Federation and the ACTU have welcomed the defeat of the Morrison Government’s union-busting Ensuring Integrity Bill in the Senate.
Federation General Secretary John Dixon said the defeat of the Bill highlighted the skewed policy priorities of the Coalition Government.
“On the back of a strong campaign by unions, this result is a victory for all working people in this country,” Mr Dixon said. “The defeat of this piece of cynical legislation is what happens when you pursue the unions while the banking sector is allowed to run rampant.”
The Ensuring Integrity Bill would have allowed for applications to be made to the Federal Court to deregister a union or union official if conduct was deemed inappropriate. Crossbench Senators voted against the Bill, accusing the Government of ignoring their amendments to the law.
ACTU Secretary Sally McManus said members from unions all over the country campaigned to stop the legislation.
“Workers from all walks of life made the case to the Senate crossbench about why the Bill was bad for workers, jobs, wages and Australia,” she said.
The Government has indicated it intends to reintroduce the Bill but has not specified a timeframe.