Tuesday, 2 May 2023

 Bronwyn HALFPENNY (Thomastown) (15:32): I pay tribute to Frank Cherry, a former secretary of the AMWU who sadly passed away on 14 April. Frank has been influential in our union through all its forms since he first joined the Amalgamated Engineering Union in 1951. Beginning as an AEU shop steward and coming through the ranks to become the state secretary in 1988, he was a trade unionist through and through, respected and trusted by the membership and all those who worked with him in the interests of the working class. Frank was a contemporary of and equal to other giants of the Victorian metalworkers union in its heyday – John Halfpenny, Laurie Carmichael, Jim Roulston, Percy Johnson and Neville Hill. Frank was a powerful orator and unrelenting campaigner. He was also one of the most loyal and dedicated members of the metalworkers union that I have ever met.

Following retirement Frank did not stop. He took up leadership roles in the AMWU retired members association and Fair Go for Pensioners Coalition. He brought his skill to these roles and the same fire in the belly. Frank’s passion for workers education, better wages and working conditions, a just society and a world of peace – he did not just talk about it, he fought for these things all his life. It was Frank who fought with others for the 36- and 38-hour week, raising the status of and pay for metalworkers around the country, better health and safety, support for migrant workers and superannuation.

Frank was a good trade unionist, but that was not all he was. He was a man who dearly loved his wife Kath and family, an avid gardener and a staunch friend. He was a peace campaigner, an internationalist leading working people to fight for a better world for all and a relentless advocate for worker education and empowerment. He made a mighty contribution to our movement and lived his values in all aspects of his life.