AWU conference starts tomorrow

The AWU national conference, One Day Longer, starts 9am Monday 24 February.

Guest speakers include:

· Pru Goward, Federal Sex Discrimination Commissioner
· John Warhurst, Chair of the Australian Republican Movement
· Dr Don Blackmore, Chief Executive Officer of the Murray-Darling Basin Commission.
· Greg Combet, ACTU Secretary
· Richard Pratt, Chairman of Visy Industries
· Senator Stephen Conroy, the Federal Shadow Minister for Finance, Small Business and Financial Services and deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate.
· Sharan Burrow, ACTU President

The conference begins at 9am and AWU Secretary Bill Shorten and AWU President Bill Ludwig will give the opening addresses beginning at 9.30am.

Guest speakers tomorrow include Senator Stephen Conroy and federal Sex Discrimination Commissioner Pru Goward.

Mr Conroy will speak at 11.30am about corporate governance and the protection of workers' entitlement. Ms Goward will give her address at 2.15pm.

The Federal Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Kevin Rudd, will be the guest speaker at the opening night dinner at 7.30pm.

The conference is the policy-making forum of the union and resolutions will be made on industrial issues such as wages and employment conditions.

The conference will also focus on core concerns of the AWU such as corporate governance; superannuation; excessive executive salaries; workers' entitlements; privacy in the workplace, pyschometric testing and Occupational Health and Safety issues including drug and alcohol testing.

Time will also be spent discussing the AWU vision for Australia - this will include speeches and resolutions on the Australian Republic Movement and use of our natural resources such as water.

WHAT: Australian Workers' Union 2003 national conference
WHERE: Conrad Jupiters, Broadbeach, Gold Coast QLD
WHEN: 24-27 February, 2003