Australian Financial Review April 1, 1999 http://www.afr.com.au/content/990401/news/news3.html Unions ally against attack By Nina Field Two major Australian unions have teamed up to resist any docks-style crackdown on the building industry. The strategic pact between the two key unions comes just weeks after the Minister for Workplace Relations Mr Peter Reith, who last year nominated the building industry as a reform priority, attacked employers for failing to restructure their industry and take on the unions. The mutual responsibility agreement between the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) and the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union (AMWU) includes providing each other with financial, industrial and political support. The two unions met earlier this week to formalise the arrangement in the wake of successful co-operation at recent pay disputes in Victoria and Queensland. The unions have not ruled out setting up a fighting fund. Neutralising the Office of the Employment Advocate was an initial priority for the committee in the wake of Mr Reith's announcement two weeks ago that the office would be cracking down on illegal practices in the industry. The CFMEU and the AMWU will also try to bring a third union, the Combined Electrical and Plumbers Union (CEPU), onside to present a united front for the industry's next wages round. AMWU national secretary Mr Doug Cameron said the industrial support offered under the pact would occur regardless of the potential legal ramifications of strike action. While Mr Cameron did not believe a waterfront-style dispute was possible in the building industry, because of its size and competitiveness, he expected the Government to try to get the bigger employers to collude against the unions. But CFMEU construction division secretary Mr John Sutton argued that the larger employers were unlikely to participate in any political action because they had to look after their commercial interests. He said they could not afford to get bogged down in a short-term political battles, particularly given that their biggest client each year was the NSW Labor Government. NSW spent about $7 billion a year on construction (even without the Olympics) compared with the Federal Government's $1 billion. He said Victorian Premier Mr Jeff Kennett was also unlikely to offer Mr Reith assistance because he was "pragmatic" and happy as long as his landmark buildings were completed on time and on budget. "Peter Reith has got so many problems in terms of a major attack on us, but we don't underestimate him. He's not usually a bluff merchant," Mr Sutton said. c This material is subject to copyright and any unauthorised use, copying or mirroring is prohibited ************************************************************************* 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." -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.alexia.net.au/~www/mhutton/index.html Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
