COMMENT
BY MICK BULL
The position of the Victorian branch of the Construction, Forestry,
Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) on the question of “illegal” labour is
rather simple in comparison to some of the other branches of the union.
The Victorian branch has an unwritten policy that the past background
of building workers is of no real concern to the union. Whether he or she
has a criminal record, whether they are reformed alcoholics or reformed
drug users, or whether they are what the government classifies as illegal
migrants, has no bearing on whether they are allowed to work in the Victorian
building industry or not.
All we ask is that workers can do the work in a safe manner and follow
the rules and conditions of the industry. We also insist that everybody
be paid the correct rates of pay, according to the enterprise bargaining
agreement that they are covered by.
So how does this work in practice? When an organiser of the union walks
onto a site that we suspect may have people working on reduced rates of
pay, we simply ask for a pay slip, check out their superannuation and redundancy
benefits, and inspect the site for amenities and safety standards.
If the majority of workers are being paid “cash in hand”, then it is
highly likely that none of the other issues will be up to scratch either.
In these cases we may call in WorkCover inspectors or our own safety
officers. The site will often then be closed to productive work until these
issues have been rectified. The odd remark mentioning the tax office, and
reminding the employer of their legal obligations to pay superannuation,
also have a certain effect.
Usually by this time, any of the legitimate sub-contractors would have
left the site, and are busily working elsewhere. The builder is starting
to either become very angry or a little grey around the edges.
With the job grinding to a standstill, builders usually see the error
of their ways and agree to accept the union's assistance in locating all
the problems.
After close scrutiny of the builder's financial books, all back pay
is paid to the workers and all other entitlements are also backdated. If
the builder does a runner, then the union simply approaches the developer.
After all the problems have been sorted out, all the workers who left
the job are welcomed back, and the job continues on until completion.
Not a single person is questioned on their background, so there is no
need for unsightly phone calls to the immigration department, the police
department or even the tax department for that matter.
All in all, it is a union solution to an industry problem.
[Mick Bull is a member of Building Workers for Refugees, and an industrial
organiser with the Victorian construction division of the CFMEU.]
From Green Left Weekly, December 11, 2002.
Visit the Green Left Weekly
home page.
