- by Anna Pha
- The Guardian
- Issue #2116
"CFMEU – Here To Stay!" banner at rally in Sydney. Photo: Anna Pha
The High Court has agreed to hear a case by sacked CFMEU officials from the Construction Division of the CFMEU against the Albanese government for putting the union in the hands of an administrator.
Three leaders of the CFMEU construction division’s Queensland branch allege the Albanese government’s Administration Act and provisions it introduced into the Registered Organisations Act and the Fair Work Act are unconstitutional, breaching separation of powers principles, and therefore invalid.
Five unions have so far indicated their willingness to contribute millions of dollars to challenge the legislation appointing an administrator to take over the union in the High Court.
SA CFMEU CLEARED BUT …
In South Australia, a police investigation has found that the CFMEU has not engaged in criminal behaviour in South Australia, yet it has been placed in administration along with all the other branches of the union.
In July, Premier Peter Malinauskas asked SA Police to launch an investigation into the union following interstate allegations that the CFMEU had links with organised crime and bikie gangs.
“Their advice on the back of that exercise to us is that there has been no evidence of criminal behaviour undertaken by South Australian elements of the CFMEU,’’ Malinauskas said. “That is welcome news, but that has not changed the fact that we are absolutely committed to the supporting of the CFMU being put into administration.
“While there hasn’t been any evidence of criminal behaviour, that doesn’t mean there hasn’t been evidence of behaviour that is unwelcome and inconsistent with the best traditions of the labour movement.’’
For Malinauskus, not being guilty is no reason not be punished.
SOLIDARITY
A number of unions and other organisations have expressed solidarity with the CFMEU and joined the large rallies at the end of August.
The Maritime Union of Australia (MUA), a division of the CFMEU, said: “Our Division remains deeply concerned by the legislative precedent established by the Federal government to remove trade union rights on the basis of untested media allegations. We are also concerned by the near certainty that similar future legislation will be used by governments of either stripe against other militant blue-collar unions, including the MUA.
“When a criminal conspiracy between Patrick Stevedores and the then Howard government was revealed in the release of Cabinet papers, no criminal investigation or proceedings were ever launched. This double standard goes to the heart of the MUA’s determination to join and fund a High Court challenge against these laws. We have been on the receiving end of these calculated political and media smears in the past and will support our fellow members in the Construction Division as they seek to clear their names and fight for the principles of natural justice, presumption of innocence, the rules of evidence, and procedural fairness.
“We are supporting our federated Union’s members in the construction industry and backing them in as they fight for the right of their Division to exist. The have been and remain central to the protection of trade union and labour rights both in the construction industry, the maritime sector and more broadly for all Australian and international working women and men that benefit from the strength of the CFMEU,” the MUA said.
HOUSE PRICES
Labour constitutes around 40 per cent of construction costs at the most. The Australian Bureau of Statistics attributes growing costs to an increase in the prices of building materials, fuel and energy. As for take-home pay, Jobs and Skills Australia shows that the $1,538 a week median income of a construction worker is lower than all industries median earnings of $1,600.
Add to that mismanagement of construction projects, the transient nature of the work, the dangerous and physical nature of the work, the difficulty of working in the industry until an older age – construction workers deserve every cent they earn and more. Above all they need a strong militant union to protect their interests.
Unethical and illegal behaviour that is rife in the industry must be addressed but the government has targeted the union, not the bosses.
Anyone who watched the ABC’s 4 Corners on 9 September will have seen just how corrupt the developers are, yet they have gone unscathed for years despite numerous complaints. Are they under an administrator? Also corrupt insurance companies and strata management companies that are linked to the developers – have they been taken over by an administrator? The answer to these questions is NO.
It is called capitalism. The state, and its apparatuses act in the interests of corporations, of big capital against working people.
The attack on the CFMEU must be defeated and the union returned to its members.
The CFMEU is here to stay!
