CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY – AUSTRALIA

Court cases could prevent super union

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 18-Jan-18

Employers’ groups say the Registered Organisations Act should be used to block a merger between the Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union and the Maritime Union of Australia. The Act prohibits a merger if either party is the subject of criminal legal proceedings. There are currently more than 40 outstanding cases against the two unions for breaching workplace laws, but the CFMEU and the MUA claim that the Act does not apply as these legal actions are civil rather than criminal. The Australian Mines & Metals Association and Master Builders Australia in turn contend that the legal actions are "quasi-criminal".

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, MARITIME UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN MINES AND METALS ASSOCIATION (INCORPORATED), MASTER BUILDERS AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION

CFMEU hit with $2.4m record fines

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 7 : 14-Sep-17

Federal Court judge Geoffrey Flick has described the Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union as a "recidivist offender" after finding that it had engaged in unlawful industrial action. The militant union and eight of its officials have been fined more than $A2.4m in total over the industrial action at Sydney’s Barangaroo development in 2014. Justice Flick has also referred four CFMEU officials to the director of Public Prosecutions for possible further legal action over claims that they gave false testimony to the court.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT

Rich pay deal on way to approval

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 4 : 24-Aug-17

The Australian Building & Construction Commission’s preliminary assessment of Probuild’s new enterprise agreement has concluded that it complies with the building code. Employment Minister Michaelia Cash and Master Builders Australia have criticised the pay deal, which includes significantly higher penalty rates. Probuild’s in-principle agreement with the Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union will be submitted for approval by the Fair Work Commission. Cash notes that over 860 enterprise agreements now comply with the building code.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION, PROBUILD PTY LTD, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, MASTER BUILDERS AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED, BORAL LIMITED – ASX BLD, DE MARTIN AND GASPARINI PTY LTD

Union pay rises exploit PM’s code

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 23-Aug-17

Master Builders Australia CEO Denita Wawn says pay rates in a proposed new enterprise bargaining agreement in the building industry are "unsustainable" and will increase the cost of federally-funded construction projects. The Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union’s in-principle agreement includes a pay rise of five per cent and higher penalty rates, with penalty rates of up to 300 per cent for working during Christmas and Easter. The new pay deal is aimed at compensating CFMEU members for the removal of union-friendly ­conditions from EBAs in order to comply with the Federal Government’s building code.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, MASTER BUILDERS AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED, PROBUILD PTY LTD, LEND LEASE GROUP LIMITED – ASX LLC, BORAL LIMITED – ASX BLD, DE MARTIN AND GASPARINI PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT

A union merger that will cost us all

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Original article by
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 38 : 14-Jul-17

The proposed merger between the Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union and two smaller unions will strengthen the union movement’s influence on the Australian economy. An enlarged CFMEU would have unprecedented control over the supply chain from "pit to port" across the nation’s resources sector. While the merger will be welcomed by the Australian Labor Party, a merger in the corporate sector that would result in a similar monopoly over labour supply would attract scrutiny from the competition regulator. Editorial.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, MARITIME UNION OF AUSTRALIA, TEXTILE, CLOTHING AND FOOTWEAR UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, BORAL LIMITED – ASX BLD, DE MARTIN AND GASPARINI PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION, CHEVRON CORPORATION

Militant super union a step closer

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 13-Jul-17

The Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union has submitted a formal application to merge with two smaller unions. It wants the Maritime Union of Australia and the Textile, Clothing & Footwear Union to be exempt from a ballot, given their much smaller membership bases. Meanwhile, the Australian Mines & Metals Association has expressed concern about the potential impact of the proposed mega-union on the supply chain across the resources and energy sector. It will lobby the Federal Government to introduce laws requiring union mergers to satisfy a public interest test.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, MARITIME UNION OF AUSTRALIA, TEXTILE, CLOTHING AND FOOTWEAR UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN MINES AND METALS ASSOCIATION (INCORPORATED), AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, CHEVRON CORPORATION, GORGON PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

$500k in fines for ‘arrogant’ CFMEU

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Original article by Simone Fox Koob
The Australian – Page: 2 : 12-Apr-17

The Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union has been ordered to pay a $A490,000 fine over unlawful industrial action in 2014. The Federal Court has also imposed fines of between $A6,400 and $A22,400 on 10 CFMEU officials for their involvement in the industrial action against Kane Constructions. The strike action, which disrupted 10 construction projects in Victoria, was prompted by Kane’s move to enforce union right-of-entry laws. The judgment has been welcomed by Employment Minister Michaelia Cash.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, KANE CONSTRUCTIONS PTY LTD, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN MANUFACTURING WORKERS’ UNION, AUSTRALIAN WORKERS’ UNION-FEDERATION OF INDUSTRIAL, MANUFACTURING AND ENGINEERING EMPLOYEES, SIR OWEN DIXON CHAMBERS, BMC WELDING AND CONSTRUCTION, JOHN BEEVER PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION

Building boom in risky areas

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Original article by Michael Bleby, Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 : 5-Jan-17

Apartment buildings due for completion in 2017 and 2018 are often located in postcodes which are considered as risky by lenders. A study of Rider Levett Bucknall’s crane index in the September 2016 quarter indicates that about 38 per cent of cranes were located in such areas. Brisbane’s apartment scene is particularly problematic, with nearly 57 per cent of all cranes located in areas of restricted lending.

CORPORATES
RIDER LEVETT BUCKNALL PTY LTD, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, REALTY BASE GROUP, CHARTER KECK CRAMER, JONES LANG LASALLE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, METRO PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY

CFMEU to pay official’s fine after court rescinds order

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 4 : 22-Dec-16

The Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union will be able to use its own funds to pay an $A18,000 fine on behalf of union official Joe Myles after a May 2016 court ruling was overturned. The full bench of the Federal Court has ruled in favour of the CFMEU, with Chief Justice James Allsop finding that the Fair Work Act did not permit him to ban the militant union from paying Myles’ fines for breaching workplace laws. However, he ruled that the fines themselves were appropriate.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN WORKERS’ UNION-FEDERATION OF INDUSTRIAL, MANUFACTURING AND ENGINEERING EMPLOYEES, BORAL LIMITED – ASX BLD

New whistleblower protections could hit senior CFMEU officials

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 2 : 19-Dec-16

Former Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union organisers Andrew Quirk and Brian Miller are continuing to challenge their sacking after revealing in 2014 that the union’s New South Wales branch had links to an underworld figure. They are being represented by lawyer Chris McArdle, who argues that they would have had much greater protection if the Federal Government’s new whistleblower laws had been in place at the time of their dismissal.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, SEYFARTH SHAW LLP