CANBERRA, June 16 (Xinhua) -- The leader of the Australian Workers Union (AWU) has demanded the resignation of fellow trade union boss John Setka.
Daniel Walton, the national secretary of the AWU, told Sky News Australia on Sunday that the debate around the embattled Setka, the secretary of the Tasmanian and Victorian division of the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU), was "sucking oxygen" from the union movement.
Setka has been under pressure to resign since Fairfax Media reported that he told a meeting of the union's national executives that the work of anti-domestic violence campaigner Rosie Batty has eroded men's rights through her advocacy work.
Walton said that the average trade union member was a female public servant in her mid-40s, saying union leaders had to be held to a higher standard than the average person.
"The simple fact we have to spend as much time as we are now and throughout the entire week speaking about John Setka means the trade union movement is having its oxygen sucked from out of it to be able to talk about the important things that matter for working people," he added.
Setka on Thursday met with Sally McManus, the leader of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), who urged him to step down.
Anthony Albanese, the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), has moved that the party suspend Setka's membership.
