Statement by UITBB on the passing of Stan Sharkey
It is with great sorrow that we have heard about the demise of the good comrade Stan Sharkey.
Stan Sharkey was a true comrade in the struggles of the working class, not only in Australia but internationally as well.
Personally, I was fortunate enough to meet Stan a few times, and I can safely say that his main characteristic was his faith in our class-based struggles, which, he was certain, are the only way in which workers can achieve the new society he was envisioning, where there will be economic and social equity for all and world peace, without human exploitation.
Stan was always a lifelong, strong supporter of the international solidarity movement and of the Trades Union International of Workers of the Building, Wood and Building Materials Industries (UITBB). In fact, he was instrumental in the preservation of UITBB, in the difficult period following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Stan and his organisation, CFMEU, helped UITBB immensely, so that the organisation can exist and develop today in the construction and allied industries sectors.
On behalf of the workers in the construction industry around the world, we bid farewell to comrade Stan. We are proud because Stan, throughout his life, was one of us.
We promise, expressing our warmest condolences to his family and to CFMEU, that we will continue the struggles on the path carved by Stan and the other comrades around the world, until the final vindication of the working class.
Now resting, comrade Stan Sharkey.
Michalis Papanikolaou
UITBB General Secretary