Huge salaries for witch-hunters

BY MARGARITA WINDISCH

MELBOURNE — As the political witch-hunt against the Construction,
Forestry, Mining and Energy Union continues in the form of the royal commission
into the building industry, on May 28 it was revealed that the government
is likely to spend $19 million on commission lawyers — four of whom are
costing $21,000 a week.

Justice Terence Cole, a retired NSW judge who is already receiving a
$140,000 pension, is being paid a whopping $660,000 annual salary to head
the commission. On top of the salary, he gets a weekly living allowance,
use of a townhouse, 52 business class flights to Sydney and a free mobile
phone.

This is not normal expenditure for a royal commission. Cole’s salary
is significantly more than what HIH royal commisssioner Neville Owen received.
The HIH royal commission’s budget was $20 million less than the building
industry royal commission.

For his money, Cole has been using a series of different incidents to
attempt to prove that the CFMEU engages in illegal workplace practices.

An example was the commission’s investigation into a $50,000 payment
to 250 workers who had been locked out by Fastform Systems in 2000. Fastform
construction supervisor Rosati told the commission that the payment, $241
per worker, was made in order to restore workplace goodwill, necessary
because the company had broken a promise not to sack anyone.

While the commission lawyers argued this was an illegal payment to increase
productivity, the CFMEU pointed out it was little different to a Christmas
bonus.

Another "case-study’‘ brought before the commission in late May involved
the 300% budget blow-out of the Federation Square development. Calling
the productivity agreements on the site a "lawless frolic’‘, a commission
lawyer blamed the CFMEU’s campaign for shorter working hours for the delays
in the project’s completion.

However the Federation Square project manager disputed the commission’s
claim, arguing that bad weather, government interference and a complicated
design was responsible for the delay and budget blow-out. He stated that
industrial disruption on the site was "absolutely minimal’‘.

The commission is so deadset on discrediting the CFMEU, that it didn’t
even shy away from reopening and reviewing a case dismissed by the Federal
Court. The case brought against Melbourne CFMEU organiser Ian Williamson
by employment advocate Jonathan Hamberger in 1999 was thrown out on grounds
that the organiser was set up and illegally taped. Two of the lawyers who
represented Hamberger in that case are now working for the commission.

From Green Left Weekly, June 5, 2002.

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From GLW issue 495