Federal election 2016: Labor blamed for union pay rises

State Labor governments have been accused of being “complicit” in sweetheart deals securing 5 per cent pay rises.

 

State Labor governments have been accused of being “complicit” in sweetheart union deals that are securing 5 per cent a year pay rises with lucrative extras, which are blowing out the costs of taxpayer-funded construction projects.

The militant construction union has upped the ante with a wage rise demand of 6 per cent on top of bonuses on construction firms in South Australia.

In Queensland, the Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union’s collective agreement with dozens of major contractors, including Brookfield Multiplex and Hutchison builders, demanded 5 per cent pay rises over five years, travel allowances of $45 a day and site allowances worth up to $64 a day over award entitlements.

Workers are routinely being granted a week off at Easter, several weeks at Christmas, paid ­picnic days and hourly bonuses.

The extra money starts at $5 a day for everything from working in multi-storey buildings, with a higher payment depending on the floors, to loadings for “dirty work” and lifting heavy bricks.

Extra bonuses in the Queensland enterprise bargaining agreement pay “site allowances” that rise with the value of the project, starting at $1.70 an hour on sites valued at less than $20 million, and climbing to $8 an hour on projects valued at $700m.

Workers are also entitled to 26 rostered days off a year, on a 36-hour week. A highly unusual clause bans employers from asking for prod­uctivity savings without written union approval.

Employment Minister Mich­ael­ia Cash criticised the generous enterprise bargaining agreements in Queensland, Victoria, and the ACT — as well as union demands on South Australian builders for up to 6 per cent yearly wage rises as well as Australian-made clothing and covered walkways to ­toilets.

She accused Labor states of being “complicit” with unions and claimed they were “just a taste of what would be experienced under a federal Labor government”.

CFMEU Victorian boss John Setka boasted on Wednesday of a deal agreed with up to 20 contract­ors that would provide 18 per cent pay rises over four years.

Workers’ pay across the nation rose just 0.4 per cent last quarter and 2.1 per cent over the past year, official figures this month showed.

“The CFMEU is clearly flexing their muscle in those states where they have a compliant and complicit Labor government,’’ Senator Cash said.

Master Builders Australia chief executive Wilhelm Harnisch said the CFMEU’s claims were “out of step with the economy, and with state and federal budgets”.

“The Queensland union EBA and what is purported to be in the proposed Victorian EBA pose major industrial relations risks to the construction industry,” Mr Harnisch said.

Queensland’s Industrial Relations Minister Grace Grace has refused to take responsibility for the CFMEU collective agreement. “Wage negotiations in the private sector are a matter for the (Fair Work Commission) in the national workplace relations system,” a spokesman said yesterday.

Federal opposition workplace relations spokesman Brendan O’Connor praised the Victorian deal this week as a win for collect­ive bargaining.