Tablet demand by CFMEU a bitter pill, say bosses

The CFMEU wants its delegates to be supplied with company-funded iPads and fully-equipped facilities.

CFMEU construction division secretary Zach Smith says employers are acting like ‘clowns’.

Employers have blasted demands for union delegates to be supplied with company-funded iPads and fully equipped facilities on work sites, warning new legislated rights for delegates would be “devastating for productivity” and leave bosses footing the bill for full-time union business.

In a submission to the Fair Work Commission, which is determining the delegates’ rights term to be inserted into awards, the CFMEU’s construction division wants employers to provide delegates with an iPad with mobile internet access, a telephone, access to a photocopier, stationery and email; and an airconditioned/heated facility to hold confidential discussions with union members.

The entitlements, which include five days paid union training leave, are standard in CFMEU enterprise agreements and the union wants them inserted into the industry award.

But Master Builders Australia chief executive Denita Wawn said modern awards were about providing a minimum safety net for workers with a core objective of fairness.

“The suggestion that a union delegate should be entitled to a prescriptive list of products like an iPad and approve what facilities an employer provides to them as part of this minimum safety net is ludicrous,” she said.

“These requests should be confined to discussions between employers and workers that consider the practical realities of each workplace.”

CFMEU construction national secretary Zach Smith said the employer groups opposing the claim were “clowns who have tried and failed to stop workers who selflessly stand up for their colleagues from getting a single extra right”.

“Delegates would use iPads and other basic office supplies to make crucial compliance and safety checks on construction sites, which are among the most dangerous workplaces in Australia,” he said.

“Given these proposals are designed to save workers’ lives, it’s appalling that employer groups are against them.“

The Minerals Council of Australia said the Mining and Energy Union’s proposed rights for union delegates would be “devastating for workplace productivity”, allowing delegates to act as full-time union workers despite being on the payroll of the employers.

In a submission to the commission, the MCA says the union’s “incredibly expansive” proposed term would subordinate employment duties to union activities.

Under the proposal, a workplace delegate would be entitled to represent their union, union members and persons eligible to be union members on paid time during normal working hours, including a ”right to reasonable communications” that the MCA says would authorise a delegate to communicate to any employee “at any time about anything, not just workplace matters”.

“Such an approach would create an outcome where a workplace delegate could essentially devote all their paid time towards undertaking tasks that can be described as ‘representation’, avoiding their work duties. As such, the proposed term effectively turns workplace delegates into full-time union workers, who may perform work exclusively for the union but who are on the payroll of the employer.”

But MEU national president Tony Maher said “union delegates are volunteers who play an important role in the workplace by representing workers and resolving issues that arise”.

“Giving delegates the time and training to perform their jobs effectively is good for workers and businesses,” he said.

“Delegates’ rights have been eroded over decades. We welcome new laws to restore stronger rights for delegates to represent workers and prevent employers from discriminating against them and interfering with their work.”