A " Wake-up call ! "

The interim report tabled by Ian Temby QC into the Health Services Union East branch enquiry should be a wake-up call to all union members in Australia to demand a full accounting of the financial structure of the union to which they belong.

This interim report lays bare a rort that has seen millions of dollars of members funds wasted on lavish lifestyles of senior office holders.  The union function has had no system of checks and balances, resulting in lack of tendering and work allocated without contracts - and in many cases to individuals or companies which are directly linked to those same office holders.

In particular, this report is scathing on the uncontrolled use of credit cards by union officials.  There has been no policy structure on their use, and the average spend  has been a staggering $ 600,000 per year.

The members of the Health Services union have put their trust in the people running the union - and that trust has been sadly betrayed.   It seems that the top union people have been living the good lifestyle and rorting the spending of union money for years - and they have been getting away with it because their members have demanded no checks and balances.

That has got to be a wake-up call to alert all members of unions in Australia.   The union dues that you have to pay are funds that you need to control. The people running your union are your servants - not your bosses.  They are accountable for every cent that they spend - and now would be a very good time to haul them before the membership and demand that they prove they are running a tight ship financially - and that you approve of how your money is being disbursed.

You need to think long and hard before you automatically re-elect the same people to the top positions in the union - year after year.  What happened in the Health Services union is a prime example of the membership taking it's eye off the ball.      The rorters are being called to account - but some of the blame must fall on the head of union members for not being vigilant and taking an interest in union matters - and how the administration was being run.

In some people's minds, unions and politics are inextricably linked - and union bosses obey the dictates of a political party rather than pursue the aims and betterment of their members.    Perhaps a good shake-out is long overdue - and the members start to demand that their interests come first.

Catching union bosses with their hand in the cookie jar could be the first step in a meaningful reform of the whole union structure !