Union launches 'council of war' against job cuts - ABC Online

Updated March 21, 2013 14:08:55

The union representing Commonwealth public servants has begun what it calls a 'council of war' in Canberra to plan its pre-election campaign against proposed job cuts.

The Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) has already launched an online and social media attack on the Federal Coalition's plan to cut 12,000 public service jobs.

Now, about 90 senior leaders from the CPSU's Governing Council are meeting to plan the next step.

CPSU national secretary Nadine Flood is foreshadowing a high profile public campaign.

"We've got what's really a council of war in Canberra," she said.

"We've got our key national delegates coming together to plan what we do in the lead up to the Federal Election where public services will be at the heart of the political debate.

"This is when we need to make those critical decisions about what we're going to do to take that debate on."

The union leaders will also discuss post election scenarios, including how the CPSU might handle a Coalition government implementing its job cuts.

But Ms Flood says that does not mean the union is giving up on a Labor victory.

"Our obligation is to advocate for our members now in the political debates about public services and jobs and to be ready for whatever outcome the election throws up," she said.

Topics: federal---state-issues, work, public-sector, federal-elections, act, canberra-2600

First posted March 21, 2013 14:06:24