Australian Human Rights Commissioner, Tim Wilson, will investigate allegations of systemic anti-gay discrimination in a major Australian union following a letter of complaint from key LGBTI community advocates.
Australian Marriage Equality National Director, Rodney Croome, PFLAG National Spokesperson, Shelley Argent, and Independent Member for Sydney, Alex Greenwich, wrote to Mr Wilson earlier this week calling for an investigation into the Shop Distributive and Allied Employees Union following allegations raised at the Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance and Corruption.
It was alleged by a witness at the Commission that the Union refused to employ shop stewards because of their sexual orientation.
Australian Marriage Equality National Director, Rodney Croome, said
“Evidence to the Royal Commission suggests the kind of systemic breaches of federal anti-discrimination law that warrant Mr Wilson’s close attention.”
“SDA members tend to be young people who we know are strong supporters of marriage equality and deserve to be represented by a union that shares their values.”
Independent Member for Sydney Alex Greenwich said:
“It is good to see the Human Rights Commission taking action on LGBTI discrimination. Such discrimination has a very harmful impact on the individuals targeted and on the reputation of any organisation allowing it to occur”
“Some in leadership roles at the SDA, including Joe DeBruyn, have had a long history of stymieing LGBTI law reform and it’s time they called out for it”.
PFLAG National spokesperson, Shelley Argent
“Unions should be working for their employees regardless of their sexual orientation.
“They should be fighting discrimination, not being the discriminators.”
Please find attached the letter to Mr Wilson and the original news report on allegations against the SDA. A news report confirming Mr Wilson’s interest in taking up the issue can be found in today’s edition of the Australian.
For more information contact Rodney Croome on 0409 010 668, Shelley Argent, 0409 363 335 or Alex Greenwich on 0458 042 342.
Author: Rodney Croome
Publication: Media Release
Date: 27th August 2014
***
Tim Wilson
Human Rights and Freedom Commissioner
C/o Simone Guirguis
Australian Human Rights Commission
Alex Greenwich MP
Shelley Argent OAM
Rodney Croome AM
re: allegations of systemic discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation in the Shop Distributive and Allied Employees Union
Dear Mr Wilson,
We write to you in regard to allegations made at a recent hearing of the Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance and Corruption.
According to a report in The Australian newspaper (included below) a former organiser for the Shop Distributive and Allied Employees Union (SDA), Ms Rosa Perry, alleged that SDA members were blocked from becoming shop stewards because of their sexual orientation. She is reported to have said, “if I put up a shop steward who was gay, he was not accepted’’. In the same report, Senator Chris Ketter, a former Queensland secretary of the SDA, is reported to have said the Union preferred not to employ members “who perhaps have single-interest views and (are) seeking to impose them on others’’. While the Senator’s comments do not explicitly mention sexual orientation, his words reflect stereotypes of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people as “single issue” people seeking to “impose” their views on others.
These comments strongly suggest there is systemic discrimination in the SDA on the basis of sexual orientation and possibly other grounds including gender identity. We believe they are serious enough for you to conduct an investigation into whether or not such systemic discrimination exists, and if it does, what can be done to remedy it. If these allegations were made about discrimination on the grounds of race or religion an investigation would be required. It is no different in this case. We understand the comments were made within the context of an existing investigation, the Royal Commission. But further investigation into these allegations do not fall easily within terms of reference of the Commission. We are happy to discuss this matter further.
Best wishes,
Alex Greenwich MP
Independent member for Sydney
0458 042 342
Shelley Argent OAM
National Spokesperson for Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays
0409 363 335
Rodney Croome AM
National Director of Australian Marriage Equality
0409 010 668
Unionist admits gay ban
THE AUSTRALIAN
AUGUST 19, 2014 12:00AM
NEW ALP senator Chris Ketter has offered to refund money to the Australian Taxation Office after claiming tax deductions for years on contributions he made to a union “fighting fund” that was operated to keep him in office.
The royal commission into trade union governance also heard yesterday from sacked organiser Rosa Perry, who said that members of the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association were stopped from being shop stewards based on their “sexual orientation’’.
She said “if I put up a shop steward who was gay, he was not accepted’’by the conservative right-wing union.
Senator Ketter, who was Queensland secretary of the SDA, said the union did not want to employ shop stewards “who perhaps have single-interest views and (are) seeking to impose them on others’’.
The commission also heard that Senator Ketter was a signatory to the fighting fund which in June contained $408,000.
About 30 to 40 branch officials and organisers, over several decades, contributed $48 a month to the fund which was to be used by incumbent officials in union elections to fight off any challenges.
Senator Ketter, the first federal MP to give evidence before the commission, claimed tax deductions on the estimated $576 he paid to the fund each year. But he said he stopped claiming after he engaged a new accountant three years ago. He said he had taken steps with his accountant to have “whatever benefit I received from that rebate’’ refunded to the ATO.
The commission heard that the national executive of the union authorised a $500,000 donation to the federal ALP in the lead up to last year’s election.
The executive also instructed the union’s state branches to employ union organisers who were deployed to work for ALP candidates in marginal electorates across the country including Blair, held by Shayne Neumann and Rankin, formerly held by Craig Emerson.
The Queensland branch paid $179,825 for the organisers — who never worked at the union — with the branch later paid back by the national office.
Counsel assisting the commission, Jeremy Stoljar, asked Senator Ketter about the sacking of organiser Alan Swetman, who had sought the secretary’s position in May last year.
He acknowledged he and other officials went to the house of Mr Swetman and took his union-provided car, but denied action was taken because they wanted to remove him from the union before nominations for the elections closed.
He said Mr Swetman’s performance had been unsatisfactory, that he had used his union-issued mobile phone for private purposes and was operating a “private commercial business”.
Mr Swetman, who gave evidence yesterday, and Ms Perry have both unsuccessfully sought to recover their contributions to the fighting fund.