Paddy Crumlin
This opinion piece is from Marine Cafe: Paddy Crumlin, the dynamic and tough-talking national secretary of the Maritime Union of Australia, was elected president of the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) during its world congress in Mexico City that ended on 12th August. We have no doubts that Mr Crumlin will add more vigour to the organisation, which represents 4.6 million members of 760 trade unions worldwide.
The man seems perfectly fitted for the job. A former seafarer, Mr Crumlin has been a full-time union official since 1987. The ITF notes that, as its vice-president for the Asia-Pacific region, he “has demonstrated a capacity to reach across different sectors of the ITF to consolidate and lead a wide range of objectives.” In Australia, Mr Crumlin oversaw the development of the Australian Transport Unions Federation; successfully campaigned for the sub-regional office of the Asia-Pacific regional sector of the ITF now based in Sydney; and led the formation of “strategic alliances” between Australian, New Zealand and Regional unions, including the Oil and Gas Alliance and Trans-Tasman Transport Alliance.