Dear Editor,
I wish to commend Mr Sherwood Clarke in his letter captioned “A welcome union tribute from Prime Minister Spencer” (08.01.19) for calling for legislation to deal with the agency shop issue. I think that this should be done but like all the other writers who have written about this issue, Mr Clarke does workers and the movement a grave injustice by not calling for legislation to protect the dues paid by workers from corrupt trade union leaders.
This refusal to discuss the problems within the movement and the way it is being governed is unfortunate. Mr Clarke should not be like others who try to divert attention by blaming government for everything and not holding the leaders of the movement accountable. The movement cannot deliver what workers deserve when some leaders are more concerned with their own personal satisfaction and not looking after the needs of the general membership. How can the movement claim to be democratic if some of its leaders have been in office for decades?
I urge Mr Clarke to support me and call for legislation to be passed to protect workers’ money paid to trade unions as dues or does he think that this is unnecessary?
Yours faithfully,
Samantha Ali