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Inner city building industry blues

The Construction industry has always been tough. Many working men and women have died on construction sites and have suffered serious injuries. Since the introduction of ‘Work Choices’ things seem to have got worse for the workers in the industry. There are some rogue employers who feel that they can cut corners and get away with it. The following story may be an example of the new climate in industrial relations since Work Choices reports the April 2007 edition of the South Sydney Herald.

The Construction Workers’ Union, the CFMEU, claims that at one site in Redfern approximately 20 workers are fighting for more than $100,000 in unpaid wages. They are recent migrants with minimal language skills, few community contacts and little understanding of Australian law.

The site’s project manger seemed surprised when asked about the Union claims. “What claims? They weren’t employed by us” he said. He went on to say that they subcontracted work for all the floor and wall tiling to an outside company, which is working with another company to supply and install the tiles.

The allegation from the Union is that these companies then employ tilers from the Korean and Chinese community who are very vulnerable workers, agreeing to pay them at various rates in cash (well below industry standards, with no entitlements). These workers work long days, for as little as $100 per day. While a few of the workers received some payments, most of these workers have not been paid at all.

A spokesperson for one of the subcontractors told the Herald “That’s crap. The Union hasn’t shown us any documentation. I’ve made numerous appointments with them and they haven’t turned up.”

En Wong for the CFMEU denied that the Union hadn’t shown up. “We have heaps of documentation. The salient point here is that, too often, migrant workers and ‘illegals’ are seen as a cheap and exploitable source of labour by some employers. In this case these 20 vulnerable workers have been seriously exploited and are owed thousands of dollars for the work they completed. The Union believes all workers deserve to receive a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work and we are committed to campaigning until these workers receive justice. It is not acceptable that the builder washes its hands of any responsibility to these workers. The builder has a moral obligation to ensure that the people who worked on this building receive payment for their labour. Rather than create radical new workplace laws that tilt the scales in favour of big business, the Howard Government needs to act to ensure vulnerable workers receive proper protections to ensure they are not exploited by greedy contractors. The Union will continue to pressure the company to pay. So far it’s been difficult and our members are suffering, but we will win.”

Source: South Sydney Herald April 2007 – www.southsydneyherald.com.au