By Jennifer Thompson
SYDNEY — Building workers will strike around Australia on May 29, against cuts by the Howard government affecting their wages and those of apprentices and trainees.
In a major slug to building workers' pay, Liberal treasurer Peter Costello announced at the beginning of May that he was axing a tax exemption on building workers' travelling allowance — worth up to $7.60 per day for workers — and backdating it to last June.
The CFMEU, whose members along with plumbers and electrical members in the CEPU will strike, expects 5000 to walk off the job on Wednesday in Sydney to attend a Town Hall Square rally. Stoppages have also been planned for Wollongong, Newcastle and other regional centres.
There are real problems with "taxation law being made by press release without any consultation", said CFMEU construction division national secretary John Sutton when the change was announced. "We are ten months into a tax year, and they are now changing the rules which could leave our members over $1200 down."
The CFMEU is also opposing the introduction of unpaid time for trainees and apprentices, currently paid for time at work and college, although the rates are already lower than for adult workers. The Coalition's policy, which the CFMEU described as "pure exploitation against young people", was a backdoor way of introducing the $3 training wage, said CFMEU construction division state secretary Andrew Ferguson. The union also opposes budget cutbacks to occupational health and safety funding and other elements of the Coalition industrial relations legislation introduced last week.
The Sydney strike will begin at 11.30am, with a rally to start at 12 noon in Town Hall Square before marching to John Howard's city office. The CFMEU is urging all building workers and the community to attend.