UNIONS should break their formal links with Labor and be prepared to act ''strategically'', backing independents and other parties when they act in the interests of workers, according to a top union official.
Electrical Trades Union state secretary Dean Mighell, writing in The Age today, said unions had been compromised by their affiliation with the Labor Party.
''By remaining affiliated with the ALP, unions are automatically the enemy of the Liberals and National Party. And I seriously question if their stance on trade unions would be as severe if unions were not an intrinsic part of their political rival,'' Mr Mighell said.
Mr Mighell said the unions' campaign against WorkChoices before the 2007 election showed that they could be a powerful lobby group. But he said the ACTU had failed to campaign against serious flaws in the Rudd government's Fair Work laws.
Mr Mighell said the ACTU's influence had declined along with union membership as both refused to adopt a policy at odds with Labor. ''This strategy simply hasn't delivered.''
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