4AUSTRALIA.
PRIME MINISTER
FOR PRESS MAY 18, 1976
TRADE UNION TALKS
Talks are to be held with the Trade Union Movement on
June 7,11 and 12 following the return of Mr Hawke from
the I. L. O. Conference in Geneva and before the departure
of the Prime Minister to Japan and China.
I will be spending a significant amount of time at the
Conference. It will be attended by senior Ministers
among them the Minister for Employment and Industrial
Relations, the Treasurer, and other specialist Ministers
such as the Minister for Business and Consumer Affairs,
and the Minister for Industry and Commerce.
W e will be prepared to discuss with Mr Hawke whether there
are particular areas where he would like Government
expertise to be made available to the Trade Union Movement.
At the Conference the Government will lay fully on the table
the advice available on the economy from the Treasury,
the Reserve Bank and other Departments so there can be the
fullest possible understanding of the state of Australia.
It will be open at the Conference for discussion to take
place on options, possibilities, and opportunities.
For the Government, I am glad that Mr Hawke and the A. C. T. U.
have responded to the request by the Minister for Employment
and Industrial Relations as a result of my statement last night.
This may be a beginning but it is an indication that diverse
groups can recognise a common cause and work for that cause.
I have had a number of conversations with Mr Hawke and so
has the Minister for Employment and Industrial Relations.
These conversations have been cooperative and constructive.
We are about to embark on equivalent talks with employers.
The President of the A. C. T. U. made a request to us concerning
industrial legislation. We indicated that we would not
proclaim that legislation although we would wish it to go
through Parliament. / 2
Wewould also be prepared to listen to views the union
movement may express and we would do that without prejudice.
The talks which Mr Street has already held with the unions
concerning secret ballot legislation had already
resulted in modification to that legislation.
By the time these talks take place union delegates will have
had the opportunity to examine these modifications
in detail.
I have given a complete guarantee that the Government will
examine the views put forward by the union delegates in
good faith.
I also emphasise that the Government is committed to the
principal of secret ballot legislation. S
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