CFMEU Victoria Worker Summer 2018

SUMMER 2018

2019 CALENDAR

CENTREFOLD PULL-OUT

SUMMER 2019

CRANES HIT RECORD HIGH

HIGH RISK WORK DESERVES HIGH RETURNS - PG. 1201

VOLUME 24.3 SUMMER 2019

CONTENTS

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

20 Mobile cranes

Executive

SUMMER 2018

Secretary John Setka

Assistant Secretaries Shaun Reardon & Elias Spernovasilis

Union women

President Ralph Edwards

26 & 28

Senior Vice President Derek Christopher Vice President Robert Graauwmans

New CFMEU organisers

Organisers and Field Officers Gerry Benstead . Nigel Davies . Steve Long Malcolm Smith . Billy Beattie . Gerry McCrudden .

Mick Myles . Mark Tait (Fozzie) . Theo Theodorou .

Mark Travers . Drew McDonald . Adam Hall Toby Thornton . Mark McMillan . Gerry McQuaid Brendan Pitt . Joe Myles . John Perkovic Peter Booth . Richie Hassett (TAS) . Kevin Harkins .

Fergal Doyle .Dean Dando . Lisa Zanatta .

Kane Pearson . Adam Olsen . James Simpson Nick Vamvas . John Thomson . Paul Tzimas . Marty Albert . Jason Deans

Specialist Staff

ROOF

CRANES raise HIT the RECORD HIGH

12 COVER 2019 CALENDAR

HIGH RISK WORK DESERVES HIGH RETURNS - PG. 12

CENTREFOLD PULL-OUT

Teachers and Trainers Karen Odermatt . Mark Devereaux . Jacky Gamble Barry Kearney . Jennifer Pignataro . Rose Nechwatel Paul Allwood . Owen Waiomio . Craig Lynch Sue Bull . Lorella DiPietro . Dorothy Saristavros Tony Minchin . Andy Duff . Dan Phelan Robert Rowan

Communications Officers Jon Stanger, David Pavlich Political Campaigns & Research Officer Angelica Nippard

Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety Unit Manager Gerry Ayers

Workers have uncovered more art work than anticipated. Historical murals have been found hidden under cladding and some painted over. These are all being carefully restored.

Unfortunately, these finds, along with the asbestos issue, have left a big hole in the budget.

ASBESTOS IS THE BIG AND COSTLY WORRY. “During works on Trades Hall, unexpectedly we found lead dust and asbestos which has added significantly to the cost. Almost $2 million which we didn’t allow for in the initial funding. So Trades Hall itself is trying to source the funding by having a fundraiser to literally ‘Raise the Roof’ for the asbestos removal’, Living Heritage Project Officer, Liz Beattie explains:

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C R O S SWO R D

Q U I C K A N D D E A D LY

Halt Suicide

OK folks, here is CFMEU crossword #001 with both quick and deadly clues. The quick ones should keep you entertained for a smoko break or two. The deadly ones may keep you awake at night. Either way, the answers are the same and you may start to see a theme emerging. Tip: there are a few names of wellknown people, places and things that any true unionist would recognise in a heartbeat. Solidarity!

The second Change the Rules campaign rally for 2018 attracted a record crowd and focused on fair pay rises to keep up with the cost of living.

separate it. So aside from the losses in some other areas that were problematic this ceiling is not so bad.’ says Dr. Kyi

Wage growth is at near record lows, with four out of five working people not getting pay rises that keep up with the cost of living.

Flake by flake Melbourne’s rich trade union history is being revealed as incredibly beautiful and significant artwork is being uncovered daily.

Recently a portrait of George Higginbotham, Chief Justice of Victoria in the Supreme Court and an early champion for women’s rights, was found.

“The quality of work is something we want to retain because you can’t capture that again, however we will have to actually recreate some things. It’s a balance in terms of conservation, what we can bring back faithfully and what we will have to recreate due to losses.” says Dr. Kyi.

The current Australian minimum wage is not a living wage, and is no longer keeping people out of poverty. Because of this more than 28,000 people are homeless but working full-time.

Forty percent of working people are in insecure work – either in casual work, dependent on contracting, in labour hire, getting too few hours, or in the gig economy.

Hall Council and honorary trustee of the building since 1992, says the process of discovery is an exciting one, “We knew there was stuff under the paint and the Old Council Room is special as it is the oldest union meeting room in the world still intact, built in 1874. To now see it revealed is genuinely wonderful - it’s exciting,” he says.

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Rest assured, Trades Hall is being restored with the care and expertise you would associate with the finest art museums of the world. It’s a site to behold for those lucky enough to catch a glimpse.

Melbourne 540 Elizabeth St, Melbourne 3000 T: (03) 9341 3444 / F: (03) 9341 3427 Morwell Wing 5, Lignite Court, Morwell 3840 T: (03) 5134 3311 / F: (03) 5133 7058 Geelong 6 Gheringhap Street, Geelong 3220 T: (03) 5229 8921 / F: (03) 5223 1845

Across 1. Building works 8. Encouraged riot 9. Most harvestable 10. Costly 12. Refuse to work 14. Display of courage 15. Predator’s young 17. Cosy 19. Lunchtime 20. State of being 21. Review 24. Run off 26. Co-accused (see 2 down) 27. Central union figure (5,7)

Massive rally to Change the Rules

In an article publish by Pursuit a Melbourne University multimedia platform David Cragg, Assistant Secretary of the Trades

“However, we don’t want it to be a museum piece. We want people to come in and use the space.’’

For more information go to vicunions.org.au/restoration

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Education and Training news

Photo: Blackie shows Mikey, Josip and Hairy the eight-hour day mural found under cladding.

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Hooked and Cooked

DEADLY Down

1. Greek street disturbance ends building work. (12) 8. Corporate tech department reviewer stirred up trouble. (7) 9. Grave wishes before the emergency room is more than ready. (5) 10. Cherished animal, I hear. (4) 12. Stop Work! First scab takes roster, I’ll kill em! (6) 14. TAFE arranged stunt performance. (4) 15. Not industry fund? Bears small results. (4) 17. Guns backfire in the hole. (4) 19. Everyone misses out at first - No-one arrives at midday. (4) 20. Hydrogen fuelled wood turner turns out of condition. (6) 21. Cut it out, Ged it’s definitely in. (4) 24. Peel off at first sight and get married. (5) 26. Behind the Godfather, executive member. (6) 27. Scattered L.A sun calms my union heart. (5,7)

2. Falsely accused, think charges are set? Karma’s a bitch innit! (5) 3. Makes free of really independent democratic socialists at once. (4) 4. William’s first hundred made in this suburb. (7) 5. Cheeky sprite hides within – find him practically staring you in the face. (3) 6. Sun ruins nose job for carers’ representatives. (6,6) 7. UFU rig free shift work. (12) 10. A Russian cottage, a Chad redevelopment. (5) 11. Sparkies set up without old bookmaker’s assistance. (1.1.1) 13. Expensive bar had basic entrance out front. (5) 16. Energy drained from mixed bet at Rye, ends up in cell, charged. (7) 18. Only one place for degree. (3) 22. Dromana on ice developing situation is tense! (5) 23. Shoe is Steve’s prey (4) 25. Listen! Bird is not a tea towel. (3)

Crossword challenge Quick and deadly

kills our mates, our families are torn apart and it’s estimated that as many as 4000 Australians and up to 40,000 Americans every year will die prematurely of asbestos related diseases.

Andrew Krakouer AFL/ CFMEU member profile

Given these sorts of attitudes you can imagine w CFMEU OHS health and safety expert Peter Clar and Mark Devereaux from the CFMEU Training U went to Asia to investigated they found their wor was cut out for them.

However, globally the asbestos curse is far from dead.

“There are 24 factories still operating in Indones producing asbestos roof from the raw material Chrysotile and throughout Southeast Asia the Russians are sending people over as advocates f asbestos saying it’s a safe product,” Clark reports

FR

OM

FO

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Ian ‘Coops’ Cooper is a true battler. He missed 5 years of football due to a series of injuries, but Coops battled on and managed 93 games with Collingwood from the early 70s to the early 80s.

Untitled-10 1

“There was this Camberwell job, non-union,” remembers Coops. “Bollards and idiot tape with a three storey drop, shocking. Union representation is one thing I’d never ever complain about.”

Thirty-five years later, Coops is working in traffic management and takes the opportunity on SEN Radio Francis Leach’s Afternoons program to give the CFMEU a good plug.

PLAYERS ARE WORKERS

GE

“I’m a proud paid up member,” said Coops on SEN. “It’s been fantastic for me.”

ND TO

UN ION

“One of the organisers out there, Stevie Long, he’s been terrific for me, does a terrific job for the union. They’ve been getting bashed through the media lately. People shouldn’t believe what they see in the papers because they do a fantastic job – they look after the workers’ health and safety and they’ve really worked hard for all their rights over the years.”

MAN

WORKING CLASS

Coops notes how different conditions were in the past: “We used to get $35 a game in 1972. The average wage might have been $100 a week. You couldn’t survive on footy wages, you’d have to have another job. A lot did sales cause they’d always get in the door.”

“If you got injured in the Seconds you got bugger all, we used to get $5 a week.”

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Coops was a Northern Suburbs boy, “My mum came from St Arnaud, my dad was from Northcote. They moved out to Reservoir.”

“Dad was a professional cyclist,” says Coops. “They’d all be playing cards in the morning, Sid Patterson, Billy Guyatt and all that.”

One story from Coops’ Port Melbourne days shows just how different things are these days: “I met Henry Harrison and Jack McFarlane at the Swallows, now known as Rubira’s, to discuss player remuneration.”

“We’d worked out I was going to get $7,000 for the year, $1,000 a month. The Painters and Dockers were gonna pay, as unofficial sponsors. We’d have a drink after the game and the money would be there, bang.”

As Coops and Steve Long laugh about old times, the conversation turns to game weight. Coops was listed as 81kg and 183cm tall in his playing days and Longy recalls a recent helicopter trip where you had to be under 120kg to fly. “I think I made it,” laughs Coops.

Onsite photos

Coops says how he came to be in traffic is a long story, but everyone from Doug Hawkins to Port Melbourne Captain and part owner of Phoenix Traffic Toby Pinwill played a role. Having played with Port Melbourne from 1984 to 1987, Coops is mentoring young players at the Boroughs - they get matched up with past players as someone to talk to if they get injured or have any issues.

COOPS’ FOOTY CAREER

Collingwood Historian Michael Roberts says Cooper “built a reputation as one of the meanest backmen in the game.”

46-51

“I thought I was just doing a couple of days,” says Coops of his new traffic job. “I did 7 days, then nothing for the next 7 days. I thought I’d done something wrong, but it was just a bit quiet.”

“I didn’t really want to work full time, but it’s the best thing I’ve ever done.”

“It’s a good job for people who are getting on in years, traffic. Work is what you make of it, it’s how you approach it.”

UNION LIKE A FOOTY TEAM

“Collingwood fans have always loved their tough, battling, no-nonsense defenders, and in Cooper they had a beauty.”

Largely freed from injuries for three years in 1974, which had already included ankle problems, rheumatic fever and arthritis, he was “tough, strong, uncompromising and fearless” according to Roberts, “a nightmare for opposing forwards.”

“He wasn’t afraid to get physical when he needed to, and alongside similarly rugged colleagues such as Phil Manassa and later Stan Magro and Kevin Worthington, he made the Collingwood back line a scary place to be.”

G-Town Boom

“Before I got involved in the industry I was never a unionised person. The only perception you got was through the news and it was all negative, they only ever report one side.”

“Since I’ve been in the industry and can judge for myself, it’s completely the opposite.”

16

Ian ‘Coops’ Cooper Collingwood legend

In 1975 Coops was named Collingwood’s most consistent player and awarded the J.F. McHale Trophy.

After playing just one game in three years due to injuries, he came back and helped Collingwood to the 1981 Grand Final.

“Cooper did a marvellous job of refuting the generally accepted view that he was an ageing backman with suspect ankles,” wrote Trevor Grant in The Age. “He jumped, danced and dodged his way out of strife so many times and made the Geelong forwards who had destroyed the Magpies in the Qualifying Final look remarkably inadequate.”

52-53

“It’s like being in a footy team, you work with your mates, stick together and all that.”

“The workers do all the work, they make all the profits.

It’s the same with footy and the players.”

“You often get people saying you’re being pedantic about safety, but do they want to be the ones who have to call the partner and the kids and tell them their family member isn’t coming home?”

Then in 2005 while before the United States Congress Trump said: “I mean a lot of people could say that if the World Trade Centre had asbestos it wouldn’t have burnt down, it wouldn’t have melted okay. A lot of people think asbestos is the greatest fireproofing material ever made and I can tell you that I’ve seen tests of asbestos versus the new material that’s being used and it’s not even a contest, it’s like a heavyweight champion against a lightweight champion from high school but in your great wisdom you folks have said asbestos is a horrible material so it has to be removed.”

Asbestos fight in South East Asia

RDO Calendar

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CFMEU Worker is proudly designed by union members.

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No one in the Australian construction industry needs to be reminded of how toxic asbestos is. It

Portland South West TLC, 31 Percy St, Portland 3305 T: (03) 5523 4272 / F: (03) 5523 3358

Authorised by John Setka, Secretary CFMEU Victoria.

The Australian Government’s own Asbestos Safety and Eradication Agency claim that around 25,000 more Australians will die from this insidious product in the next decade despite the fact we have banned it.

Yet all the science wasn’t enough to sway Donald Trump. In his 1997 book ‘The Art of the Comeback’ he described the anti-asbestos campaign as a mob conspiracy saying, “It is 100 per cent safe, once applied.”

Wodonga Shop 3-4, 22 Stanley St, Wodonga 3690 T: (02) 6024 1099 / F: (02) 6056 5565

vic.cfmeu.org.au

#ChangeTheRules!

Union bricks at Selkirk

Down 2. Co-accused (see 26 across) 3. Purges 4. Wooden spooners 5. Cheeky devil 6. ANMF, APNA, CNMF, CFNU (6,6) 7. Smoke jumpers 10. Country house 11. Troy’s crew 13. Expensive slab 16. Heavy guns 18. Singular 22. Play 23. Large reptile (colloq).

25. Night bird

Across

Bendigo Bendigo TLC, 40 View St, Bendigo 3550 T: (03) 5443 5173 / F: (03) 5442 5961

Hobart 33A New Town Rd, New Town 7008 T: (03) 6228 9595 / F: (03) 6228 9594

Members need to be able to access their union representatives at their workplaces and all Australian workers must have equal rights under the law – the anti-worker ABCC and the Liberal Party’s draconian Building Code must be abolished.

The ‘Raise the Roof’ campaign is looking to raise the funds through donations. Recognition will be given in the form of a worker’s honor board of a mighty school of fish. A small fish recognises a donation $500 while a big fish is $1000. Or you can have your donation recognised in the form of a plaque on a seat in the New Council Chamber starting at $3,000.

Solutions on page 81

Offices

We need to change the rules so that working people have the tools they need to negotiate with real decision-makers and win fair pay rises and more secure jobs.

Photo: Flake by flake an Artisan peels the paint back using a scalpel.

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QUICK

14

“Before the celling was repainted there was paper applied so it means that we have a nice separation between the overpaint and the original paint so we are able to use a water-based treatment to remove the new paint with scalpels to gently lift it and

Photo: Recently discovered a portrait of George Higginbotham former Chief Justice of Victoria.

CHALLENGE 001

WorkCover Legal Officer Neil Browne

Dr. Caroline Kyi from the Grimwade Centre for Cultural Materials Conservation at the University of Melbourne and her team of skilled artisans are spending thousands of hours painstakingly peeling the paint back by hand using scalpels on the ceiling of the Old Council Room.

Trades Hall refurb revealed

Executive Columns

ACTU Secretary Sally McManus, Trades Hall Secretary Luke Hilakari and Premier Daniel Andrews were among 160,000 people on the streets of Melbourne on Tuesday 23rd October calling for fairer rules for working people and a pay rise for low wage Australian workers.

Trades Hall is calling on all unions -- including rankand-file members and affiliates -- to contribute to this important work just as they did in the building’s original construction in the 1800s.

30

Safety Officers Alex Tadic .Peter Clark Steve Roach

Industrial/Legal Officers Amanda Swayn . Jean Maloney . Kristen Reid India Shearer Boyd . David Vroland . Paris Dean Apprentice Liaison Officer Liam O’Hearn

Many wonderful and historically important artworks are being brought back to life as ‘The Living Heritage Project’ at Trades Hall takes shape. However, it has not all been plain sailing. Restorers have encountered unexpected challenges, including leftovers from the asbestos era.

The old girl is reluctantly giving up her more toxic secrets...

Aussie Cranes hit record high

Wage Claims Officer Frank Akbari Training Unit Coordinator Anne Duggan

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Just transitions for coal workers

A fine worker to have on your side, whether you’re a member of the Collingwood Football Club or the CFMEU.

“I’ve worked at non-union jobs and it’s chalk and cheese, they get away with murder.”

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18/10/2018 4:42:19 PM

Sillica dust kills

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Gender super gap

82

Your wages

48th Westgate Bridge Memorial

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Donny “Shagger” Rust CFMEU WORKER

A well-funded lobby group, calling themselves th Roofing Sheet Association, are telling people: “I only banned in 67 countries and there’s all these other countries that haven’t banned it including t USA so it can’t be that bad.”

Uralasbest is one of the world’s largest miners an exporters of chrysotile in the world. Capable of producing 12 million tons a year they are brandin pallets of its product with a seal of Trump’s face, along with the words “Approved by Donald Trum 45th president of the United States.”

“Raw Chrysotile from Russia and China is really cheap and as the population of Indonesia are rea quite poor they are forced to deal with it. While

CFMEU 2018 MEMBER SURVEY Thank you! Over 3,000 members have completed the CFMEU 2018 member survey so far. If you don’t have your say, it’s hard to complain later on.

These results will guide the focus of the CFMEU for eba negotiations and our union’s priorities for the next few years. There’s good results and plenty to work on for members, delegates, organisers and the CFMEU leadership.

DELEGATE REPRESENTATION

Are you satisfied with your union delegate on-site?

80% YES / 18% NO How would you rate their performance?

8% POOR / 18% AVERAGE / 43% GOOD 29% EXCELLENT

SAFETY

Do you believe safety has improved on site in the last 3 years? 67% YES / 30% NO How would you rate the safety?

3% POOR / 25% AVERAGE 55% GOOD / 16% EXCELLENT Do you believe your safety rep has the knowledge and Training to look after your safety?

83% YES 14% NO Do you support drug & alcohol testing on site?

81% YES 17% NO

WAGES AND ALLOWANCES

Should apprentices be paid the full travel amount instead of a percentage?

82% YES 16% NO Should there be an option to donate a sick leave day in special circumstances (ie. Terminal illness of a co-worker)?

85% YES 13% NO Should the new EBA improve paid parental leave and include dad and partner pay?

82% YES 16% NO

We are listening to you!

SUMMER 2019

GENERAL Your top 3 priority issues: • JOB SECURITY • WAGE INCREASES • RDO PROTECTION

WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION

The union is doing our bit to encourage more women into the industry. Should employers have more obligations in the EBA to employ more women?

58% YES 39% NO

VISA WORKERS

Should the principle builder have more obligations to avoid sham contracting issues on site?

90% YES 6% NO Should photo id be added to the white card system to assist in preventing temporary visa holder fraud on site?

90% YES 7% NO

03

FROM THE SECRETARY

MAKING AUSTRALIA FAIR JOHN SETKA BRANCH SECRETARY

Australia was built on the idea that it doesn’t matter where you come from, what religion and all that – it was the fair go, the Australian way – mates helping mates, friends helping friends.

Under the Liberal Party’s ABCC, if you attended a safety meeting with your workmates and everyone votes on an issue, you could be forced to go before a star chamber under their coercive powers.

IF YOU REFUSE TO ANSWER A QUESTION ABOUT HOW YOUR MATE VOTED, YOU COULD GO TO JAIL. So now Australia is a place where if you don’t dob in your mate for how they voted in a meeting, you go to jail. Not over a murder, not over a robbery or theft; over how someone voted in a meeting Is this what we’ve become? You have to give up your mate over how they voted in a meeting?

These are the sort of laws the Liberals have put in against construction workers.

Take a look at the banking royal commission. You’ve got Minister Kelly O’Liar, who sat on the board of NAB when they were charging dead people fees for 04

years, yet there’s no special laws governing them.

the bloodbath in the Victorian state election.

No board member of the big banks faces jail if they don’t dob in whoever’s idea it was to charge dead people fees for services.

Unless you’re an Indigenous Australian, we’re all migrants. This country was built by migrants over the last 200 years.

TRICKLE DOWN?

IF YOU STOP IMMIGRATION YOU STOP CONSTRUCTION – NO MORE BUILDING SCHOOLS, HOSPITALS AND INFRASTRUCTURE. YOU STOP IMMIGRATION, YOU STOP JOBS.

Workers in Australia need a payrise. Even the Reserve Bank Governor has come out and said we’ve got the lowest wage growth in history and it’s very bad for the economy. Workers know it, especially the 70,000 workers who got their penalty rates cut by the Don’t be fooled by the Turnbull/Morrison Government. propaganda out there, it’s not Everything else is going up and true. They said the same things up in price, but they give low about Europeans they say about income workers a pay cut. new migrants now – but look what they did! They helped build the THEY TALK ABOUT TRICKLEprosperity of this nation, the next wave will do the same.

DOWN ECONOMICS. THE

LIBERAL PARTY’S TRICKLEDOWN ECONOMICS IS THEM PISSING DOWN OUR BACKS AND TELLING US IT’S RAINING! DON’T BE FOOLED

There’s a whole debate going on about immigration. There’s a lot of propaganda, a lot of racism. The government is looking for someone to blame for their problems, especially after

Migration equals more jobs, more infrastructure, more schools being built, more shopping centres, more hospitals and more apartments.

Just take a look at the new areas; all the shopping centres being built, the shops, the schools, the roads and new train lines.

Australia has always been regarded as one of the fairest, most humane countries. Now CFMEU WORKER

we’re looked at internationally as inhumane because we’ve locked up children in detention centres.

The Liberals and the bosses want us divided, but the way to make Australia fair again is to unite. Unite against fear and propaganda, just like we just did in the Victorian election.

2019 ELECTION

Remember, we’ll be facing a federal election sometime next year. Please make sure you vote and vote for your future.

We know a lot of our members have voted Liberal in the past because that’s how they were raised, that’s how they grew up.

Forget about how your parents voted – it’s your vote – vote for your future. Put the Liberals last because they’re the ones who

VALE NORM WALLACE Our deepest sympathy and condolences to Nancy and family, and all the many friends and comrades of Norm Wallace.

Norm passed away peacefully in September 2018 at 92 years of age.

A stalwart of the BLF, Norm was known for his brilliant mind, as a first rate speaker and his dedication to the Union and the working class. He was a BLF official in Victoria from 1961 until 1988 and during WWII Norm was a member of the elite and highly trained Z Special Unit in the Australian Army. In 1945 with the war in the Pacific coming to an end, they parachuted into Borneo and liberated the last of the Australian troops, who had managed to survive the infamous Sandakan-Ranau Death March.

Norm was a person of principle, humanity and commitment, a dedicated trade unionist, and a selfless leader SUMMER 2019

want to cut your wages, take away your RDOs, take away your rights and conditions. Why would you vote for them?

WE WOULD NEVER TELL PEOPLE HOW TO VOTE, BUT THE LIBERALS HAVE PROMISED TO STOP CONSTRUCTION WORKER WAGE RISES. We work in a dangerous industry, we built this country, but they want to stop us getting paid for it.

Our Union Executive aren’t ALP hacks – we aren’t chasing a seat in parliament or a cushy Senate position. We’re involved with the Labor Party to win better lives and conditions for CFMEU members.

When we ask members to help out in election campaigns it isn’t

for us, they’re helping themselves and all union members – winning back our rights and fighting for the fair go that is the Australian way.

U-Point We’ve been working on this Christmas present to CFMEU members for years and finally CFMEU members get access to deals that non-members can’t get.

It’s 6 years in the making, we’re rolling it out – when you get a message, take a look at the website and find out the deals you can get, I think you’ll be impressed.

I wish you and your family a safe and merry Christmas and a good New Year.

and teacher to so many of us in the building and construction industry. We still benefit from and appreciate the advances in wages and conditions, health and safety and dignity at work that Norm helped pioneer.

Norm did it all with dignity, humanity and unending commitment. A life well led and a person of real substance who will be sadly missed, but never forgotten by those who learnt from his example.

Vale Norm Wallace You Dared to Struggle, You Dared to Win. Officials, Staff and Members of the CFMEU Construction & General Division, Vic/Tas Branch, and all the Veterans of our industry who benefited from and remember your service to trade unionism.

A longer piece on the life of Norm Wallace will be featured in the Autumn 2019 edition of the CFMEU Worker magazine.

05

FROM THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY

IF YOU DON’T FIGHT, YOU LOSE. THE CFMEU PUTS THE LIBS LAST. SHAUN REARDON ASSISTANT SECRETARY

The landslide victory of the Andrews Labor government in the state election represents a huge win for workers, particularly in our industry.

This state election Victorian voters took the liberals to the cleaners, outrightly rejecting their conservative platform and short-sighted vision for the state, in favour of a state building and progressive agenda offered by Daniel Andrews and Labor.

BOOM FOR WORKERS

For our industry, this government has delivered on a construction boom, with Victorian construction work at nearly 40% above its decade average and our union membership topping 30,000 for this ticket.

From regulating labour-hire and sham contracting, to licensing our trades, legislating for local procurement, or tightening the tender process for anti-union companies, and criminalising wage theft; these are the issues which your union has fought hard for and this government has backed in for workers. We will continue to push even harder to ensure that all the promises made to us are kept and built upon. We won’t be complacent and will continue to hold them to account on matters that affect our members.

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As a union, we’ll fight any antiunion company that walks onto one of our building sites and tries to water down our hard won rights. That’s why, as a union, we’ll fight against any anti-union government or government agenda, regardless of who is behind it.

The CFMEU aren’t afraid to have a blue with Labor and fight just as hard as we would with the Libs when it comes to issues that matter to our members. We will fight to make sure that the state government in this infrastructure boom, leads the way on industry standards such as OHS, local procurement, compliance and real justice for workers.

THANK YOU

A big thank you to more than 400 CFMEU members, delegates and officials who participated in the state election campaign for their union, doing doorknocks, phone banks and handouts for train stations, prepoll and electionday. We need progressive governments in power, who will talk to us and put construction workers first.

eyes firmly fixed on our next key battleground; the Federal election.

CHANGE THE RULES

The Change the Rules campaign will be ramping up in the lead up to the federal election, which will likely take place in May 2019, and we will be calling on every single member to do their bit to help us Change the Rules for our broken Industrial Relations system.

Under the current system and the ABCC, construction union officials and members have less rights that drug traffickers, and can be sent to jail for exercising their right to silence. The ABCC has to go.

These broken laws have to be righted, and this is a fight we can’t afford to lose.

We will be bringing this fight to the Feds with everything we have got because construction workers can’t afford another anti-union federal Liberal government, and we will be asking you to stand shoulder to shoulder with us in this critical campaign.

These volunteers have helped ensure that Industrial Manslaughter becomes law.

So, let’s enjoy this hard won victory, but gear up to Change the Rules in 2019.

This win is just the beginning though, and we must keep our

Have a safe break and a merry Christmas!

CFMEU WORKER

RETIRED & LIFE MEMBERS

CFMEU 2018 CHRISTMAS LUNCHEON From our Family to yours we wish you all a Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year

SUMMER 2019

07

FROM THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY

GROWING OUR STRENGTH AND NUMBERS

ELIAS SPERNOVASILAS ASSISTANT SECRETARY

Membership of the union is stronger than it’s been in a long time. Participation in union activity like young activists is up too and the union is continuing to bring young blood into delegate and organiser roles.

The Member Survey showed members are generally happy with their representatives on site, but there’s always room to improve. The delegate structure is critical to our union and industry.

CHECK YOUR ENTITLEMENTS

Numerous companies have gone broke in 2018 and it’s not just small ones. Sub-contractors and sometimes workers have been left out of pocket. It’s not small money either - sub-contractors have had to chase millions of dollars and it works its way down to workers. The knock-on effect?

Workers’ wages and entitlements get stolen. It’s a form of wage theft and it has to stop - we aren’t slaves.

under-quote to win the jobs and everyone ends up losing.

We are going to see more of this unfortunately. Stay on top of it, check your entitlements regularly through the Incolink and CBUS apps, talk to your shop steward.

Both CBUS and Incolink have apps now that make it easy – download them onto your phone.

Smart phone apps allow you to check your funds, when they are paid and how much.

Use these links to get the apps: INCOLINK: vic.cfmeu.org.au/incolinkapp CBUS: vic.cfmeu.org.au/ cbusapp If you need help with these, talk to your shop steward. Shop stewards can help you check up on all your entitlements, including making sure your employer is paying CoInvest long service leave as required.

When larger contractors like Eltrax and ESR go broke, it’s smaller SHOPFITTERS subbies such as post-tensioners Welcome to the new shopfitting and steel fixers that suffer. members from The Glen and As competition in the industry Chadstone and well done to increases and contractors get the delegates who have made squeezed we will see prices a special effort to look after tighten and more companies shopfitters as they do any other will go the wall. Contractors workers.

08

Just because hoarding goes up inside and the builder says it’s not theirs, it still is and we need to know where they are.

Very few of the shopfitting companies do their own work, so you need to check who’s actually doing the work and do they pay entitlements - do they have an EBA? Are they stealing workers’ wages and funds?

Some shopfitters have been caught out not even paying the award. Don’t cop it.

There’s a huge amount of shopfitting work coming up in 2019 and we need everyone on board to get the industry back and workers paid their fair whack.

TO THE NEW YEAR

Congratulations to everyone on the effort put in for the rallies in 2018. Attendance was excellent and the message delivered was strong. Watch this space for more in 2019.

In the new year we’ll be focused on new EBAs, I look forward to working with the members and delegates for the best possible result.

I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and I wish you and your families a safe break.

CFMEU WORKER

CFMEU GIVES BIG BUSINESS THE FLICK If you bought the same thing from Telstra you’d pay way more and any profits we make will go straight back to the movement to make our union even stronger - John Setka Almost 20-years ago Victoria privatised the electricity grid.

Well didn’t that turn out to be a great idea!

Energy prices in Australia are now close to the highest in the world.

We were told privatisation would push prices down as competition would create a more competitive market.

However, power company profits are soaring along with prices: EnergyAustralia’s profits are up 200% this year alone yet the grid remains in tatters.

We’re going to set up the call centre in Melbourne so when you call uPoint you will talk to someone locally who’s in a good union job.”- Shaun Reardon We’re being ripped off by big business, not only for electricity. The NBN was going to be fiber to the home, now they want us to pay for that as well.

Well the CFMEU is going to give big business the flick and our members a break on utilities prices.

We’ve started our own company uPoint. It’s ONLY for financial union members. It cuts out big business profits, shareholders and expensive marketing.

Union members will get access to preferential deals on power prices, NBN and phone access with more services coming soon.

SIGN UP NOW AND SAVE A HEAP Sign up now and save a heap – go to upoint.com.au/cfmeu

and then keep an eye on your emails and letterGo to upoint.com.au/cfmeu and then keep an eye on your emails and letterbox to get your unique access code.

FROM THE PRESIDENT

BIG JOBS START!

RALPH EDWARDS PRESIDENT

The infrastructure explosion has started, both positive and negative.

Yes, the Metro Tunnel in the CBD is now covered by a five Unions project agreement with the CYP Joint Venture. But the West Gate Tunnel Joint Venture is going in the opposite direction. Either the Unions sign on to a third rate proposal drawn up by the CPB/John Holland Joint Venture or we have to take whatever the (Un)Fair Work Commission hands down. A decision based on Tony Abbott’s law for new “Greenfields” projects.

Both projects have commenced with early works being undertaken by sub-contractors, most with Union agreements.

So those EBA employees have started to enjoy the new EBA “Site Allowance” – Metro Tunnel $9.40 and West Gate $9.10 per hour with effect from 1st October 2018.

010

TWO PROJECTS STARK CONTRAST

years. The residents of Yarraville now find an endless flow of trucks pushed down local streets – a problem that will increase and expand as Whitehall Street and then Footscray Road become construction sites. Grattan Street Carlton is now closed to through traffic, so buses, cars and trucks are doing a magical mystery tour through Carlton and back to Grattan Street. And the Domain area in St Kilda Road will get worse as Anzac Station is built and the tunnel portal is built just down the road.

So with the two biggest Victorian projects in decades we have a stark contrast in approach to industrial relations and Unions by these major contractors. Yet John Holland are part of both joint ventures. A cynic would only have one answer to make sense of this contradiction: Someone stuffed up the tender for West Gate, and the Vic Government and Transurban (who are putting up the money) will not give them any more money. So workers are expected to cop lower wages and conditions compared to Metro Tunnel, to meet the joint ventures shortfall.

FROM THE PRES

A ROAD & RAIL CRASH …

COMING FOR YO U

Ralph Edwards Presid

ent

PLANNING FOR DISRUPTION While the industrial drama mounts at West Gate Tunnel, the daily drama of just getting to work, school, doctors or the shops also mounts for commuters. As I wrote in my Spring 2017 magazine editorial, all these infrastructure projects create more problems to solve existing problems.

This disruption will become massive over the next five plus

IDENT

As the Andrews Govern ment tries to catch up on all the transp ort infrastructure projects that should have been dealt with, in the last forty years, workers and their employers will face massive disruption.

In the rush to achiev e targets, Inner Melbourne will be choked by constru ction activity, people trying to get to work, to shops and school.

This problem will then radiate outwards through the road and rail systems.

This is an issue that will take up to ten years to be resolve d. Metro Tunnel will finish in late 2024 if everything went better than the best estimates, but 2026, is considered a safer estimate.

If we think about the works that are currently under way – Tulla upgrade, Skyrail, Swan Street Bridge, Level Crossin g Removals, Mernda Rail Line and all the private developments going on across Melbourne.

a week. Then add all the other trucks and construction vehicle s bringing in concrete, crushe d rock, plant and equipment etc, etc.

YES, THESE PRO JECTS WILL SOLVE MAN Y TRANSPORT PRO BLEMS AND WILL CREA TE JOBS OVER AN EXTENDE D PERIOD. BUT WHA T OTHER EFFECTS WILL THIS HAVE ON WOR ALL KERS IN THE INDUSTRY AND THOSE COMING INTO THE INDUSTRY?

Will employers simply accept the disruption and therefo re the delays?

If construction project s cannot get deliveries during the day, they will increasingly look at permanent night works, more weeken d work and, just maybe, RDOs? Worke rs might simply say ‘double time, what is the problem?’

Indeed, it may sound like a wages bonanza, but if it goes on for years and maybe becom es the norm, does Melbourne become Dubai on the Yarra?

AND GIVEN HOW DIFFICULT IT IS ALREADY FOR WORKERS AND SITE THIS INDUSTRY IS DELIVERY VEH ICLES, THEN ALREADY BE SET WITH THE MASSIVE MET PROBLEMS – MAR RO TUNNEL AND WES RIAGE BREAKDOWNS, TERN DISTRIBUTOR PRO ACCUSATIONS JECTS OF WILL QUADRUPLE MISUSING DRU THE GS AND DISRUPTION. ALCOHOL, STRE SS AND Many will remember MENTAL ILLNESSE the disruption that S occurred with City INCREASING, AND Link, Monash Freewa y Upgrade, Regional Rail and Geelong Road PHY SICA L INJURIES. Upgrade. Metro Tunne l alone will not THESE AND OTH only disrupt inner ER SIDE Melbourne, but will EFFECTS OF A TWE also have a direct impact NTYon the CBD and St Kilda Road, FOUR HOUR WOR where commercial LD IN construction is busy CONSTRUCTION and getting busier.

WILL Hundreds of tippers HAVE CONSEQU removing tunneling ENCES spoil, twenty-four hours a day, seven FOR WORKERS days AND MANAGEMENT. 010

Even those workin g days will not have it easy. Think about how many hours people put in getting to and going home from work. Then maybe add 50%, 100% on top? Public transp ort is already under stress. Therefore these infrastructure projects, will not be fixed until the infrastructure is built and operating. With so many residents coming into the CBD, the Council will come under pressure to disallow weekend work and/or alter start times, all of which will affect day works.

I believe anyone should be able to see the problems, but I do not think I have the answers. Nor does any level of govern ment.

There seems to be a government attitud e/ policy of “people will adjust”, ”people forget it once the project s’ finish” and so on.

WITH PRIVATE INDUSTRY TAKING THEIR LEAD FROM GOVERNMENT, WORKERS AND THEIR UNIO NS WILL HAVE TO TAKE UP THE ISSUE AND CHA LLENGE THIS APPROACH, IT WILL BE OUR WORKING AND PRIVATE LIVES WHICH WILL SUFFER. As usual, it will come back to the basic question – Do we work to live, or live to work? Talk to your workmates and family , and think about the future of our industr y and help develop a strategy to defend ourselves. Change cannot be avoided but should be properly negotiated, not just handed down from those at the top.

CFMEU WORKER SPRING 2017

CFMEU WORKER

Then West Gate Freeway between the Western Ring Road and the Bridge, already in “slow mo”, becomes a major construction zone. As new lanes are added, existing lanes will be temporarily closed and traffic diverted, and the portal to the tunnel will be built in the middle of the existing freeway near Williamstown Road.

PLANNING OR PROPAGANDA? Melbourne over the next five plus years will go from being difficult for travel, to impossible, with many people affected who do not live adjacent to these projects.

Just getting the kids to school or sport, your parents to medical appointments, getting yourself to work, will become major demands on your time and patience. Stress will increase to record levels for individuals and the community at large.

Yes, Melbourne is growing too fast and until now infrastructure has been ignored for too long. But did we need to start two massive projects at the same time, right at the centre hub of the transport system? So far lots of questions and no meaningful answers. Demand that Government plan, not propagandise!

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SUMMER 2019

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011

AUSSIE CRANES HIT

RECORD HIGH

012

CFMEU WORKER

If numbers of cranes on a city skyline is an indicator, Australia’s construction industry is in the midst of one of its biggest booms in history. “An unprecedented 735 long-term cranes are standing tall across our city skylines,” according to the Rider Levett Bucknall (RLB) Crane Index®, “There are now more cranes working in Australia than the whole of North America including Canada.”

Think about that for a moment. More cranes working in Australia than the aggregate in North America.

In Melbourne 125 were erected and 90 taken down over the four months to September, up 35 to a record 192.

‘While we see Australian construction activity reach record numbers, the infrastructure (civil) sector has been the star performer of the past 6 months with a 67% increase in crane numbers, says RLB Global Chairman Stephen Mee. ‘With the announcement of many significant infrastructure projects by both Federal and State Governments, the anticipation is for civil cranes to maintain current levels or rise further.’

Statistics show strength of construction industry ongoing Recent national construction statistics released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics highlight the ongoing strength of the overall construction industry. For FY 2018, total construction in Australia reached $221 billion. Strong increases were seen in the non-residential and engineering construction sectors of 11.1% and 20.7% respectively, while the residential building sector remained constant at $74 billion.

Non-residential continues its rise As apartment construction continues to rise, with a 2.3% increase for FY 2018, there appears to be a bounce in the residential crane index from its dip in Q2 2018.

Nationally, the number of residential cranes increased in all regions, except Sydney and Newcastle, lifting the national residential index by 8% to 170. Additionally, the non-residential index continued its rise, increasing 7%, recording a new high of 180.

Civil sector leading rise in Melbourne Melbourne’s crane numbers have seen a jump, increasing by 35 cranes.

Driving this rise is the civil sector with the introduction of 13 new cranes.

The Metro Tunnel’s enabling works in North Melbourne has six, the Westgate Tunnel project has five, Melbourne CBD has one and Patterson River Crossing has one.

All other sectors remained strong, either maintaining or increasing cranes from the count six months ago.

Statistics based on the Rider Levett Bucknall (RLB) Crane Index® 2018

8% 17%

CBD and surrounds (82 cranes) Eastern suburbs (33 cranes)

13%

43%

Geelong (4 cranes) North (24 cranes)

2%

South (34 cranes) 17%

SUMMER 2019

West (15 cranes)

013

C R O S SWO R D

CHALLENGE 001 Q U I C K A N D D E A D LY

OK folks, here is CFMEU crossword #001 with both quick and deadly clues. The quick ones should keep you entertained for a smoko break or two. The deadly ones may keep you awake at night. Either way, the answers are the same and you may start to see a theme emerging. Tip: there are a few names of wellknown people, places and things that any true unionist would recognise in a heartbeat. Solidarity!

QUICK Across 1. Building works 8. Encouraged riot 9. Most harvestable 10. Costly 12. Refuse to work 14. Display of courage 15. Predator’s young 17. Cosy 19. Lunchtime 20. State of being 21. Review 24. Run off 26. Co-accused (see 2 down) 27. Central union figure (5,7) Down 2. Co-accused (see 26 across) 3. Purges 4. Wooden spooners 5. Cheeky devil 6. ANMF, APNA, CNMF, CFNU (6,6) 7. Smoke jumpers 10. Country house 11. Troy’s crew 13. Expensive slab 16. Heavy guns 18. Singular 22. Play 23. Large reptile (colloq).

25. Night bird DEADLY Across

Down

1. Greek street disturbance ends building work. (12) 8. Corporate tech department reviewer stirred up trouble. (7) 9. Grave wishes before the emergency room is more than ready. (5) 10. Cherished animal, I hear. (4) 12. Stop Work! First scab takes roster, I’ll kill em! (6) 14. TAFE arranged stunt performance. (4) 15. Not industry fund? Bears small results. (4) 17. Guns backfire in the hole. (4) 19. Everyone misses out at first - No-one arrives at midday. (4) 20. Hydrogen fuelled wood turner turns out of condition. (6) 21. Cut it out, Ged it’s definitely in. (4) 24. Peel off at first sight and get married. (5) 26. Behind the Godfather, executive member. (6) 27. Scattered L.A sun calms my union heart. (5,7)

2. Falsely accused, think charges are set? Karma’s a bitch innit! (5) 3. Makes free of really independent democratic socialists at once. (4) 4. William’s first hundred made in this suburb. (7) 5. Cheeky sprite hides within – find him practically staring you in the face. (3) 6. Sun ruins nose job for carers’ representatives. (6,6) 7. UFU rig free shift work. (12) 10. A Russian cottage, a Chad redevelopment. (5) 11. Sparkies set up without old bookmaker’s assistance. (1.1.1) 13. Expensive bar had basic entrance out front. (5) 16. Energy drained from mixed bet at Rye, ends up in cell, charged. (7) 18. Only one place for degree. (3) 22. Dromana on ice developing situation is tense! (5) 23. Shoe is Steve’s prey (4) CFMEU WORKER 25. Listen! Bird is not a tea towel. (3)

014 Solutions on page 81

MEMBER PROFILE

ANDREW KRAKOUER He took out the 2011 Mark of the Year, kicked 50 goals in 35 games at Collingwood and played 102 games with Richmond. At the last ‘Change the Rules’ rally he walked right beside Daniel Andrews and Sally McManus. He is AFL legend and CFMEU rankand-file member Andrew Krakouer.

“That’s the first rally I’ve ever been to. What a massive turnout, I was really in awe of it all and as the guys were saying, ‘It’s not a rally for us, we get paid quite well because of the union. It’s about other people who don’t get a fair go.’ I think the support and solidarity of standing together for something that’s very important to others, well I was really quite taken back by that.” he said.

While working in W.A. as a FIFO miner Krakouer was offered an opportunity to move back to Melbourne and work on a Multiplex job for John McNamara from Exalt Labour Solutions, an indigenous labour hire company.

“I really want to thank John from Exalt for the help and support he gave my family and I. Karratha to Perth then Perth to Melbourne is a massive move and I appreciate how John understood the family dynamics and logistically he did what needed to be done to get me over here. It all went really smoothly and I really appreciate being part of a company that understands me as an Aboriginal man and hopefully they’re able to get a lot more indigenous employees into the construction industry.”

SUMMER 2019

Photo: Andrew Krakouer with Mitch Jones

“I’ve also been speaking with Danny Gardiner from Cbus and Peter Baker from Multiplex about trying to create more opportunities for indigenous employees in the construction industry and hopefully together we can make it happen.” adds Krakouer.

When you interview someone and they are keen to make sure they thank all those who helped them on their journey and to them this is more important than their own story you know you are in the presence of an outstanding human.

Krakouer has an extremely high level of respect for his workmates and concludes: “When you start at a new worksite or job in my case, it’s like going to school again. You do your induction and it’s a lot of information to take on, it’s quite overwhelming.

Mitch Jones was really helpful though, I tagged along with him and he showed me the ropes, it was greatly appreciated. It was really smooth but not only should I thank Mitch, a lot of other guys in the company like Phil Jones the Shop Steward and a lot of the other guys from other companies and subbies have been really helpful and really approachable. If you ask a question everyone is more than willing to help so I’m really happy that I’ve been able to have that experience so far on this site.”

“But to hear Johnny Setka speak when he came down to a toolbox meeting and see how passionate he is about the CFMEU and what he is doing to make workers’ life better, make sure they’re enjoying the job and most importantly that they get home safe every day, he was really an inspiration, a really inspirational person and I 015 am very proud to be a member of the CFMEU.”

FR

OM

FO

OT

Y

LE

GE

ND TO

UN ION MAN

016

CFMEU WORKER

Ian ‘Coops’ Cooper is a true battler. He missed 5 years of football due to a series of injuries, but Coops battled on and managed 93 games with Collingwood from the early 70s to the early 80s.

“There was this Camberwell job, non-union,” remembers Coops. “Bollards and idiot tape with a three storey drop, shocking. Union representation is one thing I’d never ever complain about.”

Thirty-five years later, Coops is working in traffic management and takes the opportunity on SEN Radio Francis Leach’s Afternoons program to give the CFMEU a good plug.

PLAYERS ARE WORKERS

“I’m a proud paid up member,” said Coops on SEN. “It’s been fantastic for me.”

“One of the organisers out there, Stevie Long, he’s been terrific for me, does a terrific job for the union. They’ve been getting bashed through the media lately. People shouldn’t believe what they see in the papers because they do a fantastic job – they look after the workers’ health and safety and they’ve really worked hard for all their rights over the years.”

WORKING CLASS Coops was a Northern Suburbs boy, “My mum came from St Arnaud, my dad was from Northcote. They moved out to Reservoir.”

“Dad was a professional cyclist,” says Coops. “They’d all be playing cards in the morning, Sid Patterson, Billy Guyatt and all that.”

Coops says how he came to be in traffic is a long story, but everyone from Doug Hawkins to Port Melbourne Captain and part owner of Phoenix Traffic Toby Pinwill played a role. Having played with Port Melbourne from 1984 to 1987, Coops is mentoring young players at the Boroughs - they get matched up with past players as someone to talk to if they get injured or have any issues.

“I thought I was just doing a couple of days,” says Coops of his new traffic job. “I did 7 days, then nothing for the next 7 days. I thought I’d done something wrong, but it was just a bit quiet.”

“I didn’t really want to work full time, but it’s the best thing I’ve ever done.”

“It’s a good job for people who are getting on in years, traffic. Work is what you make of it, it’s how you approach it.”

UNION LIKE A FOOTY TEAM “Before I got involved in the industry I was never a unionised person. The only perception you got was through the news and it was all negative, they only ever report one side.”

“Since I’ve been in the industry and can judge for myself, it’s completely the opposite.”

“It’s like being in a footy team, you work with your mates, stick together and all that.”

“The workers do all the work, they make all the profits.

It’s the same with footy and the players.”

“You often get people saying you’re being pedantic about safety, but do they want to be the ones who have to call the partner and the kids and tell them their family member isn’t coming home?”

Coops notes how different conditions were in the past: “We used to get $35 a game in 1972. The average wage might have been $100 a week. You couldn’t survive on footy wages, you’d have to have another job. A lot did sales cause they’d always get in the door.”

“If you got injured in the Seconds you got bugger all, we used to get $5 a week.”

One story from Coops’ Port Melbourne days shows just how different things are these days: “I met Henry Harrison and Jack McFarlane at the Swallows, now known as Rubira’s, to discuss player remuneration.”

“We’d worked out I was going to get $7,000 for the year, $1,000 a month. The Painters and Dockers were gonna pay, as unofficial sponsors. We’d have a drink after the game and the money would be there, bang.”

As Coops and Steve Long laugh about old times, the conversation turns to game weight. Coops was listed as 81kg and 183cm tall in his playing days and Longy recalls a recent helicopter trip where you had to be under 120kg to fly. “I think I made it,” laughs Coops.

COOPS’ FOOTY CAREER Collingwood Historian Michael Roberts says Cooper “built a reputation as one of the meanest backmen in the game.”

“Collingwood fans have always loved their tough, battling, no-nonsense defenders, and in Cooper they had a beauty.”

Largely freed from injuries for three years in 1974, which had already included ankle problems, rheumatic fever and arthritis, he was “tough, strong, uncompromising and fearless” according to Roberts, “a nightmare for opposing forwards.”

“He wasn’t afraid to get physical when he needed to, and alongside similarly rugged colleagues such as Phil Manassa and later Stan Magro and Kevin Worthington, he made the Collingwood back line a scary place to be.”

In 1975 Coops was named Collingwood’s most consistent player and awarded the J.F. McHale Trophy.

After playing just one game in three years due to injuries, he came back and helped Collingwood to the 1981 Grand Final.

“Cooper did a marvellous job of refuting the generally accepted view that he was an ageing backman with suspect ankles,” wrote Trevor Grant in The Age. “He jumped, danced and dodged his way out of strife so many times and made the Geelong forwards who had destroyed the Magpies in the Qualifying Final look remarkably inadequate.”

A fine worker to have on your side, whether you’re a member of the Collingwood Football Club or the CFMEU.

“I’ve worked at non-union jobs and it’s chalk and cheese, they get away with murder.”

SUMMER 2019

017

SCOTT MORRISON VOTED OVER AND OVER TO STOP THE ROYAL COMMISSION AND KEEP THESE STORIES SECRET.

MORRISON:

S K N A B G N I T T U P

FIRST

018

CFMEU WORKER

A WIN FOR WORKERS

Promises must be kept The return of the Andrews Labor Government in Victoria is a big win for workers, but the battle isn’t over until the promises are kept.

While the last four years have seen a huge investment in jobs and infrastructure and important steps towards licensing of trades to protect jobs and skills, there’s also been disappointments. Too many government jobs have seen sub-standard safety and wages and conditions undermined by dodgy employers.

With the huge infrastructure program of the Andrews Government now set to roll out, the big question is will more workers have their lives put at risk and wages stolen? Will union members building roads, rail, schools and hospitals have access to their union representatives?

There’s a big list of commitments from Labor that CFMEU Members will be holding them to, with little tolerance for backwards steps: 1. Industrial Manslaughter – these laws will make our workplaces safer by ensuring negligent bosses and companies are on notice and will be held to account if a worker is killed.

written. If these laws are going to really create good training and job opportunities for future generations and protect the jobs and standards of members today, the government needs to get the detail right.

3. Tackling wage theft and labour hire rorts – bosses across all industries have adopted wage theft and rorts as a business model, whether it’s hospitality, construction, agriculture or hairdressing. Sham contracting, underpayment, theft of superannuation and workers’ entitlements needs to end and unions need to be have the ability to take on bad employers who are dragging others down in a race to the bottom. The Andrews Government has new labour hire licensing schemes and commitments on wage theft that need to be rolled out and enforced.

4. Local Jobs First – Labor’s policy mandates that minimum local content requirements are set on any project valued over $50 million. With North East Link and Airport Rail Link adding to an already long list of projects, over 75,000 new jobs are expected, making it 350,000 new jobs created since 2014. The previous Liberal Government created just 96,100 new jobs in four years, with 21,000 fewer young Victorians in a job. We’ll be watching closely to see that Victorian workers are the priority for these jobs, young apprentices get a good start and wages and conditions are up to industry standards.

5. Infrastructure Boom – with growing uncertainty for the future of commercial construction, more than $100 billion of projects underway under the Andrews Government, with more to come, will keep construction workers employed and the Victorian economy in good shape.

2. Licensing of Trades – the laws have already been passed to enable licensing of our trades, but whether this is effective at protecting jobs and our trades will depend on the fine print of regulations that still need to be

NEXT STEP: KICK OUT THE ANTI-WORKER 019 S U M M E R 2 0 1 MORRISON 9 LIBERAL GOVERNMENT!

MOBILE CRANES

UNION WOMEN

CFMEU CRANE CREWS ARE LIFTING THIS CITY AND THEY DON’T COME BETTER THAN TINA, FIONA AND NIKKI. FROM A MOBILE CRANE OPERATOR WITH 17 YEARS’ EXPERIENCE TO A RIGGER JUST STARTING OUT, THESE CRANE CREW WOMEN GET NOTHING BUT PRAISE FROM THEIR WORKMATES.

TINA KIENHUIS Tina is driving a 55T crane on a small job in Malvern, she’s been with Komp Cranes five years but she’s been doing cranes for 17 years now.

“It’s from my family,” says Tina. “I grew up with cranes all my life. My brothers, my whole family are involved.”

“It didn’t used to be something people were proud of, I used to get embarrassed getting dropped off at school in the crane, I’d ask to get dropped around the corner.”

“I’m actually mothercraft by trade, I was in childcare. Dad said ‘what are you doing in childcare? Come into cranes and earn some decent money.’”

YOU CAN’T JUST JUMP IN Tina would recommend crane crew work, she just encouraged a girlfriend into the industry who has almost never worked because she’s been looking after her kids.

“I’ve only had any problems twice, one arrogant bloke a long time ago who didn’t appreciate women on site and one other that has since changed his attitude.”

The main thing for Tina is that every worker gets the training and experience they need for the job.

“You can’t just jump into the crane, you’ve gotta learn the dogging and all that.”

“A lot of people are just getting their tickets and jumping in the cranes, I don’t think that’s right. They’re just giving tickets away. When you get out on site, it’s a different kettle of fish.”

“They should bring back the log book.”

For Tina, it was her family that showed her the ropes.

“My brother got me doing all the tricky jobs, he’d put the ‘driver under instruction’ up and get me to drive.”

“You’ve got to know all aspects of the job. You can have all the experience in the world, but if it’s all on easy level ground you won’t know what to do when you get out on general hire.”

Tina is as diligent and safety-focused as they come: “Even when they’ve lasered the distance, I’ll still pace it out. I’ll get the closest safest spot, to make the job as safe as possible.”

It’s also a team game and Tina says “You’re only as good as your doggy. Your best doggies are riggers, they know their stuff.”

Today, Tina’s doggy is Lindsay. He’s worked with Tina over 10 years. “Tina’s good, she doesn’t mind doing the physical work, lifting the pads and all that.”

“If I had my own business,” says Lindsay, “I’d put her on before any bloke.”

020

CFMEU WORKER

FIONA PARLBY Fiona has wanted to do cranes all her life and she got a start with Skylift just over two months ago.

“I want to be here forever, I wouldn’t change this career for anything.”

“I was doing carpentry and concrete testing before this, along with a bit of traffic,” says Fiona. “I was mistreated in carpentry, got a bit over traffic and left concrete testing to do this.”

Fiona says she loves the long hours - days can be as long as 12 hours. “I’ll take whatever I can get,” she says.

“I loved carpentry but I was getting shit money and the bosses were horrible. I left my last job because one of the guys was being a dickhead. He got fired and then they brought him back.”

“There’s still plenty of social time, drinks with the crew back at the yard – they’re my social life as well!”

UNION EQUALITY “I love the union,” says Fiona. “I’ve always wanted to be in the union.”

“Here, I feel like I’ve known these Skylift guys for years, they’re an awesome, easy going, helpful crew. I don’t have a bad word about any of them.”

“The difference between union and non-union, the respect, they look after you, the help, if you need anything they’re there. Obviously the pay is better too.”

“I want to learn and I’m jumping in to everything, the guys here will take any chance to show me things.”

“I feel like I’m being treated as an equal, I’ve blended in.”

Fiona is lining up to do her 20T operating ticket, but she wants to work on the ground for a long time, get to know it all really well.

NIKKI SCHEMBRI A sparky for 10 years, Nikki has been in construction a long time, but just started on cranes seven months ago.

“I don't know anything different,” she says. “You get the good and the bad.”

“I was with a shit company, shit guys. I needed to find a new job and I’ve always been interested in cranes, just hadn't been in a position to pursue it. I quit my job and thought this was the time.”

SUMMER 2019

Nikki got her dogging tickets, struggled to get a start, went and did her electrical spotters and got herself in that way.

“Brent Young Cranes gave me an opportunity so I'm lucky enough to be here today.”

As someone who used to do bodybuilding, Nikki says “I like hard physical work, not afraid of that.”

She would recommend construction as a career: “It might not be for everyone, but I always preach it's the best.”

021

A great day off

MEMBERS EXCLUSIVE

Discount movie sessions on official RDOs. FOR SESSIONS BEFORE 5PM.

STANDARD TICKETS

$

GOLD CLASS TICKETS

10 25 *

$

*

* To claim this offer, the CFMEU member must present a valid CFMEU membership card in cinema to purchase tickets. This offer is valid at Village Cinemas locations only for sessions commencing prior to 5pm for CFMEU recognised RDO’s. Limit of 5 tickets per session per day. Surcharges apply for Vmax, Vpremium, Vjunior, Dolby Atmos and 3D sessions. 3D glasses (if required) are available to purchase from the cinema location. Offer excludes Special Events, Movie Marathons, group bookings and is not valid in conjunction with any other offer or promotion unless stated. This offer may only be purchased in cinema. Offer expires June 30, 2018.

TICKETS AVAILABLE IN CINEMA 022

CFMEU WORKER

CFMEU Members have dug deep once again and given generously following the tragic death of CFMEU Member Leo Stolica.

Leo’s family visited West Side Place in the CBD to receive just some of the money donated by CFMEU Members and Leo’s employer Interspan.

CFMEU Members running collections on the job raised $104,000 to support Leo’s family as they struggle through the toughest of times. That was topped up by over $8,000 in donations from Interspan.

Dujo Crnac has known Leo for 30 years, working together and spending time together outside of work.

“He was a top bloke,” says Dujo. “Family oriented, passionate about footy, loved his soccer too, our kids are in the same soccer team, Melbourne Knights. He was always passionate about everything he did.”

“He died too young, just 45 years old.”

Leo left behind a wife and two kids, a boy and a girl. Dujo says the money raised by CFMEU members made a big difference.

“That money saved them, it was huge. It’s great what the union does. It means nothing to us, $50 or $100, but when that many members are doing it becomes a big sum of money.”

“We miss the bloke, I think about him every day.

He’s always in our thoughts and our prayers.”

SUMMER 2019

THANK

YOU

I am wr itin gratitud g to express m e. y recently My husband L deepest eo passed away an truly ov d I am erw and gen helmed by th es er industry osity of the co upport nstructio . My hu sband w n union m as an and often ta a proud the unit lked ab ya out CFMEU nd strength of . I cann t h e ot t enough and wit hank you all ho we wou ld not b ut your suppo rt e ok.

Thank y ou Karen, R from uby and Jet Stoli ca.

023

Dear the CFMEU, I am writing to thank you for the support that you have provided to me and my family following the death of Charlie in March this year. Whilst he was killed on a civil construction site, he was not a union member. Despite this, you have shown us enormous compassion which in itself has been a huge support. However, in addition you have provided us with financial and practical support.

Being left without my husband and with 2 small children has been absolutely devastating and I truly don't know where I would be without you. Your organiser James Simpson and Dr Gerry Ayers in particular have provided me with incredible moral support. Not just this, but your referrals to support services including lawyers, counselling (Griefworks) and even making sure I had wood for the winter!

The day that the CFMEU walked up my driveway was a day I won't forget as it meant that help had arrived. The service that you provide is incredible and I cannot find words that are sufficient to express my deep gratitude.

I am here and still standing because of you.

With deepest thanks, Dr Lana Cormie

Thank you

hom Peacock family, w e th of lf ha be on ank the reth Peacock and like to sincerely th d I’ , Hi, my name is Ga rs be em M EU bers for the e long-time CFM ions and their mem of which 3 of us ar un d te lia affi r he rs and any ot emotionally th financially and CFMEU, its membe bo ed iv ce re ve ha ort that we , a mother and tremendous supp hour; losing a wife t es rk da ’s ily m fa to be our in what has come accident. horrific workplace a to r many years he ot dm an gr ry is hard and for st du in r ou in s or ed plant operat ion, residing in Being self-employ embers of our un m g in be to s fit its seen the bene ed the CFMEU and ne of e tim r we haven’t really ou in ever employment. How such a grey area of me to our aid. er I think the members have co paid back, howev be r ve ne d ul co t need to we have received is, is that it doesn’ th The support that om fr ay aw n found new family have take is is where we have thing that we as a Th d. ar rw fo id pa has your back it needs to be be paid back but ally is a family that re it ; EU M CF e th Doyle members of ank you to Fergal th l ia ec sp meaning in being a y sa e to ity and most. We would lik sense of commun a er when you need it th ge to g in tic support in draw tragedy. for all of his fantas ing us through this lp he in ep de g di bers to mpassion. encouraging mem generosity and co t, or pp su ur yo r u all enough fo 024 We can’t thank yo

CFMEU WORKER

1 JOB – 2 BIG FUNDRAISERS! AUSTRALIAN UNITY APARTMENTS (WATPAC SITE), SOUTH MELBOURNE

FOR LONGFORD WORKERS: 1 YEAR LOCKED OUT Members at Australian Unity Apartments (Watpac site) Albert Road, South Melbourne raised a very impressive $5,270 for Exxon employees who have been out of work for over a year.

CFMEU Shop Steward Sam Carillo said: “What a remarkable result! It would not have been possible without the generosity and support of our subcontractors on site.”

The subbies involved were: Kearlton, V-Construction, Kelly Construction, No Fuss, Expoconti and High Rise.

Prizes supported raffles and BBQs over 7 weeks, with Sam giving special mention to OCC Labour Hire’s Mark Mennillo for arranging and cooking one of the BBQs.

FOR LOFTY’S FAMILY Following the sad passing of Mark ‘Lofty’ Loft, Members at Australian Unity Apartments again pulled together to support Lofty’s family.

This time members raised $5,470 and invited Mark’s wife to the site to receive the money.

Our condolences and sympathy to Andrea, Mason and Ryder, all of Mark’s family and many friends, both in and out of the construction industry.

Lofty will be sadly missed by all of those in our industry who worked with and knew him.

Vale Mark Loft, may you Rest in Peace.

“As the CFMEU Shop Steward, it has been a pleasure cooking the BBQ and arranging the raffles, I was pleased with the great atmosphere with all members who supported the fundraisers,” says Sam Carillo.

“I am proud to say that all our members are prepared to support our fellow members when they are in need.”

SUMMER 2019

025

Jason Deans

HAS JUST STEPPED UP TO THE ROLE OF CFMEU CONSTRUCTION ORGANISER.

O

riginally from New Zealand, Jason moved to Australia when he was 18 for a change of life and to get a job in construction. He’s now been a builders’ laborer for 30 years -- 24 of those as a Shop Steward.

Reflecting on his early years Jason said, “My Father and Grandfather both worked at the ports in New Zealand and my grandmother used to run the canteen while my mum used to help her out. My grandfather was part of the 1951 waterfront strike in New Zealand before I was born obviously which went for 151 days. He used to tell me about it and how people would leave boxes of food on his doorstep to show their support. I guess when I think about it now, he taught me as did my father about the importance and power of a collective united community. Solidarity I guess, and here I am now a proud unionist.”

Blacks and although he lives and works in Australia it’s great to see that level of loyalty and commitment.

“For me it’s about the members; it’s not about us in the office, it’s all about the members because they’re the ones at the sharp end of the stick and personally I don’t think there’s enough done for our members and that’s what drives me. I want to see better conditions through licensing of our trades -- plasters, painters, stonemasons and tilers all need to be licensed to protect them from sham contracting and unscrupulous multinational grubs. I’ve got some other ideas about how I can make things better but I want to see those trades fixed up first. At the moment it’s just dog eat dog, I want solid structures put in place so it makes it hard for employers to cheat because at the moment they’re cheating and they’re taking advantage of the weak and vulnerable.”

Jason has played rugby for around 30 years and he says he will always back the All

026

CFMEU WORKER

THE YOUNG ACTIVIST The Young Activists is a workshop run by the CFMEU executive for under 35 rank-and-file members.

Meeting bimonthly at head office to discuss and learn about unionism, it has fast become a melting pot or training ground for future shop stewards and organisers.

Issues covered range from safety and how to tackle having no union OHS rep on site to discussing how to get workers the rights they are entitled to when they’re up against big businesses using broken laws.

The Young Activists regularly dig deep to support worthy causes for fellow friends and members in need. They attend picket lines to show solidarity, they’ve run BBQs for the YES vote, marched in rallies for women’s rights and support climate change action to mention just a few things.

“I wanted to get more involved with the union, I wanted to know about the past, present and future of the CFMEU. It was a great opportunity for me to meet other Young Activists like myself who share the same passion.” says Dragan Delic, a Young Activist and shop steward on the Buckley street level crossing removal.

Dragan became a shop steward through attending Young Activist meetings and participating in activities.

“I heard about the Young Activist meetings last year when I worked on the Sky Rail. The delegate Steve Parker and organiser Paul Tzimas were the two that got me involved.” he says.

As a young activist Dragan was a big part of the last two community rallies which were a huge success, “Not only was it a fun experience it was fantastic team bonding.” he adds.

SUMMER 2019

Every now and then the Young Activist have days where they do group activities like paintballing, attending the footy, dinner and drinks and will soon be meeting up for their Christmas break up.

Dragon concludes, “It’s very important to have a program like this so young proud unionists can be introduced to the CFMEU, these members potentially will one day run this strong union.”

“I would also like to take the opportunity to thank Civil organisers Joe Myles, Paul Tzimas and all the Executives who believed in me and gave me the opportunity to become a Delegate. It’s a big responsibility I don’t take lightly and without the Young Activist program and the right guidance from the union I wouldn’t be where I am today.”

MEET - LEARN - GET INVOLVED CALL OR TEXT FOR INFO: 0458 747 732 OR 0427 397 313 (YOUNG ACTIVISTS) 027

CIVIL GETS A BIG LIFT

NEW ORGANISER MARTY ALBERT For the CFMEU’s newest Civil Organiser Marty Albert, moving down to Victoria from Queensland was a family decision, but it’s a big win for Victorian members.

Marty’s wife and three kids might be finding the Melbourne weather a bit cold coming from Queensland, but the reception for Marty in the Victorian union and construction industry has been warm.

“The way the industry is, the organising model here, it’s rich in union culture,” says Marty. “You can’t teach people what you’ve got here, it’s just bred into them.”

WELL ARMED FOR CIVIL Marty joins Joe Myles, Gerry McQuaid, Paul Tzimas, John Thomson and Gerry McCrudden in a powerful CFMEU civil organising team in a sector that has taken off recently and has years of high activity to come.

With a background in major projects and civil infrastructure as a crane operator/rigger, Marty comes well armed with experience working for the likes of John Holland, Leighton (Cimic/CPB), Laing O’Rourke and UGL. “Civil is a totally different beast,” says Marty. “Builders literally get away with murder.”

Marty’s work in the civil sector has mostly been with mobile cranes, including a lot of rigging on major projects for the oil and gas industry.

“I started in telco rigging,” tells Marty. “Out in the middle of nowhere, never got to see many people.”

Marty went out to WA for work around 2007: “There was a bit of union drive out there, that was my first introduction to the union.”

“Coming from New Zealand, there’s not much union presence there at all, but I got educated by the older blokes on what the union was all about - the rates of pay, the breaks, accommodation, superannuation, entitlements, allowances and all that - everything we have, they taught me what it’s all about and the role of the union in making it happen.”

Working on the Brisbane’s Airport Link tunnel, a John Holland/

028

Leighton (Cimic/CPB) joint venture will prove to be valuable experience for Marty’s new role.

“We had a fatality towards the end of the Airport Link that could easily have been avoided. The one thing that got me was that we didn’t find out about the fatality until 24 hours after the fact, and that was from the workers on the floor.”

“John Holland clearly tried to sweep it under the carpet until the union intervened.”

PUTTING HIS HAND UP Funnily enough, it was another ex-Queensland now Victorian CFMEU Organiser Adam Olsen who picked Marty “out of the crowd” to take on his first shop steward role on a Laing O’Rourke gas infrastructure job around 2012.

“Your role on a major project as a shoppy in Queensland, it’s not like a commercial job,” says Marty. “You’re doing your normal work as a rigger, then in your tea breaks, at lunch and after work at the campsites, you’re doing the shoppy work of checking memberships, recruiting, working with the safety committee and all that, so it’s a tough ask.”

“They have these greenfields agreements with the AWU, but because of our CFMEU organisers turning up and doing the work, we had the majority of the membership, we had the numbers on the floor.”

Marty had a brief stint as a shop steward back in Brisbane on a commercial job before being picked up by the CFMEU as an organiser. He soon found himself back in the civil sector with a big union campaign that he moved into for 18 months.

Outside of work for Marty is footy, which means rugby league for this Queenslander, catching up with mates and enjoying what Melbourne has to offer with his family.

Getting out his Harley is important for Marty: “being busy in this industry, busy with family life, the best thing about being out on the bike is just that minute to yourself.”

We hope Marty keeps finding those few precious minutes, because there’s plenty of work and challenges ahead for him in civil construction, make sure you say hello when you see him on the job.

CFMEU WORKER

TOP TIPS FOR INJURED WORKERS If you are injured at work, there is understandably a lot on your mind - How long will it take to recover? How long will you be off work? What will be the impact on your family and how will it impact you financially? Making a WorkCover claim becomes critically important to help you through this difficult time.

Our top tips outline the initial key steps in making a WorkCover claim and your main rights and entitlements.

1. You have 30 days to report an injury to your employer. It is best if you do this in writing.

The easiest way is to send an email or fill out an incident report.

2. You also need to lodge a WorkCover claim form with your employer. This form can be found online at www.worksafe.vic.gov.au or at your local post office.

3. The law says that a claim form should be lodged as soon as possible. A good rule of thumb is to lodge it once you have been to the doctor about your work injury.

4. You can lodge a claim form by handing it to your employer or sending it by post. Registered mail is preferable.

5. Once the employer has received your claim form, they have 10 days to forward your claim to their WorkCover insurer.

6. The WorkCover insurer has 28 days to advise whether your claim has been accepted. If rejected, you only have 60 days to dispute the decision.

7. To claim weekly payments you must obtain an initial Certificate of Capacity from your doctor or treatment provider. To continue receiving weekly payments, you must provide a Certificate of Capacity every 28 days.

8. Once your WorkCover claim is accepted, your employer cannot terminate your employment because you are unable to work as a result of your injury. Your employer is obligated to maintain your role at work for a total of 52 weeks of incapacity.

9. Once the claim is accepted, you are entitled to have your reasonable medical and related expenses paid.

10. You are entitled to choose your own treating doctors.

11. You are not obligated to allow your employer/ return to work officer/ or insurer to attend a treatment appointment.

12. There is no legal obligation to talk to an investigator sent by the WorkCover insurer.

13. You may also be entitled to lump sum compensation. Strict time limits may apply.

14. You can dispute a decision of an insurer through the Accident Compensation Conciliation Service at no cost to you.

For expert advice specific to you, or any queries, contact the CFMEU WorkCover Officer, Neil Browne, or Gordon Legal’s Carol Saunders at the CFMEU office on

9341 3444.

SUMMER 2019

WE’RE ON YOUR SIDE.

029

ROOF

e s i a r the

Many wonderful and historically important artworks are being brought back to life as ‘The Living Heritage Project’ at Trades Hall takes shape. However, it has not all been plain sailing. Restorers have encountered unexpected challenges, including leftovers from the asbestos era.

The old girl is reluctantly giving up her more toxic secrets...

Workers have uncovered more art work than anticipated. Historical murals have been found hidden under cladding and some painted over. These are all being carefully restored.

Unfortunately, these finds, along with the asbestos issue, have left a big hole in the budget.

ASBESTOS IS THE BIG AND COSTLY WORRY. “During works on Trades Hall, unexpectedly we found lead dust and asbestos which has added significantly to the cost. Almost $2 million which we didn’t allow for in the initial funding. So Trades Hall itself is trying to source the funding by having a fundraiser to literally ‘Raise the Roof’ for the asbestos removal’, Living Heritage Project Officer, Liz Beattie explains: Trades Hall is calling on all unions -- including rankand-file members and affiliates -- to contribute to this important work just as they did in the building’s original construction in the 1800s.

Dr. Caroline Kyi from the Grimwade Centre for Cultural Materials Conservation at the University of Melbourne and her team of skilled artisans are spending thousands of hours painstakingly peeling the paint back by hand using scalpels on the ceiling of the Old Council Room.

Photo: Recently discovered a portrait of George Higginbotham former Chief Justice of Victoria.

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“Before the celling was repainted there was paper applied so it means that we have a nice separation between the overpaint and the original paint so we are able to use a water-based treatment to remove the new paint with scalpels to gently lift it and CFMEU WORKER

separate it. So aside from the losses in some other areas that were problematic this ceiling is not so bad.’ says Dr. Kyi Flake by flake Melbourne’s rich trade union history is being revealed as incredibly beautiful and significant artwork is being uncovered daily.

Recently a portrait of George Higginbotham, Chief Justice of Victoria in the Supreme Court and an early champion for women’s rights, was found.

“The quality of work is something we want to retain because you can’t capture that again, however we will have to actually recreate some things. It’s a balance in terms of conservation, what we can bring back faithfully and what we will have to recreate due to losses.” says Dr. Kyi. Rest assured, Trades Hall is being restored with the care and expertise you would associate with the finest art museums of the world. It’s a site to behold for those lucky enough to catch a glimpse.

In an article publish by Pursuit a Melbourne University multimedia platform David Cragg, Assistant Secretary of the Trades

Photo: Flake by flake an Artisan peels the paint back using a scalpel.

Hall Council and honorary trustee of the building since 1992, says the process of discovery is an exciting one, “We knew there was stuff under the paint and the Old Council Room is special as it is the oldest union meeting room in the world still intact, built in 1874. To now see it revealed is genuinely wonderful - it’s exciting,” he says.

“However, we don’t want it to be a museum piece. We want people to come in and use the space.’’

Photo: Blackie shows Mikey, Josip and Hairy the eight-hour day mural found under cladding.

SUMMER 2019

The ‘Raise the Roof’ campaign is looking to raise the funds through donations. Recognition will be given in the form of a worker’s honor board of a mighty school of fish. A small fish recognises a donation $500 while a big fish is $1000. Or you can have your donation recognised in the form of a plaque on a seat in the New Council Chamber starting at $3,000.

For more information go to vicunions.org.au/restoration

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HOPE ASSISTANCE LOCAL TRADIES WITH JEREMY FORBES When Jeremy Forbes got asked “Who’s next?” at the funeral of a friend lost to suicide, a fire was lit and by the end of the year the first HALT ‘Save Your Bacon’ Brekky was being held in Castlemaine for building industry workers.

A painter and decorator “submerged” in the blokey culture of “strong, silent and stoic” – Jeremy realised things had to change or we would just keep losing people to suicide faster than we lose lives on our roads.

“There were times I would’ve liked to have spoken up,” says Jeremy, “but didn’t for fear of being stereotyped or made fun of. Fear of losing my job even.”

Five years later, Jeremy hasn’t just opened up conversations with his friends and workmates, he’s travelling around Victoria and Australia opening up conversations with construction workers and the wider community about suicide, mental health and wellbeing.

A LOSS TURNS TO INSPIRATION One story continues to haunt Jeremy, but also drives his work.

“I went to see a bloke who had a steel factory in Castlemaine,” tells Jeremy. “He was happy, we laughed, we talked for five minutes.”

“Three weeks later he suicided. He left four young boys and a widow with lots of questions and no answers.”

“Sometimes that happens, people suddenly get happy when they’ve made the decision to suicide, maybe that was it?” wonders Jeremy.

It was at the funeral wake where a friend asked ‘Who’s next?’ and Jeremy decided he’d had enough, it was time to do something.

032

CFMEU WORKER

WHY CONSTRUCTION WORKERS? We are vulnerable. Construction workers are 70 per cent more likely to take their lives than males employed in other industries. Suicides are the leading cause of death among males aged 25 to 44, with someone taking their life every second day.

There’s no simple cause, but construction workers face fairly unique challenges to health and wellbeing: Six-day weeks with long hours put stress on relationships, family and affect personal connections with people. Work away from home can add further strain.

Low job security and regular time off work between jobs creates financial stress and anxiety.

A blokey culture where people may not feel comfortable starting conversations about their personal lives, relationships, fears, anxieties and mental health.

HALT (Hope Assistance Local Tradies) aims to remind tradies they are valued by their community, and direct them to support services, both local and national, should they need them. Jeremy has been speaking to tradies and joining with communities to host ‘SAVE YOUR BACON’ brekkies.

HALT’s vision is that every tradie in Australia knows how to look after their mental health and wellbeing.

“When I speak to tradies, I speak to them as a tradie,” says Jeremy. “It’s important, we need more tradies to speak up about their mental health experiences. And we need to support them in that, sometimes talking about it can bring issues up and they might need some support and services around them.”

HALT links people to a wide variety of services available to support people who might just need to talk to someone or might be in a crisis. There’s Lifeline and Beyond Blue, MensLine Australia as

well as specialised services for construction workers like Incolink 24/7 counselling and the new Blue Hats program (see page 34).

CHANGING THE CULTURE “We’ve got these apprentices coming through, but we’re not giving them the life experiences that we need to be,” says Jeremy. “We teach them how to swing a hammer but we don’t teach them about mental health.”

“I still struggle with those life issues like relationships and finance. People struggle with drugs and alcohol. We’re creating that space and place where they can talk about it, maybe they’re suicidal, there’s been a suicide attempt that’s happened near them, or they’ve lost a friend to suicide.”

“We need to educate tradies on what anxiety is.

You spend 8-10 hours a day with your workmates, you know what’s going on in their lives but we stay out of it. Sometimes guys want you to talk about it, they want you to initiate the conversation.”

MOST IMPORTANT For Jeremy, the most important thing is perhaps the hardest for construction workers.

“I’m a firm believer in striking that work-life balance.

Guys need to find time for their interests and hobbies. There’s long hours in the building industry, but you’re no good to your family and your mates if you’re burned out.”

“Acknowledge if you’re struggling, and get help. Get in early before it gets worse and overwhelming.”

“Self-awareness and self-identification is so important. It’s ok to struggle sometimes, it’s ok to feel vulnerable. We need to stop the shame that’s been attached to mental illness.”

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT HALT AND GET ACCESS TO RESOURCES ON HALT’S WEBSITE: THEHALTBREKKY.COM IF YOU NEED SOMEONE TO TALK TO AT ANY TIME, CALL INCOLINK 24/7 COUNSELLING ON: 1300 000 129 SUMMER 2019

033

Builders Labourer Demi Lebessis is doing the Bluehats training this December.

“Last year (in Australia) we lost 2,866 people by suicide alone. That is double the road toll and it's just unacceptable. 2,200 of those were male and one in six of those were from the construction industry.”

Dom Vigilanti - Incolink.

In response to these shocking statistics, Incolink has launched a new suicide awareness and prevention program called Bluehats.

Bluehats supports construction workers in Victoria who are struggling with their mental health by encouraging them to talk to someone. As the name suggests, Bluehats-trained workers wear a blue hard hat which makes them easy to spot on site.

“I have attended 10 suicides in the last year — in this industry, ten! The year before that was five and the year before that it was three, so personally I've been seeing an increase in suicide in our industry,” says Vigilanti.

Unfortunately, too many of us know someone who has been impacted by suicide. Ours is a tough industry and one that is overrepresented in statistics around suicide.

Bluehats aims to change that.

Importantly, the program has industry-wide backing because it was co-designed by Incolink, unions and employer organisations.

Incolink’s Bluehats suicide prevention initiative will help workers who are doing it tough by providing someone to talk to onsite. Bluehats can connect workers to support services if they need them.

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HOW TO BECOME A BLUEHAT 1. Incolink employer members will sign up to have the Bluehats program rolled out on their work site/s. Expressions of interest can be submitted at www.incolink.org.au/bluehats 2. A one hour mental health and suicide General Awareness Session (G.A.S) and will be provided to all workers on approved site/s.

3. After attending the G.A.S, workers will be able to volunteer to attend further training to become a Bluehat. Bluehats volunteers will be given a full day of training at an external training facility. If you have not attended a G.A.S you are not eligible to be a Bluehat.

Remember, Incolink’s counselling service is also available 24/7 for you and your family. Simply call 1300 000 129 to talk to someone.

If you're an Incolink Employer Member and are interested in accessing Bluehats training for your work site, please go to incolink.org.au/bluehats and fill out the form or call 03 9668 3013 for more information.

CFMEU WORKER

SAFETY AT WORK Sun protection for the building and construction industry is essential given that the work is often outside. Cancer Council Australia recommends that all workplaces that require employees to work outdoors for some or all of the day have a comprehensive sun protection program in place that includes:

Using sun protection during high UV times will reduce damage and cut your cancer risk – and it’s never too late.

Using sun protection will cut your risk of skin cancer at any age.

•

1. Slip on sun protective clothing

Providing shade and window tinting;

•

Rescheduling outdoor work tasks outside of peak UV times

•

Personal protective equipment (PPE) consisting of sun protective work clothing, sun protective hats, SPF 30 or higher sunscreen and wrap-around close fitting sunglasses.

•

Providing education and training for all outdoor personnel so they are aware of how to work safely in the sun, know their own skin; and seek advice from a GP if they have any skin cancer concerns.

WHAT IS SKIN CANCER? Skin cancer is a disease of the body’s skin cells. The sun’s ultraviolet (UV) radiation is the main cause of skin cancer. Each time your skin is damaged by UV skin cells become less able to repair, increasing the risk of skin cancer.

WAYS TO PROTECT YOURSELF A combination of five sun protection behaviours should be used in the workplace.

2. Slop on SPF 30 or higher sunscreen. Apply sunscreen liberally to clean, dry skin at least 20 minutes before you go outside and reapply every two hours.

3. Slap on a hat. A broad-brimmed, legionnaire or bucket-style hat provides good protection for the face, nose, neck and ears. Caps and visors do not provide enough protection.

4. Seek shade 5. Slide on some sunglasses.

Sunglasses should be worn outside during daylight hours.

Choose close-fitting wraparound sunglasses that meet the Australian Standard AS 1067.

Sources: cancer.org.au, sunsmart.com.au, “Skin cancer and outdoor work”: A guide for employers.

INCOLINK SKIN CHECKS Incolink, in partnership with SkinPatrol, offers comprehensive Skin Checks for our members on site. The Incolink Health Checks have been very well attended and having a Skin Check is another way workers can look after their health.

Incolink Skin Checks are done by a General Practitioner (GP) and there are 2 steps to a Skin Check.

• Step 1 -Skin Cancer Awareness Sessions – the importance of early detection of melanoma • Step 2 - Skin checks – Full body skin check performed by a GP with full follow up and education about any skin issues.

For more information, go to incolink.org.au/skinchecks or contact David Cronin - Incolink Team Leader, Health Checks & Partnerships on 0418 470 409 or via email davidcr@incolink.org.au SUMMER 2019

035

Union Bricks at

SELKIRK BALLARAT Manufacturing is struggling in Ballarat, but Selkirk Bricks has been here for 140 years and according to CFMEU shop stewards Tim Molenkamp and Ben Connellan it could keep going another 100 years.

They’re making house bricks – 9 hole, 3 hole and solids. Demand for housing is strong, so demand for bricks is strong.

Union Strong It’s also been a good time to negotiate an EBA and members have just received their first 3% pay rise after a successful outcome and a 4% wage increase last year.

“At the end of the day we all wanted a pay rise and they wanted to keep the workforce happy,” says Tim. “They don’t want to pay us the 12 percent, they’d rather pay 1 percent, but we got the 4, 3, 3 percent increases.”

“It was surprisingly quick. We had a lot of the guys signed up and they didn’t want to drag out negotiations, it gets in the way of work. They want to push out as much as they can before the bubble bursts.”

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“If we don’t make the bricks and keep up the quality then we all won’t have a job, so we’re all heading in the same direction.”

“We’ve got a good bunch of blokes, pretty much all in the CFMEU. It wasn’t like that before, but we’ve picked up a lot since I’ve been on as a rep.”

“Unpredictable management and the EBA brought members in, it’s safety in numbers.

You like to work with someone who’s got your back.”

Tough times Tim knows more than most about the importance of solidarity in the workforce and a strong union. Before he came to Selkirk he was at John Valves.

“I was made redundant four times, two times at John Valves and then another couple of jobs.”

“They locked us out when the liquidators came in, we were out for six weeks. The AMWU were paying hardship, which was a help at the time.”

CFMEU WORKER

“Everyone says ‘where’s your fees go?’ You might not know until something like that where you get the hardship. It’s not much, but it’s enough to feed you.”

“We had different organisations bringing pizzas, apples, butcher’s vouchers. It was really good support from the community too.”

Now Tim has been with Selkirk eight years. “They done a good job looking after us coming over, I was in the right spot at the right time.”

Hot, dirty, dusty Working in one location with consistent work has its benefits.

“You know you can turn up and you’ve got a job, a bit of overtime,” says Tim. “They pay you every week and you’re two minutes from home.”

“The safety is heaps better too, we’ve got a health and safety committee made up of a person from each area.

It’s management and the workers, we talk through issues that have been raised.”

“Safety is definitely our number one priority here, for management and the workers.”

It is hot, dusty, dirty work though: “cold in the winter, hot in the summer,” says Tim. There’s no 35 degree knock offs here.

“The dryers and fans are the hottest,” says Ben Connellan. “You come through the curtains of Plant 1 and the heat heats you.”

Ben explains the process: “Clay trucks bring the clay to the clay shed, it goes through the mills, crushing it up. That goes through an extrusion process and gets settled. There’s a drying process and then it’s into the kilns and the packaging process.”

There’s no doubt that Members at Selkirk Bricks are earning everything they get.

SUMMER 2019

CFMEU MEMBERS

VALUE TRAINING 2018 Member Survey result:

83%

Say their Safety Rep has the knowledge and training to look after their safety!

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very large project footprint in Clayton is this 20 month job planned to finish by February 2020.

CFMEU Shop Stewards George Bollas and Jim Kanavas are looking after around 140 members at the time of these photos, but will peak at 1500 on site.

A mini city in Monash, members will build and fit-out 3 residential towers, a hotel, offices, retail, a Village cinema complex, K Mart, Woolworths and restaurants.

The project is a joint venture between the Saraceno Group and Schiavello Group with Multiplex appointed as the builder.

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EAST BRUNSWICK VILLAGE

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BOOM TOWN Not so long ago after Ford scaled down and Alcoa closed down their operations, people were predicting Geelong’s demise. Not so fast, or as Mark Twain might’ve said: reports of Geelong’s death have been greatly exaggerated.

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With more than a billion dollars of building projects under construction, the old union town might not be considered the “boomtown’’ it was in the 1920’s, but it certainly has a new lease of life. This is reflected in two landmark projects in the CBD, the recently completed Victorian WorkSafe Headquarters’ and the National Office of the NDIS which will be completed in 2019.

CFMEU WORKER

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G-TOWN BOOM

Among the State and Federally funded projects being carried out across the Geelong region, there are a high number of private developments, particularly in the form of apartment complexes to accommodate not only students attending institutions like Deakin University but also the many Melbournians who are moving down to Geelong to take advantage of the space and close proximity to the coast.

“Up until recently there were five tower cranes erected on projects across the city and although we are down to four at present the Geelong skyline has never looked as industrious or buoyant as it does right now.” says local CFMEU organiser Brendan Pitt.

CFMEU media visited a few of the bigger sites around Geelong recently and found that (not surprisingly) the well managed projects, using reputable sub-contractors and employing capable Union delegates and diligent HSR Reps are being built safely by satisfied workers employed under Union EBA’S. However, in Geelong’s new building boom not all builders are doing what they can to protect their industry and not everyone is playing fairly.

Brendan says, “Other projects, worth millions, are being built by unscrupulous builders who cut corners on safety, who put profit before the

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health and welfare of workers and who employ dodgy sub-contractors whose employees are not receiving anywhere near the benefits of union negotiated agreements and this situation only damages the construction industry.”

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CFMEU WORKER

G-TOWN BOOM

“A problem often encountered is the tactic of builders telling subbies when tendering for the work, that it’s either a nonunion or a non-EBA job and they enter a cheap quote in order to win the work and it’s only when enquiries are made by the union they realise they’ve been deceived by the builder. This situation occurs mainly on projects where there is no union structure onsite but it’s a situation that makes maintaining the standards across the industry that much harder.”

“Prior to coming back to Geelong to organise I never fully understood the significance of local EBA compliant contractors missing out on the opportunity of working on local

SUMMER 2019

projects. These same contractors have high expectations of tendering and actually winning work on local projects but far too often I’ve witnessed the disappointment of them losing out to contractors without EBA’s and from well outside the region, who do nothing more than undermine the industry standard wages and conditions.”

Brendan concludes, “I know the construction industry is a bit of a boom and bust industry at times and I don’t want to sound tribalistic but this situation is magnified in working class communities like Geelong, who employ locals that contribute back into the local economy – why should they not share in the prosperity of this current boom?”

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A large group of survivors, family and unionists attended the 48th Anniversary of the West Gate Bridge collapse at the memorial site beneath the bridge on Douglas Parade, Spotswood.

Danny Gardiner from the West Gate Memorial Committee began the ceremony, thanking attendees and introducing the special guest ACTU Secretary Sally McManus.

“48 years ago today it was on this land that one of the most iconic bridges in Australia collapsed,” said Sally McManus. “Among the strewn rubble, 35 workers lay dead.”

“30 bolts failed in the morning of October 15th 1970 and a vicious buckle snaked along the panels.”

“At 11:50am on this day 48 years ago site controller Hindshaw asked his colleague the question ‘Should I get the bods off?’”

“The question should have been asked hours before and the answer was Yes, because almost immediately the bridge collapsed. Hindshaw’s body was found among the rubble.”

“More than 50 men came down with over 2,000 tons of steel and concrete and slammed into the waters of the Yarra River. 35 of those men would 052

never return to work, or home or see their families again. 35 men taken. 35 families broken.”

“The royal commission into the West Gate Bridge collapse ultimately found that ‘the margins of safety for the bridge were inadequate’ and that the bosses had ‘failed in their duty to prevent the contractor from using procedures liable to be dangerous.’”

“And what’s changed? We’ve seen the recent crane collapse in Box Hill. We saw the wall collapse on Swanston St that killed people just walking down a public street.”

“We know that some bosses will cut corners to make more money. They roll the dice on safety. And it is worker’s lives they are gambling with, each and every time. If you do not have strong unions that say no to this behaviour, people die.”

“That’s why I stand with the CFMEU.” “Because it is the building and construction unions, along with the transport unions, that face down injuries and deaths at work every single day.

Workers join their union because they know that safety isn’t about red tape or putting a burden on business. Safety in construction is life or death.”

CFMEU WORKER

48 years ago today it was on this land that one of the most iconic bridges in Australia collapsed, among the strewn rubble, 35 workers lay dead.

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DONNY “SHAGGER” RUST At 50 years in the industry, Donny “Shagger” Rust is a true union stalwart from the BLF days.

A lot has changed in Donny’s 50 years and he’s been a part of a lot of the changes, including locking himself on a crane deck with John Setka – time together that was later extended in the cells of Pentridge.

“Safety has improved and the money’s definitely improved,” says Donny. “Conditions have improved, Incolink, sick leave and all that.”

“Saturday work used to just be for the sucks.”

Donny sees the changes as up and down, good and bad: “When I first started it was good, but things changed in the 80s when we started bluing amongst ourselves, like the scissor lift blue.”

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DARE TO STRUGGLE The battles were long and hard to win the conditions that we all enjoy today. Donny remembers being out for 8 weeks in 1973-74. “We were going for super and long service and the MBA locked us all out.”

“A second one was 9 months; that was Loy Yang. If you could prove you were on the job and not on the dole you got backpaid.”

Back then, a rigger/dogman was on the top rate, there was nothing extra for drivers. “The doggies went out for a few weeks,” remembers Donny.

“Gallagher called us in and said go back to work and you’ll get the pay rise. Some went back, some didn’t, but they got the pay rise by the Thursday that same week.”

They might have been tough blues, but there were also some classics and Donny remembers one of the best at the mint in Craigieburn.

“It was when SkyLab’s space junk was gonna fall in Western Australia. The shop steward was Albie the Breadman.

We had a meeting and we decided to go home because if Skylab fell on one crane, it would knock down that crane, then the next crane and we’d all be stuffed.”

It wasn’t just the possibility of falling space junk that could send workers home, “If a foreman picked up a shovel, that’d be it, we’d all go home” says Donny.

CFMEU WORKER

“Back then it was the bosses that checked tickets, we didn’t even have to. They were so scared because if there was one unfinancial, that’d be it, we’d all be out.”

“Everyone would go to the pub at lunch time, the foreman, everyone. They couldn’t sack all of us!”

THE CHARACTERS AND THE SHERIFF’S PLEASURE Donny’s fondest memories of the BLF days was the characters. “Everything’s too serious now,” he says.

“Back then you had the Black Rat (Jimmy Powell), Charlie Burn, Henry ‘Holler’ Marshall, Fitzy Big Nose, Johnny ‘Ding Dong’ Bell.”

“There was Jack ‘Hawkeye’ Hawkins, he’d been putting hand cream on his face and sunscreen on his hands. He was as orange as a vest!”

“McGinty was the guy who taught me. You’d ride the hook back then, you couldn’t fuck up or you’d be dead.”

Donny says the BLF always led every fight for pay and conditions. It was this leadership that had Donny and SUMMER 2019

John Setka locked on a tower crane deck in 1989.

“There was a job in William St, the Hong Kong bank,” tells Donny. “It was one of Johnny Cummins’ bright ideas, said we’d beat Costain in four hours. Four days later we were still up there!”

“The cops got us down about 11pm Thursday night, took us straight to Pentridge, me and Setka, for some free accommodation. The screws were bluing with John Cain though, so we got a bit of roast dinner at 1 o’clock in the morning.”

on the Sheriff’s pleasure. Long story short they charged me with trespass, hijacking a crane, loss of production and theft of diesel because we started up the crane to get warm overnight.”

“Hijacking a crane? Last time I looked it was still bolted to the ground, nobody took it.”

“It got sorted out in court, I never paid. They tried to take my tickets off me, so we were back to court. My lawyer ‘Loophole Lenny’ got up and said it was all pre-judged, got the case thrown out.”

“We went to court some time the next morning. We weren’t under arrest, we were retained

GET MORE ON THE CONCRETE GANG If you want to hear a good yarn, get the latest news and occasionally indulge in a bit of nostalgia, Donny suggests listening to the Concrete Gang, 9:30am every Sunday morning on 3CR radio, 855AM. “I’ve been listening to the Concrete Gang since day one,” says

Donny. “With Ian ‘Mario’ Bolton, Harold Silks (Cummo), Johnny Lowe and Bobby Mancore.”

“I like listening to the Gorilla giving Stringbean shit.

You find out what’s happening, it’s a bit of a laugh.”

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GREAT

WITH NO HANGOVER

WE ALL LOOK FORWARD TO THE HOLIDAYS BUT HERE ARE SOME WAYS TO ENJOY YOURSELF AND NOT WAKE UP WITH A MASSIVE PHYSICAL OR FINANCIAL HANGOVER IN JANUARY.

MONEY AND CHRISTMAS

GOING OUT WITH YOUR MATES

STAYING HOME WITH FAMILY

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Give your guests something to eat

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Make a list of gifts for each person and stick to it.

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Fill your glass only when it is empty – it is easier to keep track of how many drinks you have.

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Big glasses mean big drinks so count each standard drink not the number of glasses.

Set a budget for Christmas gift giving. Try not to put things on your credit card if you can’t pay it all off that month

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Lower your alcohol intake with mid-strength beers or double up on the soft drink mixer. Offer plenty of alcoholfree and low alcohol options to your guests.

If there is interest free layby offered take advantage of being able to pay off something gradually over a few weeks

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Cash advances from a credit card are a very expensive way to shop

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Going out and drinking and eating big at Christmas drains the wallet –high mark-ups on drinks, holiday loadings all add up. Choose water over over-priced soft drinks and steer away from the expensive side of the drinks list.

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Have a good time at the party but keep in mind that 4 standard drinks per day is recommended.

Don’t forget to eat - either before you go out or when you get there Buy your own drinks as you go and avoid ‘rounds’ of drinks.

Have a glass water or a soft drink between each alcoholic drink.

Alcohol can be de-hydrating so think about drinking water or a soft drink when the weather is hot Be a good friend if a mate overdoes it. Find them a cab and tell the driver to take them home.

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Be a good friend - getting a taxi for a someone who has been drinking is safer than letting them drive home

Source: The Incolink Financial Rights Counsellor (03)9668 3061 and ASIC Moneysmart website www.moneysmart.gov.au

Christmas can be a stressful time and if you need someone to talk to at any time, 056 call Incolink 24/7 Counselling on 1300 000 129.

CFMEU WORKER

EWP’S – A TALE OF TRAGEDIES BUT HOPEFULLY IMPROVEMENTS

By Dr Gerry Ayers, CFMEU Safety Unit manager.

“THE REALITY IS THAT IF THERE HAD BEEN A SPOTTER, JORGE WOULD STILL BE ALIVE”

Pam Gurner-Hall, partner of CFMEU Member Jorge Castillo-Riffo who was killed in a crushing incident at the Hansen Yuncken/ Leighton-CPB ROYAL ADELAIDE HOSPITAL SITE IN 2014.

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he recent 2018 South Australian coroners’ report and recommendations following the workplace fatality of CFMEU member Jorge Castillo-Riffo, who was crushed to death by a scissor lift on a Leighton/Hansen Yuncken project in Adelaide in 2014, highlight the inherent dangers of working with or on all types of elevated work platforms (EWP’s).

The coroner recommended that until the standardisation of control mechanisms is achieved on all scissor lifts, they should not be operated unless there is another worker, on the ground, acting as an observer (or spotter). The worker on the ground must be available at all times to activate the emergency lowering mechanism of the EWP should the worker(s) in the scissor lift require that action to be taken.

This means the spotter on the ground must have the appropriate ticket for the plant and must be inducted into each piece of plant they will be spotting for.

Right around the country, including here in Victoria, we have had a number of tragic

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workplace fatalities, and serious crushing injuries to workers, where those workers have been crushed and/or caught between the handrail/frame of EWP’s and the structure or associated material/frames that are attached to the structure.

EWP’s are not always the correct piece of plant or equipment for working at heights; especially if a risk assessment identifies that there is any risk or possibility of a worker being crushed whilst using an EWP. Other alternatives, especially scaffolds, must be assessed and seriously evaluated as a viable and safe alternative to EWP’s.

This is consistent with the Falls Regulations (2017) and the new Prevention of Falls in General Construction Compliance Code published by WorkSafe Victoria in October 2018. Assessment must be done in full consultation with workers, the workers’ OHS representatives and employers, as set out under Section 35 of the Victorian Occupational Health and safety Act (2004).

to do the work; not just the quickest and the cheapest way to do the work.

If you are in any doubt – contact the CFMEU OHS Unit or your organiser for assistance.

Call the CFMEU OHS Unit: 9341 3444

These are just some of the ways to make sure that when workers are required to work on/with any EWP – we can make sure it is a safe and healthy method

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A JUST TRANSITION FOR WORKERS THE RUHR OR APPALACHIA?

DECIDING THE FUTURE OF AUSTRALIA’S COAL POWER WORKERS AND COMMUNITIES The Ruhr region is a manufacturing and services region of Germany that has successfully survived the closing down of its coal industry and most of the power stations and steel industry associated with it. In sharp contrast, the Appalachia region of the United States has endured decades of decline and social disadvantage due to there being no plan to deal with the decline of the coal industry.

WITH COAL-FIRED POWER STATIONS IN AUSTRALIA CLOSING - WHICH FUTURE WILL WE CHOOSE? Despite the energy policy vacuum, change is already being driven by technology and economics. But how Australia responds to this change determines whether the burdens and the opportunities are shared, or whether we create big winners and losers among us.

The Australian people and their leaders have a choice – we can “let the market rip”, with workforces and communities left devastated by company and investor decisions; or we can see the big changes that are coming and plan accordingly.

CFMEU Mining and Energy report ‘The Ruhr or Appalachia?’ draws on experiences in other countries over many decades to show what works, and what doesn’t. The goal in releasing this research is to push Australia towards a better way of dealing with this upheaval – towards Just Transition.

“In the energy debate to date, the impact of the transition on workers and communities has been almost completely ignored. This is an omission we can’t afford. The costs of investing in a just transition need to be balanced against the costs of doing nothing and abandoning whole communities to a bleak future.” - TONY MAHER, CFMEU NATIONAL PRESIDENT 058

THE CHALLENGE Australia’s coal power stations are already closing. The closure of the large 1,760 megawatt Hazelwood in Victoria in March 2017 brought the issue to national prominence, but nine other power stations with about 3,600MW capacity had already closed.

Neither the private sector nor the public sector is willing to invest in new coal power; renewable energy technologies have become cheaper, and even the current owners of coal power stations (both public and private) intend to close them.

Behind all these factors is the need to dramatically lower greenhouse gas emissions to reduce global warming.

A 2017 Senate Inquiry into power stations closures concluded “The question is not if coal fired power stations will close, but how quickly and orderly those closures will occur, and what supporting policies will be in place, if any, to help manage the process.”

There are around 8,000 jobs in power stations and dependent mines. More than that number again are in businesses and services that rely on those power stations. Losing that industry and those jobs will have huge adverse impacts on those regions unless there is a recovery plan – a different way forward.

Many, if not all, of Australia’s coal power stations will close by 2035. Some may last until 2050 at the latest and will close earlier if operators decide the economic case stacks up.

We have time to develop and implement a program to change the future of those regions. But we must start now.

CFMEU WORKER

LOOKING AFTER WORKERS Older workers – with long notice periods for closure, older workers can plan for retirement. Early retirements may need top-ups of retirement funds.

Retirees tend to stay in the region near their families and continue to spend on goods and services.

Younger workers – need opportunities to relocate to continuing jobs in power stations that are slated for later closure. They need access to retraining and relocation assistance – before their power station closes, not afterwards. Temporary income maintenance may be required.

Pooled redundancy and redeployment – an essential complementary element is a mechanism for voluntary redundancies to be coordinated and funded across power stations in a region, so that workers from a closing power station can move to continuing jobs. Successful transition programs don’t rely on the punishment of forced redundancies – the Ruhr in Germany has

transitioned many tens of thousands of coal miners without a single compulsory termination.

These measures require a new statutory authority an Energy Transition Authority – to coordinate and fund the programs. They will not happen through purely voluntary participation.

CAN’T WAIT There is no blueprint or successful program that we can buy ‘off-the-shelf’ and implement in Australia for Just Transition. But we do have best practice examples from other countries, and what the ALP Government in Victoria is now doing in the Latrobe Valley is a useful contribution.

We can wait for coal power regions to collapse, with coal power workers, their families and communities becoming a disadvantaged and angry constituency, or we can plan now for a better future.

BREAKING NEWS: LABOR ANNOUNCES JUST TRANSITION POLICY Pooled redundancies, a Just Transitions Authority, voluntary redundancies and supported early retirements all form part of Labor’s plan. It has been based on the successes of the La Trobe Valley supported transition for Hazelwood workers and their community.

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ACTU Secretary Sally McManus, Trades Hall Secretary Luke Hilakari and Premier Daniel Andrews were among 160,000 people on the streets of Melbourne on Tuesday 23rd October calling for fairer rules for working people and a pay rise for low wage Australian workers.

The second Change the Rules campaign rally for 2018 attracted a record crowd and focused on fair pay rises to keep up with the cost of living.

Wage growth is at near record lows, with four out of five working people not getting pay rises that keep up with the cost of living.

The current Australian minimum wage is not a living wage, and is no longer keeping people out of poverty. Because of this more than 28,000 people are homeless but working full-time.

Forty percent of working people are in insecure work – either in casual work, dependent on contracting, in labour hire, getting too few hours, or in the gig economy.

We need to change the rules so that working people have the tools they need to negotiate with real decision-makers and win fair pay rises and more secure jobs.

Members need to be able to access their union representatives at their workplaces and all Australian workers must have equal rights under the law – the anti-worker ABCC and the Liberal Party’s draconian Building Code must be abolished.

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#ChangeTheRules!

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Education & Tra As 2018 ends we would like to thank members, HSRs, delegates, organisers and officials for the tremendous support you have given the Education and Training Unit throughout 2018. This has been another big year for the Unit – a year of changes and challenges, of fresh ideas and opportunities.

Unit Attendances – over 20+ years

our members want training The CFMEU Education and Training Unit has a long history of growth and development. We currently offer 10 national qualifications, 5 nationally registered short courses and over 120 units of competency. We became a registered provider of vocational education and training in 1993 and since then more than 100,000 workers have registered to do courses with us. We now cater for about 10,000 enrolments a year.

25,000

20,000

15,000

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Enrolments peaked in 2002 – 2003 when compulsory OHS induction was introduced.

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the decline in 2005 - 2007 was followed by a rise to current levels after the introduction of the training levy

Our Unit was established at a time when major construction companies employed workers directly, including apprentices. Since then, conservative political and economic policies have changed the way people are employed. These days large numbers of workers are trapped in casual, labour hire and sham contracting arrangements making it difficult for workers to upgrade their skills and knowledge. Very few construction companies have carefully developed training plans. Worker release for training in paid work time has become increasing problematic. This is bad for the industry in the long term and represents a challenge for all of us.

At the same time as members are finding it difficult to access training in paid work time, our waitlists for courses are steadily increasing. Numbers in most High-Risk Work licensing courses have more than doubled in the last 10 years. Our resources in this area are at full capacity most of the time. Waitlists are not always the reason members have to wait for courses though. Sometimes members must wait for courses because they need experience first. CFMEU policy requires prerequisites and time served in certain classifications before progressing to more complex areas particularly High-Risk Work licenses. Time under the hook, for example, is needed before going on to mobile or tower crane training.

If a member needs help accessing a course talk to us or ask your shop steward, Health and Safety Representative or organiser to contact us and we will do our best to assist.

10,000

5,000

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20 15

20 13

20 11

20 09

20 07

20 05

20 03

20 01

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19 95

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PRE-APPS AND APPRENTICES Our pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship carpentry courses have been in strong demand this year and with the bill to license our traditional trades being passed in parliament we expect our program to grow better and stronger. In 2018 our fifth intake of pre-apprentices finished 22 weeks training, and most are now in carpentry apprenticeships with commercial construction employers. Many of our first group of apprentices have now finished their training and will soon be fully qualified carpenters. We continue to get great feedback from employers about the high quality of the skills and knowledge of our apprentices. The CFMEU also provides services to on site -apprentices through our full-time apprentice officer Liam O’Hearn. In addition to assisting in the coordination of the CFMEU’s apprentice program, Liam visits sites and companies, meets and supports apprentices and liaises with organisers, shop stewards and OH&S representatives.

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CFMEU WORKER

aining Unit news new staff In 2018 Paul Allwood and Dan Phelan left the training unit to pursue other work in the industry. Paul Allwood was our scaffold trainer and assessor for 13 years. He also assisted in coordinating OHS systems at our High-Risk Work training facility at Wharf Rd. Dan Phelan worked at the Unit as a High-Risk Work trainer and assessor for 5 years and worked closely with Steve Roach from the union’s OHS unit to develop panel erection courses. We will miss their skills and knowledge and thank them for their contribution to workers’ education.

In 2018 Helen Whooley, Paul Chapman and Greg Sansom were employed to assist our OHS and High-Risk Work training teams. Helen is a qualified teacher who has been working in the mines in WA. She has assisted in our HSR training, forklift and EWP licences and is developing her skills as an asbestos trainer.

Paul Chapman should be well known to members in the LaTrobe Valley where he has been a shop steward and HSR on power plants and in metals construction jobs. Paul has plenty of scaffold experience and has been working with both our OHS and High-Risk Work training teams. Greg Sansom has been working as a qualified High-Risk Work trainer and assessor in Western Australia and Victoria and has loads of industry experience on commercial construction and infrastructure jobs. These 3 trainers have added new perspectives and depth to our services.

SEE you in training in 2019 Wishing you a happy and safe festive season. We look forward to working with you again in 2019.

For further information about our training and courses please contact the Unit on 93413444 or check our website at vic.cfmeu.org.au/training SUMMER 2019

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adon

With Matt Se

Yes, there are good numbers of Yellowtail Kingfish right on our doorstep.

Before you start getting carried away you need to be aware that fishing for Kings is not easy. You need to be or have with you a reasonably experienced person on the wheel (driving the boat), you need good quality gear and lots of it and you need to be built like Conan the Barbarian to pull the fish in if you’re lucky enough to hook up, because these things fight dirty.

When I say doorstep I mean it in every literal sense. I watched footage earlier this year of a young man landing a decent sized fish from a jetty in the Docklands, and the photo (inset) is of some friends from The Bent Rod Squad who had a day out in Western Port. Although this is not common it shows you how close the fish now get.

They will spool you, tangle you, wrap you up in your own motor and most of the time they will take you into the reef and cut you off. It’s all part of the enticement though and it’s what eats at fisherman wanting to catch such an impressive sports fish. And did I mention they go pretty good on the chew?

This is the fishing article I have been hesitant to write for fear of letting the cat out of the bag, but I am now finally resigned to the fact that Victoria’s worst kept fishing secret is OUT!

WHERE TO FISH Kings are now a common target species from Mallacoota to the coast along Wilsons Prom, out the front of both Western Port and Port Philip Bay then all the way west to Portland and beyond.

The most common place though, to find people fishing for Kings, is in the ‘Rip’. The Rip is the entrance from Bass Strait to Port Phillip Bay. Make no mistakes about it, during the summer months it can be a car park in the Rip but it is also without doubt the most treacherous body of local water we have. It is called the Rip due to the pace and force in which the water pushes in and out with each tide, the water ‘RIPS’ through causing large, sometimes huge waves and the water is always turbulent.

I’ll keep this part simple, if you don't know what you’re doing, don't fish there.

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CFMEU WORKER

It is obviously fishable but there are a lot of things that need to align for it to be done safely. Do a charter or jump on with someone who knows the area to learn first before going out yourself.

Apart from the Rip you want to be looking for reefs that are reasonably close to land but are outside the bays.

There are plenty of them, you just need to put in the time and cover the ground (or get some inside info).

During the warmer months, the reefs are where you will find the Kings. They sound up well, so if they are there you should find them on your sounder without too many problems.

TECHNIQUE There are a number of different ways to fish for kings.

Live bait, jig, troll lures, casting surface lures and dropping down soft plastics. All these methods are effective but sometimes you may need to try all of them to bring on the bite (hence needing lots of gear), it’s just that type of fishing. Like anything in fishing if you put in the time and hard work it will eventually pay off.

COOKED One of the many great things about Kingfish is the versatility in which it can be eaten/cooked. It is brilliant sashimi and if you've ever had a white fleshed sushi it was more than likely Kingfish. It’s my personal favourite type of fish to eat raw.

It’s a great fish to cook steaks on the bbq with, but make sure you don't overcook it. Similar to Salmon you want to seer it both sides without over cooking the middle.

Another common and very tasty way to cook the fish is to smoke it, it is the perfect fish to give this technique a try and there are a number of good easy recipes out there to try and enjoy.

Tight lines, have an awesome Xmas and remember, Stay safe on the water and work to live don't live to work.

OF THE SEND IN PHOTOS OF YOUR BEST CATCH IN YOUR CFMEU FISHING GEAR AND YOU COULD FEATURE IN THE NEXT MAGAZINE AND ON OUR FACEBOOK PAGE! Send photos in a message to the CFMEU Vic-Tas Facebook page:

facebook.com/CFMEUVic Or, email to: viccomms@cfmeu.org SUMMER 2019

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No one in the Australian construction industry needs to be reminded of how toxic asbestos is. It kills our mates, our families are torn apart and it’s estimated that as many as 4000 Australians and up to 40,000 Americans every year will die prematurely of asbestos related diseases.

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CFMEU WORKER

The Australian Government’s own Asbestos Safety and Eradication Agency claim that around 25,000 more Australians will die from this insidious product in the next decade despite the fact we have banned it.

Given these sorts of attitudes you can imagine when CFMEU OHS health and safety expert Peter Clark and Mark Devereaux from the CFMEU Training Unit went to Asia to investigated they found their work was cut out for them.

However, globally the asbestos curse is far from dead.

“There are 24 factories still operating in Indonesia producing asbestos roof from the raw material Chrysotile and throughout Southeast Asia the Russians are sending people over as advocates for asbestos saying it’s a safe product,” Clark reports.

Yet all the science wasn’t enough to sway Donald Trump. In his 1997 book ‘The Art of the Comeback’ he described the anti-asbestos campaign as a mob conspiracy saying, “It is 100 per cent safe, once applied.”

Then in 2005 while before the United States Congress Trump said: “I mean a lot of people could say that if the World Trade Centre had asbestos it wouldn’t have burnt down, it wouldn’t have melted okay. A lot of people think asbestos is the greatest fireproofing material ever made and I can tell you that I’ve seen tests of asbestos versus the new material that’s being used and it’s not even a contest, it’s like a heavyweight champion against a lightweight champion from high school but in your great wisdom you folks have said asbestos is a horrible material so it has to be removed.”

SUMMER 2019

A well-funded lobby group, calling themselves the Roofing Sheet Association, are telling people: “It’s only banned in 67 countries and there’s all these other countries that haven’t banned it including the USA so it can’t be that bad.”

Uralasbest is one of the world’s largest miners and exporters of chrysotile in the world. Capable of producing 12 million tons a year they are branding pallets of its product with a seal of Trump’s face, along with the words “Approved by Donald Trump, 45th president of the United States.”

“Raw Chrysotile from Russia and China is really cheap and as the population of Indonesia are really quite poor they are forced to deal with it. While in 069

Vietnam the government will supply the roofing materials for example to entire villages in the mountains which are mostly populated by poor minorities,’’ says Clark.

Mark Devereaux adds: “The poorest of the poor are living up in these mountains and they do get all their asbestos roofing supplied but they have no idea of its toxicity so when there’s offcuts or a broken sheet left over, they use it for fences or around the garden, veggie patch or chicken coop and the kids will also play with it.”

“Many products are also still getting into Australia that contain asbestos. So, if we don’t help support the activist overseas to get it banned, we will keep getting these products here.”

At the moment Australia imports products that contain asbestos like floor tiles, gaskets, rope, brake linings in cars and many other products we are unaware of are all coming from throughout South East Asia.

“Border Force even found crayons containing asbestos coming from China – these are kids crayons it’s shocking.” Says Clark.

Border Force can only check about 11% of the overall containers that come into Australia.

“There is so much product we have found on construction sites over the last few years that contain asbestos. Like the hospital in Western Australia with roof sheeting containing asbestos and it’s not labelled as asbestos material because regulations in China say if it’s 5% or less asbestos material in the product it is labeled asbestos free,” Clark says.

Devereaux adds: “One other thing we noticed in Vietnam and a lot more in Indonesia is that because they don’t have the expertise to diagnose asbestos-related illnesses a lot of patients will be misdiagnosed as having Tuberculosis.”

Russia continues to mine over one million metric tons of raw Chrysotile every year worth about US$1 billion at around $1500 per metric ton on the global market. That’s just the Russian mining side of things.

China mines around half a million metric tons a year so you’ve got between China and Russia the mining of one and a half million metric tons of raw Chrysotile every year.

“The next step for Australian unions in Indonesia and Vietnam is for assistance in the training and education and also supporting the activist groups trying to get it banned. I think that’s probably the big one for us they’ve got a long way to go to get to where we are and with a long way to go, I think the training aspect of it is a really big part for us to play,” Devereaux says.

Your donation can make 2019 a decisive year in the fight to ban asbestos.

070 DONATE NOW: WWW.APHEDA.ORG.AU

CFMEU WORKER

Silica dust is 20 times more toxic than coal dust. It’s been touted as the ‘new asbestos’.

Respirable crystalline silica dust or RCS is the leading cause of silicosis, the most common occupational lung disease in the world today. Silica dust can also cause lung cancer even where silicosis has not occurred.

Remarkably it is one of the world’s oldest occupational diseases yet we haven’t heard much about it.

You may have seen the ABC’s 7:30 program ‘Deadly Dust’. If you haven’t, check it out online because if you work in construction it’s a must see.

Dr. Ryan Hoy a Respiratory and Sleep disorders physician at Cabrini Medical Centre explains: “What we are most concerned about at the moment is the dry cutting of artificial stone or engineered stone most commonly known as Caesarstone.”

“It has been available in Australia since 2001 so it’s a relatively new building material, but since that time it’s become very popular. The major problem with this product is that it contains extremely high levels of silica.”

Workers exposed to silica dust for even relatively short periods of time and some even in their 20s have been diagnosed with silicosis in Australia.

“On average once a patient is diagnosed they have a rapid decline of lung function as much as 30 times greater than expected in comparison to a healthy adult and the only cure for silicosis is a lung transplant.” says Dr. Hoy. Cancer Council Australia states that there is currently no conclusive evidence to support a safe level of exposure to silica dust. The Association Advancing Occupational and Environmental Health (ACGIH) has recommended that the silica dust exposure limit be 0.025mg/m3 as an 8-hour Time-Weighted Average (TWA).

CFMEU OHS manager Dr. Gerry Ayers says, “We recommend anyone cutting artificial stone should not only wet cut but also use exhaust extraction systems on their tools as well as using approved respiratory equipment. Dry cutting is not an option that should ever be considered.”

“In this day and age it’s a disgrace - we’re getting people that are now being diagnosed with silicosis with all the science, technology and knowledge we have; it’s absolutely disgraceful that these poor workers are being diagnosed with this insidious disease.” adds Dr. Ayers.

For more information on how to control the risk of exposure to respirable crystalline silica, visit the website: ohsrep.org.au/hazards/chemicals/silica

SUMMER 2019

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e th e s o cl

gender

super gap CBUS HAS GOTTEN BEHIND A CAMPAIGN THAT LOOKS TO CLOSE THE GENDER GAP IN RETIREMENT INCOMES FOR WOMEN. It is not widely known that women, on average currently retire with 47% less super than men and that a third of single women retire in poverty.

The Make Super Fair campaign is run by advocacy group Women in Super, pushing for recommendations that go some of the way to closing the super gap.

The gender retirement gap is important for CFMEU women members, but it also impacts the daughters, sisters, wives and partners of male members. Most importantly, as the union who was central to the creation of the super system, the CFMEU remains committed to ensuring that our super system delivers dignity in retirement for all Australian workers.

WHY IS THERE A GAP?

Breaks from work and part-time work associated with having kids.

The reasons for the gap relate to broken work patterns due to child rearing and caring responsibilities, the disproportionate number of women in part-time and casual work and the fact that large numbers of women are concentrated in low-paid work.

Women more likely to work in casualised and low paid industries Cbus Executive Robbie Campo says construction workers who also experience insecure work are likely to understand how it impacts on quality of life and the ability to plan for the future.

“Periods of unemployment between jobs, sham contracting, labour hire and the problem of getting on a job when you’re over 50 are features of the industry many CBUS members would be familiar with.”

“Large numbers of women know nothing but the struggles that arise from broken work patterns.”

“Combining motherhood and work means women often end up in insecure work or in jobs with little career progression,” she says.

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“The high cost of childcare, particularly if there is more than one child in the family, is also an impediment for some women to return to work.”

CFMEU WORKER

“These factors lead to a reduction in their income and prevents them from accumulating adequate retirement savings.”

SO, WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT IT?

Women only get 33% of super tax concessions while 67% go to men.

Cbus is supporting the Make Super Fair campaign, which focuses on 5 key changes to the system:

Many women get less government support for super savings. Around half of working women do not get any government support for their super savings at all as tax concessions are not given to low income earners. This is unfair and also affects a lot of low income earning men.

These are:

No super if you’re paid under $450 a month Any job that pays less than $450 a month carries no requirement to pay superannuation. Many women work part-time (sometimes juggling two or more casual or part time jobs) resulting in an estimated 220,000 women missing out on $125 million of super as they do not meet the requirement.

Provide women and other low income earners with an additional $1,000 government contribution annually into their super, boosting their super balance and reaping the benefits of compounding interest over time. To ensure this is a well targeted measure, it would only apply from age 25 and only up to accounts with balances of less than $100,000.

No further delays to increase the super guarantee from 9.5% to 12% as the current rate does not enable most women, and indeed most average earners, to accrue enough savings for a dignified retirement.

The super system must be modernised to ensure it is delivering its promise of universal and adequate retirement savings for everyone.

Remove the $450 monthly pay threshold which sees an estimated 220,000 women miss out on super every year.

Ms Campo says that the system created in the 1980s, from a campaign led by construction workers, reflected the workforce which at the time was mostly male, full time and continuous work.

Make sure that super is paid on paid parental leave – making it no different from other types of leave

“Australia’s super is the envy of countries around the world, but it’s time to modernise it to reflect the typical working patterns and outcomes for women.”

Measure the impact any future changes to super would have on women.

Ms Campo says that in the longer term, more women need to be encouraged to work in higher paid industries and the gender pay gap and other forms of discrimination and gender inequality must be tackled, all of which is on the agenda for the CFMEU Vic Branch.

WOMEN AND SUPER - WHY THE NUMBERS DON’T STACK UP • • •

Women currently retire with 47% less superannuation than men Women live five years longer than men on average Women only receive 1/3 of the government tax concessions on super (men receive the other 2/3)

QUICK STATS • 40% of older single retired women live in poverty and experience economic insecurity in retirement • 47% of the workforce are women (69% of all are part-time employees) • 44% of women rely on their partners income as the main source of funds for retirement • 8.5% of women between 65 and 74 still have a mortgage • The average female salary is $44,000 (including part-time workers) SUMMER 2019

• •

Female graduates earn $5,000 less than male graduates in the same role Women spend on average five hours more per day caring for children than men

KEY FACTORS BEHIND THE GENDER SUPER GAP • 43% of women work part-time • Women working full-time earn 18% less than men • Women take an average of five years out of the workforce to care for children or family members • 9.5% Superannuation Guarantee is too low • An estimated 220,000 women miss out on $125 million of superannuation contributions as they earn less than $450 per month (before tax) from a single employer.

073

There since the beginning

With you until the end.

As one of Australia’s first Industry Super Funds, Cbus has looked out for our members best interest for over 34 years.

Join Cbus today. www.cbussuper.com.au

074

Call 1300 361 784

8am to 8pm - AEST/AEDT Monday to Friday

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 and Insurance Handbook and related documents prior to making any decisions. Call 1300 361 784 or visit www.cbussuper.com.au for a copy.

Cbus’ Trustee: United Super Pty Ltd ABN 46 006 261 623 AFSL 233792 Cbus ABN 75 493 363 262.

CFMEU WORKER

CIVIL INFRASTRUCTURE GROUP PTY LTD

Gym Isolation Acoustic Panels Building Isolation Swimming Pool Isolation

H Civil Construction Contractors specialising in Bridges

Engineered Timber Flooring

PO Box 88, Somerton, Vic. 3062

Phone: 0438 284 316

Flooring Engineering

www.civilinfrastructuregroup.com.au CW 24/3

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SUMMER 2019

075

Brady Constructions Pty Ltd

Commercial Construction Specialising in Design & Build

Ph: (03) 8622 8100 www.bradygroup.com.au CW 24/3

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A Class Cladding COMMERCIAL INDUSTRIAL GOVERNMENT

Ph: 0418 143 152 E: aclasscladding@gmail.com

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TIMBER FLOORING SERVICES COMMERCIAL PTY LTD 55 McGregors Drive, Keilor Park, 3042

220 Normanby Avenue, Thornbury, Vic. 3071

Mobile: 0412

P: (03) 9338 9511

520 863

F: (03) 9338 9500 CW 24/3

CW 24/3

1/50 Hudson Street, Spotswood, Vic. 3015 Phone:

(03) 9041 1490

E: office@kospolinteriors.com.au CW 24/3

076

CFMEU WORKER

Julian McCarthy Landscapes Pty Ltd 1/ 8a Railway Avenue, Oakleigh, Vic 3166

Ph: (03) 9543 9821 CW 24/3

CW 24/3

MATIC PLASTERING P/L 18 Reema Boulevarde, Endeavor Hills, Vic. 3802

Ph/Fax (03) 9708 0559 Mob: 0401 681 748

PO Box 299, Ivanhoe 3079 P: 9455 1990 | F: 9455 1980 | M: 0404 446 633 Email: vlad@ccserv.com.au CW 24/3

Anglo Italian Concrete Industrial super flat concrete floors

CW 24/3

SUNTEX INTERIORS PTY LTD

H Proudly supporting the CFMEU

20 Lionel Road, Mt Waverley, Vic. 3149

Ph: 03 9808 2015

Ph: 03 9544 5511 CW 24/3

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DREAM IT. BUILD IT.

www.cmmgroup.com.au info@cmmgroup.com.au 03 9899 9789

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

Commercial Fit Outs and Specialised Joinery Melbourne Office Ground Floor, 371 Spencer St Melbourne VIC 3000 T 03 8379 2111 F 03 8379 2199

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

Geelong Office 64-72 Seaside Pde North Shore VIC 3214 T 03 5277 2988 F 03 5277 2399

www.jacarandaindustries.com CW 24/3

SUMMER 2019

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077

OUTSTANDING PLASTERING PTY LTD

Matt Boyer 0438 770 360

J. Simos Steel Fixing

★ Specialising in

Pty Ltd

North Melbourne, Vic 3051

Commercial & Residential

Mobile:

mboyer@rapidcrete.com.au

Ph: 1300 083 817

PO Box 521

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CW 24/3

DGL SAWING

Dandenong Sth, Vic. 3175

0437 481 288

PO Box 313 Fawkner, Vic. 3060

mail@qasteelfixing.com.au VICTORIA

M: 0428 970 631 CW 24/3

Stone Design Group

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Corcrete Group Pty Ltd

DOMESTIC COMMERCIAL INDUSTRIAL

CW 24/3

Ph: (03) 9793 9522

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Proud to support the CFMEU

Ph: 03 9357 6387

Pty Ltd

38 Brindley Street

PTY LTD

44 Sarah Street Campbellfied, Vic. 3061

Express Interiors

0408 416 758

32­34 Alex Avenue Moorabbin, Vic. 3189 Phone:

1300 651 669

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CW 24/3

INDUSTRIES PTY LTD

Established 1985

Pty Ltd

Commercial & Residential Stone Kitchen Benchtops 7 year workmanship warranty

03 9498 3444 www.stonedesigngroup.com.au CW 24/3

CW 24/3

166 Abbotsford Street, North Melbourne 3051

03 9322 4222

PO Box 3017 Willoughby North NSW 2068

www.vertigo.net.au

CW 24/3

P: 02 9417 7297 29-31 Dingley Ave, Dandenong, Vic. 3175

F: 02 9417 5271 E: kerry@cityrendering.com.au CW 24/3

078

Mob: 0401 498 988 Ph: (03) 9793 4737 Email: admin@viccivil.com

CW 24/3

Industry Leaders in Asbestos Removal MGR is committed to: • Safety • Professionalism • Integrity • Quality • Reliability For our clients and our workers alike.

The MGR Industries/CFMEU 2016-2018 EBA has been approved as code compliant, and meets all requirements of the Fair Work Commission and the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC).

Phone: +61 3 9580 9499 Email: mgr@mgrindustries.com.au PO Box 83, Braeside VIC 3195 CW 24/3

CFMEU WORKER

Tile Effect (Vic) Pty Ltd

Apprentices for hire for the time you require!

TEKNI STEELFIXING PTY LTD

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

Mobile: 0411 701 417 CW 24/3

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

CW 24/3

41 Henderson Street, Clayton, Vic. 3168

M: 0416 181 212 P: (03) 9561 5655

Email: teknisteelfixing@bigpond.com

Email: info@independentscaffolds.com.au Web: www.independentscaffolds.com.au

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Image Paving Pty Ltd

AGHG PTY LTD

9/680 Victoria Street North Melbourne, Vic. 3051

20 Libbett Avenue Clayton South, Victoria 3169

P: (03) 9326 3596

Ph: (03) 8522 2863

M: 0418 178 964 E: info@imagepaving.com.au W: www.imagepaving.com.au

Email: admin@aghg.com.au Website: www.aghg.com.au

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VESTA STEEL

Nemo Carpentry Services Pty Ltd

PTY LTD

87 Soldiers Rd, Jannali, NSW 2226

COMMERCIAL CARPENTERS

M: 0413 547 110

M: 0404 876 938

E: dblazev1@bigpond.net.au

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Straightline Contractors Pty Ltd P: (03) 9359 3266 CW 24/3

Moncor Investments Pty Ltd

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Supporting the CFMEU Bishony Nominees Pty Ltd t/as COMPOSITE SUPPORT SYSTEMS VICTORIA * Metal Formwork & Stud Welding PO Box 106, Vermont, Vic. 3133 Mobile: 0417 583 383 Phone/Fax: (03) 9874 1108 BRIDAN PTY LTD 21 Gilbert Road, Ivanhoe, Vic 3079 Phone: 9499 2524 Fax: 9499 4520 DACA CONSTRUCTION PTY LTD PO Box 75, Bulleen, Vic. 3105 Mobile: 0403 976 646, 0407 527 617 Email: cameron@dacawindows.com SUPPORT THE ROYAL CHILDRENS HOSPITAL PLEASE SUPPORT CANCER COUNCIL VICTORIA Proudly supported by L & LJ Fabrications Pty Ltd

REDBAR EXCAVATIONS Excavators 94 Newlands Road, Reservoir, Vic. 3073 Phone: (03) 9460 6620 SARDI CONCRETE CONSTRUCTIONS 4 Artists Hill, Eltham, Vic. 3095 Mobile: 0418 388 466 Email: peter@sardi.com.au

Trading as

MCM Tile & Stone 1 Milkman Street, Coburg, Vic. 3058

Ph: (03) 9354 9322

SUMMER 2019

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

MERCURY INDUSTRY PTY LTD 61 Babbage Drive, Dandenong South, Vic. 3175 Phone: (03) 9706 0284

16-18 Sunshine Street, Campbellfield, Vic. 3061

Fax: (03) 9354 9344

Fax: (03) 9546 2223

30 Apollo Drive Hallam, Vic. 3803 Ph: 0415 424 070 www.customclad.com.au

Ph: (03) 9357 6758

E: onewaysaf@gmail.com W: www.onewayconstructions.com.au

Ph: (03) 9546 2229

Custom Clad Pty Ltd

42-44 Capital Link Drive, Campbellfield, Vic. 3061 P: 03 9794 0880 M: 0424 860 000

147 Westall Road Clayton South, Vic. 3169

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Independent Scaffolds Unit 3, 10 Princes Hwy, Doveton, Vic. 3177

L & Y Commercial

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SWIFT STRUCTURES PTY LTD Mobile: 0437 794 380 Website: www.swiftstructure.com.au

079

Watties Welding Pty Ltd

For all your on-site needs Phone: 0407 865 233 Fax: (03) 5941 4045

CW 24/3

Astern Group Pty Ltd Civil Construction Contracting Specialties in Abutments Bridges, Wing/Retaining Walls & supply of qualified trades

0410 408 205 / (03) 9308 0085 accounts@astern.com.au

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BECCA’S FLOORING SERVICES PTY LTD

MULTIFIT TIMBER FLOORS PTY LTD

227 Ohea Street, Pascoe Vale, Vic. 3044 M: 0404 482 021 E: info@beccasflooring.com

beccasflooring.com

Mobile: 0401 555 777

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Schiavello Construction (Vic) Pty Ltd

1 Sharps Road Tullamarine, Vic. 3043

Ph: (03) 9330 8888 Fax: (03) 9330 8899

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E: lc.multifitfloor@gmail.com

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Please support the Smith Family For donations call 1800 024 069

ABN 93 604 334 250

P: (03) 9079 8404 M: 0415 955 249 E: admin@parabolaprojects.com.au www.parabolaprojects.com.au

www.thesmithfamily.com.au

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Supporting the CFMEU

ADCO Constructions Vic. Pty Ltd

Hayden’s Ceilings & Partitions Hudson Interiors Hayden’s Plastering Interiors (03) 9600 0084 CW 24/3

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Phone: 03 9832 1400

PO Box 45, Mentone, Vic. 3194

Ph: (03) 9584 1833 Fax: (03) 9584 3888 CW 24/3

Email: info@camhammondfloors.com

DEPRESSION GET HELP

105-109 Munster Tce, North Melbourne VIC 3051

P: (03) 9329 8600 F: (03) 9329 8605 Email: info@daac.com.au Website: www.daac.com.au Commercial Window Furnishings

CW 24/3

Fax: (03) 9312 1735

Level 9, 168 Exhibition Street Melbourne, 3000

www.beyondblue.org.au or phone 1300 22 4636

(03) 8413 0000

Fortis Construction Formwork and structural specialists CW 24/3

Stephen 0415 569 692 Cathal 0406 238 728

estimating@apmgroup.com.au www.apmgroup.com.au

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KEEN EDGE CONSTRUCTIONS PTY LTD

Unit 1/9 Brand Dve, Thomastown, Vic. 3074

Mobile: 0412 072 862 Email: info@keenedgeconstruction.com.au

CW 24/3

www.beyondblue.org.au or phone 1300 22 4636

CW 24/3

ADZ Lift Crane Hire Pty Ltd CW 24/3

Specialists in Quality Flooring

Ph: (03) 9312 3688

DEPRESSION GET HELP

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Supporting the CFMEU

Cam Hammond Floors Pty Ltd

PO Box 975 Melton, Vic. 3337

Specialising in: Formwork Erection, Steel Reinforcement (Steel Fixing) and Concrete Placement/Finishing Infinite Possibilities CW 24/3

Level 9, 75 Dorcas Street South Melbourne, Vic. 3205

Suite 1, Level 2, 118 Queen St, Melbourne,Vic. 3000

www.haydensgroup.com.au

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Rails, Cranes, Rigging, Labouring & more

0400 454 505 / 0423 628 562 www.jdkrbuildingsolutions.com

PROUDLY SUPPORTING THE CFMEU

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Imperial Stone Industries Pty Ltd (Incorporating Platinum Fireworks) PO Box 4020, Keilor Downs, Vic. 3038

Mob: 0412 070 573

E: admin@imperialstoneindustries.com.au CW 24/3

765 English Road Lethbridge, Vic. 3332 M: 0400 662 087

CW 24/3

BKP Cranes & Rigging Services Pty Ltd H Cranes & Riggers for Hire H Site Inspections

Phone: 0499 045 700

CW 24/3

Supporting the CFMEU

SAS Steelfixing (Aust) Concrete Reinforcement of Commercial & Civil Works

P.O. Box 158, Drysdale, Vic. 3222

Ph: 0413 740 685 or 0419 872 051

CW 24/3

I & D Group P/L CW 24/3

In support of the CFMEU & Workplace Safety

John 0402256202 Billy 0413511211 Toby 0451141215 www.phoenixtraffic.com.au info@phoenixtraffic.com.au

080

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

P: 03 9560 1812

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CFMEU WORKER

C R O S SWO R D

solutions 001 VERTILUX CORPORATION FALL PROTECTION & TEMPORARY GUARDRAIL SYSTEMS FOR COMMERCIAL & INDUSTRIAL BUILDING SITES.

(03) 8773 7255

industrialsales.vic@scopesafety.com.au

PTY LTD

Manufacturers of quality window furnishings 65 Assembly Dve, Tullamarine, Vic. 3043

Phone: (03) 9330 1577 CW 24/3

Supporting the CFMEU

CW 24/3

Able On-Site Services

Rising Star Interior Pty Ltd

★ BOILER CLEANING ★ INDUSTRIAL CLEANING ★ TWIN ROPE ACCESS

506 Fullarton Road, Airport West, Vic. 3042

20 Railway Road, Thorpdale, Vic. 3835

Ph: (03) 9988 3355

Ph: 0411 669 356

CW 24/3

Phone 0407 061 882 victoria@easterncranes.com.au www.easterncranes.com.au

CW 24/3

ABOVE AND BEYOND PLASTERING PTY LTD 29F Glenvale Crescent Mulgrave, Vic 3170

Phone: (03) 8555 0550 E: estimator@aboveandbeyondplastering.com.au

CW 24/3

SUMMER 2019

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081

YOUR WAGES

EBA WAGE RATES ONSITE 36-HOUR WEEK: Your Union EBA brings increases in wages, allowances, superannuation and Incolink contributions.

Be paid-up and proud, it’s worth it!

For sector EBAs see vic.cfmeu.org.au/wages (civil, contract scaffold, precast, traffic control, demolition, apprentices, mobile cranes, steel erection, shop fitting)

RATE PER HOUR

RATE PER WEEK

WEEKLY PRO-RATA ANNUAL LEAVE

WEEKLY PRO-RATA A/ L LOADING

$45.51

$1,638.36

$126.03

$25.08

Painter – new work

$44.49

$1,601.64

$123.20

$24.59

Painter – re-paint

$44.44

$1,599.84

$123.06

$24.57

Marker/Setter-out, Letter Cutter

$47.38

$1,705.68

$131.21

$25.99

Signwriter, Roof-tiler

$46.38

$1,669.68

$128.44

$25.51

$49.16

$1,769.76

$136.14

$26.85

$44.24

$1,592.64

$122.51

$24.47

$42.78

$1,540.08

$118.47

$23.76

$41.46

$1,492.56

$114.81

$23.12

Operator and Dogman/Crane hands

$51.53

$1,855.08

$142.70

$28.00

Trainee Dogman/Crane hand (fixed cranes)

$47.92

$1,725.12

$132.70

$26.25

(36 HOUR WEEK)

Tradespersons CW3 - 100% Carpenter/Joiner, Tile-layer, Stonemason, Artificial Stoneworker Plasterer, Marble & Slate-worker, Cladding Fixer, Bricklayer

CW4 - 105%

CW5 - 110% Special Class Tradesperson: Carver * All Rates include Tool Allowance

Labourers GRADE 1 - CW3 - 100% Rigger/Dogman, Sign industry worker, Concrete pump operator

GRADE 2 - CW2 - 96% Scaffolder, Hoist/Winch Driver Steel Fixer, Concrete Finisher

GRADE 3 - CW1 - 92.4% Trades Labourer, Concrete Gang, Hoseman, Jack Hammerman, Concrete Cutting Machine Operator

Crane Crews - Building Sites TOWER CRANE CREW - CW7 - 120%

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CFMEU WORKER

YOUR WAGES

Plant operators PCW7 - 120% - Excavators over 115 tonnes, Crawler Tractors over 350kw, Graders experienced final trim

$50.42

$1,815.12

$139.62

$27.46

PCW6 - 115% - Excavators 65 to 115 tonnes, Wheel & Track Loaders over 300kw, Crawler Tractors 200 to 350kw, Graders final trim, Construction Trucks over 200 tonnes, Tower Cranes

$48.57

$1,748.52

$134.50

$26.57

PCW5 - 110% - Compactors over 200kw, Excavators 25 to 65 tonnes, Wheel & Track Loaders 200 to 300kw, Scrapers over 400kw, Crawler Tractors 100 to 200kw, Graders over 130kw, Construction Trucks 120 to 200 tonnes, Mobile Cranes 15 to 100 tonnes

$46.71

$1,681.56

$129.35

$25.67

PCW4 - 105% - Compactors up to 200kw, Excavators 16 to 25 tonnes, Wheel & Track Loaders 100 to 200kw, Scrapers 300 to 400kw, Crawler Tractors up to 100kw, Graders up to 130kw, Construction Trucks 60 to 120 tonnes, Mobile Cranes up to 15 tonnes

$44.91

$1,616.76

$124.37

$24.79

PCW3 - 100% - Rollers over 10 tonnes, Skid Steer & Backhoe/Loaders over 200kw, Excavators up to 16 tonnes, Wheel & Track Loaders up to 100kw, Scrapers up to 300kw, Construction Trucks 12 to 60 tonnes, Forklift Operators, Winch Drivers & Mobile Hydraulic Platform Operators

$43.12

$1,552.32

$119.41

$23.93

PCW2 - 96% - Rollers 5 to 10 tonnes, Skid Steer & Backhoe/Loaders to 200kw, Construction Trucks up to 12 tonnes

$41.41

$1,490.76

$114.67

$23.10

PCW1 - 92.4% - New Entrant for plant only, Rollers up to 5 tonnes

$39.87

$1,435.32

$110.41

$22.35

Note: If unsure if agreement applies to you, check with the Union for your company sector-specific EBA, e.g. Civil.

Site Allowances

Multi-storey Allowance

The following site allowances apply under CFMEU construction industry enterprise agreements (EBAs) from 1 October 2018.

Start to 15th floor

$0.57 per hour

Floors 16 – 30

$0.68 per hour

Floors 31 – 45

$1.06 per hour

Floors 46 – 60

$1.37 per hour

Floors 61+

$1.68 per hour

New projects Melbourne inner suburbs and shopping centres Projects between $3.0 million and $240.3m: $4.25 per hour.

For projects over $240.3 million, see chart below.

Renovations and refurbishments, Melbourne and inner suburbs: $3.70 per hour.

New projects elsewhere

Site & General Wage Related Allowances Service Core Allowance

$1.50 per hour

First Aid Allowance

Project value $ million

Site allowance $ per hour

$3.0 – 8.1 million

$2.45

$8.1 – 19.9 million

$2.65

$19.9 – 40.1 million

$2.95

$40.1 – 80.1 million

$3.50

$80.1 – 160.2 million

$4.15

$160.2 – 240.3 million

$4.25

$240.3 – 320.2 million

$4.45

$320.2 – 480.6 million

$4.60

$480.6 - 671 million

$4.70

$671 - 893.2 million

$4.80

$893.2 - 1163.9 million

$4.90

$1163.9 - 1428.4 million

$5.30

Overtime meal allowance: $26.46 when required to work overtime for one and a half hours or more on an ordinary working day.

$1428.4 - 1798.7 million

$5.75

Living away from home allowance: $770 per week

For projects above $1798.7 million, there shall be an increment of 10 cents per additional $100m or part thereof.

Minimum qualification

$3.01 per day

Higher qualification

$4.77 per day

EBA Benefits and Allowances Travel allowance: $45.00 per day Superannuation: $215 per week, or 9.5% of ordinary time earnings, whichever higher.

Incolink payments: $80.00 per week paid into Incolink. Income protection, trauma insurance and portable sick leave are also available (paid into Incolink).

Long service leave: 13 weeks after ten years, pro rata after seven years (paid into CoInvest).

Site allowance: Check the CFMEU Allowances Schedule for more information: cfmeu.vic.org.au/wages

As well as a 5% pay rise every year for three-years, 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!

SUMMER 2019

083

Did you know?

Incolink Insurance is a safety net for you

Weekly benefits in case of leisure time accidents/ illness up to $1500 per week for up to 3 years# (up to 2 years if aged 65-70)

Payments up to $400,000 for death and/or capital benefits^

...and cover for your family

Emergency ambulance for you and your family Australia-wide+

Accidental dental coverage for you and your family up to $2,250*

Funeral costs covered with up to $9,000 (member only)

Find out more by downloading the latest brochure at incolink.org.au or calling Incolink on (03) 9639 3000.

Incolink 1 Pelham Street, Carlton VIC 3053

Telephone: (03) 9639 3000

incolink.org.au

Exclusions and conditions apply – please refer to the Accident & Illness Benefits Program brochure. Benefit values specified are for accidents/illnesses on or after 1 October 2018. # Weekly benefits are shown as gross and tax will be withheld by QBE as per ATO guidelines, maximum benefit for workers with dependants (when redundancy & IPT payments made by the employer), up to age 65. ^Death & capital benefits up to $400,000 for workers with dependants. Refer to capital benefits list in the brochure. +Emergency transport coverage up to $12,000 road transport and up to $15,000 air travel. *Accidental Dental coverage for workers with dependants up to $2,250 per incident up to 4 incidents per year, and workers without dependants up to $2,000 per incident up to 2 incidents per year. For any advice, please contact Windsor Management Insurance Brokers (ACN 083 775 795 AFSL 230747) on 03 9663 2411.