Modern Australian trade unionism and the unionist that I am doesn't rely on a class war view that somehow that the interests of employees and managers are in two separate spheres and they're irreconcilable. I believe that when people can go to work and be happy, satisfied, engaged, where the employer is getting employees who feel their interests are aligned with the employer, you get productivity. This is the future of Australian workplaces.

Bill Shorten

Categorized in : Believe War Views

Once upon a time, I thought denial was a river in Egypt. It's actually the attitude of the Abbott government.

Bill Shorten

egypt government attitude

I've spent my whole working life standing up for workers. Didn't matter if it was the two trapped miners at Beaconsfield or professional netballers or indeed factory workers or construction workers.

Bill Shorten

construction-workers matter two

I want to build a Big Labor party. A party of big ideas. A party which is deeply connected to the community. A party which reflects our diverse nation.

Bill Shorten

community party ideas

Fleeing persecution is not a crime. And we do not seek to pander to a noisy, tiny minority who will never embrace modern multicultural Australia. But there are important truths we must face. There is a history and a reality that we cannot ignore. The challenge before us is real, the questions we grapple with as elemental as life and death.

Bill Shorten

life-and-death australia real

Labor is at its best when we are the party of ideas and action - ideas that empower the powerless and actions that build a better Australia for the long term.

Bill Shorten

australia party ideas

Labor should not be about creating monuments on hills or statues in parks. Labors monuments and statues are when a young person can find a job, when a person with disability can get access to the ordinary life that others take for granted.

Bill Shorten

creating ordinary jobs

What I believe to be every Australian's right - a good, safe job with proper pay and conditions.

Bill Shorten

safe jobs believe

I'm a Christian and a supporter of marriage equality under the law.

Bill Shorten

equality-under-the-law marriage-equality christian

What I've done as a union leader and what literally thousands of other union representatives do, is make sure that we have co-operation in the workplace. What I get is that where employees are well treated, employers do well.

Bill Shorten

unions leader done

Productivity is driven at the enterprise level. Better wages, better performing workplaces, are driven at the workplace level.

Bill Shorten

workplace wages levels

My preference is that employees pay their union dues, but what I also get is that I'd rather someone be in the union than not in the union.

Bill Shorten

preference unions pay

I think it is a cornerstone of our electoral system that you raise electoral funds for elections but that doesn't mean that therefore the implication can be made that the recipients are incapable of transacting their interests and their duties towards people any differently.

Bill Shorten

mean people thinking

Trusting people to pursue their own futures invariably provides better outcomes. Money goes where it is needed, rather than being absorbed by administration costs.

Bill Shorten

cost outcomes people

To the best of my knowledge, when I became national secretary and, indeed, Victorian secretary, the - my predecessors in the union had detected wrong activities, activities which aren't in the best traditions of the AWU or, indeed, trade unionism.

Bill Shorten

unions tradition trade

When I entered federal parliament at the end of 2007, I was appointed parliamentary secretary for disabilities.

Bill Shorten

disability parliament ends

What really matters in a workplace, what helps an employer if you've got a unionised workforce is if your shop stewards know the rules of the game, if your safety reps are taught to be able to examine situations to make sure the workplace is more safety. Better informed delegates, better workplace safety saves companies money. Unions are very good at safety. We are good at teaching delegates how to resolve disputes.

Bill Shorten

safety teaching games

The whole time I was a union leader, we had to put up with John Howard and Tony Abbott attacking workers' conditions. I'm proud of being a moderate trade union official, working co-operatively between employees and employers. I'm interested in better wages for workers, better safety, job security, and, profitable companies, because I understand that if you get co-operation in the workplace, everyone wins.

Bill Shorten

safety winning jobs

I'm proud of my record of negotiating agreements, representing people and making sure that both employers and employees could get the best out of going to work every day.

Bill Shorten

records agreement people

This is appalling and disgraceful behavior.

Bill Shorten

world

It's time that we rewarded mums for participating in the economy instead of penalizing families.

Bill Shorten

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