Federal Government Must End Monopoly Representation Rights Of CFMEU
The Federal Government must now act to remove the CFMEU's monopoly representation rights, following recent allegations of corruption and criminality within the ranks of the super union.
The CFMEU currently enjoys the protections of the 'conveniently belong' rule in the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act 2009, which precludes the registration of newer unions that would compete with it to represent the same members.
This means that the Fair Work Commission may not currently register a new union where there is an existing union to which its members might more "conveniently" belong, such as the CFMEU.
H.R. Nicholls Society President Frank Parry KC said workers were being denied the right of freedom of association, "which goes against the fundamental principles and rights of the International Labour Organization."
"Workers, under the ILO, have the right to form and join organisations of their own choosing. This is integral to a free, open and democratic society.
"In Australia however, workers are not able to exercise this right. And now what we see is that thousands of workers are forced to be represented by the CFMEU. Many workers would rightly object to being linked to the CFMEU in this manner, especially after what has been uncovered in the last few days.
"For more than a century it has effectively not been possible to register new or competing unions - unions with different ideological stances, unions with different industrial approaches, or unions that have not wanted to affiliate with or donate to particular political parties.
"The culture behind certain unions, like the CFMEU, is deeply entrenched and resistant to change. This toxic environment has persisted through different iterations, from the Builders Labourers Federation (BLF) to the present day CFMEU.
"Real cultural change can only be achieved by allowing new unions to register, giving members the option for better representation."
The Society is calling for the Federal Government to allow Australians better choice in workplace representation by removing the 'conveniently belong' rule.
"This requirement is unnecessary and gives much control to the CFMEU. Any union should be able to cover these workers. This would involve a simple amendment to the Fair Work Act and would close another loophole," Mr Parry said.
"It would also avoid the history of this area where names are changed and the same thuggish actors turn up in a new t-shirt."
In addition, the Victorian and Federal Governments must now exclude the CFMEU as a party to Enterprise Bargaining Agreements on government contracts.
"They must remove the CFMEU as respondent to these EBAs, allowing any other union to step into that role. Any other union should be able to represent employees on construction work on Government contracts.
"The time has come to re-examine the powers and privileges granted to the CFMEU under our workplace relations system. This would go hand in hand with the necessary inquiries announced by Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan, and the re-introduction of a strong and supported Australian Building and Construction Commission yet to be announced by the Federal Government."
