As you know, I recently took leave from my position as Branch Secretary of the ASU Private Sector Branch to stand for ALP preselection in the Western Metropolitan Region.
I was successful and will run for Parliament at the next state election in November 2018. I’d like to thank all of you for your well-wishes and support over the past two months.
I will continue in my current role at the ASU until the Branch Executive appoints my replacement next year. I understand the great privilege it is to carry your voice into the public debates and industrial negotiations that affect your life and determine your rights and conditions at work.
Please be assured that I will invest the same energy and time in the job over the coming months as I have in the past 12 years as Branch Secretary and 24 years working for the union I love.
Together, we have achieved a great deal over those years, thanks to you and thousands of other members working through their union to demand change:
- Pursuing equal pay, including ground breaking provisions to address the superannuation gender pay gap
- Securing government procurement policy promoting ethical local jobs across the service sector
- Winning Domestic Violence leave in EBA’s and the important and ongoing fight to secure DV leave in the National Employment Standards
- Recognition of the skills of white collar workers and securing an appropriate safety net
- An end to sham contracting and insecure working arrangements in our industries that undermine our living standards
Those achievements are only matched in significance by the challenges in front of us, including changing the rules to make our workplace laws fair for working people. I am very confident that our union is in a strong position to meet that challenge and make the changes we want to see in this country.
If I am elected to parliament I will continue to advocate for the issues critical to ASU members including decent steady jobs, education, housing, infrastructure and equality, and I will continue to be a strong advocate for working people.
Once again, thank you for your support and if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Yours in Unity,
Ingrid Stitt
Branch Secretary
