Union turf war erupts over deal that will make Steven Miles Queensland’s next premier

Steven Miles could face threats from furious blue collar unions in his own faction at a meeting to be held as early as Thursday, over the deal inked by his factional master and United Workers’ Union boss Gary Bullock.

Cameron Dick, left, and Steven Miles. Picture: John Gass

A union turf war has broken out over a secretive backroom deal to make Steven Miles Queensland’s next premier, fracturing the Left faction of the state’s Labor Party.

Mr Miles could face threats from furious blue-collar unions in his own faction at a meeting to be held as early as Thursday, over the deal inked by his factional master and United Workers’ Union boss Gary Bullock.

A long-running union stoush over control of the civil construction industry boiled over this week after Mr Bullock struck a deal with Australian Workers’ Union boss Stacey Schinnerl that secured Mr Miles’ promotion.

Details of the deal have been shrouded in secrecy, but multiple sources have told The Australian it was centred on the government’s Best Practice Industry Conditions Policy, which forces contractors to negotiate agreements with unions on state-funded projects worth more than $100m.

Under the policy, companies tendering for government-funded projects have to show they support “best practice industrial relations”, ­including rights for elected union delegates, training, safety, gender quotas and local procurement.

Labor sources say the CFMEU have used BPICs to try to “expand their coverage” on civil construction projects, which has angered the Right-aligned AWU.

According to Labor sources briefed on the negotiations, blue-collar unions such as failed leadership contender Shannon Fentiman’s AMWU, the ETU, the Plumbers Union and the factionally unaligned CFMEU are “filthy” at the deal, which they warn could erode workers’ entitlements and conditions.

One Labor source told The Australian that if Mr Miles did not placate the industrial Left, he would risk a campaign against him and the government in a make-or-break election year, as the ETU did over Anna Bligh’s planned asset sales from 2009.

“He should know you don’t touch industrial relations or workers’ entitlements in a political deal,” the source said. “You’re only hurting workers.

“You don’t touch IR in a political negotiation, you just don’t go there.”

Treasurer – and incoming deputy premier – Cameron Dick and Mr Miles both insisted they did not agree to change the BPIC policy, but a Labor source said the truth would emerge as soon as the government signed a deal worth more than $100m, because the contract would be published.

“They can try and do the spinning, but it’ll all be out there,” the source said.

The source questioned how Mr Bullock could make promises about government policy.

“Blocker (Mr Bullock) knows he’s controlling Miles and Miles will do whatever he says. The Left will be split after this.”

Another senior Labor source said: “An industrial agreement related to leadership deal – it is astonishing.”

Mr Dick said the pair did not agree to make any changes to BPIC policy, but conceded the issue did form part of “discussions on an ongoing basis”.

“There’s many discussions around BPICs that have occurred for a long period of time. We’ve had some trade unions agitated about that and protesting publicly about it. So there’s been many conversations about many policy issues, and I anticipate that will occur,” he said.

Mr Miles denied there had been a deal struck between the two unions, but said there had been “a lot of conversations”.

“We certainly will not be moving away from our support for best practice industry conditions,” he said. “We believe that people who work on projects funded by the government should be safe and should have good conditions and that’s what that policy is all about.”

Public Works and Procurement Minister Mick de Brenni, a senior member of the Left and a member of Mr Bullock’s UWU, championed the BPIC policy. On Wednesday he said no unions had raised concerns with him.