Welcome back.

We have hit the ground running in relation to the promotion and deliverance of improved safety standards on sites, which had declined drastically under the failed Howard regime.

Employers in the main have eased their hard line approach towards right of entry and access issues and this will help improve safety standards across the industry.

We will now focus on lifting safety standards back to pre-Howard levels. Some sites had declined so far they had to be pulled up completely. But now we have got our safety structure back in place and jobs will be audited and there will be no return to work until the site is ticked off as safe according to the regulations.

Many builders chose to hide behind the Taskforce on major safety issues but they will hide no longer.

Under the current legislation the BLF can and will turn up on site for safety breaches. Workers on unsafe sites are jubilant when the union turns up to fix safety issues because it means they have a much better chance of going home alive.

Meanwhile, in Toowoomba, a widow and her two-year-old son grieve for a father who did not come home from work alive.

Scott Caldwell fell to his death when he and another worker picked up a bit of unsecured plywood which was on the floor. The plywood was a less than satisfactory cover for a penetration in the floor and Mr Caldwell fell to his death.

F K Gardner and Sons were fined $60,000. The Workplace Health and Safety investigation revealed that the unsecured piece of plywood bearing the words, “keep off” was insufficient to control the risk.

457 visas

The use of 457 visas to exploit migrant workers is another ugly side of Howard’s anti-worker legislation which now must be condemned to the scrap heap.
In WA recently a builder was fined $174,000 for the deliberate exploitation of migrant workers. He was charged with 21 breaches relating to AWAs including falsification of dates.

The WA Workplace Ombudsman said the builder had threatened workers with deportation and dismissal if they signed their AWAs and then gloated that the workers would sign anything because they were frightened of being sent back overseas.

The unrepentant builder said he would stop using migrant labour under 457 visas and would focus on the backpacker market to fill his vacancies.

CFMEU State Secretary Kevin Reynolds said the builder would attract more workers and improve standards if he paid better rates.

New delegate structure

The union is asking workers to put up their hands to become new delegates.

This is not about replacing existing delegates who have been doing a great job; it is about getting better representation on sites through a new structure.

Under this new proposal, delegates will no longer be isolated. The idea is that site delegates will remain in their position but each subbie will also have a delegate. This will mean there is better representation for workers and site delegates will work as a team.

The union is asking members to put up their hands for these positions. If your company hasn’t elected a delegate yet and you would like to have a go call me on 3236 2633.

All old and new delos will be put through the new delegate training course to ensure they have the knowledge needed to be effective in the role.

One of the most important roles your delegates will play this year is working with us to negotiate our new EBA and keeping you informed throughout the negotiations.