The AMWU joined with other unions in the construction industry last week to discuss a national campaign for the abolition of the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC) – a body set up by the Howard Government to restrict the ability of unions to do their job in the building industry.
The Rudd Government has pledged to scrap the ABCC by 2010, but unions are calling for it to be scrapped immediately.
The unions met after several workers were interrogated about what was said and took place at union meetings. An official of the CFMEU in Victoria is facing jail after defying an ABCC order to attend a meeting and answer questions relating to union activity.
AMWU Assistant National Secretary Glenn Thompson said that there was no reason for the Rudd Government to hang onto the ABCC since they had promised to scrap WorkChoices.
“The ABCC and the special laws for the building industry are part of Howard’s IR laws and they should not remain in place.
“The government should not be keeping laws that single out workers in the construction industry for restricted activity and harsh penalties. Construction workers are like workers in any other industry – there should be no discrimination.”
The AMWU has long been a critic of the ABCC and the special powers of the organisation.
“It’s totally unacceptable to us that any organisation has the ability to summon people to compulsory ‘interrogations’ with the threat of fines or jail and to make it illegal to discuss what was said there,” said Thompson.
“The laws have made construction workers nervous about raising health and safety matters or taking action to protect themselves.”
A number of workers around Australia have been questioned and fined by the ABCC for taking action on safety, for attempting to secure a placement for an apprentice and in one well known case, 107 workers in West Australia were threatened with $28,000 fines for taking industrial action in response to the sacking of their delegate.
Representatives from the International Labour Organisation have also intervened in this matter, calling on Workplace Relations Minister Julia Gillard to get rid of laws that contravene international workers’ rights.
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