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and that a period of hospitalisation was involved, further.
                                                              medical  tests  were  required  followed  by  a  period  of
                                                              recuperation at home. Clearly, ‘sick leave’ is applicable,
                                                              and  the  publishers  don’t’  take  issue  with  that,  or  with
                                                              officials taking compassionate leave as appropriate.

                                                              What is objectionable of course, is that the two elected
                                                              officials have seen fit to lie, or at the very least, mislead
                                                              the members on the facts of the matter – why on earth
     The rank & file newsletter focused on Qld branch and     would they do so, we just don’t know. In any event such
     national MUA policy & direction.                         conduct is to be called out. Remember, you don’t lie to

                Edition #12   June 18 - 2021                  the members. Ever!

    Our take on Branch reports to members….                   Our next story concerns relieving official Mike O’Shane
                                                              and his report to members in the same Qld Branch News
    It’s a little-known fact that during Tas Bull’s leadership,   which  comprised  his  earlier  speech  at  the  May  Day
    when new people particularly those from outside of the    celebrations in Gladstone. It was an extensive speech of
    membership started at the National Office of the WWF,     about 1500 words, well expressed and well written.
    Tas would take them aside for a friendly chant, his main
    core message being “don’t ever lie to our members”. This   There’s  only  one  problem.  We  have  enough  previous
    was usually followed by a dire warning that “if you do tell   correspondence, emails, and reports from Mike to know
    lies  to  our  member,  don’t  bother  coming  back  to  the   the  May  Day  speech  was  not  solely  his  work. At  best,
    office!”                                                  there was a great deal of collaboration with others on the
                                                              finished  article.    There  is  absolutely  no  problem  with
    For  Tas,  it  was  quite  simple,  officials  could  make   obtaining  assistance  or  collaborating  with  others  to
    mistakes, stuff up or get something plain wrong and be    produce a finished piece of work.  Our issue relates to the
    forgiven. However, the membership has a right to expect   taking of credit for the work of others, in his union role.
    their officials would never knowingly lie or mislead them.
    A ‘pact’ if you will, between members and their elected   We accept its more likely to be the case of not thinking
    union officials.                                          through the  consequences  of  not  acknowledging  some
                                                              assistance, rather than any deliberate attempt to mislead
    This  is  a  timely  reminder  of  standards  of  conduct   his fellow union members.  All that was required was an
    expected of officials, especially considering a number of   opening sentence acknowledging “this speech has been
    reports  within  the  recent  editions  of  the  Queensland   developed in collaboration with members of my family and
    Branch News which included a number of porkies.           /or  community  and/or  the  union,  as  appropriate.”  On
                                                              reflection, Mike O’Shane might consider he would have
    Admittedly,  neither  of  them  on  this  occasion  greatly   obtained  more  pride  in  delivering  the  speech  with  that
    impact on member interests. Nevertheless, once you start   inclusion. Senior officials should have ensured he did so.
    being loose with the truth, it becomes easier to justify the
    next time, even on matters  of a far more critical nature –   Historical Facts..
    for that reason, they need to be called out!
                                                              Our  next  story  in  this  article  is  more  a  correction  of
    A case in point concerns the Acting Branch Secretary’s    historical fact and concerns the April Special Edition of
    report in the June 8 edition of the Qld Branch News that   the  Qld  Branch  News  dedicated  to  the  award  of  life
    in the previous week he had taken “ compassionate leave,   membership by long-serving Branch Secretary Mick Carr.
    to attend some unforeseen personal matters”.
                                                              Carr recounts that in 1993 he had the opportunity to travel
    In our last R&F edition, we reported on the Acting Branch   around the  State  inspecting  port  authorities’  operations
    Secretary’s  absence  on  sick  leave.  This  prompted  a   with  Tas  Bull,  who  was  preparing  submissions  and
    demand  from  the  Assistant  Branch  Secretary  Paul     evidence for the case. He said the Commission favoured
    Gallagher that we retract our claim that the Acting Branch   the Maritime Union and the decision ran to 300 pages –
    Secretary was on sick leave because - he was absent on    “It was very satisfying to go down to Fisherman Island and
    compassionate leave at the time.                          sign-up  workers  who  previously  were covered by  land-
                                                              based Union with no port affiliation”.
    Compassionate  leave  usually  relates  to  close  family
    matters, such as a death in the family, or sick child, or   Mick Carr may well have travelled up and down the Qld
    spouse for example. In other words, the event relates to   with Tas Bull leading up to the amalgamation, but it was
    another  person.  Sick  leave  becomes  due  in  such     most certainly not for the purposes of Tas Bull preparing
    circumstances relating to ill health or injury (other than   submissions  and  evidence  for  the  port  authority  case.
    work related) of the employee concerned.                  That  work  was  carried  out  almost  entirely  by  Greg
                                                              Combet,  then  WWF  Industrial  Officer  and  the  ACTU-
    Upon checking our sources, a number of members have       based Waterfront Unions Research Unit.
    confirmed each other’s reports that they were informed by
    officials, that the Acting Branch Secretary had fallen ill,   Page.1
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