Non-compliant union deals won't get government work under Abbott

    by: Ewin Hannan, Industrial editor
    From: The Australian
    August 30, 2013

   

STRICT rules banning builders from bidding for government-funded work if they sign union deals that do not comply with a strengthened industry code are being considered by the Coalition.      

Liberal MP Paul Fletcher told The Australian that the Coalition was considering a tough construction code, similar to that which operated under the Howard government, as part of its plans to reinstate the Australian Building and Construction Commission.

If he wins the election, Tony Abbott has promised to reinstate the ABCC within three months of the first parliamentary sitting after the poll. He has asked a group chaired by Mr Fletcher to present a detailed plan by today about how to re-establish the commission.

Mr Fletcher said the working group was considering proposals to make changes to the existing code and have it operate as it did under the Howard government.


"In our consultations in relation to the Coalition policy on restoring the ABCC, we have been looking at the full range of powerful tools that the ABCC deployed when it was operational," he said.

"Amongst those was the national code and guidelines dealing with effectively what the commonwealth required from construction companies that bid for commonwealth work.

"The advice was that it was a pretty effective tool and that is something we're looking at."

Employers are pushing the Coalition to reverse changes to the code made by Workplace Relations Minister Bill Shorten in January. Master Builders Australia claims Mr Shorten's changes frustrated controversial attempts by the Victorian government to crack down on so-called union-friendly workplace agreements.

The Greens, who will have the balance of power in the Senate until at least next July, oppose the reinstatement of the ABCC.      

Industry sources said changes to the code could be done before July through regulation rather than legislation, but some workplace lawyers have questioned whether the changes could be enacted without legislation.

The Greens and the ALP could combine to vote down regulations.    

Greens deputy leader Adam Bandt said last night: "If an Abbott government makes regulations to restrict the construction industry's right to bargain, we will move to disallow them, and if Labor stands firm we can stop this attack on people's rights at work."    

Mr Shorten said last night the Liberal Party's determination to "take Australia back to the ABCC shows a return to WorkChoices lurks just below the surface".      

He said the current building industry regulation arrangements were working well.

The Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union said Mr Fletcher's comments "belled the cat" by showing that the Coalition intended to return to aspects of Work Choices.           

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are you stupid or something??  (obvious answer of course).  this is about the building industry requiring the unions to *shock horror* obey the law.

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comments by a union leader dont exactly carry much in the way of credibility.  just like the ALP, they will say anything (regardless of facts) and do anything (regardless of law) to stop Abbott.

and you are losing badly.

We know the coalition cant be trusted on industrial relation anyway.  One only has to look at their past.

longweekend58 wrote on Aug 30^th, 2013 at 8:58am:


Sorry LW but it was not the union who said it - Liberal MP Paul Fletcher is the guy you are looking for in terms of credibility. All that the Union guy did was to correctly associate the meaning of the MP's words.

It is a no brainer LW we are going back to mean - rotten - putrid IR policy from the masters of the art.

the party led by bad hAbbott.

The more confident the grubs get the closer we get to workchoices in their rhetoric.

Sat week is the difference between workchoice rhetoric and re implementation.

Dnarever wrote on Aug 30^th, 2013 at 9:06am:


yeah imagine eliminating corruption and stand-over tactics...  how evil.

the building industry is its own worst enemy.  And we (the libs) are the solution.

Yeah, but only a de facto return to WorkChoices... 

Beware the Son of WorkChoices which flieth by day, and shun The Hand That Signed The Paper that imprisoned The Redhead Mk I from Ipswich..... and handled the bankroll that did this...

Such is the plight of democracy here in the Wonderful Land of Oz.... 

Vote 1 - Responsible Government Of, For and By The People!