Latham to Address AWU Members

Federal Opposition Leader Mark Latham will address AWU members and delegates at the AWU’s offices at Granville in western Sydney next Monday.

Around 100 members of the AWU will gather to hear from Mr. Latham on his proposals for reform of Workplace Relations legislation and question him on issues such as workers' entitlements, industrial manslaughter and AWAs (individual employment contracts).

AWU NSW State Secretary Russ Collison said the union was honoured to have Mr. Latham address its members and he is eager to hear from Mr. Latham what his policies will be if Labor wins the Federal Election.

"Since 1996 we have seen increasing attacks on the hard-won rights of ordinary Australians at work. I want to hear from Mr. Latham to see what he will do to reverse those attacks if he wins office at the Federal Election," Mr. Collison said.

AWU National Secretary Bill Shorten, who will be in Sydney to attend the address, said working families across the country are eager to hear from Mr. Latham on his concrete proposals to protect employees' entitlements.

"The Federal Government estimates that each year about 19,000 workers lose entitlements worth between $110 million and $140 million annually. AWU members are among the victims and it has become clear that John Howard will never seriously tackle this issue. We believe a change in Government is the only way to change the culture of corporate collapses in this country - and I look forward to hearing from Mark Latham on what he will do to fix this serious problem where thousands of employees not only lose their livelihoods, but also their lawful entitlements," Mr. Shorten said.