Construction workers will continue to be discriminated against under proposed new laws: from AWU 03 April 2009
http://www.awu.net.au/261_5.html
http://www.rightsonsite.org.au
Construction workers will have fewer rights than other employees and will continue to be discriminated against if the recommendations of the Wilcox Inquiry are adopted, unions say.
In June 2008 the Minister for Employment and Industrial Relations appointed Justice Wilcox to undertake a report on the continuing operations of the Building and Construction Industry Improvement Act 2005 and the creation of a specialist division for the building industry within the soon to be established Department of Fair Work Australia.
The Wilcox Report was to recommend what authorities and powers a building industry specialist department would require. This included if the
specialist department needed the wide ranging coercive powers of the current Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC).
With Wilcox recommending the retention of these ABCC powers, this represents an attack on the civil liberties of workers in our industry. They breach Australia�s commitment to international labour standards.
When these laws were introduced into parliament by the Howard government, Kevin Rudd said �International labour standards are integral to a civilised international order that seeks to eliminate (not encourage) exploitation in the workplace�
The report by former judge Murray Wilcox is based on flawed anecdotal evidence and its recommendations for a new specialist division of the Fair Work Ombudsman, with coercive powers to interrogate construction workers would, if adopted, be a breach of workers’ rights, says the ACTU.
Report does not go far enough
ACTU Secretary Jeff Lawrence said the report recommends some improved safeguards for workers, but does not go far enough and key elements should be rejected by the Government.
“Building and construction workers should not be treated any differently to the rest of the Australian workforce,” Mr Lawrence said.
“It is inappropriate for there to be a specialist unit set up to investigate and prosecute construction workers. After promising signs, Mr Wilcox has failed to bite the bullet and recommend the abolition of discriminatory laws for construction workers.
Special laws unnecssary and unfair
“Special laws for construction workers are unnecessary and unfair. They are a hangover from the Howard Government’s attempt to give employers too much power and silence unions.
They have wasted millions of dollars of taxpayers’ money by pursuing offences as trivial as flying a Eureka flag and should be fully abolished.
“The Howard Government’s Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC) has been allowed to operate without any supervision or accountability and to trample over the rights of workers. If Mr Wilcox’s recommendations are all adopted by the Government, not enough will change.”
He said workers would continue to face the prospect of being hauled into interrogations and threatened with jail if they don’t co-operate or try to exercise their right to silence.
Failed to raise workplace safety standards
“It is abhorrent that building workers can be jailed or fined simply for observing their rights, including the right of silence during interrogations that are about how they do their job.
“Construction is one of Australia’s most dangerous industries with many building workers being injured or killed at work each year and yet specialist laws for the industry have failed to raise safety standards.
“Mr Wilcox admits the justification for a separate watchdog is if it helps improve productivity or industrial harmony, yet he has not been able to come up with hard evidence of either being achieved.
Self-serving employer research wants to stop workers joining unions
“In fact, the report confirms research conducted by Econtech for the ABCC was seriously flawed.
“Other research considered by the inquiry includes employer-commissioned surveys and two case studies submitted by employers.
” This self-serving ‘evidence’ is clearly inadequate and casts serious doubt on the validity of the report’s findings. Unsurprisingly, the construction companies that were surveyed support regulations to prevent construction workers from exercising their right to join and be active in a union.
“The Government should abandon the idea of a specialist unit for the building and construction industry and rely on IR laws that treat all workers equally, regardless of what industry they work in,” said Mr Lawrence.
Wilcox had this to say about the retention of these coercive powers, ‘the
only possible justification for having especially restrictive rules for the
building and construction industry must be that this is necessary to provide
industrial peace and an acceptable level of productivity�.’
Wilcox also based his call to maintain the coercive powers in the specialist
division on anecdotal evidence of lawlessness in the industry.
Last year, 50 workers lost their lives working on building sites across
Australia. One worker dies every week in this country. In a lot of cases
these deaths occur because bosses have been pushing workers to obtain
unreasonable levels of productivity by cutting corners and/or just
neglecting to provide proper safety systems of work.
This is the lawlessness in the industry that Wilcox has neglected to
address. It has been the trade unions that have constantly raised the issue
of the unacceptable level of carnage in our industry.
The construction industry needs strong unions and strong safety laws. Not
strong laws that encourage bosses to exploit building and construction
workers.
The coercive powers that currently exist and have been recommended to be
maintained by Wilcox until January 2015 have no place in a civilised
democratic society.
To restore justice on construction sites we need all workers in the industry
to support the union and to pull together and defend one another.
HOW YOU CAN HELP DEFEAT THESE UNJUST LAWS
1. Organise your workplace to participate in acknowledging workers
killed at work on April 28, 2009, the International Day of Mourning.
2. Join the Rights On Site campaign at
http://www.cfmeu-construction-nsw.com/taabolabcc.htm
E-mail the Prime Minister Kevin Rudd by going to
http://www.pm.gov.au/
E-mail the Workplace Relations Minister Julia Gillard at
julia.gillard.mp@aph.gov.au
Fax the Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on (02) 6273 4100
Fax the Workplace Relations Minister Julia Gillard on (02) 6273
4115
3. Talk to your friends and workmates and ensure they have a better
understanding of this attack on building and construction workers. Move
the suggested motion below at your workplace:
This meeting of construction union delegates/stewards condemns the Wilcox Report for its support for the continuation of a different and inferior set of industrial rights for construction workers than for all other Australian
workers.
The Report once again focuses on union conduct and does not address the
single biggest issue of unlawful behaviour in the industry, namely the
breach of health and safety laws by employers which results in needless
deaths and injuries in our industry every week.
The Report has failed to recognise the blatant anti-union political role
played by the ABCC for the last 3½ years which has given the major corporate employers an unfair advantage in industrial disputes, at taxpayers� expense.
It has also ignored the findings of the International Labour Organisation
which has condemned these unjust laws no less than six times.
These laws are worse than Workchoices. Whilst ever they remain, the Rudd
Government has not fulfilled its promise to the Australian people to bring
fairness back into our workplaces.
Our campaign for workplace justice will continue until these disgraceful
laws are buried once and for all.
4. Contact the union and get an organiser on your site to make sure it
is safe.

Rights on site campaigns to abolish the ABCC


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