CFMEU Construction & General Division: Senate Inquiry hears the real story

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Current Focus Index

April 2008

What about our civil rights? 11 April 2008

Why do workers who build this nation have less rights than other Australians?

Secret interrogations over everyday workplace matters. No right to silence or lawyer of choice. Six months jail if you fail to answer questions. These are the bad, Howard-government laws that still plague Australia's construction workers. What can you do to help get rid of them, and give construction workers back the same workplace rights as other Australians.

PLUS

Watch Australia's construction unions new 'rightsonsite' TV ad � New rights on site ad

December 2007

Kevin07 - Workers together WIN 06 December 2007

The Labor Party's massive win in the federal election on November 24 shows how much Aussie workers hated Howard's WorstChoices laws.
It also shows us quite clearly how workers organising together and in the community can have a big say in the future of this country.

November 2007

Union backs demand for higher apprentice wages 14 November 2007

The CFMEU has been pushing for higher rates for apprentices as a means to tackle the skill shortages for many years. This was a key element of our 10 Point Plan to cut skill shortages. New research for Group Training Australia now backs this argument.

September 2007

Asbestos Kills - Fair Go for All Families 26 September 2007

The CFMEU is calling for subsidised access for all people suffering from mesothelioma to the most effective chemotherapy treatment available.
PLUS: Watch the WA Branch ads on safety on construction sites.
NEW: Stop the abuse of temporary visas

July 2007

Constructing Fear 31 July 2007
Joe Loh�s documentary on the ABCC unflinchingly exposes its unfair treatment of construction workers. To find out how this Government watchdog affects the lives of real people, view these clips from the forthcoming documentary.

June 2007

CFMEU means Safety. Security. Support. 18 June 2007

The latest poster from the CFMEU Construction & General National Office is in your Branch now. Get copies from your organiser for your site today. See the June Hardhat page 16 for competitions involving the poster and stickers from national office.

PLUS: Know your rights for dealing with the ABCC in Arabic, Chinese, Croatian, English, Italian, Greek, Korean, Serbian & Vietnamese.

May 2007

Howard's record in our industry 23 May 2007

Australia has one of the most productive construction industries in the world, yet John Howard and his mates, in their quest to eliminate workers' rights, continue to talk down the Australian construction industry and demonise the workers who build this nation.

PLUS: Know your rights for dealing with the ABCC in Arabic, Chinese, Croatian, English, Italian, Greek, Korean, Serbian & Vietnamese.

February 2007

Howard's record in our industry 16 February 2007

Australia has one of the most productive construction industries in the world, yet John Howard and his mates, in their quest to eliminate workers' rights, continue to talk down the Australian construction industry and demonise the workers who build this nation.

PLUS: Know your rights for dealing with the ABCC in Arabic, Chinese, Croatian, English, Italian, Greek, Korean, Serbian & Vietnamese.

November 2006

One Year of Bad Laws 08 November 2006

Australia has one of the most productive construction industries in the world, yet John Howard and his mates, in their quest to eliminate workers' rights, continue to talk down the Australian construction industry and demonise the workers who build this nation.

Watch the TV Ad produced by CFMEU Vic Branch for the ACTU on Howard�s laws and workplace safety.

August 2006

Wake up Australia 31 August 2006
Thousands of concerned Australians and overseas citizens have shown their support for the Western Australian families facing prosecution and fines of up to $28,600 under John Howard's harsh building laws. Add your voice to the protest.

July 2006

Families face $28,600 fines 19 July 2006
ACTU President Sharan Burrow urges concerned Australians to join her to rally in support of the 107 Western Australian families who appear before the Federal Court on Tuesday, August 29th.

TakeAWAys - bad for our health 18 July 2006
Individual contracts - or AWAs - are the cornerstone on which John Howard has built his new workplace laws. But AWAs are not agreements at all. They are a way of stripping earnings and conditions construction workers have won over decades.

March 2006

No to guest workers � Train Young Aussies 23 March 2006
John Howard won the 2001 federal election on a promise to protect our national borders. He has cynically used the refugee issue. But now the truth is out. He has torn away barriers to our labour market.

September 2005

Don't be conned by Howard's laws 16 September 2005
Howard's WorkChoice laws are just a WorkCon. Howard is out to crush penalty rates, wages levels, protection from unfair dismissal and your right to union representation.

May 2005

Stop Howard's workplace attack 03 May 2005

The Building Industry Taskforce has been criticized by the Courts a number of times. Check out what the courts have said.

Taskforce's new powers: protections for CFMEU members.

January 2005

Building Taskforce�s new powers: What they will mean for CFMEU members 24 January 2005
The Howard Government's Industrial Relations agenda for its third term could have a huge impact on construction workers. Top of the list are new powers for the Building Industry Taskforce - the kind of powers usually reserved for bodies investigating terrorism or serious crime.

September 2004

Federal Election Campaign 2004 10 September 2004
Information for construction workers voting on October 9, 2004.

April 2004

Senate Inquiry hears the real story 14 April 2004
The Senate Committee hearings into the construction industry have heard much criticism of the Howard Government's anti-worker Building and Construction Industry Improvement Bill.

February 2004

Two and Two make Five 19 February 2004
Associate Professor Braham Dabscheck employs George Orwell�s notion of doublethink to look at the Cole Royal Commission.

December 2003

Unions worldwide protest Howard's new building laws 15 December 2003
The CFMEU Construction Division has received letters of support from the World Federation of Trade Unions, the Construction Internationals and trade unions from many countries around the world, protesting against the Howard Government�s proposed Building Industry legislation.

September 2003

Abbott's construction laws to destroy workers' rights 25 September 2003
Tony Abbott's proposed new 'watchdog' for the building industry and harsh anti-union laws won't benefit workers, employers, consumers or the community. Check out the attached summary of that legislation and its impact on workers.

August 2003

Howard Govt Onslaught against the building industry 08 August 2003
Tony Abbott's plans for a new 'watchdog' for the building industry and harsh anti-union laws won't benefit workers, employers, consumers or the community. Ahead of his release of that legislation, check out this concise summary of those plans.

July 2003

CFMEU response to the Cole Royal Commission 17 July 2003
To assist members and the wider public in forming a balanced view of the operations of the Cole Royal Commission into the Building and Construction Industry, the CFMEU has issued a detailed Analysis and a handful of short, readable pamphlets.

March 2003

CFMEU response to Cole Royal Commission 05 March 2003
To assist members and the wider public in forming a balanced view of the operations of the Cole Royal Commission into the Building and Construction Industry, the CFMEU has issued a handful of short, readable pamphlets.

February 2003

CFMEU calls on MPs to back stronger safety measures 17 February 2003
After three deaths and three serious accidents in January, the CFMEU is calling on all federal and State Parliamentarians to adopt strong practical safety measures for the building and construction industry this year.

September 2002

Cole Royal Commission updates 11 September 2002
"One normally gets the results of a royal commission before acting. One very rarely acts before the royal commission has reported. That is the reason why you have a royal commission." - Peter Costello 21/8/02 Question Time 2:09 pm - regarding the HIH Royal Commission, when asked why the Government has been so slow to act on the Oct 2001 Ramsey Report which recommended a range of legislative measures to improve the independence of auditors. But the construction industry is to have an expensive Task Force, before the Cole Royal Commission has completed its investigations.

Cole Royal Commission Updates 04 September 2002
The CFMEU�s legal bid to have the Cole Royal Commission closed down seeks to prove legally what any dispassionate observer has worked out for themselves: the whole show is biased, says the NSW Labor Council Web newsletter, Workers Online. Plus other stories from the hearings.

July 2002

Royal Commission Updates 30 July 2002
In 20 years mainstream journalism around New Zealand, the UK and Australia, Workers Online's Jim Marr has never witnessed anything like the Cole Royal Commission into the Building and Construction Industry. Plus more new reports.

Royal Commission Updates 11 July 2002
The Cole Royal Commission was launched by the Howard Govt almost a year ago. Facts about its operations to date. Plus links to Workers Online stories from the June Sydney hearings.

April 2002

Royal Commission Updates 19 April 2002
The CFMEU has a 5-part plan to beat the Federal Govt attacks on the union.

Royal Commission Updates 12 April 2002
Commissioner Cole's salary contrasted with the wages of construction workers he is investigating.

March 2002

Royal Commission Updates 25 March 2002
RC investigators to remain in WA "for as long as it takes"; plus Tassie hearings target EBAs.

February 2002

Royal Commission Updates 22 February 2002
Costs, company rorts, Melbourne & Brisbane hearings

August 2001

The Cole Royal Commission into the Building and Construction Industry 17 August 2001

On July 26, 2001 the Howard Government announced a Royal Commission into the Building and Construction Industry to be headed by Justice Terry Cole QC. The Cole Royal Commission is expected to complete its report into the industry by the end of 2002. Over the coming months, we will be bringing together material here that may be of interest to CFMEU members and others following the progress of the Commission.

June 2001

Asbestos phase-out set for 2003 20 June 2001
Union and community lobbying for a ban on import and use of chrysotile asbestos in Australia has been effective. But workers and the community still need to be alert to the risks of exposure.

March 2001

The OEA � Union-Busters in Crisis 15 March 2001
The Coalition Government�s industrial secret police, the Office of Employment Advocate (OEA), is in crisis.

December 2000

Defend your Picnic Day 18 December 2000
The anti-union bias of the Federal Conservative Government can be seen yet again in their current attempts to remove Union Picnic Days from Awards.

November 2000

A worker perspective on the US 'boom' 16 November 2000
As the world focuses on the Presidential election, union leader Bob Kingsley provides a glimpse of 'real life' in the US, where workers deal with poverty wages, longer hours, job insecurity, and the most unequal distribution of wealth since the Great Depression 70 years ago.

September 2000

Globalisation 07 September 2000
National Construction Secretary John Sutton argues for fair trade not free trade.

July 2000

CFMEU stands by 'pattern bargaining' 31 July 2000
The CFMEU Construction Division has supported industry-wide collective agreements, as a response to the Government's introduction of Enterprise Bargaining, since the early 1990s.


United we bargain - Divided we beg.
	Contact the National Office, Construction Division at: Level 12, 276 Pitt Street, Sydney, NSW 2000 Ph: 02 8524 5800 Fax: 02 8524 5801 Email: queries@fed.cfmeu.asn.au Postal address: PO Box Q235, Queen Victoria Building Post Office, Sydney NSW 1230.