The Australian http://www.news.com.au/headlines/ Union chiefs fear Reith 'vendetta' By SID MARRIS 4jan99 THE leaders of the nation's largest left-wing union have begun preparing their defences after a series of confidential meetings with Howard Government ministers confirmed their view they face a sustained attack this year. Four senior officials of the Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union met Workplace Relations Minister Peter Reith and Industry Minister Nick Minchin last month to discuss government policies. Mining division president Tony Maher said Mr Reith had insisted there was no vendetta against the union, but Mr Maher believed it was in the Government's sights after the wharf dispute last year. "It's as if we are not the target but the collateral damage," he said. "We don't believe him for a minute." CFMEU national secretary John Maitland said the union was prepared for an assault with the release of a Productivity Commission inquiry into the construction industry due out soon. "I don't think it was any coincidence the first commission report was into the coal industry and the coal industry has received a lot of support from Reith," he said. "I think what they've been trying to do for a long time is to force us into confrontation." Since the meetings, the union's coal division has held a snap 48-hour strike over the Japanese price cuts. Insiders regarded the stoppage as a test of mobilising the workforce. The validity of strike campaigns on political issues rather than industrial matters has been tested in the courts, but not resolved. While Rio Tinto took the CFMEU by surprise by obtaining Supreme Court injunctions without union lawyers present, sources said it would be prepared next time. The union's construction division is gearing up its response to any attack over its safety campaign in the wake of a National Occupational Health and Safety Commission report, which highlighted levels of injuries. At the meeting with ministers in December, construction division secretary John Sutton raised concerns that the Government's award simplification process had removed employer obligations on safety. The Government insists the issue of safety is covered by State laws and should not be duplicated in awards. CFMEU insiders are expecting a different style of attack from the Howard Government in the construction area than in the maritime dispute, but believe the lessons of using a combination of political protest and selected industrial action remain relevant. The construction industry has thousands of employers with vastly different relations with unions, ranging from none to close working arrangements. Confrontation is unlikely to affect Olympic Games construction in Sydney, as most major projects are close to completion and many operate under State rather than federal awards. A priority for the Government is to attack the tradition of similar agreements across all employers at major construction sites, with ministers believing this deters genuine enterprise bargaining. ************************************************************************* This posting is provided to the individual members of this group without permission from the copyright owner for purposes of criticism, comment, scholarship and research under the "fair use" provisions of the Federal copyright laws and it may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner, except for "fair use." end ============== Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List http://www.alexia.net.au/~www/mhutton/index.html The Year 2000 Bug - An Urgent Sustainability Issue http://www.peg.apc.org/~psutton/grin-y2k.htm
