SA UNIONS SEEK ELECTION COMMITMENTS ON KEY ISSUES

1 March 2010

An increased take of mining royalties, an end to cuts to the public service, a new system of wages setting, and investment in green industries are amongst the commitments SA Unions wants from political parties going into the state election.

SA Unions has written to Labor, Liberal and Greens asking them to commit to policies that will deliver South Australians fair and safe working conditions in a strong, sustainable economy.

We want to see better distribution of wealth, and a robust, viable public service to deliver quality services to our community," SA Unions Secretary, Janet Giles says.

"Our vision is explained in detail in our agenda document "A Fair Share of the Future".  We have selected ten priorities that we believe should be "must do's" for Election 2010". ...>> click here

"We are seeking specific promises from the parties in relation to the ten priority points, and will also assess each party's policy platform to see how it matches up against the SA Unions agenda."

"We are concerned to see that South Australia maintains a strong revenue base so that we can afford the public services that people are entitled to.  It means we need a healthy tax system which ensures that those who profit here make a fair contribution in return.  We want that principle applied from business taxes through to the mining sector."

"South Australia has the lowest mining royalties in the nation.  Given the expected boom in the resources sector, now is the time to review our royalty rates to ensure that profits benefit many instead of ending up in the pockets of a few."

"Healthy revenues also mean a healthy public service.  We cannot afford outsourcing, privatisation, job losses and cutbacks to essential public services - in fact we believe that the opposite is needed.  By expanding the public service we boost employment, stimulate the economy and address social needs."

"We need to stop regarding the public service as a cost and recognise it is actually an investment that delivers dividends."

"Amongst the other commitments we're seeking is a fair system of wage setting to avoid damaging and costly disputes such as that our dedicated teachers were recently forced to endure.  If it's good enough for politicians then it is good enough for other government workers."

"And our demand for a fair workers compensation system is well known.  The public is crying out for a political party that commits itself to restoring fairness for injured workers."

"Our concerns for workers also extends to guaranteed fair work laws, protections for children in the workforce, and investment in local skills development instead of simply importing skills from elsewhere."

"Environmental measures and developing sustainable technologies are just plain commonsense.  We need political leaders who truly understand that our future economic and social survival depends on smarter and more efficient use of our resources - and who act."

"We are seeking commitments from political parties, but SA Unions is making a commitment too - a commitment to follow through after the election to ensure that whoever's elected actually delivers on their promises", Ms Giles says.