A slanging match between two rival unions has erupted in Western Australia, with veteran heavyweight Kevin Reynolds doggedly trying to hang on to his union's mining members.
A slanging match between two rival unions has erupted in Western Australia, with veteran heavyweight Kevin Reynolds doggedly trying to hang on to his union's mining members.
The Australian Workers Union, led by national secretary Paul Howes, has defended moves to recruit members in WA's mining sector.
But the move has incensed Mr Reynolds, the militant WA secretary of the Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union.
The union strong man took up his position with the CFMEU in the mid 1970s and is known for his controversial tactics.
Mr Reynolds has branded the AWU "Australia's weakest union" and has accused it of scuppering a deal not to poach the CFMEU's members.
"We will defend our patch, we will ask our members to stick close to us and we're very confident of that," Mr Reynolds told The Australian.
Mr Howes said the AWU had always been an alternative to the CFMEU for mining members in WA.
"What I am planning to do, in conjunction with my branch here in Western Australia, is provide a voice for the thousands of non-union metalliferous miners in the north-west and in the Goldfields," Mr Howes told ABC Radio.
He said Mr Reynolds was prone to carrying on like "a pork chop" and embarrassing his membership.
"He's obviously an isolated man in the union movement these days and I think he's pretty threatened by the fact that most unions in WA are now working together to put the interests of their membership first and not be caught up in the old political fights that divide the movement," Mr Howes said.
"Instead of embarrassing our membership and carrying on like pork chops like Kevin does from time to time, we're actually serious about doing our jobs and not just scoring headlines...
"But really he's an irrelevant man, he's a man that became a union secretary before I was even born and sometimes the old fellas and the old troopers find it very hard to adapt to change and leave the old battles in the past where they belong."
Mr Reynolds said the AWU had never been a successful militant union.
"Go and talk to the workers out there and they'll tell you what they think of the AWU," Mr Reynolds told ABC Radio.
"They have never been a success as a militant union in all their life and they ain't going to now."
The slanging match between the two union men prompted the Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA to again voice its concern that unions will seek to exploit their new found power under the federal government's new industrial relations laws.
CCIWA said it was concerned that the unions were placing their own interests ahead of what's best for local employers, workers and even their own members.
"In the weeks since the new laws came into force, CCI's members are reporting a significant increase in union activity, including a sharp spike in the number of union demands to enter workplaces," it said.
"Businesses are also reporting that some unions are poaching rival union members on worksites across the State, leading to increased tension and animosity.
"While unions fight amongst themselves for control of Australian workplaces, it will be local employers and workers that will suffer.
"CCI is concerned that disruptive and costly industrial action will become commonplace on WA workplaces, placing at risk new investment, economic growth and jobs.
"The Federal Government's proposed solution to the problem, by allowing businesses to give one union the right to represent workers, is already proving to be a difficult and time consuming exercise.
"The need for a modern and flexible industrial relations system has never been greater as government and the community looks to business and industry to drive economic growth and create more jobs."