A defiant Health Services Union (HSU) national secretary Kathy Jackson wants the union’s national executive to resign and let members elect a new leadership.
The woman who blew the whistle on the Craig Thomson affair says the union’s acting national president Chris Brown is refusing to meet with her.
Under HSU rules the secretary and president can jointly call an executive meeting.
She said the meeting was urgently needed to deal with the suspension of the union from the ACTU.
“What happened last week must be seen as a vote of no-confidence in the HSU national executive by the ACTU and its affiliates,” Ms Jackson said.
“Without hearing of all the measures we’ve put in place since 2007, the ACTU basically told our union’s members that the national executive has failed them.”
She said only the entire resignation of the national executive and a new election by members can restore the confidence of the membership.
Ms Jackson said several members of the executive who met privately on Monday morning to call for the resignation of national president Michael Williamson are now trying to remove her.
“I don’t think these people get it – they’re playing the same boy’s games that got us here in the first place,” she said.
“Replacing Mr Williamson now in a back-room deal isn’t going to restore members’ confidence, not after the ACTU’s actions.”
Mr Williamson was suspended from the union last October on full pay following allegations he embezzled union funds.
He denies any wrongdoing.
Ms Jackson said Mr Brown regards her as “a problem” because she won’t play his game of pretending he’s a reformer.
“The problem I pose for him is that I won’t do what he wants,” she said.
“Now that he knows the game is up for Williamson he’s jumping on the bandwagon.”
She said she flushed out corruption that took place in the Thomson era and now she’s flushed out further corruption in the union’s powerful East branch.
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