Here is an interview with Bill Game, WA secretary of the ETU.
In the interview, he calls for a new workers party, contrary to the
claims made in the GLW article earlier this week.

DM

From "The Socialist" issue three, out now, or read it online at
www.socialistpartyaustralia.org

featuring articles on:
Medicare
ASIO
New Zealand
Solomon Islands
Aceh
Casualisation
New Workers Party
and interviews with Bill Game, Chris Cain and Joan Doyle.
plus humour, and reviews.
-----------------------
WA union leader calls
for New Workers 'Party

The Socialist Spoke to Bill Game,
WA State Secretary of the CEPU
(Electrical division),a long time
socialist who is facing an election in
the next few weeks.
Socialist Party (SP):Bill,what issues are
your union involved in at the moment?
Bill Game (BG):Our Enterprise Bargaining
is coming up and we are campaigning for
the best deals for our members.We have
achieved excellent salaries and working
conditions over the years for our members
with the active participation of the rank and
file.We plan to improve on those wages
and conditions.
SP:So you think you will be successful?
BG:Yes,but it will not be easy.The
employers have been trying to use a
127 order on our union and individual
members.When we go into a dispute with
the employers they use this order to sue us
for loss of earnings as a result of industrial
disputes.We have managed to fight off
the 127 order to date.However the bosses
organisation,The Confederation of Industry,
has now got the ear of a sympathetic
Commissioner and we will have to fight
hard.The campaign will have to involve the
rank and file to have maximum impact.We
will not let our members down.
SP:This is excellent Bill.The working
class needs more of your kind -militant
union leaders involving the rank and file in
struggle.What do you think of the Rank and
File victory in the MUA WA elections?
BG:This was an excellent result for the MUA
rank and file members.More and more
union members will now be encouraged to
take the fight to the old leadership of unions
who sit on their buts directing things from
above,not involving members and in bed
with the bosses.And you know the Rank
and File in the MUA won with a full slate
in Victoria and some important positions in
NSW.This will have an impact nationally.
SP:What do you think of the ALP?
BG:The period when the ALP fights for
ordinary working people is over.They now
have a programme that is little different
from the Liberal Party.They support Free
Trade Agreements which can only benefit
the bosses.On almost every policy the ALP
are no different from the Liberals.The ALP
is now the left wing of the Liberal Party.
Working people and their unions can 't trust
them any more.The only difference is in the
speed of attack on working peoples 'living
standards.The Liberals want to do it now
and the Labor Party want to do it more
slowly.
SP:So what is the answer Bill?
BG:The unions need to break with Labor
completely.I have argued they should break
all financial commitments with Labor.Stopfinancing the
ALP,completely.Many union
officials and activists reply that they don 't
finance the ALP but they support them
in many other ways,they support them at
elections by campaigning for them.I have
argued many times that the unions need to
campaign for a new workers 'party.Officials
and activists reply that this is too hard to
achieve.My reply is that it was a hundred
times harder when the unions in Australia
fought for and set up the ALP way back.It 's
much easier for us to create a New Workers '
Party now.Unions are much stronger now
than they were then.We have far more
members,far more financial clout.It 's the
will and determination and belief in rank
and file members that we don 't have what
our forbearers had.We need to get back that
militancy and determination the founders of
our unions and the original ALP had.
SP:We agree with you 100%Bill.But how
are you going to achieve this break and build a
New Workers Party?
BG:It is not going to be easy convincing
union members to start to believe in a New
Workers Party.They are holding onto the
belief that they can reform the ALP.This is
now almost impossible,definately impossible
at the moment.The ALP has gone too far
down the path with the bosses.But as I said
before just because it is hard doesn 't mean to
say you don 't try.In WA we have set up a
small organisation called the Socialist Union
Organising Committee.We are only small at
the moment but we hope to campaign with
unions to start the process of a New Workers
Party.You can read our program on the
internet at http://suoc.tk/
It may take years but we owe it to the working
people of Australia.It will be a hard,long road
but we will do it if we keep at it.
SP:Bill,thanks for your time.