Employers’ bid to sidestep Shorten on unions

Employers will press state Liberal governments to set up stand-alone agencies to police the construction union if Bill Shorten becomes PM.

Leader of the Opposition Bill Shorten meets with staff during a tour of the Liberty One Steel manufacturing plant in Sydney on Friday.

Employers will press Liberal governments in three states to set up stand-alone agencies to police the construction union if Bill Shorten wins the election and scraps the Australian Building and Construction Commission.

Master Builders’ executives are lobbying Liberal ministers in New South Wales, South Australia and Tasmania to establish state construction regulators in the event a federal ALP government delivers on its commitment to abolish the ABCC.

The Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union said Master Builders was acting like a branch of the Liberal Party by engaging in a “confected, anti-union hissy fit”.

But Master Builders said it was concerned the scrapping of the ABCC would result in a return to “bastardry” on building sites and drive up the costs of commercial projects.

Master Builders Australia chief executive Denita Wawn told The Weekend Australian that employers would urge voters before the election to call on Labor on to change its policy and keep the ABCC.

“The level of alarm about in our industry about Labor’s threat to abolish the ABCC is profound,” Ms Wawn said.

“It will give the green light to construction union bullies and an surge in bullying, disruption and costs which the community will pay. It’s no surprise the industry in these states are looking to what action they can take.”

Dave Noonan of the CMEU speaks at a 'Change the Rules' rally in Adelaide.

She said if Labor did not reverse its plan “they will saying to Australian families it’s OK for them to pay more for schools and hospitals”.

“It’s extraordinary that any government would want to undermine the nation’s second largest industry,” she said.

Dave Noonan, the national secretary of the CFMEU’s construction division, said the call demonstrated that most of the key Master Builder executives were “Liberal Party hacks” who had never worked in the construction industry.

He said there were serious problems facing the industry including the issue of flammable panels “but the MBA sat on their arse on that issue”.

“They are a paid up branch of the Liberal Party, you would not expect anything different,’ he said.

Brian Seidler, executive director of Master Builders in NSW, said if there was a change in government federally, ‘we will see increases to the costs of building’.

He said builders would put a premium on their prices to take into account the industrial “bastardry” that would return if the ABCC was scrapped.

Ian Markos, chief executive of Master Builders in South Australia, said his members were concerned the end of the ABCC would see a revival of union militancy and a negative impact on jobs and investment.

He said he would be meeting the state government on Friday this week to press the case for a state regulator.

Matthew Pollock, executive director of Master Builders Tasmania said the scale of the state’s construction pipeline unprecedented .

“Abolishing the ABCC is simply an unacceptable risk to our industry and our community and if that happens we will call on the Hodgman Government to step,” he said.

Opposition workplace relations spokesman Brendan O’Connor said: “Labor believes in one set of laws for all workers in this country”.

“Instead of attacking workers, the Liberals should focus on keeping people safe at work,” he said.

”The ABCC is unfair, undemocratic and unjustified. It is fundamentally unfair that builders and construction workers have fewer rights than other Australians.”