dean Mighell, expelled from the ALP for being caught on videotape advocating militant industrial action, argued that 'at election time the only party with truly worker-friendly policies is going to be the Greens' (cited in Syvret 2007). ... He described the Greens' industrial relations policy as 'traditional Labor', and argued that increasing numbers of trade union officials were thinking of either privately or publicly supporting the Greens in the federal Senate (cited in Marris 2007, 4; Bachelard 2007).
  5. ^ ABC news "Victorian ETU cuts ties with Labor" Archived 23 August 2010 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 17 August 2010.
  6. ^ The Australian "Victoria ETU moves to reaffiliate with Labor" Archived 17 October 2023 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 21 August 2018.
  7. ^ The Canberra Times "ETU to stick with right faction as fallout from Pettersson defection continues " Archived 21 August 2018 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 21 August 2018.
  8. ^ "Unions back Victorian Socialists' campaign". www.theaustralian.com.au. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
  9. ^ Chambers, Geoff (22 November 2019). "Union bans donations to Labor MPs, slams Albanese over trade deals". The Australian. Archived from the original on 26 April 2023. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
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