When unionists launched the Democracy4CPSU caucus in 2023, public servants faced steadily declining wages, the looming threat of job cuts and intensifying workloads across the public sector. The caucus advanced an alternative perspective to that of the incumbent Labor aligned officials. It stood in the union elections under the ticket, Members United (MU). Fast-forward to 2026. Backed by the caucus, MU will again contest the union elections. The group is more organised and determined to deliver real outcomes through building membership power. Data released by the Australian Public Service Commission in August confirmed what workers have known for a long time: pay is not keeping up with inflation. And with the Labor government once more slashing the public service, MU is contesting the upcoming elections to win. It has a real shot of doing so.
Since its formation, the caucus has sharpened its political approach and consolidated a staunch and growing base of supporters among Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) members. MU has formulated a detailed, member-focused election platform for the union’s future — one that fights austerity and centres union democracy.
The platform outlines the key policies the caucus will take to the election. It is the product of collective deliberation and democratic debate. The CPSU is made up of members with many different skills, who share a common strength: the ability to think critically. The policy platform outlines the specifics of changes that the team will implement, should it win the election.
This platform demonstrates the commitment of MU to transparency and accountability. Union members can see its aims and understand how success will be judged. It is also a powerful leadership statement. The industrial platform includes restoring the right to strike, securing a four-day working week with no reduction in pay and achieving pay rises that exceed inflation. It also advocates bringing back the Commonwealth Superannuation Scheme to support early and dignified retirement. The platform pledges to establish a robust strike fund. It commits to revitalise a democratic culture, including mass meetings. A central plank is to hold a plebiscite of members to determine if the union should remain affiliated to the Labor Party. More broadly, the caucus supports restoring AusAID as part of its vision for a stronger, more publicly oriented Australian Public Service and redirecting money into public services instead of military spending, such as AUKUS.
Central to its vision is building and connecting social movements. The platform declares that Palestine is union business. It commits to making an anti-racist union that stands with First Nations. Plus it boldly champions the rights of working women — cis and trans — and pledges to campaign for LGBTIQ+ liberation. The caucus also pledges to protect the right to protest and freedom of expression, noting that workers in the public services do not surrender their rights to be part of the broader society. Guided by the principle, “No jobs on a dead planet,” it calls for urgent action on the climate crisis as a core union issue.
Members United aims to rebuild union power and put members back in charge. It also challenges its rival to publish an equally detailed plan. Christopher Warren, a representative of MU, said that the platform “is a vision for what the CPSU could be. It’s a product of rank-and-file members developing and agreeing on positions on a wide range of issues, including our demands, our strategy, our democratic life, and how we should relate to social movements and civil society more broadly. It offers CPSU members and public sector workers a potential roadmap to where we could go if we had leadership with the courage to implement it.”
Georgiana Lilly, another representative of MU, added that “a union centred in the workplace, empowering the mass of workers to decide for themselves, is how to stop the erosion of institutions and the power grab of the wealthy.” She declares, “with Members United, we are organising for a union which fights for the betterment of our whole lives.”
As wages plummet and attacks on public servants increase, an alternative to the current union bureaucracy — one that builds leadership from the ground up — has never been more urgent. MU draws on the traditions of a once-powerful union movement. Its focus on rebuilding confidence in collective action demonstrates that unions can once again be democratic, militant, and accountable to the people they represent.
Maudie is a CPSU workplace delegate and Democracy 4 CPSU member. Contact the caucus at democracy4cpsu@gmail.com
