CFMEU ‘taking the p*** to a whole new level’

Under the terms of the CFMEU’s new hot weather agreement workers can walk off any job if it’s over 28 degrees and more than 75 per cent humidity. How will that work in Brisbane in summer, asks Peter Gleeson.

Regular readers of my column will know that I regard the CFMEU as the “hottest’’ union workers in the country.

I’m sure most of their members love their take no prisoners attitude and when they are striking enterprise agreements guaranteeing carpenters $280k a year and traffic controllers $190k a year, it’s clear they are tough negotiators.

But their latest stunt on hot weather is “taking the p…’ to a whole new level. Under the terms of the hot weather agreement, they can walk off any job if it’s over 28 degrees and more than 75 per cent humidity.

On my reckoning, certainly over summer, that would wipe out a significant amount of working days in Brisbane.

The problem for Queensland’s economy is that the CFMEU control most of the building and construction sites in the state.

Developers say a CFMEU-controlled site adds about 30 per cent to the cost of a development because of their outrageous demands.

If a developer doesn’t meet their demands, they simply walk off the job. They don’t care what fines the courts impose. They just pay it and move on because they are flush with cash.

The new Townsville Stadium is about $60 million over budget because of the CFMEU’s recalcitrance and industrial unrest.

Unfortunately, Housing and Public Works Minister Mick Di Brenni, instead of standing up to these bullies, encourages their civil disobedience.

He was the Minister who appointed CFMEU thug-in-chief, Jade Ingham, to the Queensland Building and Construction Commission. Ingham is the state’s most volatile unionist.

The QBCC is the body that oversees the laws that the CFMEU break daily.

Labor will do nothing about the CFMEU’s growing industrial boldness. After all, they pump millions of dollars and untold resources into the ALP each election. In fact, if it were not for the union movement, the ALP’s finances would be dead in the water

The Queensland construction industry is in for a long, hot, expensive summer.