The union movement must destroy the enemy within, powerbroker Paul Howes says.
In a fiery speech to the ACTU Congress in Sydney on Wednesday, the national secretary of the Australian Workers Union said he was angry about the scandal that had engulfed the Health Services Union.
Mr Howes said unions must “seek out to destroy the enemy within; people who line their own personal pockets off the back of … hard working Australians”.
He said union officials should act according to morality and decency.
“If we believe in independent and free trade unions, then we ourselves on our own should also take responsibility and say we don’t care what the laws say … it should be about what we believe trade officials should do on a daily basis,” he said.
Mr Howes said another scandal over misuse of funds could sink the trade union movement.
“Ninety-nine per cent of our movement has nothing to fear,” he said.
He welcomed new transparency measures and said he was happy to disclose the salaries of officials and himself.
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