CFMMEU crackdown by industry watchdog vows to provide more resources
The boss of Australia’s construction industry watchdog has warned he is fighting back against the “state of defiance” plaguing Queensland’s construction industry, with an unprecedented crackdown on the CFMMEU.
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THE construction industry watchdog has vowed to “draw a line in the sand” in an unprecedented crackdown on the CFMMEU.
In an exclusive interview with The Courier-Mail, Australian Building and Construction commissioner Stephen McBurney has warned he is fighting back against the “state of defiance” plaguing the state’s construction industry.
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The ABCC launched 38 investigations into alleged unlawful behaviour in 2018, including 19 relating to right-of-entry breaches and six into illegal strikes.
Investigations into unlawful industrial activity in the state more than doubled in 2018, while a record $1.3 million in fines was handed down against the union.
But Mr McBurney said in 2019 the ABCC would put even more resources into Queensland in a bid to crack down on the CFMMEU.
“We find our resources are stretched at the moment. We’ve got Brisbane and the Gold Coast where there is significant activity, but also in north Queensland,” he said.
Mr McBurney said union bosses storming construction sites without permits was the biggest problem and that Queensland faced “significant issues … more so than in any other state”.
Illegal picketing will also be targeted in Queensland under recently passed laws. A case awaiting Federal Court judgment involved a $900 million Bruce Highway construction site at Caloundra temporarily shut down last year as union officials refused to show their permits.
“For six days in a row, union officials went on to a very important infrastructure building site in Queensland, … they refused to show their federal permits when asked … police were diverted from their more important duties to address the union officials and take them off site,” Mr McBurney said.
“That’s the state of defiance we’re dealing with on Queensland construction sites. We’ve drawn a line in the sand in this case and we’re awaiting the decision of the court,” Mr McBurney said.
Mr McBurney said the same issue in Victoria saw the full Federal court rule that officials had to show their permits.
The Queensland Government has argued state workplace health and safety legislation was enough and Federal permits were not needed.
A spokesman for acting Industrial Relations Minister Kate Jones said the Bruce Highway case was a matter for the ABCC and the union. The CFMMEU yesterday dismissed Mr McBurney’s comments as “predictable and cynically partisan chest beating”.
Queensland president Royce Kupsch said that if the ABCC wanted to clean up the industry, they would take action against wage theft, sham contracting and labour hire.
“What you have is the ABCC attacking the sovereignty of Queensland laws, because they think they can score cheap political points.”
The ABCC launched eight investigations into improper wage payments and two into sham contracting last year.
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