Kangaroo Court Back For Union Members?

Members of the federal police could be assigned to monitor the activities of unions on building sites as part of plans by the new Coalition government to criminalise union activity.

Prime Minister-elect Tony Abbott is considering a range of non-parliamentary measures as it faces a likely challenge in the Senate from Greens and Labor to plans to bring back the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC).

Richard Calver, legal counsel at Master Builders, said there were a number of interim measures the government could introduce that would change the outlook ahead of being able to bring back the ABCC.

Mr Abbott pledged to bring back the ABCC within 100 days of the first sitting of Parliament if elected, but may have to wait until the composition of the Senate changes in July next year to get the necessary legislation through the upper house, where the Greens still hold the balance of power.

Senator Eric Abetz is expected to take on responsibility of the ABCC and have a far stricter industrial relations approach as workplace relations ­minister. Paul Fletcher – federal member for Bradfield, who sat on the Coalition ­committee that consulted with builders, union and stakeholders and delivered its report to Mr Abbott and Mr Abetz on August 30 said the government was committed to moving quickly in this area.

Liberal member for Kooyong Josh Frydenberg, who also sat on the committee, said the  Coalition was “absolutely” committed to bringing back the ABCC within its 100-days time frame. “It’s one of the foundations of our economic pillars,” he said.

CFMEU construction and general national secretary Dave Noonan said the union would continue to publicly point out that any legislation goes through Parliament must comply with Australia’s obligation under International Labour Organisation (ILO) treaties. He said the previous ABCC had been found to be in breach of the ILO treaty and warned that workplace safety had declined under the previous ABCC.

In a report handed in 2010, the ILO made a new ruling strongly criticising the role of Government Inspectors in the ABCC for abandoning their traditional role - which is, protecting workers and enforcing their legal entitlements. The ILO is the United Nations international body responsible for protecting basic work rights and is made up of representatives from governments, employers and workers.

The ILO Committee of Experts found:

• the prosecution of workers should not be the primary duty of ABCC inspectors; that should be the protection of workers
• the ABCC is biased in chasing workers not employers
• the policy of prosecuting workers was made worse by the fact that the laws under which the cases were brought have themselves been repeatedly found to be in breach of fundamental labour standards
• prosecution of workers by ABCC inspectors prejudices the authority and impartiality needed between inspectors, employers and workers.