A new negative Liberal Party political advertisement launched today by leader-in-waiting Peter Costello is insulting to working families says the ACTU.
The advertisement is wrong to suggest that unions are anti-business and is insulting to the millions of Australian working families whose job security and living standards are protected by unions.
ACTU President Sharan Burrow said:
“The job of all unions is to protect secure, well paid employment for Australian working families.
“To achieve this we need profitable businesses that value their workers.
“The idea that unions would somehow want to undermine business is, frankly, absurd.
“Under a Labor Government we would want to work with employers to grow the economy and increase the opportunities for Australian workers.
“This new ad from the Liberal Party is another attempt by John Howard and Peter Costello to distract attention from the real issues facing working people in this election.
“It is a diversion from the hurt caused by the Government’s IR laws to working families and the fact that if they are re-elected the Liberals want to push another 1.5 million workers on to lower-paid AWA individual contracts.
“This is tired rhetoric from a politically desperate Liberal Party.
“John Howard and Peter Costello deceived the Australian public at the last election about their intentions with regard to industrial relations and they are trying to deceive the public again,” said Ms Burrow.
