Real Stories
Rights On Site - 5 Reasons Why the ABCC Must Go
5 Reasons Why the ABCC Must Go.
1. The ABCC is discriminatory
“The way we’re being treated out there compared to other industries is just not fair, what they are doing is actually prosecuting the people who are building the houses for our people, the office blocks for our industries.” Rohan Tobler Carpenter
2. The powers of the ABCC are unjustifiable
“It has powers that not even police agencies have. It has the ability to force people to give evidence against themselves, to give evidence against their families, to give evidence against their workers.” Prof. George Williams Constitutional Law Expert UNSW
3. These laws are made for big companies
“I’ve definitely never heard of them sticking up for an employee, I’ve heard them prosecute employees, threatening to take their houses away by fining them, prosecuting their unions.” Rohan Tobler Carpenter
4. A waste of taxpayer’s money
“I find it obscene that tax payers money is being used to finance a department that persecutes tax payers for fighting for their democratic rights.” Brett Walker Electrician
5. Australia is in breach of the ILO Conventions:
“The International Labor Organisation has been very clear that the Australian Building and Construction Commission does not comply with Aus international obligations. It has powers that cannot be justified and it has powers that are not appropriate in a fair and democratic nation.” Prof. George Williams Constitutional Law Expert UNSW.
5 Reasons Why the ABCC Must Go.
- The ABCC is discriminatory
- The powers of the ABCC are unjustifiable
- These laws are made for big companies
- A waste of taxpayer’s money
- Australia is in breach of the ILO Conventions:
Terry Lee’s story
Terry is a union official who works for the AWU. In 2005 Terry organised a stop-work meeting at Hamilton, which had some bigger than expected consequences. The stop-work meeting was in response to the employer not following through on a previously made arrangement.
The members who attended the meeting lost one hour of their day and expected their pay to be docked accordingly. It wasn’t until later, when the Howard government introduced laws that worked retrospectively, that these members realised just how wrong they were.
The union was fined $40,000, Terry $4,000 and each shop steward $2,000. Terry believes that it’s because of the industry in which his members operate, that they were so severely punished for taking industrial action.
“You stop work you cop the loss of the hours pay, ordinarily that is your only punishment. But not if you’re a construction worker”
“The union was fined $40,000 and myself $4,000 as the organiser or the employee of the union.”
“…The legislation was put in there to attack unions who have membership in the construction industry”
“What have we done to deserve these sort of laws where we are treated differently to someone else? … It’s a nonsense, it’s un-Australian”
Rob Wakelin's story
Rob was the site union delegate at the Lake Cowal Gold Mine. At the mine, the quality of food being supplied to workers began to deteriorate, and when workers found maggots in their food, they decided it was not good enough. With no other choice available, Rob let management know they needed better food at work, and over the weekend Rob and the other workers walked off the job. They thought it wasn’t too much to ask that healthy food be supplied to workers. Management had seen the state of the food and agreed that it was unacceptable.
Rob got a call some time later saying he was under investigation by the ABCC. Two and a half years later Rob found himself in the Federal Court about another incident on the site. Rob was eventually fined and prosecuted because he and other workers took industrial action, and he was fined $1,100 along with the CFMEU who was fined $8,000.
“The tucker got to a stage where it was unacceptable. You couldn’t eat it.”
“Worst case scenario for me was $22,000 on each count – that’s $44,000. Where’s a bloke like me find money like that?”
“Kicks you in the guts and depresses you… it’s just plain wrong.”
“We’re not terrorists, we’re bloody construction workers out doing our job. We’re building this country.”
Charlie Isaac's story
Charlie was a construction worker in Western Australia. In early 2006 Charlie’s mate Peter, the site delegate, was sacked. Charlie and the other construction workers took industrial action against the decision to sack Peter because it removed the only voice they had to be able to stand up for their rights. As a result of the industrial action, Charlie and the other workers faced fines of up to $28,600 each.
For Charlie and many of the other workers affected, the threat of fines put undue stress of them and their families. The Federal Court ordered 107 construction workers including Charlie to pay fines of up to $9,000 each. Charlie couldn’t believe he was fined for standing up for a mate at work.
“When they sacked Peter we took industrial action because he was our voice. Without Peter we had no voice.”
“$28,600 – Never had that much money in my bank account.”
“I can’t describe it – it’s like jailing someone for crossing the road.”
“You don’t fine someone for standing up for their rights.”
“If you can’t stand up for saying what you believe in then you’re nothing but a slave. And I’m no slave.”
