Rod Madgwick, Retired Senior Judge
"Unfortunately, not all Australian workers are equal before the law.
Construction workers are subject to industrial laws such as we have never before seen in this country.
They can be fined up to $22,000 for stopping work and jailed for up to six months for refusing to answer questions about a workplace meeting.
One law for construction workers and another law for everybody else."
Five reasons why the ABCC and its laws should be immediately abolished:
1. The ABCC is discriminatory:
The laws enforced by the ABCC do not apply to any other industry. Construction workers deserve the same rights as all other workers.
2. The powers of the ABCC are unjustifiable:
The ABCC has draconian powers to compel construction workers to speak about what happened at a union meeting, and can fine individual workers up to $20,000 for standing up for their rights at work. Even the police don’t have the same powers as the ABCC.
3. These laws are made for big companies:
Big construction companies are the only ones to benefit from having the laws in place. The ABCC has never prosecuted an employer for ripping off workers since it’s inception.
4. The economic case for the ABCC has been shattered by Honourable Justice Wilcox:
The employers case for the retention of the ABCC and its’ repressive powers rested on the argument that it made the construction industry more efficient. This has been proven to be false and the argument dismissed by Justice Wilcox in his interim report on the ABCC.
5. Australia is in Breach of ILO Conventions:
The ABCC and its laws put Australia in breach of ILO conventions in relation to employees rights to organise and collectively bargain. Australia has ignored all requests from the ILO to comply with their internationally binding ruling.
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