The Construction Forestry and Mining Employees Union (CFMEU) has produced this short explanation of what the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC) is and what it will mean for Australian workers.
* * *
What is the ABCC?
The ABCC, or the Australian Building and Construction Commission, was created by John Howard in 2005. It was abolished in 2012, but now Malcolm Turnbull wants to bring it back — only it's going to be bigger and more powerful.
What does it do?
The Construction Forestry and Mining Employees Union (CFMEU) has produced this short explanation of what the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC) is and what it will mean for Australian workers.
* * *
What is the ABCC?
The ABCC, or the Australian Building and Construction Commission, was created by John Howard in 2005. It was abolished in 2012, but now Malcolm Turnbull wants to bring it back — only it's going to be bigger and more powerful.
What does it do?
The Construction Forestry and Mining Employees Union (CFMEU) has produced this short explanation of what the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC) is and what it will mean for Australian workers.
* * *
What is the ABCC?
The ABCC, or the Australian Building and Construction Commission, was created by John Howard in 2005. It was abolished in 2012, but now Malcolm Turnbull wants to bring it back — only it's going to be bigger and more powerful.
What does it do?
The ABCC has even more power than the police. It can drag workers before secret tribunals, strip them of their right to silence and deny them the right to choose a lawyer. If you refuse to attend a tribunal, you can be jailed for up to six months.
Under this law, ice dealers will have even more rights than construction workers.
It only affects construction workers though, right?
No, the new ABCC will be expanded to include anyone who is involved in the construction industry, including the truck drivers who deliver supplies and manufacturers who produce building materials.
Worse than that, it will also affect their families — because of the secrecy provisions, a worker would be unable to tell his wife that he was interrogated!
But Malcolm Turnbull says that it will increase productivity?
This is not true. The claim that the ABCC will make building sites more efficient was, embarrassingly for Malcolm Turnbull, rebuked by his own productivity commission.
I'm worried about union corruption, what will the ABCC do about that?
Nothing! The ABCC only has jurisdiction over industrial disputes — that is, issues between the employer and their employees — and does not stop corruption.
Will it create jobs?
No. In fact, the building code attached to the ABCC will make it harder for young people and older workers to find work. If enacted, this code will stamp out programs that guarantee a certain percentage of jobs to these workers.
It will make it easier for employers to bring in temporary overseas workers and to undermine local pay and conditions.
So ... what does it do?
The ABCC will achieve one thing — make our construction sites less safe. Studies have shown that during the last period of the ABCC, workplace deaths in construction nearly doubled.
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