Keg,. .. .The reason we didn't join the ACTU and obtain the benefits you mentioned is because:. .. .1. The ACTU was a partner in the Prices & Incomes Accord. This piece of Corporatist Industrial Policy was at the heart of our campaign. We claimed a 30% payrise because that is the amount our wages (being foolishly in The Accord for previous 5 years) had diminished in comparison to like professions and occupations (who hadn't gone into The Accord). When we went into The Accord the Prime Minister personally assured our leaders (AFAP) that ALL AUSTRALIANS were entering The Accord for the sake of the nation to control inflation. We found out about his treachery very shortly after we signed the binding Accord documents. Not only hadn't many professional groups entered The Accord but so had Public Servants and even ... Politicians themselves. That is the heart of our claim for 30% and goes to illustrate why when we signalled out intent to exit from The Accord and retrospectivly get the 30% we'd been duped out of - we went headlong into confrontation with not only the Government, but their allies in The Accord, the ACTU.. .. .2. The ALP, the Government and the ACTU made it plain from the beginning of our dispute that we represented at common threat. I remember Simon Crean (then President of the ACTU) on prime time TV news telling us to "get back in the system".. .. .3. The connection between Abeles and Hawke was a personal friendship that carried weight during our dispute, but make no mistake - the ACTU was one of the prime players.. .. .4. The consequences of us effectively exitting from The Accord would have signalled to other unions (both ACTU affiliated and non-affiliated) that it was time to jettison constraints and ask for more. Shortly after our defeat, another union got 'cheeky' and was "reminded of what happened to the pilots...!!". .. .5. It is a crying shame that The Accord is not labelled as it should be. It was a Command Economy technique more akin to something happening in Russia. It was 1989 - even Czechoslovakia (SP?) had stopped using Command Economy methods. Within a year of our dispute Enterprise Bargaining was trumpeted as the new direction!! Spare me - it is exactly what we tried to do and got destroyed for and exiled abroad. .. .So - I hope that answers your question. Believe me, the ACTU via the TWU definetly wanted to body snatch the remants of the AFAP (as they subsequently did) but first, they had several vestsed interests in seeing us demolished with as much force as possible.. .. .The public at large did not want to understand this and/or were denied understanding of this because the Government and the Murdoch media were completely opposed to us and conspired to turn their propogada machine to full scale against the AFAP.. .. .Remember the first casualty of any conflict is the truth.. . . . <small>[ 06 March 2002, 08:08: Message edited by: Waste Gate ]</small>