Speech by
Tony Maher, CFMEU National President
NSW Parliament House, 17 August 2006

The retirement of John Maitland, CFMEU National Secretary


With John Maitland’s retirement we pay tribute to the last of the original architects of the CFMEU. During the 1980s Tom McDonald, Jack Cambourn, Trevor Smith and John Maitland devised a plan for a radically new union. At a time when unions were faced with the pressure to change in an increasingly competitive global economy, there were a range of approaches. Some unions resisted the pressure to change. Some went along with plans devised by others. John Maitland and his comrades developed their own plan to build industry based unionism out of what was to become a convoy of about 13 union amalgamations. Their concept was quite different to most other union amalgamations because it resulted in the transfer of members and officials and employees and assets into industry based divisions.

We shouldn’t underestimate the significance of that design and the fact that over the following 20 years it would be critical to the survival of the union. John Maitland was General President of the Miners Federation, arguably the most militant, respected, and well resourced union organisation in the country. A union that was fiercely independent and strong. To go and argue for fundamental structural change, which involved sharing the leadership of the union with, at times bitter rivals, was typical of the bravery associated with John Maitland’s leadership of the Miners Federation. Those of us who have struggled through the upheavals of the mining industry in the 1990’s, the massive disputes, know all too well that union organisation wouldn’t have survived in the mining industry without that brave decision, without that brave leadership. If we had had two production unions in the mining industry during the 1990s I’m confident neither would have survived. So that period of history has to be remembered for both bravery and foresight. They are qualities you want in leaders. And they are the qualities we have in John Maitland.

John was, with Trevor Smith, the first Joint National President, of the CFMEU and Vic Fitzgerald and Stan Sharkey were the first Joint National Secretaries. Of that particular gang of four, John is the last to retire. In 1998 he succeeded Stan and became the full time national secretary of the union. Again, he had no need to take on new responsibilities, he could have easily stayed with the miners but could see the CFMEU had great challenges before it as we were specifically targeted by the Howard Government. Mining and Construction in particular were targeted by the Government for deunionisation, for destruction. Despite these great difficulties, he took on the job. This is a man who does not shirk responsibility. He thrives on such challenges. If union leaders were comic book characters, John would be Action Man. He has such incredible optimism, enthusiasm and energy. I had the privilege of succeeding him as General President of the Miners and I’ve got to tell you, it’s a little bit like going in to bat after Bradman had scored a century.

During his term as CFMEU National Secretary, he took on the additional responsibilities of becoming the President of our International Global Union Federation, the ICEM. Playing such a prominent role in a global organisation from a base in Australia is an extremely huge task, physically and mentally. Only those with the constitution of an ox could have survived. That constitution served him well in a great many international forums. And we can all be proud that he did devote so much time and energy to international work. John’s international work has been mentioned by many speakers already but I want to emphasise two things. Firstly, John has been a pioneer in dragging the international union movement from the talkshop to the workshop. Global unions will have no future unless they undergo fundamental change and develop campaigning capacity. No one has contributed more than John Maitland to that process.

The second point is the ‘Maitland effect’ on the reputation of our union and of Australian unions in general in the international trade union movement community. Wherever he goes he is hailed as a long lost brother and treated as a king. And rightly so. I’ve witnessed him give hope to workers in developing countries and to successfully challenge workers in developed countries to reach out globally.

The final point I’d make is on a personal level. I have learnt a great deal from John over the years. Some are obvious, like how to wind up a crowd and get them really angry. He’s really good at that and it’s a lot of fun. Like thinking outside the square developing non industrial campaigns to achieve the same result. Some are less obvious, such as how we should revere and utilise the power of unions history and traditions including our retired miners.

Like all truly great leaders John has treated staff and colleagues with respect and dignity. There is no doubt that John leaves behind a legion of workers, delegates, officials, employees, who’ve all benefited from his leadership, encouragement and dynamism.

John the legacy you leave is this great union you helped build, all the cadres you helped develop and an international union movement you’ve jolted into action. The only way we can thank you is to assure you that the Union will remain committed to a militant approach, a smart approach, a progressive socialist approach, and will always be internationalist in our outlook.

John, on behalf of every National and Branch Official, even more importantly on behalf of every CFMEU rank and file member, thank you for your incredible contribution to the betterment of the lives of your fellow man. We wish you and Carole, Justin and Shannon all the best in the many years to come.