MEDIA
RELEASE
It is unacceptable in a modern democracy
that workers in the construction industry have fewer rights than the broader
workforce, says the ACTU.
Standing with construction unions in a
campaign to abolish the
But under the Howard Government’s ABCC,
construction workers’ rights have been stripped away.
“Of all the Howard government’s workplace
laws, the ABCC is the most anti-worker,” Mr Lawrence says.
“It has more powers than the police to
investigate construction workers, drag them in for secret interrogation and jail
them if they refuse to answer questions.
“These are ordinary workers seeking simply
the rights to hold a meeting, to organise, and to protect their health and
safety. This is an issue for all workers that we should have one system for
everyone, no matter what industry you work in.”
Mr Lawrence says several recent serious
workplace accidents have again shown that construction is an industry in which
safety, rather than a misguided attack on workers’ rights, should be a
priority.
A recent meeting of the ACTU Executive
unanimously supported a campaign by construction workers for equal rights under
law and has pledged resources to the push to abolish the ABCC before
2010.
The issue has been brought to a head by the
prosecution of Noel Washington, an official of the Construction, Forestry,
Mining and Energy Union in Victoria who faces up to six months jail after he
refused to answer questions from the ABCC.
“Noel has done nothing illegal, yet he’s
being treated like a common criminal” says CFMEU construction division national
secretary, Dave Noonan.
“He has been accused of being a witness to
an off-site, lunchtime meeting of workers, who has refused to dob in his
mates.
“We won’t stand by and allow construction
workers to be treated with fewer rights than other
workers.”
Unions are also calling for changes to the
Howard Government’s Building Code, which has also been used by employers to
reduce workers’ rights beyond the construction industry.
Media Alert: Jeff Lawrence
and Dave Noonan will be available to comment at a meeting of Victorian Trades
Hall Council union delegates at Dallas Brooks Hall in
Media Contacts: Mark Phillips (Jeff
Lawrence) ph: (03) 8676 7266 or 0422 009 011; Shannon Walker (Dave Noonan) ph:
0414 694 476