Albo makes call on Queensland’s controversial construction perks

On a visit to Brisbane, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has confirmed whether Queensland’s controversial construction industry conditions will go national.

A national version of Queensland’s controversial Best Practice Industry Conditions won’t be implemented by the federal Labor government this term, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has confirmed.

Under the CFMEU-driven procurement code for federal projects, endorsed by Labor at its national conference in Brisbane last year, companies face criminal penalties for not abiding by the rules that enshrine union and workers’ rights.

The national proposal dubbed “Secure Australian Jobs Code” is similar to Queensland’s Best Practice Industry Conditions which builders and the business sector have said hurts productivity.

In Queensland the BPIC policy has been blamed for increasing costs of construction projects by 30 per cent while generous wages and conditions have made it difficult for private industry to compete amid a worker shortage.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Thursday confirmed the federal government had no intention to put forward further industrial relations changes after passing three tranches of reforms this term.

“We don’t have any intention for further IR legislation, but we make no apologies for the fact that what we have done in industrial relations has led to for the first time in a long while real wages increasing. We think that is important,” he said.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese with Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Jessica Rudd in Brisbane on Thursday. Picture: Dan Peled/NCA NewsWire

Mr Albanese, speaking on radio earlier on Thursday, skirted declaring support for the state government’s Best Practice Industry Conditions, saying only that the government supported good wages and conditions but that they should be “appropriately negotiated out”.

Mr Albanese used his first major speech in Brisbane in a year to spruik his government’s plan to instigate a bold manufacturing revival through a “future Made in Australia Act”.

He said the “new wave of economic reform” was needed to drive growth and “lift productivity”.

Queensland’s BPIC policy forces contractors tendering for government projects to negotiate with unions from a high starting point, with the policy locking in at least 5 per cent annual pay rises through to 2027.

It means some electricians are getting a base rate of just under $3000 per week this year, crane operators $2394, carpenters $1948, painters and glaziers $1855, and roof tilers $1908.

A rostered-days-off calendar also specifies the 26 days off in addition to their four weeks of annual leave that must be given to all workers covered by the agreement.

The national version as per Labor’s national platform would require companies tendering for federal projects – ­including public-private partnerships, renewable energy and public housing ventures, and joint federal-state projects – to also show they have “best practice workplace relations”.

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