17mar02

TWO Victorian union strongmen have quit the ALP and their unions - the Electrical Trades Union (ETU) and the United Firefighters Union (UFU) - may vote to leave the party within a month.

Dean Mighell, state secretary of the 18,000-strong ETU, quit the ALP on Friday and immediately joined the Greens.

He has attacked Labor's industrial relations record and hailed the Greens success in yesterday's Victorian local government elections, saying they offered "hope that we can achieve really good compassionate politics that Labor used to have".

"I joined on Friday. I did my membership over the internet. I did not want to make a big song and dance about it," Mr Mighell said.

The ETU state council would decide in about four weeks whether to disaffiliate from the ALP, he said.

UFU state secretary Peter Marshall, who has also quit the party, accused the Victorian government of poorer industrial relations than the previous Kennett government.

"I had probably a naive belief about the light on the hill," he said.

"But let me tell you, the light on the hill has been privatised, contracted out and is subject to blackouts every second week with this mob."

The 2,500 UFU members would vote on disaffiliation in three to four weeks.

There is speculation other major state unions may follow suit - a potential major loss of funds to the ALP, with the Victorian ETU alone providing $80,000 last year, according to ALP federal president Greg Sword.

He said he was concerned Mr Mighell had quit the party.

"The most important thing for Labor and the trade union movement is unity," Mr Sword said.

"We don't succeed, or we don't improve our opportunity of building a better health system or a better education system, by being disunited."

It was important now to have talks with Mr Mighell and other union leaders considering quitting to discuss their grievances, Mr Sword said.

But an entente appeared unlikely, with Mr Mighell saying: "The common thing for (ETU) members to say to us is `What's the difference between them (the ALP) and the Liberal Party?'. And sometimes when you see the way they act and the anti-union behaviour, you'd be hard-pressed to look at the difference."

Federal Opposition communications spokesman Lindsay Tanner said Mr Mighell and any other members considering quitting the party and joining the Greens would meet unresolvable conflict.

"I'd say to party members, don't give up hope, don't give up the faith and be a bit patient," he told Channel 10.

"We've got some huge problems to deal with and people who could have played an important role in tackling those problems appear to be jumping ship."

Meanwhile, Greens leader Senator Bob Brown, who refused to confirm Mr Mighell's membership until he did so himself, said he would welcome any such member.

Senator Brown said unions were realising that the Greens had strong industrial relations policies - and his invitation to speak at Friday night's Victorian Trades Hall Council dinner was a recognition of that.

Workplace Relations Minister Tony Abbott said the potential desertion of the ALP by key Victorian unions was an indictment of federal Opposition Leader Simon Crean.

Victorian Opposition Leader Denis Napthine said: "Clearly, this is a blow to the Labor Party ... because what Dean Mighell has said is the Bracks Labor government has let down ordinary working people in Victoria," he said.