CFMEU Worker - Autumn 2016 by CFMEU Vic-Tas

AUTUMN 2016

UNITED Hamilton marino

job pulls together after tragedy see page 30

Journal of the CFMEU Victorian and Tasmanian Branch, Construction & General Division

Strong Unions need Strong Leaders

Standing up for workers and safety is not a crime. See page 16.

04 - 10 Executive columns 05 CHARGES DROPPED

07 HEARTLESS BIGWIGS 11

HORRIFIC START TO THE YEAR

ABCC BACK TO THE STONE AGE

5 REASONS TO VOTE LIBS LAST

Photos: 2015 Picnic day

Death and injury shock

22 GRASSROOTS POWER 30 ONSITE

Dodgy products bring fire risk

A record effort for the kids

40 KOORI SURF TITLES 46 TAX REFORM AND YOU

48 BRENDAN MURPHY 62 your wages

Union Aid Abroad

Firefighters learn crane rescue at CFMEU Training Centre

CFMEU Victorian and Tasmanian Branch, Construction & General Division Executive

Organisers and Specialist Staff Field Officers

Secretary John Setka

Gerry Benstead Nigel Davies John Duggan Paul Edwards Robert Graauwmans Steve Long Ian Markham Malcolm Smith Billy Beattie Gareth Stephenson Mark Tait (Fozzie) Theo Theodorou Mark Travers John Ayers Mick Powell Drew McDonald Adam Hall Toby Thornton Mark McMillan (EBAs) Joe Myles John Perkovic Peter Booth Richie Hassett (TAS) Fergal Doyle Dean Dando Kane Pearson

Assistant Secretaries Shaun Reardon Elias Spernovasilis President Ralph Edwards Senior Vice President Noel Washington

CFMEU 50760

Vice President Derek Christopher

Wage Claims Officer Frank Akbari Training Unit Coordinator Anne Duggan Teachers and Trainers Karen Odermatt Mark Devereaux Jacky Gamble Barry Kearney Jennifer Pignataro Rose Nechwatel Connie Hall Paul Allwood Owen Waiomio Craig Lynch Sue Bull Lorella DiPietro Kimberley Stewart Tony Minchin Andy Duff Dan Phelan Communications Officer Jon Stanger

Offices Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety Unit Manager Gerry Ayers Safety Officers Alex Tadic Christine Thomas Peter Clark Steve Roach WorkCover Legal Officer Neil Browne Industrial/Legal Officers Amanda Swayn Jean Maloney Joel Winters Kristen Reid Apprentice Liaison Officer Liam Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Hearn Research & Campaigns Officer Clancy Dobbyn

Melbourne 500 Swanston St Carlton South 3053 T: (03) 9341 3444 F: (03) 9341 3427 Morwell Wing 5, Lignite Court Morwell 3840 T: (03) 5134 3311 F: (03) 5133 7058 Geelong 78 Fyans St Geelong Sth 3220 T: (03) 5229 8921 F: (03) 5223 1845 Bendigo Bendigo TLC 40 View St Bendigo 3550 T: (03) 5443 5173 F: (03) 5442 5961

Wodonga Shop 3-4, 22 Stanley St Wodonga 3690 T: (02) 6024 1099 F: (02) 6056 5565 Portland South West TLC 31 Percy St Portland 3305 T: (03) 5523 4272 F: (03) 5523 3358 Hobart 33A New Town Rd New Town 7008 T: (03) 6228 9595 F: (03) 6228 9594

vic.cfmeu.org.au

CFMEU WORKER AUTUMN 2016 Authorised by John Setka, Secretary CFMEU Victoria. CFMEU Worker is proudly designed by union members @ Publicity Works.

Volume 22 Number 1

stop exploitation

Defend our wages and conditions

Modern day slavery on job CFMEU Members rallied at Lend Lease’s Docklands office to demand payment for weeks of unpaid labour on their Bendigo Hospital redevelopment project.

he second rally in as many weeks, workers are angry that Lend Lease has allowed modern day slavery on their site, with workers going unpaid for up to nine weeks. Allowing Lend Lease to exploit workers on their sites undermines our hard fought wages and conditions and the CFMEU was quick to stand with Members and take the fight up to Lend Lease.

The Lend Lease subcontractor which engaged the workers, Asset Interiors, went into administration, owing workers hundreds of thousands of dollars in wages and entitlements. The administrator has indicated that it appears as though Lend Lease owe in excess of $1.4 million to Asset Interiors. Dong Lee, one of the workers from the Lend Lease Bendigo Hospital site said at the rally: ‘I’m an Australian citizen and I have been here eight years and I pay tax. I have three kids, a newborn baby, just two weeks old and I have a mortgage. There’s no money to feed them. I am owed $12,000. That’s big money. I can’t pay my home loan and I might have to sell my house.’ CFMEU State Secretary John Setka said: ‘It’s modernday slave labour. These are vulnerable workers who are being exploited on government jobs. Lend Lease was warned about this and they disregarded the warnings. Lend

Lease knew people were going to be left high and dry.’ This is just the latest example of the systematic exploitation of workers on Lend Lease’s Bendigo Hospital site and the Turnbull Government and their FWBC have turned a blind eye.

Lend Lease has refused to act on CFMEU concerns, first raised in December 2015 John Setka said, ‘These workers have nowhere else to go except the union. You won’t see FWBC here investigating any of this.’ The Lend Lease Bendigo project list of shame includes:  numerous safety breaches

, Luke orkers, CFMEU esters II Unpaid w Ch sa Li P M Labor Hilakari and

 visa violations and rorts  breaches of project agreements  operation of insolvent companies  Lend Lease withholding payments to sub-contractors  withholding wages and entitlements to workers Meanwhile, the day before the second rally, Prime Minister Turnbull and Workplace Relations Minister Michaelia Cash were sipping lattes with Lend Lease management. You can safely bet workers left unpaid for weeks were not on their agenda. The CFMEU is fully aware that instead of chasing up this outrageous breach of these workers’ rights, the Liberal Government’s political police force will prosecute the CFMEU for standing up for them. What this Government doesn’t understand, is that this union will never flinch when it comes to fighting for workers safety, rights and entitlements.

sh Michaelia Ca Turnbull and ecutives II Malcolm ex e Lend leas sip lattes with

AUTUMN 2016

CFMEU WORKER

INSERT COPY From the secretary

I won't stop fighting for you John Setka Branch Secretary

You will be hearing a lot more about me.

one of it will be about leading a union that is delivering premium wages and conditions for workers in the industry, or about pioneering a progressive drugs policy, or about the money we raise on site for the Royal Children’s Hospital. It’s no coincidence that Shaun Reardon and I were arrested in December just before our EBA campaign and during the Government’s long-standing crusade to pass the ABCC bill. If you are a CFMEU official these days, you can be picked up by the police in your car on your way to the market on a Sunday morning with your wife and two infants in the back. As if you are a fugitive on the run from the law. The police know where I work and they could have come and done their business any time during work hours without causing trauma to my wife and two little children. In their desperation to weaken the union, they’ll stoop as low as they can.

What purpose is served by this kind of behavior? It’s designed to make me look like a criminal. That has been the intention of all the things that they have thrown at us over the last three years — to discredit us by every means possible and punish us for being a tough union that never takes a step backward when it comes to sticking up for workers in a high-risk industry.

I will never desert my class and I will never stop fighting for you, and for everyone, who believes in a fair go. The lies in the media, the banning of our officials on site, the huge fines for taking

a stand, the smearing of the union by the Liberal Government, the FWBC hounding us on site — it’s all designed to destroy the union so that you have no power and the bosses have all the power. It’s what’s happening the world over. More power is going to the wealthy few, while the rest of us fight over breadcrumbs.

Staying strong. Staying focused. For you. For all of us. As long as I lead this union, I will do my best to create a better world for working people. I was born into the working class. My parents worked in the factories and building sites that are the fabric of this city. I will never desert my class and I will never stop fighting for you, and for everyone, who believes in a fair go. If all of this is designed to take our eyes off of the main game — getting a landmark EBA for workers in the industry — it is a spectacular failure. Because no matter what happens, we will not be distracted from what we have been elected to do: delivering good pay and conditions, and doing everything we can to ensure our members get home safely every day.

Watch the latest TV ad ‘Put the pieces together’ Watch the video that exposes the Liberal Party... bit.ly/CorruptLibs ...then sign the petition australianunions.org.au/national_icac 04 CFMEU WORKER

AUTUMN 2016

charges dropped

Charges designed to smear union

dropped Five CFMEU officials who were charged by the Trade Union Royal Commission Police Taskforce have since had the charges dropped or, in one case, received a verdict of Not Guilty.

he latest in a series of dropped charges relating to accusations from the Police Taskforce involved Queensland CFMEU organiser, Justin Steele. Three charges brought against him in May last year were dropped.

False accusations and unjust vilification At the time, Mr Steele endured a blaze of undeserved negative publicity, the purposes of which was to advance the political agenda of the Federal Liberal Government.

JOHNNY LOMAX charges dropped

Dean Hall charges dropped

These were nothing but trumped-up, politicised charges executed amidst hype and sensation

JUSTIN STEELE charges dropped A week later, police visited his home in the early hours of the morning with a warrant permitting the seizure of his mobile phone. ‘These were nothing but trumped-up, politicised charges executed amidst hype and sensation, designed to paint the union in a negative light. Mr Steele was unnecessarily vilified in the press,’ said Dave Noonan.

Union officials are in their sights ‘Mr Steele has maintained all along he did nothing wrong. He had a disagreement with a building developer over getting onto a site,’ said National Construction Secretary Dave Noonan. ‘The union has since uncovered this developer has a dodgy history, and she failed to turn up to two Justice mediations in relation to this case.’ In April last year, Mr Steele was taking photographs of unsafe practices on a building site when the developer accosted him and demanded he give up his phone.

AUTUMN 2016

The decision to drop the charges against Mr Steele follows the dropping of charges against ACT Secretary Dean Hall, ACT CFMEU official Johnny Lomax, Queensland CFMEU Assistant Secretary Andrew Sutherland and the Not Guilty verdict of New South Wales official Michael Greenfield. Mr Noonan said that in all of the cases, it was obvious from the outset that there were no grounds for the charges laid and no chance of success.

CFMEU WORKER

INSERT COPY From the president

A NEW EBA – DO THE BOSSES WANT IT? Ralph Edwards President

It’s a question in most bosses’ minds at the moment and unfortunately for them it is not a question they can answer easily.

he Turnbull Government, the MBAV and the Media are telling bosses they should not sign a new EBA. They are threatening retaliation against bosses who sign, by using their new anti-Union Building Code and a new super charged ABCC against them. There is nothing subtle or restrained in their approach. Yet a new EBA which both the Union and bosses can live with, makes good business sense. It will give predictability to developers, builders and subbies, as the industry cranks up again, and the parties to a new EBA, who actually work in the industry, will be able to get on with it and make a quid.

So it is with some satisfaction that I can report that most bosses do want a new EBA and negotiations are well advanced. Bosses could no longer wait for the Government, the Senate and Politicians

generally to pass legislation. They are no longer dragging their feet. So even if they are wary of a new code and a more thuggish ABCC led by Nigel Hadgkiss, they need to get on with business. The CFMEU wants an EBA that achieves a good wages outcome, improvements in our Incolink insurances, protection for Union

The CFMEU will not be intimidated or put off by the Turnbull Government, the MBAV or the Media, we need to do the business. That is, look after our members’ wages and conditions. Delegates, maintains our RDO calendar, stops bosses rorting it and extends the Christmas shutdown. But the Union is also seeking new conditions in the EBA to protect members’ entitlements, stop

Wages growth is very flat. We need to boost what we’re earning. 06

Treasurer Scott Morrison, 3AW 8/10/15

the exploitation of Visa workers (which undercuts EBA wages and conditions) and audits of bosses to ensure compliance with the EBA (whether it be wages, super or redundancy, protect members who are on WorkCover). Basically, we’re turning back the encroachment on the ability of the Union to protect members. We have been under attack so long, harassed by government, courts and employer bodies so long, we can lose sight of how industrial issues were dealt with previously.

Negotiations commenced in early March and have continued on a positive basis up to when I wrote this editorial, and I don’t expect these negotiations to fail. The CFMEU will negotiate in good faith as required by the Fair Work Act. But if some bosses don’t want to reach agreement, we reserve our right to pursue protected industrial action. We will need the active support of their employees in any protected action (legal stoppages, bans and limitations) but no member I know will happily cop second rate wages and conditions. The CFMEU will not be intimidated or put off by the Turnbull Government, the MBAV or the Media, we need to do the business. That is, look after our members’ wages and conditions.

We’ve got this

HeARTLESS BIGWIGS

THESE GUYS don’t give a Wilhelm Harnisch

Master Builders Australia

Stephen Smith

Australian Industry Group

Richard Calver Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry

If you were in any doubt about the attitude of bosses and their lobby groups to your safety and the impact of deaths and injuries on the industry, look no further than this revealing exchange in the Senate earlier this year.

F@#K

QUESTION ONE

QUESTION TWO

QUESTION THREE

Senator Doug Cameron: Can anyone provide any details of the cost to the industry of workplace deaths and injuries in the building and construction industry?

Senator Doug Cameron: ‘Right so that’s three ‘nos’ and ‘not sures’. Can anyone tell me the cost to productivity of workplace deaths and injury in the industry?’

Wilhelm Harnisch: ‘We certainly haven’t done any work in that area.’

Senator Doug Cameron: ‘What would be the cost to individual families? Has anyone ever said let’s see what it means to individual families, the cost of death and injuries in the industry? Have any of your organisations looked at that?’

Stephen Smith: ‘No.’

Richard Calver: ‘Not in relation to the economic cost on the industry, no.’

Wilhelm Harnisch: ‘No.’

Stephen Smith: ‘No.’

Wilhelm Harnisch: ‘No.’

Richard Calver: ‘No.’

Stephen Smith: ‘No.’ Richard Calver: ‘No.’

Senator Doug Cameron: ‘No one can tell me about the economic or productivity impacts of deaths in the industry or injuries in the industry. Not one of these three peak bodies can tell me about the economic or the productivity impacts of $3 billion worth of non-paid bills in the industry. But you can all tell me about the CFMEU and industrial relations.’ ‘Why can’t you tell me about these massive areas where productivity is affected?’ Check out the video with added caption ‘translations’ here:

bit.ly/MBAgrubs

AUTUMN 2016

YET ANOTHER REASON WHY WE NEED STRONG UNIONS 07 CFMEU WORKER

from the assistant secretary

our fight is your fight Elias Spernovasilis Assistant Secretary

With the exception of those who have just won the jackpot and those who were born into endless wealth, most of us have to get up in the morning and go to work.

he reality of work isn’t pleasant for a lot of people, and especially for those not in the union. Talking to young people — both in and out of the construction industry — I am struck by how many of them accept bad treatment, bullying and being ripped off as ‘part of life’ and ‘that’s the way it is’. Our lives don’t have to be that way. Despite the attacks on our rights at work by conservative governments, the unions are still here, still fighting and still standing up for workers everywhere.

Just as generations of workers fought for, and won, our gains so far — our future wins depend upon our younger generations If you’re under 30 years old and reading this, you may regard the attacks on the CFMEU as something to do with other

people, or with old blokes, and not really your concern. But if the union is destroyed, so are your rights at work: rights that you take for granted. I’m talking weekends, sick pay, annual leave, protection against redundancy , penalty rates, overtime rates and the rest. These were all achieved because people took action to prevent us from being at the beck and call of their employer.

The issues that are most pressing to your generation can only be addressed if you get on board. The attacks on the union are not due to the fact that the Liberals don’t like us or me personally (although that may be the case and I couldn’t care less).

Make no mistake, the threat to our quality of life continues They are after the union because they want to get rid of your rights and conditions so they can help their property developer mates get richer. If you value your pay and conditions, then the fight to defend them is as much yours as it is mine. The union doesn’t belong to me. It belongs to all of us. And the issues that are most pressing to your generation can only be addressed if you get on board. Job security, public transport, technological change, health and safety, soaring house prices — these are all issues that are front and centre of your working life. We need your involvement to advocate for change and improvements.

Join the Youth Committee to help ensure our rights, your rights, are respected and secure The Youth Committee of the branch is growing in leaps and bounds. Thirty to forty people are attending each meeting. I suggest you come along to the next one and be part of the new generation of union activists. Talk to your Shop Steward or Organiser, or contact the office for more info on 9341 3444.

John Cummins Memorial Dinner 10th anniversary 08

Saturday 27 August 2016, in the Atrium Room, Flemington (Racecourse). The biggest memorial dinner ever. Tickets available soon. CFMEU WORKER AUTUMN 2016

WIN FOR WORKERS

INSERT COPY

TotalFail

Due to ‘lack of evidence’, Federal Court drops 33 of 101 cases against WA workers

to, to discuss a range of important issues affecting them and their industry.

All the markings of a ‘Round them up at any cost’ mentality

II 101 WA workers guard of honour outside court

In mid-December, the Fair Work Building Commission (FWBC) charged 101 workers in Western Australia for attending a union meeting while on their job in Perth in 2013. They faced individual fines of over $10,000.

ust prior to Christmas, the cases against five workers were withdrawn due to ‘lack of evidence.’ Now that number has increased by a further 28 to a total of 33 cases, presumably also due to lack of evidence. Neither Nigel Hadgkiss of the FWBC (hoping to return as the ABCC) nor his lawyers have offered an apology or explanation.

A complete farce According to Mick Buchan, State Secretary of the CFMEU WA, since the charges were laid, the case before the Federal Court in Perth has descended into a complete farce. Says Buchan, ‘These charges should never have been laid. You would think in a just

It’s a farce and an embarrassment to the Federal Government It’s a farce and an embarrassment to the Federal Government society that before anyone was charged with anything the Fair Work Building Commission would have their evidence and facts in the bag.’ ‘This is obviously not the situation and we call on all charges to be dismissed and to have the remaining cases dropped. It’s a farce and an embarrassment to the Federal Government,’ adds Buchan. The workers were charged with allegedly attending a union meeting outside Perth’s new Children’s Hospital, a meeting that the workers were informed of and invited

AUTUMN 2016

The workers were charged two years after the meeting took place. Then they had to go through a further eight months of hell dealing with lawyers and being dragged through the courts. Some of the workers charged were from the St John of God Hospital projects, which were being built at the time in Midland and Murdoch. Neither of these two projects suffered any disruption to their completion deadline as a result of the workers’ meeting. The construction phase of both projects was completed on time and budget. Mick Buchan pointed out that these workers and their families suffered a stressful Christmas period worried about their future. Their cases enter court again in May. ‘What we have here is a personal witch hunt orchestrated by Nigel Hadgkiss, Head of the FWBC, and the Federal Government to manufacture dissent against our union to be used as propaganda to push the Government’s anti-union agenda,’ asserts Buchan, ‘especially to the cross benches in the Senate as they consider the reintroduction of the ABCC. These charges have all the hallmarks of a politically motivated “round them up at any cost” mentality.’ ‘I call on Mr. Hadgkiss and the Minister Michaelia Cash to explain to these workers why they were ever charged in the first place despite the obvious lack of evidence and why all the remaining charges should not be dropped.’

CFMEU WORKER

INSERT COPY From the ASSISTANT Secretary

R.I.P. fair industrial relations Shaun Reardon Assistant Secretary

When a 54-year-old man died in tragic circumstances after falling approximately 20 meters down a riser shaft at a site in Carlton in mid-February, CFMEU safety officers and officials were on the job to assist in whatever way they could.

he builder, Hamilton Marino, had nothing but praise for the way we supported workers, management and families with counselling and other services through the trauma. We worked with everyone on the site, implementing our safety program to prevent another tragedy from happening. The next day, the Fair Work Building Construction (FWBC) sent two inspectors onto the job. Their mission? To find out if the CFMEU officials had breached Right of Entry laws.

Harassment at the expense of genuine concern for worker safety This is industrial relations in the construction industry in 2016, where the focus of the government is not on the wellbeing and safety of the workers who build the cities in which we live, but on how we behave. Around the same time on the Royal Adelaide Hospital site, a worker died in a scissor lift accident in similar circumstances to another worker who was killed in 2014 on the same site. Both accidents were utterly preventable. Yet the FWBC has spent an estimated $750,000 of

010

doing their bidding because, after all, that’s why these developers voted them in.

It’s our job to look after workers and if they’re being underpaid, if their safety is at risk, we aren’t going to turn a blind eye your money hounding the CFMEU on the health precinct site in Adelaide where the workers were killed.

You have to ask yourself why? Why this hounding of our officials? Why these constant attacks on us, the constant charging of our officials, the bans placed on our right of entry? What is it that we are doing that is so bad?

Our crime? Our commitment to protecting workers We go on sites, we see things that are wrong that we point out to employers. Sometimes they tell us to get f***ed. Sometimes we say it back. It’s our job to look after workers and if they’re being underpaid, if their safety is at risk, we aren’t going to turn a blind eye.

If you’re in any doubt, just watch the heads of the employer associations struggle to answer Labor Senator Doug Cameron’s questions about their knowledge of the impact of deaths and injuries in our industry — http://bit.ly/senatedoug

We've seen it all before The bad publicity, the misinformation spread with the aid of the tabloid media, the charges against us are all part and parcel of the same thing: they don’t want us to do our job. They want all the power to do what they like without the interference of the CFMEU. And if they win, you lose. The demise of the union would see workers worse off. That’s why I call on you to stand together to protect what we have and fight for a better future for our kids and ourselves.

This is what this fight is all about The developers and big businesses don’t want us interfering in their desire to work you all night and all day, with no RDOs, with safety taking second place to making money and sham contracting rife. This is all about the greedy developers wanting to pad their pockets with even bigger profits. And their friends in the Liberal Party are

CFMEU WORKER

RIP BOBBY HETHERINGTON - see more on page 30 AUTUMN 2016

inert INSERT headline COPY

Lessons to be learned from 2016’s

t r a t s c i f i r r o h

It’s been a horrific start for our construction industry so far this year.  The tragic fatality of loyal CFMEU member Robert ‘Bob’ Hetherington when he fell 20 meters down a riser shaft;  A potentially disastrous crane fire and subsequent boom collapse on a St Kilda Road job — damaging cars and the roadway — but thankfully no injuries to either workers or the public;  A car ploughing through a worksite in Burwood and landing on the formwork deck. Luckily it was an industry RDO that day so there was no one on site (and thankfully the driver escaped with only minor injuries);  Another car crashing through hoarding on a Flemington site and plunging almost 20 meters below — this occurred around 2:30am, so no one was on site. However, the driver was trapped in the car and was taken to hospital with serious injuries. We sincerely hope she recovers to full health.

D O O W R U B

Ensure your site is safe and has proper representation… and never hesitate to ask questions So, what are the lessons we should take from this gruesome start to 2016? Make sure your site is safe and up-to-standard and that you have a CFMEU shop steward and OHS rep on site to represent you if you’re unsure about things. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and raise issues — especially with your CFMEU representative. ‘Is that formwork right? Should we have scaffold to do this work? Should there be crash barriers to protect us from ‘errant’ vehicles and drivers who will always make mistakes? Is that asbestos? Is that edge protection correct? Is that concrete panel safe to lift? Etc. Yes, the list of questions is endless — and so it should be. Because our lives depend on all of us to ‘STAND UP, SPEAK OUT and COME HOME’ safely.

Full crash barricades were installed right around this site’s perimeter immediately afterwards

And it’s so much easier to do this when the CFMEU are with you on the job.

Your union played a major part in this and for good reason; only a few days later, another car ploughed into the barriers, severely damaging the front end. The driver was okay, but had the barriers not been there, we could have had a major disaster.

Get the latest OHS alerts, checklists and information here: vic.cfmeu.org.au/OHS

Be proud and paid-up — Safety is Union Business

FLEMINGTON

acciden

ST KILDA RD

AUTUMN 2016

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nCFMEU t 2 WORKER

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strong unions INSERT COPY

The bloody reality

why we need strong Unions

It’s grim reading. The table opposite is a brief summary of just some of the fatalities — certainly not all of them — that have occurred in our industry, in Victoria, since 2004. The fact that this list isn’t even exhaustive is all the more alarming.

f course, not included are the details of the many horrific injuries our members also suffer at work. Many of these individuals cannot return to their preinjury duties, or even return to work at all.

Deaths, injuries and exposure to incurable disease Then there’s the all-too-common uncontrolled exposure to asbestos that our workers are continually subjected to. What happens to these workers in 30 years? Who takes responsibility then? Who is held accountable for subjecting these workers to one of the most horrendous incurable diseases, mesothelioma? We all know there is no cure and only a horrific death awaits them.

The statistics prove how widespread and serious these threats are Just a brief look at the latest Safe Work Australia statistics on our industry Australia-wide shows how staggering the situation is. The report titled ‘Work-Related Injuries and Fatalities in Construction, Australia, 2003 to 2013’, published in June 2015, showed that:  Over the 11-year period, 2003 to 2013, there were 401 work-related fatalities in the construction industry. This is an average of 36 every year.

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 156 construction workers are injured every day.  35 of these workers who are injured each day will need one or more weeks off work.  A staggering 12% of injured construction workers NEVER return to work following their injury.  Over the three-year period, 2009-10 to 2011-12, the average cost of a serious claim in the construction industry was $10,200.  A typical claim in the construction industry involved 6.4 weeks off work. Anyone who says the CFMEU goes too far to protect workers doesn’t know what they’re talking about. So next time you hear anyone say or read that the CFMEU just goes too far (even on safety) — perhaps remind them of the above FACTS and the table below. Remind them of all the suffering and loss for these workers’ families. Tell them:

There are bloody good reasons why the union fight so hard over health and safety and why Safety is, and will always be, union business!

CFMEU WORKER

AUTUMN 2016

INSERT COPY strong unions

Some recent Victorian Construction Industry Fatalities… Year

Sex

Age

Family

Event

Builder/Site

2004

Male

Wife, 9 month old son

Crushed by concrete beam when pour collapsed

Melbourne Transit: The Mansion St.Kilda

2006

Male

Wife, 2 daughters & a son

Crushed by a Concrete Panel

2008

Male

unknown

Crushed by Crane truck unloading 3.4 tonne stressing cable.

BuildCorp, Northcote

2008

Male

Wife, 22 y.o. son

Crushed by structural steel collapse

Australand, Dandenong

2009

Male

Wife, 2 children (13 & 9 y.o.)

Concrete Pump collapse – suffered fatal crush injuries from the boom

Pentridge Prison Development, West Homes

2010

Male

3 dependent children

Glazier Fell seven floors in counterlevered chariot.

Hickory Developments, South Melbourne

2010

Male

unknown

Glazier fell 18 metres from EWP when ground gave way

Hansen Yuncken, Jells Park Primary School

2011

Male

His parents’ only child

Piling Rig collapse

L.U.Simon – Southbank (Vibropile & Frankiepile)

2011

Male

Wife, 3 children, (17, 12 & 8)

Crushed between EWP and Steel roofing truss

Toyota, Altona. (ATS Asbestos)

Female

Mother & Father

Female

Mother & Father

Grocon, Swanston St

Male

Mother & Father

Brick Wall (with over 30 meters of hoarding attached) collapsed on them in Swanston Street, Melbourne.

2013

Male

Mother & Father

Crushed when mezzanine floor collapsed

Semi-Commercial site South Caulfield

2015

Male

Mother & Father

Crushed by section of tower concrete pump when it was being lifted/moved with a forklift

Specialised Concrete Pumping, Keysborough

2015

Male

Wife, 2 adult children

Died in trench after explosives misfired

Harkaway – large scale domestic housing estate

2016

Male

2 adult children – & a grandchild on the way…

Fell 20m down riser shaft when makeshift work-platform collapsed

Concorp Formwork / Hamilton Marino, Carlton

2013

Names have been purposely omitted.

AUTUMN 2016

CFMEU WORKER

013

INSERT ABCc BACK COPY TO THE STONE AGE

ABCC

The and TURNBULL'S Code: taking us back to the Stone Age Along with the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC) bill, the Liberal Government has introduced a Code that would apply to all enterprise bargaining negotiations in the construction industry.

he Government has signalled that the Code is part of a package of reforms that will operate concurrently if the ABCC bill is passed. But what many people don’t realise is that the Government will leverage this Code unofficially as the preferred regulation for Federal Governmentfunded construction projects.

Leveraging the Code to undermine our negotiating power The Code blocks the capacity of unions and workers to negotiate terms in EBAs. There are at least 17 clauses that the new Code does not permit, regardless of either the union’s, or the employer’s, wishes.

These are the things that the Code would throw out the window and we would no longer have the power to do:  insist on a certain number of apprentices in relation to the number of tradespeople on the job.  assert that employers should make a reasonable effort to employ local workers before employing foreign visa holders.

 place limitations on the number of casual employees: if the boss wants 100% casual workers, they can do it.  place limitations on how much overtime is done based on OHS considerations: you can be made to work all day and all night.  ensure people with the appropriate skills, competency and experience perform certain tasks – there goes the quality that comes with getting skilled workers to do the job.

It’s Workchoices all over again CFMEU Victorian Branch Secretary John Setka says the Code is Workchoices by the backdoor. ‘It’s there in black and white — the ABCC and the Code are designed to destroy all the conditions that generations have fought for,’ he said. ‘We will be breaking the law when we try and get jobs for apprentices. We will be breaking the law when we say you can’t make someone work however long you like. We will be breaking the law if we insist that people should be paid full-time wages with all their entitlements.’ ‘Life for construction workers will get a whole lot harder if these laws are passed,’ said Setka. ‘It will take us back to the Stone Age.’

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BCC A ’s l l u b n r u T r leaves olde the workers on

In 2014, the Federal Government declared that we all have to work until we’re 70 years old before we’re eligible for the pension.

utting aside for the moment the issue of our health and wellbeing, we all know the difficulties of getting work in the construction industry once you reach a certain age.

Obliged to work longer, but discriminated against for jobs Many members in their 50s and older struggle to get on site, with employers telling them they’re too old. A national survey by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, conducted in 2015, bears this out. It found that 27% of workers in their 50s, from all walks of life, had been discriminated against because of their age.

On the one hand, the government says, work until you’re 70. But on the other hand, no one will give you a job. The union: determined to defend those who have already devoted so many years of hard work In the next EBA, the CFMEU wants to include a clause about securing work for older workers. Victorian Secretary John Setka said that the union had to push this issue because of the problem of discrimination against older workers. ‘There’s an attitude that older workers are slower, that they’re not worth retraining. We want to do something about it … If the

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construction industry is where you have worked for 20 or 30 years, it’s not realistic to tell people they should do something else.’

The ABCC bill — weakening our power to fight for older workers However, under the ABCC bill and the code that goes along with it, the union would be prohibited from negotiating a clause that compels an employer to put on older workers. ‘On the one hand, the government says, work until you’re 70. But on the other hand, no one will give you a job. What are you supposed to do?’ asks Setka, ‘Starve? … The union wants to do something proactive, but the government stops us. And they do nothing to help older workers.’ As he says, the truth is: ‘If it wasn’t for the union, many older workers would be on the scrap heap.’

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Strong Unio need strong lead Standing up for workers and safety is not a crime, says CFMEU Senior Victorian CFMEU officials John Setka and Shaun Reardon deny the blackmail charges against them and will vigorously defend them. There is plenty which could be said about their defense to the charges, but they are before the courts and that limits what the union can say. Even though big business representatives such as Boral CEO Mike Kane and their media outlets continue to make prejudicial public statements about this case and the CFMEU generally, the union proposes to let the legal system take its course. The laying of very serious criminal charges against union officials over alleged industrial activity should be a matter of deep concern for every union in this country, every unionist, and every democratic-minded Australian. Most people think blackmail is about someone seeking personal gain by threatening someone else. But the police do not allege John Setka and Shaun Reardon were seeking any personal gain. The prosecution case is based on alleged industrial demands being made which the police say amounted to blackmail. If alleged industrial threats without any personal gain is blackmail, then any threat of industrial action in any dispute is potentially blackmail as well. If that's right, it means that decent unionists around Australia working hard every day to defend and improve their members' wages, conditions, workplace safety and rights are potentially at risk.

Defend our rights at work The union movement has always said any corrupt officials should have the book thrown at them. But the anti-union royal commission referred a number of other union officials to prosecution authorities for charges of extortion and other criminal offences over allegations of run-of-the-mill industrial disputation and argy-bargy. In the ACT, we saw CFMEU organiser Johnny Lomax charged with blackmail by the antiunion police taskforce because he sought higher wages for his members during enterprise bargaining. That case was dropped but it was a taste of things to come under the AbbottTurnbull government. This is all a case of back to the future. The government wants to turn the clock back to the 1800s when all workers' industrial action, all workplace organising and all union activity were a crime. But it is only the actions of workers, unions and unionists being targeted.  They are not suggesting that more criminal charges be laid over the 187 workers killed at work in Australia in 2015 alone.  They are not calling for more criminal charges against bosses who endanger workers' lives by cutting corners on workplace safety to increase profits.  They are not demanding that theft charges be laid against bosses who underpay workers. The anti-union police taskforce has not charged a single boss with blackmail over threatening to unfairly dismiss a worker if he or she doesn't do what the company wants.

That is the world we're living in according to the royal commission that the Abbott-Turnbull government set up to attack unions and according to the anti-union police taskforce set up to work with it.

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ons aders ď&#x20AC;? It has not charged a single boss of a big company with blackmail over threatening to ditch a contractor or supplier unless they lower their prices. ď&#x20AC;? The anti-union police taskforce has not arrested a single boss on a Sunday morning driving home from the market with his wife and little kids. From the 1800s, workers and unions have fought to ensure that workers have the right to join a union, the right to take industrial action, the right to bargain collectively and the right to a safe workplace and that their representatives are not treated as criminals. It looks like we are going to have to do it all again. The CFMEU calls on the whole union movement to support John Setka and Shaun Reardon who have always stood strong for workplace safety, higher wages and better working conditions.

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liberals last

reasons to vote Liberals last The Liberals have consistently put you and all working people last on their list of priorities, so it makes sense to return the favour.

ome people need a little more convincing though, so here’s 5 good reasons to vote Liberal last you can use on any family, friends and workmates who might still be considering the unthinkable.

the highest since 2001. Youth unemployment is double the national average of 6.3% and there are now 28,000 more Australians aged 15-24 on the jobless queue than when Labor left office. Wage growth is slow and it’s damaging the whole economy. The latest Budget update showed wages are barely keeping pace with CPI so Australian workers are seeing no effective improvement in their real wages.

Worker exploitation, abuse of temporary work visas, insolvencies, phoenix companies and sham contracting are all out of control and the Liberals do nothing. Too often it’s their donors and big business friends causing the problems. In 2013 the unemployment rate for 15-24 year olds was 12.7 per cent, it’s now 13.9%. For 15-19 year olds it’s 19.9%,

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ave 2 SMedicare The Liberals' GP Tax by stealth will end bulk billing and put more pressure on Emergency Departments. Not only will Malcolm Turnbull make every Australian pay more to see a doctor, he has cut $50 billion from hospitals. Experts agree that Australia’s public health spending is sustainable. It is actually growing at its lowest level since records began 30 years ago. Not only are Australia’s

numeracy programs – all of which will deliver benefits to students. Yet the Liberals Party’s cuts mean the much-needed Gonski funding runs out in 2018 and our kids will suffer because of it.

Quality health care should come from a Medicare card, not a credit card. Yet the Turnbull Government is slashing rebates and forcing doctors to hike fees and reduce bulk-billing. They are even forcing us to pay for essential scans and tests costing hundreds of dollars.

ake 4 M tax fair

etter 3 Bschools You might have heard of ‘Gonski’ in relation to school funding. After extensive, independent work, a bipartisan plan was put in place to ensure school funding gave every child the right resources to meet their needs.

1 Jobs Since the Abbott/Turnbull Liberals came to power, 80,000 more Australians are unemployed - that’s 777,000 people. At 6.3%, unemployment is higher under this government than any time since the Howard Liberal years in 2002.

health outcomes significantly better when compared to other advanced countries, on average Australia’s health spending as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is lower than the international average.

You pay your fair share of tax, everyone else should too. Recent figures reveal almost a third of large private companies paid no tax in 2013-14. Worse still, the ATO says 98% of companies earning more than $200 million in revenue paid no tax in the same year. The list of companies paying no tax includes those caught out exploiting workers and stealing wages.

Abbott and Turnbull have turned their backs on that deal and cut $30 billion from schools across Australia. Victorian schools will be the worst hit, losing $1.1 billion in 2018 and 2019. Under the Liberals, the average Victorian school would lose $450,000-$550,000 across 2018 and 2019 and some disadvantaged schools could lose as much as $2 million. Where needs-based Gonski funding is already reaching schools, we are seeing smaller class sizes, more one-to-one support for students who need it, professional development and targeted literacy and

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liberals INSERT COPY last Yet Malcolm Turnbull’s Liberal Party wants to cut the company tax rate - someone should tell him it won’t make much money since they aren’t paying tax anyway! It’s not just big business millionaires aren’t paying tax either. In fact, 56 millionaires paid next to no income tax in 2013-14 - not even the Medicare Levy - even though they all earned more than $1 million in the year. Combined, the 56 millionaires earned $128 million - an average of around $2.3 million each. If you don’t already see something dodgy, get this, the millionaires say they spent $46.7 million just managing their tax affairs. In 2012-13 companies shifted over $300 billion from their Australian arms to overseas parent or subsidiary companies. We need to close the loopholes that allow big multinationals to send their profits overseas. The Liberals aren’t going near it - again it’s their donors and mates at the big end of town who are dodging their taxes.

5 Protect your rights

The Law Council of Australia says: “A number of features of the (ABCC) Bill are contrary to rule of law principles and traditional common law rights and privileges such as those relating to the burden of proof, the privilege against self-incrimination, the right to silence, freedom from retrospective laws and the delegation of law making power to the executive.”

Most important of all is your right to be safe at work. Under Howard’s ABCC construction worker fatalities almost doubled. If workers can’t speak out about safety and take action to protect themselves and their workmates, we will again see more serious injuries and deaths.

Turnbull’s ABCC is an assault on workers’ rights. The Liberals want to give the ABCC more power than any police force and take away your fundamental rights, such as the presumption of innocence, representation from a lawyer of your choosing and your right to silence. Meanwhile officials of the ABCC will be allowed to enter premises without a warrant and demand to know names and addresses. Already the FWBC (who would become the ABCC) have applied to have access to every Australian’s metadata using Australia’s largest ever surveillance system.

hide t s u j I ll l I? l a h s this

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PICNIC DAY 2015 Record attendance at picnics across Victoria. A great day for everyone - we'll never let them take away our Picnic! 21,370 people through the gates at Caulfield for the biggest Melbourne Picnic on record! Plus many more in Geelong and other regional picnics. From John, Shaun, and everyone at the CFMEU, thank you to all who attended! We hope you and your family and friends had a great day out.

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grassroots power

BY THE PEOPLE, F Fed up with spin and superficial change, people are pushing politics to make a seismic shift.

ince taking office on a high, Malcolm Turnbull, the man who quoted Ancient Greek historians and made the cover of GQ Magazine for his supposed good looks and taste in suits, is not looking so good. Could it be that Australians, like voters in other parts of the world, are looking for a leader who goes beyond the spin and actually addresses some of the issues that are at the forefront of people’s concerns for a better quality of life?

Overseas, people are rising up for deep and genuine change The success of Podemos in Spain, the election of Jeremy Corbyn as leader of the British Labour Party and the popularity of self-proclaimed democratic socialist Bernie Sanders in the US are big signs of a global shift. People are demanding that politicians actually stand up for ordinary people and do something about jobs, inequality, climate change, the lack of access to good health and education and the excessive power of the rich and powerful in our lives.

II Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the British Labour Party.

Politics Professor Dr Andrew Scott from Deakin University believes that the surge of support for so called ‘radical politicians’ is because they are telling the truth about the reality of people’s lives. ‘After decades of right-wing and corporate dominance, people are beginning to see that neo-liberal economics is not delivering the benefits that they were told it would.’

The issues confronting working people the world over are similar. Jobs are less and less secure, and regardless of whether you’re working class or middle class, wages are falling. Conditions are being eroded and it is easier for corporations to move workers around the world in order to pay them less and make bigger profits for themselves.

The phenomena of Jeremy Corbyn and Bernie Sanders: ‘Telling it like it is.’ Despite being slammed in the conservative media, there has been growing support for Bernie Sanders and Jeremy Corbyn. People want an alternative to politicians who, for the sake of their own political advancement, are content to play by the rules of a political system that manifestly fails to address the major issues in people’s lives. Says Dr Scott, ‘Corbyn and Sanders are simply telling it like it is.’

‘People have had enough of the free market economy without social provisions. They’ve had enough of stage-managed politics where everyone is putting on an act Dr Andrew Scott

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grassroots power

FOR THE PEOPLE Labour members voted for Jeremy Corbyn because he openly pledged opposition to austerity and a deteriorating public sector, and vowed to put an end to years of economic stagnation that has decimated working class communities in Britain. Sanders, who has a great record of speaking out for equality in the United States, has said: ‘I will tax Wall Street speculators who cost millions their jobs, homes, and life savings. I will tell the billionaire class: You can’t have it all while kids in this country go hungry.’ Dr Scott says it’s encouraging that young people make up the biggest number of grassroots activists in the movements that have taken hold in both Britain and America. ‘Their lives are the ones most at risk from climate change, lack of job security and the rising cost of living. Mainstream politicians who bow down to the status quo and are happy to tinker at the edges simply don’t do it for them because they know, like we all know, that tinkering around the edges isn’t going to solve these problems.’ Regardless of whether Sanders wins the Democratic nomination or Corbyn succeeds in leading the Labour Party to power, the fact that they have been able to mobilise large numbers of people is what matters. The grassroots activism that underpins their success so far has put the needs and desires of ordinary working people back into the political mainstream.

Likewise, Australian Labor is not playing ‘small target politics’, and neither is organised labour Dr Scott says there are not many parallels in Australia with the US and Britain, but he notes that Australian Labor has come out with some very positive policies that show they are not playing ‘small target politics’. He refers to their commitment to fund the full Gonski reforms in education, tighten negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount, crack down on worker exploitation and introduce harsh penalties for guilty employers. This includes higher penalties for employers who deliberately underpay workers or who indulge in sham contracting. Employers who liquidate their companies to avoid paying workers wages will be punished. Labor has also promised reforms to stop the terrible exploitation of overseas workers. These issues have been at the forefront of union campaigns, especially the CFMEU, for a long time. In fact, in every one of these international movements you will find a strong presence of organised labour because grassroots organising and empowering people to fight for their rights is what we do day in, day out. It’s good to see others getting on board and doing the same thing.

II United States Senator Bernie Sanders II Podemos in Spain

As the saying goes: if you don’t fight, you lose.

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we remember

PETER FRANCIS VOIGT 31 OCT 1930 – 6 FEB 2016

By Ralph Edwards, President.

Peter Voigt was a long time identity in our Industry, whether he was a Builders Labourer, a BLF Shop Steward, Leightons Yardman (not their choice) or the caretaker/cleaner at the CFMEU's head office, everyone soon got to know Voigtie.

s a long time BLF Steward at Costain, he was very happy to claim he survived longer in the industry than Costain. Not that it would be suggested he hurried up their demise. A boy from Richmond of Danish origin – who played football (not that well), boxed (I got a great photo from my first fight, just as well it was before it started) and raced bikes (Oppy congratulated me for fastest time in one handicap race, but I didn’t tell him I hung onto a truck). Peter was quite a lad around Richmond, but then he met his wife to be Jean, who came from Glenferrie, he suddenly became a ‘lifelong’ Hawk. Voigtie worked in a number of jobs in factories, at Leonda Reception Centre, whatever it took to look after his family, Jean and daughters Jan and Lorraine. But the post-World War 2 boom and the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne gave the building industry a real kick along, and Peter found a whole new world open up for him and went for it, full biffta. He got on with Costain and worked on many jobs for them around the CBD and St Kilda Road. As a BLF Steward, he is remembered as

keeping it simple. So when he was on the Flinders Street Station job and the site got rained off, he sent the divers working in the Yarra River home. Well they weren’t working undercover were they? As the Leighton’s Yardman he delivered materials to the JetSet job in the late 1980’s, usually accompanied by a matchbox of red-back spiders. Another homer! Peter’s retirement to part-time work for the Union, as a caretaker/cleaner lasted a number of years. However, as we entered the 21st century, Peter started suffering a range of health issues and developed a medical file at the Royal Melbourne Hospital that ran to eight weighty volumes. RMH almost became a home away from home. But the loss of both legs due to circulation problems caused by smoking, tested his tenacity and good humour beyond what most people could endure. Even convulsed by pain for days did not defeat him. He kept telling his pathetically bad jokes and chatting up nurses regardless. Peter’s final years were spent at Lynch’s Bridge nursing home, where he was well cared for and a very popular and loved resident. Peter’s Bar – ‘Room’ – was a popular meeting place for friends and residents. He passed way without trauma on 6th February this year. Voigtie got a big farewell at St Ignatius, Richmond, next door to his old school, and with his family, friends, Lynch’s Bridge residents and staff. And a big contingent of CFMEU friends, staff and officials. Vale Peter Francis Voigt, a great character, a good unionist and a much loved friend to so many.

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Vale John Canning Our deepest sympathy and condolences to Cathy, Tanya, Samantha, Lachlan, Mary, Cathie, Margaret, Robert and Jim, and John's extended family and many friends, in and out of our Industry.

ohn Canning came to Australia to work and support his family, and work he did, long and hard. John was a great scaffolder and a hard worker. So while a boss would get a good worker, with John they also got a great trade Unionist. Someone who looked beyond his personal interests to those of his fellow workers, John was respected and appreciated by all who knew and worked with him. John served his class, his Union and its members over many, many years. He was an outstanding rank and file activist and served the members of both the BLF and CFMEU providing guidance, instruction and leadership in the Contract Scaffolding Sector. From the days when tube and fitting scaffold was dominant to today's modular systems, scaffolding is and was high risk work, requiring skill and endurance while facing danger and risk continuously. John suffered greatly with health problems in recent years and his retirement has been cut tragically short. He deserved better than to pass away so young, without the chance to enjoy his family and friends in a long, well deserved retirement. Vale John Canning: Construction worker, scaffolder, dedicated Unionist and an absolute gentleman. Officials, Staff and Members CFMEU C&G Div Vic/Tas Branch.

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$200,000 raised for the good friday appeal

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II John Setka handing over a massive cheque to the Royal Children's Hospital

Record effort for the kids CFMEU Members have broken another generosity record. $200,000 has been raised for the Good Friday Appeal in 2016! That's a total of $825,000 raised by CFMEU Members in six years. John Setka was on channel 7 with CFMEU staff and kids to hand over the big cheque on behalf of members.

We've done it for the kids, given so they may grow and we're proud of it. The Royal Children's Hospital is so important to all of us in Victoria. Thank you for giving generously so the Hospital can keep doing their great work. Thank you all, take a bow!

II The boys at Essendon Fields Hamilton Marino job

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II Mernda Central - Watpac site

II Rob Taylor - crane crew Play House apartments Abbottsford Hamilton Marino

II Steve Ballingall won the Good Friday Appeal Easter Egg guessing comp and won a jar full of easter eggs and a bottle of Johnny Walker Blue

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II Crema Queensberry St

II Essendon Fields - Hamilton Marino

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Hard Hat Hankie la

fight for t

CFMEU Members joined the launch of the Hard Hat Hankie campaign, celebrating more than $200,000 raised by construction workers around the state for the Royal Children’s Hospital.

he Hard Hat Hankie appeal is a Victorian construction workers’ campaign raising funds for the Good Friday Appeal. In the last five years, the CFMEU has raised a total of $625,000 through selling flags, bandanas, t-shirts, wristbands, rattling buckets on site and raffles. ‘We are involved in a number of community ventures, but the Good Friday Appeal is by far and away the one that everyone feels passionate about. Many of our members are fathers and they know first-hand the valuable work of the hospital,’ said

State Secretary John Setka.

Featuring the real fighters: the kids themselves The grandson of a construction worker and a patient at the Royal Children’s Hospital — 15-year-old Tyson Wilson — unfurled the banner promoting the Hard Hat Hankie Appeal. Tyson has Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva (FOP), which is an extremely rare connective tissue disease. The other guest star to appear at the launch alongside Tyson was 12-year-old Natasha Macaluso who

is the winner of the 2016 drawing competition and whose artwork is on all the merchandise for the Hard Hat Hankie appeal. Natasha’s family won a $2,500 voucher from Flight Centre. Also making an appearance was Amali, daughter of Brad and Nikii McCoppin. Brad is a carpenter on the Brady site and his daughter Amali has autism as well as other complications that mean she also relies on the great work of the Royal Children’s Hospital. We’re doin’ it for the kids!

hn on helping Jo II Tyson Wils RCH banner. e th rl fu un Setka

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CFMEU WORKER II Smiles all around on the 60th floor of Vision Apartments.

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aunch for kids in the

their lives II Natasha Macaluso winner of the drawing competition, with her younger brother and proud dad.

Brady Constructions and CFMEU members: working together for a great cause The launch took place on the 60th floor of Vision Apartments, a Brady Constructions job in Elizabeth Street, Melbourne.

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II Thanks should also go to all the CFMEU Members and staff who worked so hard on our Good Friday Appeal and Hard Hat Hankie launch event.

Brady Constructions generously donated $25,000 to The Royal Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Hospital on the day, and they deserve thanks for this and for hosting a fantastic launch event.

Good Friday Appeal Director Anne Randall was on site to accept the Brady cheque and to thank the CFMEU Members for their generosity and hard work.

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Workmates are pulling together at the Hamilton Marino job in Carlton where Bobby Hetherington was tragically killed on 15 February 2016. Our thoughts, hearts and spirits are with everyone there

and with Bobbyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s family and friends as they continue to live with the grief and loss that comes when a loved one is killed at work. We will continue to remember the dead as we fight like hell for the living.

II Dismantling the StKilda Road crane after the fire that caused extensive damage.

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ON SITE

II The boys from the Ballarat Aldi site

II Marking the 100th Anniversary of the Easter Rising: Gerry McCrudden and some boys at Ikebana Apartments Hamilton Marino job in Dudley St West Melbourne.

II Ballarat Base Hospital site

Celebrating International Women's Day

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Parque Apartments dig deep

embers at Parque Apartments in St Kilda Rd ran a fundraiser for a construction worker on site who has fell upon some very hard times indeed. Andrew Groves-Berry, a CFMEU member, has a 10-yearold son by the name of Oscar who has been diagnosed with Muscular Dystrophy (MD).

MD is an extremely disabling disease which effects locomotion by killing off the muscle cells over time. This in itself is a terrible burden to carry but also Andrew’s wife, Vicki, who is a nurse, has been diagnosed with terminal cancer.

Andrew was hoping to get some work done on his home (an extension with ramp) to make life a little easier during this extremely difficult time. Members responded as always, very generously raising over $6,000 in two weeks on site. Shop Steward Eamonn Wolfe is grateful to the Members, organiser Billy Beattie and the CFMEU Executive for the great support.

II Oscar is in wheelchair with helmet on and father Andrew behind him

Scaffolders back World’s Greatest Shave!

rett Sutton’s partner Katie knows tragedy all too well after her father died of Mesothelioma, the disease unfortunately infamous for killing people who have been exposed to asbestos.

Getting a good shave wasn’t a problem, as Katie works at Pure Elegance for Hair in Watsonia, but it was the fundraising where the crew at Nomad scaffolders on the Lend Lease docklands site could help out.

Katie has funneled her passion into good causes and when she decided to take the plunge and do the World’s Greatest Shave, Brett and his workmates were ready to help out.

Brett and the crew raised over $600 in 10 minutes at Docklands, everyone was happy to put in. CFMEU Members, sparkies, even the plumbers. CFMEU Members are

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always ready to chip in, that's why they are known for their big hearts and generosity. Brett would have shaved too but there was nothing to take off. The hat got passed around at another couple of jobs that Nomad workers were on. You can help out Katie and help find a cure for Leukaemia by donating here:

my.leukaemiafoundation.org.au/katienass

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SITE healthyON eating

Have you got thE

for good health?

Even if you don’t have a ‘beer gut’, your gut health still needs attention

How to rebuild your gut health Rebuilding good gut health involves the following:

An unhealthy gut isn’t just the ‘beer gut’ that is commonly found in Australian men.

 Eating root vegetables, nuts, olives and high-fibre foods.

Potential contributors to poor gut health

 Eating plenty of fermentable fibres (starches like sweet potato, yam, yucca, etc.)

Unfortunately, several features of our modern lifestyle directly contribute to unhealthy gut flora:  Antibiotics and other medications, like birth control and NSAIDs

 Eating fermented foods like kefir, yogurt, sauerkraut, kimchi, etc., and/or take a high-quality, multi-species probiotic.

 Diets high in refined carbohydrates, sugar and processed foods

 Taking steps to manage your stress

Losing weight isn’t necessarily a remedy either.

 Diets low in fermentable fibres

In his recent book, The Diet Myth, scientist Tim Spector provides evidence (backed up with hefty research) that going on diets isn’t a long-term solution to good health and weight loss unless you rebuild healthy gut flora.

 Dietary toxins, like wheat and industrial seed oils, that cause leaky gut  Chronic stress  Chronic infections

TICKED OFF The Hidden Menace of Lyme Disease Amy's Story

my O’Sullivan has endured two years of violent seizures, temporary paralysis, neurological disruption, and more. Some days things are so bad that that even everyday tasks such as walking, having a conversation or writing an email are impossible. Tasks that most of us take for granted. Amy has been diagnosed with Neurological Lyme Disease and several co-infections. Lyme disease is mainly a tick-borne disease that's infection has the ability to invade every tissue of the body. This means it can have a big impact and if left untreated, such as in Amy’s situation, can develop into a chronic and

II Essendon Fields - Hamilton Marino

extremely disabling illness. Sadly, Lyme Disease is not recognised in Australia so there is little assistance for people suffering from it. Ian Burns and his workmates at Geotech Engineering on the Essendon Fields Hamilton Marino job have pulled together to help out.

get the treatment she needs. You can find out more about Lyme Disease, Amy’s story and join the fight here:

tickedoff.net.au

They quickly raised $400 to help Amy

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Dodgy fire hazards

bui

Concerned about the construction industry’s productivity, Prime Minister Turnbull? Look at dodgy, substandard building products instead of the ABCC.

he Prime Minister’s shaky defence for attempting to blackmail the independent Senators (by threatening to call a double dissolution election if they refuse to help him re-establish the draconian Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC), is that the ABCC is vital to the national interest. The PM’s supposed justification for this extraordinary act of

intimidation is that the ABCC will remove employers’ ‘costs’ — costs associated with having strong unions like the CFMEU on site. In his view, such costs are stymying ‘investment, productivity and new jobs’. In reality, evidence the PM has relied on to support his argument (that, when active, the ABCC stimulated material improvements in aggregate

LIST GROCON E M OF SHA

h highly caught wit products flammable eet m that don’t ds n standar Australia productivity or achieved cost reductions) is, according to the Government’s own Productivity Commission, ‘weak’.

Indisputable: inferior products cause glaring replacement and rectification costs … and they’re dangerous

The Australian Industry Group (AIG) reported in 2013 that one builder estimated the cost of re-work due to non-conforming product was between 0.25-2.5% of overall contract value. This is a significant cost given that our industry is characterised by profit margins of between 3-12% and that company insurance does not cover product failure. And the prevalence of substandard, potentially dangerous products in Australia is getting worse. The Australian Windows Association testified that the growing market share of non-conforming products was causing ‘the worst building stock in the country’.

However, a major problem that has an indisputably negative impact on our industry’s productivity is the widespread use of often dangerous, non-conforming and noncomplying building products and materials.

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The Australian Steel Institute declared that our industry was being ‘exposed to the worst in quality the world can produce’.

the prevalence of substandard, potentially dangerous products in Australia is getting worse The fire at the Lacrosse building involving highly combustible non-compliant cladding is still the highest profile example of product failure. The replacement and rectification costs are estimated to be $40 million. An audit by the Victorian Building Authority has found that half of the buildings constructed in Melbourne’s CBD over the past decade have used similar, potentially deadly, cladding. Sydney is estimated to have 2,500 similarly clad buildings.

DODGYING 2 BUILD

Vic Comprehensive Cancer Centre

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fire hazards

ilding products More significant in Australia than in other First World countries, and impacting suppliers far beyond the construction industry

Even more alarming is that this magnitude of cost seems to be exclusive to Australia. In the words of Mr Wilhelm Harnisch of the Master Builders Association, Australia is, ‘uniquely beset with the problem of non-conforming products’ in comparison to other ‘First World countries’. This is not the case when it comes to workers’ rights on construction sites where workers in other developed countries (but not Australia if the ABCC is reinstated) have the right to silence in the face of interrogation about what is discussed in union meetings. Nor are the costs associated with dodgy building products exclusively felt by the construction sector. The AIG report also reveals that 45% of suppliers reported that imported non-conforming

products and materials had ‘adversely impacted on their revenue, margins and employment numbers’.

But it’s the ABCC, not the impact of substandard products, that serves the PM’s political agenda The PM has been MIA on this issue, despite everyone in our industry — workers, their unions, employers and their associations — screaming about the problem for years. The evidence proves that substandard, dodgy building products are impacting productivity far more than anything that the ABCC is designed to address. So the question must be: if the PM is so concerned about costs in our industry, why is he so focused on bringing back the ABCC whilst largely ignoring the costs associated with substandard and potentially dangerous products? If the PM focused on this productivity issue instead of the ABCC, he would have a collaborative instead of an ‘obstructionist’ Senate crossbench. Indeed, lack of Government leadership has seen Independent Senators Lambie, Madigan and Xenophon leading the way on the issue by initiating a Senate inquiry that attracted 75 submissions from our industry

DODGYING 3 BUILD

750 COLLINS ST AUTUMN 2016

II The Lacrosse Building fire at Docklands in 2013

and is due to report on May 10. Instead of dissolving parliament on May 11, which the PM is threatening to do if he doesn’t get his way on the ABCC, why not respond to that report with a comprehensive policy rectifying the problem of the widespread use of dodgy products? The sad answer to these questions is that the PM does not really care about our industry, or about the one million workers in it. Instead of showing leadership by addressing this very obvious productivity problem plaguing our industry and its supply chain, the PM is choosing to placate the his party’s right

wing by attacking building unions, knowing that a hatred of unions is the only thing that unites his divided government. Instead of addressing real challenges facing our industry, the PM has chosen to play politics to the detriment of it, its supply chain, the economy and the community that relies on it. Ultimately, the PM’s focus on his political interest is at the expense of the national interest, which would be much better served by reducing the costs associated with the widespread use of dodgy products.

DODGYING 4 BUILD

AAMI PARK

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INSERT COPY Asbestos aware

ASBESTOS -AWARE OF THE RISKS

Dallas Brooks Hall asbestos removal

hey’ve worked in bigger buildings, but in 11 years Dallas Brooks Hall is the most concentrated amount of asbestos Anthony from AWARE has worked with.

Limpet and friable asbestos is throughout the whole building. The job is running well. It has to be done stage by stage: after one section is prepared and stripped, the ‘bubble’ has to be reversed to complete the next section.

II Collected Asbestos kept in 45 gallon drums

Air monitors, protective suits, masks, enclosed showers, wash stations, air vacuums and plastic sheeting tell you you’re not on your average job. They are aiming to be complete by September provided there are not more unexpected asbestos finds, however it has already been deemed to have asbestos throughout. ‘Everybody seems to be really proactive compared to other jobs,’ says Anthony.

‘We’re trusted in the timing to do things, which makes it much easier for us to do our job properly.’ If stress levels get up on projects, people can lose focus. Bad morale tends to come from the top and work their way down, if it gets into one contractor it quickly spreads to others. When something’s not managed correctly then risk factors go up. ‘We do our best to make sure we’re doing everything by regulation. The main thing is not to become complacent.’ ‘We’ve got a great steward here. He’s tough, but he’s fair. He’s really got a genuine care to make sure everything’s being done right.’ ‘We’ve got the hygienists on site that do the air monitoring and a safety committee that’s looking over them. Provided that’s all working right there isn’t too much to be worried about.’

II Anthony from AWARE with Shop Steward Adam Brown

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‘It does take trust in the removalists too, people have got to understand we are people too and we want to do the work safe for ourselves as much for anyone else. Some trust has to be put in us to do the job properly.’

CFMEU loves edna

THANKS EDNA

‘If pressure starts getting put on and management’s putting pressure on the guys, then naturally people start doing things faster, neglecting their job or not doing it right. And then you can have risks. And very quickly that shows anyway. You start getting readings on air monitors, you can’t hide that sort of stuff.’

Edna’s well known for looking after crane crews around town, her site visits and generosity. As a thank you, Edna was presented with a specially made quilt featuring pictures of cranes around town and a basket of goodies.

II All the right gear

Just up the road: Hansen & Yuncken exposes workers

still took 18 months of pressure on H&Y to get this document up to date. Several times over the last 2 years, the project has been completely shut down for at least a week at a time, for a complete clean due to potential asbestos contamination. This occurred with workers being exposed to asbestos, then H&Y walking them through the hospital to the site sheds, while they were still potentially covered with Asbestos fibres.

H&Y has also sent workers into areas before testing for asbestos had been completed.

In complete contrast to the Dallas Brooks Hall project, the Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital project is an ongoing nightmare for all involved.

ue to the lack of expertise the builder (Hansen and Yuncken) has in running a job of this magnitude, there has been one disaster after another. Hansen and Yuncken started this demolition/build project using an out of date Asbestos register. Even though this document is a mandatory requirement, it

H&Y instructed the Asbestos removalist to set up bubbles in areas to remove asbestos, and then disassemble them before all works could be completed. Only weeks later, they had them reinstate the bubbles to do more works in the same areas - a complete waste of money.

Due the pressure and incompetence of H&Y’s management there have been several workers go off on stress leave. The only positive is that the Unions have really good OHS reps on the job. They are the only ones that find, and try to fix the issues. But even they struggle with the day to day, ongoing and bizarre issues that keep occurring. It goes to show how important good, competent reps on the job are. We can’t report on all the issues from this job as it would fill the whole magazine.

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UNION AID ABROARD

Not here. Not anywhere.

We know asbestos kills, but people all around the world are still exposed. In Australia, asbestos is totally banned. It was a long, hard fight against a powerful industry, but we got there. Yet asbestos continues to do its deadly damage.

ustralian unionists know what it takes to struggle and win asbestos bans. We also know we have to be vigilant. Despite import bans, asbestos is still getting into Australia — in construction materials, in mechanical parts, in school science kits. Recently, asbestos traces were even found in children’s crayons. We know the fight for victims is ongoing.

The World Health Organisation says that the only way to see an end to asbestos related disease is to see asbestos eradicated globally. While asbestos is used anywhere – it is a risk everywhere.

Hundreds of thousands of tonnes of raw asbestos are imported across South East Asia, where they are used to make building products, rooftiles, machine parts and specialist fabrics for clothing.

The Union movement — your union— is stepping up to eradicate the Asbestos killer overseas

The workers in the factories are exposed, the communities surrounding the factories are exposed, families are exposed through their roof-tiles made with asbestos, and building workers are exposed. And every time asbestos is disturbed, more and more people are potentially exposed. The cost in human life is incalculable.

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In Indonesia, 26 factories, each with more than 100 workers, are producing products with asbestos. The industry in Indonesia directly exposes over 7000 workers. These workers and their communities are largely unaware of the damage caused by asbestos exposure. The owners of these factories are profiting from workers who don’t know the risks to themselves, their families and communities.

Widespread and killing in South East Asia

In Vietnam, there is progress towards a ban, but the work ahead to organise for eradication

is extensive. In Cambodia, as construction sites pop up all over the place, lowly paid building and construction workers are exposed to asbestos dust from cheap cladding.

The World Health Organisation says that the only way to see an end to asbestos-related disease is to see asbestos eradicated globally.

II Asbestos disposal - Indonesian style.

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Under the slogan ‘Asbestos. Not here. Not anywhere.’, Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA is building a movement in Australia to support movements in South East Asia

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UNION AID ABROARD

working towards asbestos bans and eradication. In Vietnam, we are continuing to support VN-BAN, a local network of organisations joining forces to see asbestos eradicated. We have supported asbestos programs in Vietnam for a number of years and, despite the concerted efforts of the powerful asbestos lobby, we now have government support for a ban by 2020. In Cambodia, we are looking to scaleup our involvement in campaigns and organising around asbestos. We are also looking for opportunities to support local unions and movements in Burma, Laos and wherever asbestos is used and people are exposed.

Joining forces with LION and Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA Right now, in Indonesia, we are increasing our support with a new partner, LION. LION’s vision is for all Indonesians to be able work without fear of injury or illness from their jobs, because workplace health and safety hazards are understood and recognised by all.

Just like the Australian union movement and the World Health Organisation, LION wants to see asbestos banned in Indonesia and everywhere. LION is coordinating a worker-led campaign to take on the industry, beginning in the industry’s very own factories. With solidarity from workers in Australia, LION will put an organiser into every one of their 26 asbestos factories.

They will build awareness, and they will build a union. LION is also working with health professionals and environmental and community organisations to build a network powerful enough to enable the Indonesian people to demand that asbestos be banned from their workplaces and communities.

APHEDA relies on its members to make monthly contributions and take action in support of projects and campaigns that make a real difference in the lives of working people and communities all around the world.

What can you do? 1. Join APHEDA – your contributions make a big difference and APHEDA members are ready and willing to take action to support global asbestos bans.

Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA is the global solidarity organisation of the Australian union movement.

2. Take Action Today – make a solidarity sign and share using #NotHereNotAnywhere (you can download these at apheda.org.au/asbestos)

It is a movement of people in Australia who help build powerful labour and social movements.

3. Get resources and an action pack to spread the word at: apheda.org.au/asbestos Contact us for support to spread the word and build the campaign or with questions – office@apheda.org.au

Remember: While asbestos is used anywhere, it is a risk everywhere.

JOIN APHEDA APHEDA.ORG.AU JOIN II Delegates and officials show their support for APHEDA.

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CFMEU WORKER

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Koori surf titles

Organisers of the Woorrangalook Victorian Koori Surf Titles have celebrated another successful event, thanking the CFMEU for their support and noting the Union ‘always goes above and beyond and it’s greatly appreciated.’

eld at Urquhart Bluff, Great Ocean Road, on 13-14 February 2016, the 16th annual event saw 100 indigenous surfers gather from across Victoria.

Indigenous representation from all over Victoria took to the swells Communities represented at the event included East Gippland, Dimboola, Portland and the South West, Bendigo, Shepparton, Metropolitan Melbourne, Bass Coast, Mornington Peninsula and a strong contingent from the local Geelong and Surf Coast. The event was opened on Saturday by the Deadly Dancers from the local Wathaurong community and cleansed with a traditional smoking ceremony. This was followed by learn-to-surf sessions where all of the

participants were given a skills and a water safety lesson. Conditions were perfect with a small swell and sunny skies. In the afternoon, the junior competitive divisions, plus the Open Women and Masters Women events, were finalised.

awarded a 3X World Champion Mick Fanning surfboard with custom Indigenous artwork by Shane O’Shanassy. The Good Sports Award, provided by the Department of Justice, was awarded to 7-year-old Freddy Collins from the Mornington Peninsula. The Woorrangalook Victorian Koori Surf Titles is presented by VicHealth and Play It Safe by the Water and supported by Wathaurong Co-Op, Wathaurong Glass, Narana Aboriginal Cultural Center, CFMEU and Farm Foods. II Smoking ceremony Welcome to Country.

Sunday was met with a slightly increased swell for the completion of the Masters Men division, followed by the blue ribbon division, Open Men’s. Jordie Campbell of Sandy Point won his 8th Open Men’s Title and a wildcard into the Rip Curl Pro Trials at Bells Beach.

East Gippsland Girls team took out the annual tag team event.

II Winners are grinners.

Under-16 Boys Champion, Jirrah Morgan from East Gippsland, won the Encouragement Award. Jirrah also made the Open Men’s final and finished 4th. He was

II Everyone enjoyed the Learn to Surf lessons.

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get the app

Get more access to your Incolink - with the NEW Smartphone app On the go access to your redundancy account is available on your iPhone or your Android phone – it’s your money and this is the easy way to keep track of it.

Incolink App launch was on Construction Engineering site in North Carlton, with workers from Hacer site also attending. Dan O’Brien and the team from Incolink launched the app to a crew of workers on the Construction Engineering site over lunch of freshly cooked pizza and brewed coffee.

Downloading it is easy For an iPhone use the App Store, and for Android use Play Store. Down the Incolink Smartphone App which gives you on-thego access to your Incolink account 24/7.

What can you do? From 1 February 2016, the Incolink Smartphone app version 2 is custom built for Incolink members, to make managing your Incolink account easy.

Check out these great features

II Dan O’Brien talks about the app

II Giving the Incolink Smartphone App a tick of approval.

For information on the new Smart Phone app, please visit our website: incolink.org.au/smartphone. To contact our customer service team please call (03) 9639 3000 or email marketing@incolink.org.au.

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INSERTtraining cfmeu COPY

Although we certainly hope our crane crews never have to call on them, fire fighters from the Metropolitan Fire Brigade (MFB) recently undertook their tower crane rescue training at the CFMEU Education and Training Unit in Port Melbourne.

hy do fire fighters choose the CFMEU for their high-risk training? Because we have world-class facilities, second to none. Around 20 fire fighters completed

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the crane rescue training as part of their general rescue course. It’s good to know that crane crews are in good hands if something does go wrong.

Get trust-worthy, quality training through the CFMEU CFMEU Training is about quality. With dodgy providers offering quick and nasty training options and silly gimmicks to try and make a quick buck, people are looking for genuine, quality training. That’s what you get with the CFMEU. From First Aid and white cards to OHS and high risk – choose CFMEU for all your training and get ‘Quality not Quickie’.

Go to vic.cfmeu.org.au/training or call 03 9341 3444 to find out more and apply for a course.

AUTUMN SUMMER 2016

cfmeu training

Apprentices

nne, Jacky, all the OHS teachers and admin staff can be found at 262 Lorimer St, Port Melbourne. Barry and Paul are there too. We are in the Rathbourne Wine Group building on the corner of Sabre Drive and Lorimer St. Enter from Lorimer St and ask for us at reception. Apprentice Officer Liam Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Hearn and the apprentices can be found at Unit 4/31 Sabre Drive Port Melbourne. First Aid trainers and the rest of the High Risk Work training team can be found at the HRW training facility at 1 Wharf Rd Port Melbourne.

A RR A Y

R VE RI

The Safety and Health Council of Singapore recently visited Australia and asked to see our Education and Training Unit.

E IV DR

Visitors

262 Lorimer St

Our first group have finished their first 6 months of work as Carpentry apprentices and are coming back to start their Certificate III training with us now. Employers are telling us that our pre-apps are a great pick up. Looks like trade training by the Vic branch is a real goer.

ME RI LO

RE ST

E BR SA

Our second group of preapps have just finished their training and we are on the lookout for employers to take them on as apprentices. The pre-apps reckon the course was awesome with erecting the roof and the site visits being highlights of the 16 week course. The new building workers will bring to their apprenticeship an awareness of commercial construction and some really good practical skills.

Training Unit?

1 Wharf Rd

Unit 4/31 Sabre Dve

O FR R HA W

TO WESTGATE BRIDGE

We spent an afternoon with them and Dr Gerry Ayers swapping OHS policies and experiences. We all shared the same frustration with shonky operators and failures in the system but we were impressed by the Singaporean model of regulating High Risk Work licensing - a model we will take up with our own Health and

II Pre-App trainees

TODD ROAD

TRAINING NEWS

Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve Moved! Looking for people from the Education and

Safety regulators.

Scaffolders Scaffold manufacturer Layher are interested in talking training with us which means we will be talking with you about Layher at the next scaffolders meeting. There's plenty happening in training. Check the website for courses. Hope to see you in Port Melbourne sometime soon.

II Visitors from Singapore

vic.cfmeu.org.au/training

ON THE JOB NEWS

Chadstone installs first

Not one soft sling will be used to install Australia’s first 470 tonne steel grid shell roof at Chadstone Shopping Centre.

he whole steel frame will be put in place in less than 200 lifts, with a focus on pre-assembly reducing the risk and lifts required. All the equipment involved has been fully engineered. Because the decorative frames arrive painted, it’s important that they don’t damage the roof. But custom brackets with lifting points and protective liners allow for chain-lifting without that risk of damage. Even ring beams are lifted with chains, again with protection in place for steel that is pre-assembled, welded and painted.

in australia

Consultation with the CFMEU raised concerns about soft slings and the associated safety risks. It was also through consultation with the Union that a safer and satisfactory solution was found.

Collaboration with international expertise and products The steel roof is fabricated in sections in the city of Pilsen in the Czech Republic by Seele. The glass is manufactured in Germany. Seele also provided bolts and other components; a high-tension structure requires high-quality gear. Local fabricators were explored, but it was found that the design required machining to a level of tolerance that Australian steel makers couldn’t meet. It was the same story with the glass: local manufacturers couldn't meet the standards required.

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ON THE JOB NEWS The roof will be made up of 2,671 panels of glass in various trapezoidal shapes of 1.2-8 square metres.

Howâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s it done?

Scaffolding is designed by Smartscaff and PERI and built by Nomad Scaffolding to meet propping weight requirements and safe working access.

The net design sits on a sliding bearing to allow for expansion and contraction of the roof in different weather conditions.

Scaffold is built up through the frame so that Century Glass can install the glass from above after de-propping.

All components, apart from ring beams, are imported in small pieces, with finishing fabrication and pre-assembly taking place in Campbellfield at the GFC Industries yard.

The grid shell will take around six months total in work on site.

Escorted deliveries are required to Chadstone where individual frames can be lifted off, properly rigged and lifted into place. Riggers from GFC and I&D use a lifting beam, spreader beams and four remote-controlled chain blocks that are independently controlled to finely adjust tilt and pitch. The ladder frame is propped to scaffolding, which in phases 1 and 2 are Kwikstage, and in stages 3 and 4 are a PERI system.

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INSERT TAX REFORM COPY AND YOU

How While the Liberal Government pushes the issue of industrial relations as the lynchpin of their election campaign, polling has revealed that a big issue for people is tax reform.

aying tax and how much we pay are important. After all, it’s tax money that funds our schools, health system and pensions for the elderly, and builds much needed infrastructure. After the build-up, and then abandonment, of an increase to the GST, the Government has floundered on the issue of tax reform. However, Labor have proposed new policies, including a revision to Negative Gearing, that have been a long time coming.

The tax system is stacked against ordinary workers While we all pay a hefty percentage of our wages in tax, the rich get away with paying very little and, in some cases, no taxes at all. But when the Government moves to generate more tax income, they devise policies that tax working people even more, while allowing those who make more money in a year than you will earn in a lifetime to continue enjoying generous tax breaks. Let’s take a closer look at some of the major areas that are being discussed in relation to changes in our taxation system.

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Rich companies are gaming the tax system  Multinational companies are paying less tax in Australia than in the United States, the UK, France, Germany and Japan.  38% of Australia’s largest corporate entities did not pay any tax in 2013-14.  1,539 companies, with combined revenue of $1.6 trillion and $169.9 billion in profit, paid just $39.9 billion in tax.  579 local and foreign-based companies that paid no tax in 2013-14 had a combined turnover of $405.9 billion and taxable income of $4 billion.

Australian Tax Commissioner Chris Jordan told a Senate hearing in February that the tactics of many companies is ‘to game the system’ and ‘string us along’.

Negative Gearing: benefitting high income earners instead of creating housing Negative Gearing was established to encourage people to lease properties as a way of creating more housing. Instead, it has contributed to soaring prices that are pricing first homebuyers out of the market. With Negative Gearing, buying a house has become more about making an investment than putting roofs over people’s heads.

How does it happen? Companies either paid no tax, had offsets against profits that reduced their tax to zero, or they made a loss — which the Tax Office reports as nil.

These aren’t unknown companies, either: we know they’re doing big business The companies who are getting away with paying little or no tax include household names like Chevron, Transfield, Adani, CSL and News Limited. Netherlands-based Steinhoff Holdings, which owns Freedom, Snooze and Leather Republic, had a total income of $431 million, taxable income of $150 and paid no tax. Transfield, which recorded a $2.8 billion turnover, had taxable income of $16 million and also paid zero tax.

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INSERT TAX REFORM COPY

can change your life GRO$4C41,O0N 79,259

Revenue:

PAID

TAX

A study released by the independent think tank Grattan Institute last year showed that the practice of using losses on property investments to reduce taxable income, and the associated capital gains tax discount, favour the rich. The study said that anaesthetists, surgeons, finance managers, mining engineers, and lawyers are far more likely to negatively gear their properties than so-called 'battlers'. They also receive greater tax benefits than those in lower-paying jobs. There’s no doubt that Negative Gearing would not be as popular if the capital gain on the sale of an investment was taxed in full. Currently, capital gains tax is paid on half of the capital gain, as there is a discount when calculating how much is included in the taxable income.

Mmm, how can my mates pay less tax??

Labor’s plan: start by scraping Negative Gearing In February, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten announced Labor’s tax policy that would tighten Negative Gearing and the capital gains tax discount. Under the plan, this revised Negative Gearing policy would apply to new housing from July 2017: current property investments and any made before that date would be unaffected.

LEAS37E,140 LENeD : $7,683,4

Revenu

PAID

TAX

The aim is to assist first homebuyers so that they are not competing with investors in the housing market. The family home will remain capital gains tax-free.

Make the rich pay tax on their Super Superannuation tax concessions cost taxpayers $32 billion each year. Superannuation tax concessions are tax breaks for contributions put into superannuation savings, as well as for earnings on super investments. By taxing most Superannuation contributions at a rate of 15%, the

AUTUMN 2016

biggest tax breaks go to higher income earners. Low-income earners get little to no benefit. In fact, 60% of all Superannuation tax concessions ($18 billion) go to Australia's top 20% of income earners.

LD TRAe:N$2S,8F17I,4E22,919

Revenu

PAID

TAX

Former Treasurer Joe Hockey flagged the idea of making changes in this area. But like many other policies that have been discussed by the Government, nothing came of it. In 2015, Labor announced that it plans to crack down on Superannuation tax breaks enjoyed by high income earners, which they say would raise more than A$14 billion over ten years. Their plan would remove the tax-free concession available to people with annual Superannuation incomes from earnings exceeding $75,000 — that is, accounts with about A$1.5 million in them. Yet another independent think tank, The Australia Institute, released a report in 2015 that recommends changing the tax rate for Super. Instead of applying a blanket 15% rate, tax concessions should be different rates for different income levels. The report shows that by making these reforms so that benefits flow to those who need them most, we can save the budget billions of dollars every year, help more Australians retire with dignity and reduce the number of people on the Age Pension.

CFMEU MEMBERS

37% TAX BRACKE

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BRENDAN MURPHY

Brendan Murp

life membership for a career Tim Gooden has vivid memories of former organiser Brendan Murphy’s approach to solving problems with employers.

ooden — who is a former carpenter, delegate and now the Geelong Trades Hall Secretary — says Murphy would always open with the same line at meetings: ‘We can do this the cooperative way, or the non-cooperative way.’ ‘Most employers would go down the cooperative path,’ Gooden laughs, ‘because they knew full well that Brendan was going to fight all the way for any worker and he was not going to give up.’

A legacy built on hard yards and a determined commitment to offer a helping hand This is the lasting legacy of Brendan Murphy in the Geelong community where he worked and lived. He is known as a man who would always go the extra mile, not just for his members, but also for anyone who needed a helping hand. Murphy retired from the CFMEU after 20 years as an organiser. After starting his working life as a butcher’s apprentice and working at Jackson’s Meatworks in Geelong, he took off to travel, live and work in West Australia for several years. He returned to Geelong and his relationship with the BLF began when he became a delegate on the Bay

048

City Plaza site in the late 1970s. Recalls Murphy, ‘I became very interested in the union’s work and started going to all the branch meetings.’ He was one of the founding members of the Geelong Unemployed Construction Workers Union that was set up to advocate local workers for jobs. Then John Cummins, the man responsible for inspiring many activists of his generation, encouraged him to become an organiser. Of Cummins and his influence, Murphy says, ‘He was a great example to me about how to represent workers.’

Witnessing years of industry change and challenges Over the years, Murphy has witnessed some major changes in the industry and says that while there has been a huge improvement in systems of work, prefabrication has meant that there are fewer workers on site now. ‘There used to be gangs of bricklayers and scaffolders. Now they do tilt up slabs and that has its own safety challenges, but the union has kept pace with those developments and evolved.’ Geelong CFMEU organiser Peter Booth, who grew up with Murphy in Norlane, says Murphy’s shoes are hard to fill as ‘he knew everybody in Geelong’. ‘He had a real affinity with people and he never took a backward step.’

From the CFMEU to the Men’s Shed: Murphy’s commitment to community service continues Although Murphy has retired from the CFMEU, he has not retired from community activism. While others may be content to go fishing, Murphy is busy on another community venture, this one related to men’s health and well-being.

Most employers would go down the cooperative path,’ Gooden laughs, ‘because they knew full well that Brendan was going to fight all the way for any worker and he was not going to give up. In the Otways town of Forrest where Murphy now lives, he has been instrumental in setting up the Men’s Shed. Along with former CFMEU member Graham Knight, former timber worker Clayton Bennett and local Bob Brooks, he secured funding to get a shed where men gather to

CFMEU WORKER

build things, help others in the community and mingle. ‘Apart from the footy club and the pub, there isn’t anything else for men to do and once men retire there is a risk of social isolation. Especially here in Forrest, like all country towns, where male depression is a real issue,’ Murphy explains. The Shed has built a shelter for the local school, has replaced a spout for one of the elderly citizens in the area and built tables for the local hospital. They have also organised events for Anzac Day and Grand Final Day. Graham Knight says it’s a great venture because they are providing a real service to the community. ‘It’s great for friendship and catching up with people, but we are making things and doing things that are of value to the community. And that means a lot.’

With Murphy and his CFMEU experience, the welcome sign on the Men’s Shed in Forrest is sure While the Men’s Shed is still in infancy and the group needs funds to complete their building, they already have a firm footing in Forrest. Murphy has sourced materials from the ETU and there have been donations

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BRENDAN MURPHY

phy

r of service from local businesses. Given his track record, it won’t be long before the Men’s Shed in Forrest reaches its full potential. Murphy is nothing but appreciative to the union for the job and the experiences it afforded him. ‘I have nothing but admiration for the guys still fighting the good fight. But I’m here and if anyone is up this way, you’re welcome to our Shed.’

II Brendan receives a lifetime membership award from the CFMEU Executive.

II Brendan with locals at the Forrest Men's Shed.

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049

CFMEU COMMUNITY

Construction of concrete structures for multistorey office and apartment buildings; and large shopping centres. Including formwork, reinforcement supply and fix, post tensioning supply and installation, concrete supply, concrete place, concrete pumping, construction of concrete lift cores, structure safety screens and provision of other self climbing systems. 68-76 Drake Boulevard, Altona, Vic. 3018

Ph: (03) 8331 7100 Fax: (03) 8331 7150 Email: info@form700.com.au Website: www.form700.com.au CW 21/3

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CW 21/3

AUTUMN 2016

Slater + Gordon we've got your back

INSERT COPY

HEARING LOSS As a CFMEU member you may be at risk of suffering hearing loss because of the nature of the duties you are required to perform on a regular basis, particularly if you use, or are in the vicinity of, heavy machinery.

earing loss causes numerous difficulties for sufferers, including problems communicating on the telephone and in social situations. In particular, hearing loss can diminish your ability to distinguish conversations, thereby affecting your capacity to participate in group activities and functions. Severe or profound hearing loss can make even the simplest task — like buying an item in the shop — confusing, complicated and distressing. Of note, a person with hearing loss will often be unaware of the extent or level of that loss. It is family, friends and colleagues who will often notice the signs of hearing loss before the sufferer. Scott Arundell of Slater & Gordon is committed to ensuring that you obtain full compensation for any work-

related hearing loss. He will provide you with information and support during the claims process, and ensure that you obtain your maximum entitlements.

If you are suffering from work-related hearing loss, you may be entitled to a range of benefits under WorkCover, including:  a lump sum for any permanent hearing impairment, depending on the level of permanent injury  payments for being unable to work  payment for high quality hearing aids, and  maintenance and battery replacement of hearing aid

These benefits are payable irrespective of fault. For the best compensation, be sure to seek assistance as soon as you’re aware of suffering hearing loss. It is important that you obtain independent, expert, legal advice in the early stages of the claims process. Early investigation and gathering of information are critical to the success of your claim and may affect your compensation entitlement. WorkCover insurers have their own lawyers who advise on their obligation to pay compensation. They will not provide you with independent

AUTUMN 2016

At Slater & Gordon we work solely on obtaining the best possible outcome for you legal advice, nor automatically pay your full compensation entitlement. At Slater & Gordon, we work solely on obtaining the best possible outcome for you. We will advise you on whether or not you qualify for the scheme, the full range of entitlements available to you, and the process for obtaining them. When claiming lump sum benefits, there are particular considerations you must be aware of.

Case Study

CFMEU member Thomas Kruger, who recently settled a claim for both hearing aids and compensation, said Slater & Gordon made the whole claims process straightforward. ‘Throughout the claim I was kept up to date and I was always aware of the state of

II Thomas Kruger

the claim,’ he said. ‘I feel Scott and his team did a fantastic job, and the outcome of my claim actually exceeded my expectations. The hearing aids I obtained with Slater & Gordon’s assistance have improved my ability to hear in crowded environments and assisted a lot with background noise.’ He adds: ‘I would encourage all members who have difficulties with their hearing to contact Slater & Gordon.’ Slater & Gordon acts on behalf of CFMEU members on a ‘No Win, No Fee’ basis in hearing loss claims. If you think you have suffered hearing loss as a result of exposure to noise, contact the CFMEU to arrange a free, no-obligation appointment with Scott Arundell.

CFMEU WORKER

051

CATCHING UP WITH OLD FRIENDS

Retired and Life Members Christmas Lunch 3 December 2015

Select a range of investments Cbus Self Managed investment option Cbus Self Managed (CSM) is an investment option for eligible Cbus Super and Cbus Super Income Stream members who want greater investment choice and more control over how their super is invested. As an eligible member, with CSM you can invest your super directly in a range of asset classes from property and infrastructure to blue chip shares – it’s up to you. CSM gives you the flexibility to create your desired investment portfolio by combining it with your standard Cbus investment options. You can choose to build a whole portfolio of investments or invest only a small amount in CSM, or anything in between.

What can you invest in?  Shares in companies in the S&P/ ASX 300 Index – the largest 300

companies on the Australian Securities Exchange (by market capitalisation).  A selection of Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) covering a diverse range of asset classes. ETFs are traded like shares but are structured like a managed fund. ETFs contain a collection of securities and generally represent a particular market index (e.g. ASX Small Caps).

You can start a Cbus Self Managed if your Cbus super account is $40,000 or more. To consider if this option is right for you, read the Cbus Self Managed Investment Guide for full terms and conditions and all eligibility requirements. For more information visit cbussuper. com.au/cbusselfmanaged This information is about Cbus. It doesn’t take into account your specific needs, so you should look at your own financial position, objectives and requirements before making any financial decisions. Read the relevant Cbus Product Disclosure Statement to decide whether Cbus is right for you. Call 1300 361 784 or visit cbussuper. com.au for a copy.

 Managed Investments, including assets such as property and infrastructure.  A selection of term deposits from ME and National Australia Bank.

AUTUMN 2016 CFMEU WORKER Cbus’ Trustee: United Super Pty Ltd ABN 46 006 261 623 AFSL 233792 Cbus ABN 75 493 363053 262.

Download the

Cbus app The Cbus App makes it a whole lot easier to keep track of your super. n n n n n

Check your super Track RDOs Store site tickets Get the latest news and weather Do your footy tipping

The super app, that makes super simple.

Used by 60,000 members and

counting!

For more details visit www.cbussuper.com.au/app

1300 361 784

www.cbussuper.com.au

cbusenq@cbusmail.com.au

This information is about Cbus. It doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t take into account your specific needs so you should look at your own financial position, objectives and requirements before making any financial decisions. Read the relevant Cbus Product Disclosure Statement to decide if Cbus is right for you. Contact 1300 361 784 or visit www.cbussuper.com.au for a copy. Cbusâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Trustee: United Super Pty Ltd ABN 46 006 261 623 AFSL 233792 Cbus ABN 75 493 363 262

classified ads

Citywide Precast Pty Ltd • Commercial • Industrial • Residential 1/25 Macquarie Drive, Thomastown, 3074 John: 0419 344 491 ABN 18 517 054 609 Matt: 0419 904 844 Phone: 03 9464 6615 Email: admin@jlmundergroundsolutions.com.au

38 Star Crescent Hallam 3803

Ph: (03) 9702 4726

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Melbourne Construct Solutions Pty Ltd

Lexicon Site Services Pty Ltd

P.O. Box 4231, Narre Warren, Vic. 3805

Mobile: 0412 374 526

Mobile:

0421 611 023

CW 21/3

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CW 21/3

Major Welding & Rigging Pty Ltd 10 Slater Parade, East Keilor, Vic. 3033

0409 180 427

Julian McCarthy Landscapes Pty Ltd

Committed to Health, Safety & the Environment in the Workplace

Suite 404/91 Murphy Street, Richmond, Vic. 3121

Ph: (03) 9421 5887 Fax: (03) 9429 5887 CW 21/3

Construction since 1861

CW 22/1

We offer a one-stop civil construction solution for our clients and their projects.

Cockram Construction Limited www.cockram.com

Contact the team at Mitchco Group Australia Pty Ltd.

675 Victoria Street, Abbotsford Vic 3067 P: +61 3 8862 8888 F: +61 3 8862 8900

www.mitchco.com.au Phone 03 9646 6972 CW 21/3

AUTUMN 2016

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CFMEU WORKER

055

classified ads

Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve got your back Slater and Gordon is proud to partner with the CFMEU

contact CFMEU Legal Services on:

03 9341 3444 for a referral to Slater and Gordon Services for CFMEU members + Workers Compensation + Transport Accident Injury Claims + Asbestos Claims + Wills and Estates

+ + + + +

Public Liability Conveyancing Family Law Criminal Law Much more

slatergordon.com.au CW 22/1

CW 22/1

056

CFMEU WORKER

AUTUMN 2016

classified ads

3 Hillside Tce Ascot Vale, Vic. 3032

Renovations, Alterations, extensions & home improvements

T: 0407 505 915

• Kitchens • Bathrooms • Pergolas • Decking • Commercial Installers

E: info@ajcaulking.com.au

Mob: 0404 016 866 www.smartbuildingprojects.com.au

CW 22/1

Treddmor Constructions Pty Ltd Coolroom & Freezer Constructions and Shopfront Hoardings

Morrow Civil Proudly supporting the CFMEU

Phone:

0432 445 795

CW 22/1

Supporting the CFMEU

        

R & L Collins (Construction) Pty Ltd

  

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– Class A – All types of asbestos Friable and Non-Friable

                            

Phone:

0433 147 734

    CW 22/1

CW 22/1

 

CW 22/1

I & D Group P/L

TasBuild’s Portable Long Service is great for the whole construction industry.

In support of the CFMEU & Workplace Safety

It’s good for Employees because we get long service EHQH¿WV HYHQ LI ZH change employer

Unit 4/3 Faigh St, Mulgrave, Vic. 3170

P: 03 9560 1812

...and it’s good for employers because it’s keeps the best of us in the Industry.

CW 21/3

TasBuild’s involvement PHDQV P\ EHQH¿W LV maximised while costs to employers are minimised. That’s good for all of us because lower costs mean more jobs.

For all your NDD, Drain Cleaning and Vacuum needs please contact

MaximuMminbiemnefit . cos t . um www.tasbuild.com.au 6233 7670 CW 21/3

AUTUMN 2016

www.activeindustrial.com.au

CFMEU WORKER

CW 21/3

057

classified ads

BROWNS PILING The Piling Professionals

Express Interiors Pty Ltd

4/2 John Street Dandenong South

1 Buckland Street Clayton, Vic. 3166

Vic. Ph: (03) 9791 6983

Ph: (03) 9548 7322

W.A. Ph: (08) 9261 7722

J. S. Steel Fixing Pty Ltd

Fax: (03) 9548 7255

CW 22/1

Major Crane Logistics Pty Ltd 17B Nathan Drive Campbellfield, Vic. 3061 Mobile:

Mobile:

Mobile: 0404 446 633

0437 481 288

Email: cleancity@optusnet.com.au

Gravity Rigging & Machinery Pty Ltd Safer, simpler and more cost effective machinery rigging option

Phone: 0424 584 872 dean@gravityrigging.com

www.gravityrigging.com

CW 22/1

1 Milkman Street Coburg, Vic. 3058

Ph: (03) 9354 9322

mboyer@rapidcrete.com.au

Fax: (03) 9354 9344 CW 22/1

Service West Melbourne Pty Ltd

CW 22/1

Dascon Commercial Interiors

Construction Professionals Leaders in Commercial Framing, Lock-up and Fix M: 0409 293 102 Email: tim@tplconstruction.com.au www.tplconstruction.com.au

Commercial fit-outs and carpentry services

Williamstown Nth, Vic. 3016

PO Box 462, Bulleen, Vic. 3105

Phone: 03 9238 4560

Ph: (03) 9397 1000

Ph: 0418 386 643

www.a1precision.com.au

36 Tennyson Street

CW 21/3

Industrial super flat concrete floors 20 Lionel Road Mt Waverley, Vic. 3149

Ph: 03 9544 5511 CW 22/1

Tiling, Flooring & Waterproofing COMMERCIAL & DOMESTIC

Phone: 0403 660 775

CW 22/1

Providing solutions for all of your commercial and industrial needs

Commercial furniture installation & logistics

058

PO Box 521 North Melbourne, Vic 3051

Anglo Italian Concrete

Pacific Project Group Pty Ltd

Trading as

Matt Boyer 0438 770 360

CW 22/1

Moncor Investments Pty Ltd

MCM Tile & Stone

P.O. Box 489 Kew East, Vic. 3102

CW 22/1

0438 583 005

Email: ndambra@mclogistics.com.au CW 22/1

Clean City Services Vic Pty Ltd

CW 21/3

CFMEU WORKER

CW 21/3

CW 22/1

Straightline Excavations Pty Ltd 19 Dawson Street Coburg North, Vic. 3058 Phone:

(03) 9354 1220 CW 22/1

AUTUMN 2016

classified ads

V & G Concrete Constructions Pty Ltd 253-269 Wellington Road, Mulgrave, Vic. 3170

Phone: 03 9566 3500

Supporting the CFMEU

Rising Star Interior Pty Ltd 506 Fullarton Road, Airport West, Vic. 3042

Ph: (03) 9478 2621 Fax: (03) 9470 4370 CW 22/1

MP Interior Linings Pty Ltd

CW 22/1

ACS

A D VA N C E D C O N S T R U C T I O N S O L U T I O N S

243 Browns Road Noble Park North, Vic. 3174

18-20 Russell Street, Melbourne, Vic. 3000 P.O. Box 18097, Collins Street East, Melbourne 8003

Tel: (03) 9546 6882

Phone: (03) 9645 3011 Fax: (03) 9645 3088 CW 22/1

CW 22/1

COMMERCIAL, INDUSTRIAL & RETAIL BUILDERS & CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT MABEN GROUP PTY LTD ABN 63 255 276 365

We are your one stop shop. Call us today for more information.

22 Blackwood Street North Melbourne Victoria 3051 t 03 9329 2166 f 03 9329 2188

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EURO

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Brady Constructions (Vic) Pty Ltd

PRECAST 8787 8991

Commercial Construction Specialising in Design & Build

2-10 Arkwright Drive, Dandenong South, Vic. 3175 CW 22/1

Ph: (03) 8622 8100 www.bradygroup.com.au

CW 22/1

ATTENTION CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES Summit Advertising is the only authorised advertising representative for the CFMEU Construction & General Division. For all advertising enquiries please contact

Ardreagh Formwork Pty Ltd

Commercial & Industrial Formworkers Factory 1/131 Proximity Drive Sunshine West, Vic. 3020

Ph: (03) 9314 4404

AUTUMN 2016

CW 22/1

Steve King 0411 141 463 steve.king@summitadvertising.com.au

CFMEU WORKER

CW 22/1

059

classified ads

CW 22/1

Email: ajbounas@optusnet.com.au

1300 78 22 66

www.we blow.com.au

890 Mountain Hwy, Bayswater, Vic 3153

ABN 64 087 710 978 CW 20/1

Schiavello Construction SUMMIT CONCRETE PUMPING PTY LTD P.O. Box 5100, Mordialloc VIC 3195 Bookings: Maurice Pinzana – 0418 368 758 Office: Michelle Lampard – 0403 11 11 00 Phone: 03 9551 1411 Fax: 03 9558 2693 www.summitconcrete.com.au CW 21/3

1 Sharps Road Tullamarine, Vic. 3043

Ph: (03) 9330 8888

CW 21/1

www.lnycommercial.com E: info@lnycommercial.com

68-76 Drake Bvd Altona, Vic. 3018 Phone:

CW 22/1

(03) 9095 6835

Complex Facade Installations Pty Ltd 12 Palamino Valley Court Greenvale, Vic. 3059

PTY. LTD.

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Hourly Hire Mob: 0428 319 638 1 Albert Street Office: 03 5629 5556 Bunyip Vic 3815 Fax: 03 5629 5695 Email: rubblesrigging@bigpond.com

Jose Mobile: 0419 565 674

CW 22/1

Grampians Excavations & Soilyard P.O. Box 315, Stawell, Vic. 3380

Fax: (03) 9338 8460 Email: joe@complexaustralia.com.au

Email: grampexc@netconnect.com.au

TIMBER FLOORING SERVICES COMMERCIAL PTY LTD

Mob: 0417 695 155 Email: admin@sminteriorsvic.com.au Web: www.sminteriorsvic.com.au

CW 22/1

F: (03) 9338 9500 CW 22/1

Eire Group Pty Ltd 1-5 Failla Avenue Campbellfield, Vic 3061

Ph: (03) 9357 5538

www.eiregroup.com.au Email: info@eiregroup.com.au

Most Building Trades Covered Tasmanian Building Group Apprenticeship Scheme 175 Campbell Street, Hobart Ph 6234 3844 Fax 6234 3775 CW 22/1

Supporting the CFMEU

P.R.I. Pty Ltd 5/121 Fairbairn Road Sunshine, Vic. 30121

Complete Shotcrete Pty Ltd

0403 060 607 Peter

187 Station Street Corio,Vic,3214

Email: pschafer@priptyltd.com

Mob: 0407 322 649

CW 22/1

060

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Byrne Construction Systems Pty Ltd Units 8 & 9/40 Ricketts Road Mount Waverley, Vic. 3149

Tel: (03) 9543 2926 CW 22/1

Bluesting Works Mob 0431 335 520

Apprentices for hire for the time you require!

CW 22/1

P.O. Box 310, Keilor, Vic 3063

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69 Arthur Street St Albans, Vic. 3021

P: (03) 9338 9511

CW 22/1

SM Interiors Vic Pty Ltd

E – admin@steelvision.com.au W – http://steelvision.com.au

CW 22/1

55 McGregors Dve, Keilor Park, Vic 3042

Mob: 0419 866 920

T – 03 9772 9956 M - 0424 908 798

DEPRESSION GET HELP www.beyondblue.org.au or phone 1300 22 4636

Postenco Pty Ltd

CW 22/1

RUBBLES RIGGING & SPOTTING

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P.O. Box 72, Chelsea, Vic. 3196 Office – Suite 32, 93 Wells Road, Chelsea Heights, VIC 3196

CW 22/1

P.O. Box 3311 Doncaster East, Vic. 3109

CW 21/3

STEELVISION PTY LTD

14 Southern Court, Keysborough, Vic. 3173 Ph: (03) 8899 7373 Email: info@starceilings.com.au

147 Westall Road Clayton South, Vic. 3169 Ph: (03) 9546 2229 Fax: (03) 9546 2223

Pty Ltd

M: 0422 774 541

Star Ceilings & Partitions Pty Ltd

L & Y Commercial

Reggio Tiling

822 521

Supporting the CFMEU

(Vic) Pty Ltd

Fax: (03) 9330 8899

Mobile: 0409

CW 21/1

P.O. Box 297, Bundoora, Vic. 3083 Mboile: 0412 407 775

CW 20/1

Keystone Installations Pty Ltd

3/7 Chaplin Drive Lane Cove, NSW 2066

1180 Toorak Road, Camberwell, Vic. 3124

P: (03) 9805 5200 F: (03) 9805 5299 CW 22/1

GIVE BLOOD

Ph: (02) 9420 0313 CW 22/1

Fax: (02) 9420 0118 Email: Kerry@cityrendering.com.au

CFMEU WORKER

CW 22/1

AUTUMN 2016

classified ads RIGCON ENGINEERING PTY LTD P.O. Box 364, Altona North, Vic. 3025 Mobile: 0417 334 271 Email: cobrien@rigcon.com.au

BRIDAN PTY LTD 21 Gilbert Road, Ivanhoe, Vic 3079 Phone: 9499 2524 Fax: 9499 4520 Supporting the CFMEU CRAWFORD EARTHMOVING (VIC) PTY LTD P.O. Box 301, Epsom, Vic. 3551 5 Tobin Crescent, Epsom, Vic. 3551 Mobile: 0418 509 471 Fax: (03) 5448 4190

SLH INDUSTRIES PTY LTD 3A Jayne Court, Dandenong South, Vic. 3715 Mobile: 0477 889 989 Email: info@slhindustries.com.au Website: www.slhindustries.com.au

DENFAM CONSTRUCTIONS PTY LTD P.O Box 201, South Morang, Vic. 3752 Mobile: 0408 129 463 Ph: (03) 9404 5977 Fax: (03) 9404 5878 Email: denfam.dnf@bigpond.com Website: www.denfamconstructions.com.au

SPANZ PTY LTD P.O. Box 31, Rosanna, Vic. 3084 Mobile: 0400 375 176 Email: info@spanz.com.au Website: www.spanz.com.au Bonner Group Pty Ltd t/as TACTILE INNOVATIONS Factory 8, 3-11 Coolstore Road, Croydon, Vic. 3136 Phone: (03) 9725 3127 Email: sales@tactileinnovations.com.au Website: www.tactileinnovations.com.au

Emmluk Pty Ltd t/as PAUL FYANDER SITE WELDING 139 Bailey Road, Mount Evelyn, Vic 3121 Phone: (03) 9737 0138 Mob: 0417 331 230 Email: tfyander@bigpond.net.au ELITE CROSSINGS PTY LTD P.O. Box 7306, Beaumaris, Vic 3193 Ph: (03) 9589 1998 Mob: 0439 630 975 Email: sdnish@elitecrossings.com Website: www.elitecrossings.com

TAFFY GRIFFITHS CONCRETE CUTTING P.O. Box 305, Leopold, Vic. 3224 Mobile: 0411 427 604 Neil Email: neil@taffygriffiths.com.au

LIVING LANDSCAPES PTY LTD Unit 7/ 38 Camberwell Road, Hawthorn East, Vic. 3123 Mobile: 0412 324 877 Email: livinglandscapes@optusnet.com.au

ULTIMATE DOORS PTY LTD 3/1 Bungaleen Court, Dandenong South, Vic 3715 Mobile: 0418 565 993 Email: ultimatedoors@optusnet.com.au Website: www.ultimate-doors.com.au

MERCURY INDUSTRY PTY LTD 28 Wren Road, Moorabbin, Vic. 3189 Phone: (03) 9532 2889 Fax: (03) 9532 0682 Mobile: 0413 789 518 Marty Email: mercuryindustry11@gmail.com

VIC SAWING & DRILLING PTY LTD For all your concrete cutting needs Officer, Vic. 3809 Mobile: 0401 270 920 Email: info@vicsawing.com.au Website: www.vicsawing.com.au

PREMIER DEVELOPMENTS PTY LTD 33-37 Hotham Street, Collingwood, Vic. 3066 Phone: (03) 9417 4785

DETAIL EXCAVATIONS PTY LTD (VIC)

Mainbrace Constructions Pty Ltd Suite 2/Level 1, 74 Burwood Road Hawthorn, Vic. 3122

Lot 1, Mt Derrimut Road Deer Park 3023

Ph: (03) 8537 4700

Ph: 9363 7688 Fax: 9363 7699

V CONSTRUCTIONS PTY LTD 122 Herald Street, Cheltenham, Vic. 3192 Mobile: 0418 341 343 Email: admin@vconstructions.com.au

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PO Box 131, Emerald VIC 3782 Ph: (03) 5942 7114 Fax: (03) 5942 7115 Mob: 0401 498 988 Email: admin@viccivil.com

www.mainbrace.com.au

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Wilfit Interiors

GIVE BLOOD

Pty Ltd

96 Wedgewood Road Hallam, Vic. 3803

Tile Effect (Vic) Pty Ltd

Ph: (03) 9708 6877

P.O. Box 2147, Mount Waverley, Vic. 3149

Mobile: 0411 701 417

AUTUMN 2016

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Fax: (03) 9708 6871 CW 22/1

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CFMEU WORKER

061

YOUR WAGES

EBA WAGE RATES ONSITE 36-HOUR WEEK: Site allowances, superannuation and Incolink contributions have recently increased. Be paid-up and proud, it’s worth it! For sector EBA’s see cfmeuvic.com.au (civil, contract scaffold, precast, traffic control, demolition, apprentices, mobile cranes, steel erection, shop fitting) RATE PER HOUR

RATE PER WEEK*

WEEKLY PRO-RATA HOLIDAY PAY (INCLUDING 17.5% LOADING)

SATURDAY OVERTIME (INCLUDING 20 MINUTES CRIB)

39.31

1415.16

141.43

642.06

Painter – new work

38.43

1383.48

138.33

627.69

Painter – re-paint

38.38

1381.68

138.16

626.87

Marker/Setter-out, Letter Cutter

40.92

1473.12

147.11

668.36

Signwriter

40.07

1442.52

144.11

654.48

42.47

1528.92

152.57

693.68

38.21

1375.56

137.56

624.10

36.95

1330.20

133.11

603.52

(36 HOUR WEEK)

Tradespersons Carpenter, Shopfitter, Joiner Tile-layer Onsite Stonemason Artificial Stoneworker Marble & Slate Worker Plasterer Solid Plasterer Sign Industry Worker Bricklayer

Roof-tiler Special Class Tradesperson Carver *Weekly rates includes tool allowance at 100% rate

Labourers group ONE Rigger Dogman DLI Certified Operator (Boom or Tower pump) Stationary Pump Operator

group TWO Hoist Driver/Winch Driver Line Pump Operator (Truck or Trailer mounted) Scaffolder Steel Fixer Concrete Finisher etc.

062

CFMEU WORKER

AUTUMN 2016

YOUR WAGES

Labourers (continued) group three Pile Driver

35.82

1289.52

129.13

585.06

Operator and Dogman/Crane hands

44.51

1602.36

159.76

727.00

Trainee Dogman/Crane hand (fixed cranes)

41.40

1490.40

148.80

676.20

Aluminium Alloy Structural Erector Gantry Hand Drilling Machine Operator Dump Cart Operator Hoseman & Trainee Operator Skilled Labourer and all others

Crane crews Tower crane crew

Plant operators – building and construction (weekly hire) OPERATOR GRADES ONE AND TWO Mechanical plant operator: Groups 1 & 2

37.02

1332.72

133.36

604.66

38.60

1389.60

138.93

630.47

40.11

1443.96

144.25

655.13

Winch driver Mobile hydraulic platform operator

OPERATOR GRADE THREE Mechanical plant operator: Groups 3 & 4 Mobile crane drivers: up to 15 tonnes

OPERATOR GRADE FOUR Mechanical plant operators: Groups 5 & 6 Mobile crane drivers: 15 – 100 tonnes Note: If unsure if agreement applies to you, check with the Union for your company sector-specific EBA, e.g. Civil. The following site allowances apply under CFMEU construction industry enterprise agreements (EBAs) from 1 October 2015.

Multi-storey Allowance

Site Allowances

Start to 15th floor

$0.52 cents/hr

New projects Melbourne inner suburbs and shopping centres

Floors 16 – 30

$0.62 cents/hr

Projects between $3 million and $227.1 million: $4.05 per hour.

Floors 31 – 45

$0.97 cents/hr

For projects over $227.1 million, see chart below.

Floors 46 – 60

$1.25 cents/hr

Renovations and refurbishments, Melbourne and inner suburbs: $3.50 per hour.

Floors 61+

$1.53 cents/hr

New projects elsewhere

EBA Benefits and Allowances Travel allowance: $39.30 per day

Project value $ million

Site allowance $ per hour

Superannuation: $185 per week

$3.0 – 7.7million

$2.30

$7.7 – 18.9 million

$2.50

$18.9 – 37.9 million

$2.80

Incolink payments: $75.30 per week paid into Incolink. Income protection, trauma insurance and portable sick leave are also available (paid into Incolink).

$37.9 – 75.7 million

$3.30

$75.7 – 151.4 million

$3.95

$151.4 – 227.1 million

$4.05

$227.1 – 302.7 million

$4.20

$302.7 – 454.2 million

$4.35

For projects above $454.2 million, there shall be an increment of 10 cents per additional $100m or part thereof.

Long service leave: 13 weeks after ten years, pro rata after seven years (paid into CoInvest). Overtime meal allowance: $24.90 when required to work overtime for one and a half hours or more on an ordinary working day. Living away from home allowance: $750 per week Site allowance: Check the CFMEU Allowances Schedule for more information.

As well as a 5% pay rise every year for the four-year life of the current EBA, all overtime is double-time, fares and travel are up, living away is up, super is up, and meals are up. Stay paid-up and proud, it’s worth it!

CFMEU WORKER

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