By Daryl Kerr - Ipswich & Southwest Organiser

Hi comrades.
I have recently returned to work at the BLF in April after undergoing a full knee replacement in early September of ‘07’ which kept me out of trouble for 7 months. Before my operation I was based in Redcliff, and I have now been re-located to the suburbs of Red Bank plaza and Miles, although it is not my original area I am enjoying the new experience.
  There have been some major projects coming up, including the court house located in Ipswich which has been a huge development for me as an organiser to monitor.

 
As of late I have received numerous complaints of the safety issues located at the power station in Miles. I decided to visit the site and correct any safety breaches that were of concern to our members. We were able to complete a list of dangerous conditions and decided to confront the department in order to put a stop to any unsafe work conditions.  Although the majority of the safety issues were resolved there was still speculation surrounding the safety of a man box on site. No worker is to work from heights unless the man box was in full swing and safe conditions prevailed. Since the complaints most safety issues have been resolved.
 
Recently we held a rally here in Queensland both on the Gold Coast and in Brisbane. The Rally was a protest aimed at the ABCC and their constant disregard for work conditions and workers. The Rally was held on the 12th of September which was in conjunction with the court hearing of Noel Washington, a victim of the ABCC.
 
I would like to thank the loyal unionists from Dalby who bussed it all the way to Brisbane to register their protest at the rally. Rudd has to start listening or he will lose many of his supporters.
The Labour government have set a date to abolish the ABCC which is set to go ahead till the year 2010, which in our books is too long. This government will only respond to our plight if we all gather together in protest of these laws. This is why these rallies are very important, not only to our members but to all workers who want a fair go as a builders labourer. We expect every member to show up, these rallies are to show the government that we’re not going to sit back and let this happen to good people such as Noel. Thanks to all our members and supporters (over 3,000) who showed up on Friday the 12th.
 
If we all stand together the change in our working conditions is inevitable. We need to stand by our union, if not for us but for our kids future. We need to turn the labour government around and get them to fix the mistakes of the Liberal party.
 
Since the task force was introduced our visits on site have been restricted, but that will not stop us from getting there as often as we can. Since we have been limited in our visitation rights on site, ten times the amount of safety breaches have been identified during these limited site visits than what we would have normally found if our visits were on a more regular basis. Since October 1st 2005 (When the office of the ABCC was established) there have been more safety breaches than ever.

I would also like to farewell one of our most valued co-workers Bob Carnegie who has unfortunately stepped down as organiser. By loosing Bob there will be a huge gap to fill, we will miss him dearly here at the BLF. In saying that I would also like to make mention of Beverly who was also a great co-worker who was with the BLF for 21 years, her presence around the office will be sorely missed.

Solidarity.