CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY – AUSTRALIA

Albanese to call in watchdog for CFMEU

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Ewin Hannan, Greg Brown, Rachel Baxendale
The Australian – Page: 1 & 9 : 17-Jul-24

Cabinet sources have indicated that the federal government intends to appoint an external administrator to the CFMEU in response to the allegations about its links to the underworld. A senior minister has stated that this is the "only option" left for the government to ‘clean up’ the CFMEU. The Coalition has urged the government to deregister the militant union, but Labor has ruled out this out; the minister has stated that doing so could have "unintended consequences" and make it harder to clean up the construction sector in the long-term. RMIT law professor Anthony Forsyth notes that deregistration is generally only available for industrial misconduct rather than criminal behaviour. Meanwhile, the Maritime Union of Australia is said to be considering whether to demerge from the CFMEU.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY AND MARITIME EMPLOYEES UNION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, RMIT UNIVERSITY, MARITIME UNION OF AUSTRALIA

Albanese poised to move against CFMEU

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 16-Jul-24

The federal government will consider a range of options to address the CFMEU. Cabinet minister Bill Shorten has indicated that these include deregistering the CFMEU or appointing external administrators to the militant union. Shorten had previously appointed administrators to ‘clean out’ the Health Services Union during his tenure as industrial relations minister in the Gillard government. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says "all options are on the table" regarding the CFMEU; he contends that the recent resignation of Victorian state secretary John Setka should be just the beginning of the cleaning up process.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY AND MARITIME EMPLOYEES UNION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, HEALTH SERVICES UNION OF AUSTRALIA

Almost 3000 builders collapse in a year

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Larry Schlesinger
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 3-Jul-24

Data from the Australian Securities & Investments Commission shows that a total of 10,497 companies were declared insolvent in the 2023-24 financial year up to l6 June. This includes 2,832 insolvencies in the construction industry, which is 28 per cent higher than the previous financial year. The data also shows that rate of corporate collapses in the building industry is accelerating, with 120 insolvency appointments during the first two weeks of June; this compares with 314 in May and 255 in April. Master Builders Australia CEO Denita Wawn says factors such as labour shortages, material cost inflation, inefficient regulation and "draconian" industrial relations reforms have made construction projects unsustainable.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, MASTER BUILDERS AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED

CFMEU condemns ALP’s demerge laws

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 4 : 25-Jun-24

Federal government legislation that will allow the CFMEU’s manufacturing division to demerge is expected to be passed by the Senate with the Coalition’s support. Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke says many members of the division do not feel properly represented by the CFMEU, including workers in female-dominated industries such as textiles. However, the CFMEU’s national secretary Zach Smith has doubled down on his warning that the proposed laws would set a dangerous precedent that could be used by a future government to break up unions.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY AND MARITIME EMPLOYEES UNION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS

Setka’s CFMEU branch backs pay deal worth 20pc

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by David Marin-Guzman, Gus McCubbing
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 18-Jun-24

CFMEU members have backed John Setka’s final deal as Victorian secretary of the union before his retirement. The deal with Master Builders Victoria provides for a 20 per cent increase in pay for construction workers over the next four years and reinstates conditions banned under the former Coalition government’s building code, including union flags on site and union vetoes on rostered days off. The deal is expected to be rolled out to the rest of the construction industry in coming weeks.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY AND MARITIME EMPLOYEES UNION, THE MASTER BUILDERS ASSOCIATION OF VICTORIA

New wage deals to drive up costs, RLB says

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Michael Bleby
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 30 : 7-Feb-24

Consulting firm RLB expects a rising wages bill to be a major contributor to construction industry costs in 2024. The CFMEU is still negotiating new enterprise agreements for construction workers in NSW and Victoria, but Domenic Schiafone of RLB notes that building firms are already factoring in wage rises of at least five per cent into their prices. RLB says other risk factors for the construction industry in 2024 include the impact of supply-chain disruptions on access to imported building materials and rising project financing costs.

CORPORATES
RIDER LEVETT BUCKNALL PTY LTD

Housing industry at loggerheads over stone ban

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Angus Thompson
Brisbane Times – Page: Online : 12-Dec-23

Lendlease has advised that it will cease using engineered stone in its new development projects in Australia; the construction group is also reviewing its use of the product in other countries. Mirvac has also backed ban on engineered stone, which has been linked to a lung disease called silicosis. However, the Housing Industry Association recently advised its members that they can continue to use engineered stone, although it has recommended that they consider alternative products. Meanwhile, lawyers have warned that employers are likely to be in breach of health and safety laws by continuing to expose their workers to engineered stone.

CORPORATES
LENDLEASE GROUP – ASX LLC, MIRVAC GROUP – ASX MGR, HOUSING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION LIMITED

Big projects putting home target at risk

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Michael Bleby
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 25 : 9-Nov-23

Property developers and builders have warned that the pipeline of publicly-funded infrastructure projects will make it hard to achieve the federal government’s revised target of 1.2 million new homes by 2029. This target is already uncertain, given that the number of housing starts fell to just 40,720 in the June quarter, which is its lowest level in a decade. Master Builders ACT CEO Michael Hopkins notes that the house construction sector is competing with infrastructure projects for the limited supply of labour. He adds that the construction sector will require an additional 500,000 workers nationwide by November 2026, including 7,000 in the ACT.

CORPORATES
MASTER BUILDERS’ CONSTRUCTION AND HOUSING ASSOCIATION OF THE AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY

New IR laws won’t hurt tradies, minister vows

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 4 : 25-May-23

Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke has emphasised that tradespersons and subcontractors in the construction industry will not be significantly affected by the federal government’s second tranche of industrial relations reforms. Burke says the new minimum standards for ’employee-like’ independent contractors will apply only to gig economy workers. His comments have been welcomed by Master Builders Australia’s acting CEO Shaun Schmitke; however, he says the government should make it explicitly clear that the legislation will be limited to gig-economy workers and provide an undertaking to exclude other industries before the legislation is introduced.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS, MASTER BUILDERS AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED

Builders hit a high for insolvencies

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Michael Bleby
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 28 : 3-May-23

Data from the Australian Securities & Investments Commission shows that an additional 71 businesses in the construction sector were declared insolvent in April. There have now been 1,672 construction industry insolvencies so far in the current financial year; this is the highest level since 2014, when 1,802 companies collapsed during the equivalent period. The Association of Professional Builders’ co-founder Russ Stephens says the construction sector has been too dependent on cash flow, with many firms facing financial problems once cash flows started to decline.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, ASSOCIATION OF PROFESSIONAL BUILDERS