Construction workers spied upon

BY RUSSELL PICKERING

PERTH — Construction workers walked off a Perth building site on
October 7, after construction company Sizer Builder installed surveillance
equipment to monitor union activities.

The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union's WA assistant secretary
Joe McDonald, told Green Left Weekly: “We've got a case where these
people [Sizer] turn up, they don't pay site allowances, they don't pay
any proper wage structure, they don't employ apprentices, they don't provide
training.”

He told GLW that there had been many industrial fights at the
site, which had been exacerbated by the company using an anti-union brick-laying
contractor. In an attempt to intimidate workers, Sizer had resorted to
installing audio visual surveillance equipment on the job. It notified
workers the equipment would be turned on at “high risk times” — when the
union turned up.

Workers took immediate 48 hour strike action in protest, however, when
they returned to work the company had not removed the equipment. It wasn't
until workers threatened further stoppages that Sizer agreed to remove
the spy cameras. The company has stated it is prepared to give the union
a signed statutory declaration stating that all the equipment has been
removed.

From Green Left Weekly, October 16, 2002.

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From GLW issue 512