CFMEU Victoria Worker Autumn 2018

AUTUMN 2018

V O L U MXE X2X5 HAEUAT DU EMRN 2 0 1 8

CONTENTS

Journal of the CFMEU Victorian and Tasmanian Branch, Construction & General Division

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Executive Secretary John Setka

DJ Jedi Master Jay

Assistant Secretaries Shaun Reardon & Elias Spernovasilis

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President Ralph Edwards

Senior Vice President Derek Christopher Vice President Robert Graauwmans

The Class War of 1856

Organisers and Field Officers Gerry Benstead . Nigel Davies . Steve Long Malcolm Smith . Billy Beattie . Gerry McCrudden .

Mick Myles . Mark Tait (Fozzie) . Theo Theodorou .

Mark Travers . Drew McDonald . Adam Hall Toby Thornton . Mark McMillan . Gerry McQuaid Brendan Pitt . Joe Myles . John Perkovic Peter Booth . Richie Hassett (TAS) . Kevin Harkins .

Fergal Doyle .Dean Dando . Lisa Zanatta .

Kane Pearson . Adam Olsen . James Simpson Nick Vamvas . John Thomson . Paul Tzimas

Specialist Staff Wage Claims Officer Frank Akbari Training Unit Coordinator Anne Duggan Teachers and Trainers Karen Odermatt . Mark Devereaux . Jacky Gamble Barry Kearney . Jennifer Pignataro . Rose Nechwatel Paul Allwood . Owen Waiomio . Craig Lynch Sue Bull . Lorella DiPietro . Dorothy Saristavros Tony Minchin . Andy Duff . Dan Phelan Robert Rowan

Communications Officers Jon Stanger, David Pavlich

58 COVER Vlad ‘Chucky’ Cakarun, Theo Theodoro and Ron Whiteside held their workmate as he died. Laws to make our worksites safer, read more on page 32

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Executive Columns

Political Campaigns & Research Officer Angelica Nippard

Morwell Wing 5, Lignite Court, Morwell 3840 T: (03) 5134 3311 / F: (03) 5133 7058 Geelong 78 Fyans St, Geelong Sth 3220 T: (03) 5229 8921 / F: (03) 5223 1845 Bendigo Bendigo TLC, 40 View St, Bendigo 3550 T: (03) 5443 5173 / F: (03) 5442 5961 Wodonga Shop 3-4, 22 Stanley St, Wodonga 3690 T: (02) 6024 1099 / F: (02) 6056 5565 Portland South West TLC, 31 Percy St, Portland 3305 T: (03) 5523 4272 / F: (03) 5523 3358 Hobart 33A New Town Rd, New Town 7008 T: (03) 6228 9595 / F: (03) 6228 9594

vic.cfmeu.org.au

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Change The Rules

EWPs: Platform Protection

Clarrie O’Shea

Good Harvest at Arden Gardens

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WorkCover Legal Officer Neil Browne

Melbourne 500 Swanston St, Carlton South 3053 540 Elizabeth St, Melbourne 3000 T: (03) 9341 3444 / F: (03) 9341 3427

Automation, Jobs & Inequality

Independant Car Reviews

Safety Officers Alex Tadic .Peter Clark Steve Roach

Offices

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Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety Unit Manager Gerry Ayers

Industrial/Legal Officers Amanda Swayn . Jean Maloney . Kristen Reid India Shearer Boyd . David Vroland Apprentice Liaison Officer Liam O’Hearn

Hooked & Cooked

Union & Eureka Flags

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ABCC: Out of Bounds

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Organising Plastering

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Building South Melbourne Primary School

Licensing Of Trades

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CFMEU Makes Victoria’s Big Build Safe

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Sky High Generosity

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Industry Women

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Organiser Profiles

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Education & Training Unit News

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48-51

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Refractory Workers

Onsite photos

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20 Years of Indigenous Surfing

Picnic Day ‘17

Olderfleet Time Capsule

Building Solidarity Authorised by John Setka, Secretary CFMEU Victoria.

CFMEU Worker is proudly designed by union members.

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CFMEU WORKER

XXX HEADER

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FROM THE SECRETARY

BAD LAWS MEAN WORKERS NEVER WIN JOHN SETKA BRANCH SECRETARY

Malcolm Turnbull has a new top dog for his attack dog, the anti-worker ABCC. Stephen McBurney was an AFL umpire, but he’s about as unbiased as the Collingwood cheer squad.

Nigel Hadgkiss, the last head of the ABCC, cared so much about the rules he broke the law to pursue his political agenda attacking unions.

The same law he was supposed to enforce!

McBurney isn’t new either, he was an assistant commissioner of the ABCC under John Howard at a time when construction worker deaths peaked – 48 killed in 2006 and 51 in 2007.

You don’t have to imagine what happens when we follow these broken rules. Sydney train drivers did, and they got screwed. The RTBU followed every rule, ticked every box, jumped through every hoop they were supposed to. It took weeks, they held a ballot and got 94 per cent support from members for stopping work.

Turnbull and McBurney say they want unions to play by the rules, but their rules are designed to make sure workers never win. They don’t even play by the rules themselves.

The rules say people and companies should pay tax, but Malcolm Turnbull hides his cash in the Cayman Islands to avoid tax and 732 of the biggest companies in Australia didn’t pay a cent in company tax. That’s more than 1 in 3 of large companies that don’t pay, 380 (1 in 5) haven’t paid tax for at least 3 years!

According to the rules, the ABCC is supposed to investigate construction companies that use sham contracting. They’re supposed to ban companies who break safety laws. They never have, never will.

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The Fair Work Commission stepped in and banned their protected industrial action – not because the union had broken a rule, but because it would inconvenience people getting to work or school. No shit, that’s the point of industrial action.

If it didn’t inconvenience anyone it would be useless.

Guess who made the ruling? Jonathan Hamberger, a Liberal Party appointment who was a staffer for Peter Reith who tried to break unions on the docks, and was behind bringing in John Howard’s ABCC.

Head of the ACTU Sally McManus called it out: “The basic right to strike in Australia is very nearly dead”.

Because we don’t play by their rules, we get 5% wages increases in the construction industry. Malcolm Turnbull responded by saying “we will stop that.”

Playing by the rules isn’t what the Liberal Party wants, they want to destroy unions and strip workers of the little rights we have left.

Our executive has been out meeting members on site and I know there are some that have voted for the Liberals in the past, they’ve told me.

People grow up and vote for the people their parents voted for, but we’ve grown up and can make up our own minds.

I don’t tell anyone who to vote for, but I do tell everyone that Malcolm Turnbull has promised to stop construction workers getting pay rises.

When I ask people, “what would you call someone who votes for the party that’s promised to cut their wages?” the response is, “they’d be an idiot”.

CFMEU WORKER

FROM THE SECRETARY

It’s pretty simple when you think about it. Getting rid of Malcolm Turnbull isn’t going to be enough though, that’s why our campaign is to Change the Rules. Change the Rules that are designed to make sure workers can’t win.

Change the Rules that mean a Prime Minister who says he’s about ‘jobs and growth’ can spend millions of taxpayer dollars on attacking the wages, safety and conditions of construction workers.

Change the Rules that allow wage theft to be a business model, but ban the unions that recover wages and improve safety.

Join the campaign, I’ll see you on site and on the streets. changetherules.org.au

~A BIT OF HISTORY~

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Big thanks to Doug Priest from Kangaroo Flat for this little bit of history.

Times have certainly changed, but we’re still 100% union, paid up and proud.

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FROM THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY

DON’T LET HEAVY LIFTING BE A HEAVY BURDEN ELIAS SPERNOVASILAS ASSISTANT SECRETARY

I am not wanting to nag so please take the time to hear me here because at the end of day we all want to go home to be with our families, they are the reason we come to work. I am asking all builders and construction workers out there to take more care lifting overhead loads.

Lately I have heard too many stories of corners being cut and that workers are being pushed to do too many loads a day. While I don’t want to name anyone or call anyone out, I really do just want to ask you all to remember you are working in one of the most extremely high risk environments a worker can be in.

PRECAST SAFETY BEFORE PROGRAMS

Lifting precast elements is one particular space where we can never become complacent, cut corners or, dare I say it, have programs set that are too tight. Take your time, do it safe and go home.

All lifting gear, including chains, clutches, lifting inserts etc. need to be checked and marked/ identified prior to use. Riggers need to follow the mark-up plan and the rigging/lifting diagrams provided.

Make sure loads are being lifted correctly, inspect all precast loads before they come off the truck for birth certificates and take the time to check they have had the appropriate time to cure and are not still green.

You’re regularly lifting heavy loads over the heads of your workmates on-site, so if it goes bad and you’ve cut corners it inevitably will. You do not want to live with the mental baggage Make sure you know where of knowing you cut a corner that they’re from and that they are caused death or serious injury of a made with union labour. workmate, because then it is not an accident.

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OFFSITE PROGRESS

Finally, the union is making good ground in the offsite sector and as our numbers continue to grow we look forward to continued growth in the sector. We won’t stand idly by while sham contracting and pyramid sub-contracting run rife in shopfitting.

Mick Myles has started as a Victorian organiser and has hit the ground running looking after shopfitting and manufacturing for the construction division of the CFMEU. Myles is a very experienced official and construction worker so we are very fortunate to have him in the position.

Mick will make sure shopfitters doing the right thing have the opportunity to get the work on big jobs, particularly those that have factories employing CFMEU Members right here in Melbourne. Without the CFMEU, it’s too easy for shop owners to hire dodgy shopfitters who import cheap Chinese-made material and don’t pay their workers properly.

CFMEU WORKER

PRECAST – UNFORGIVING AND NON-DISCRIMINATORY!

By Dr Gerry Ayers, CFMEU Safety Unit manager.

Precast panel erection should never be taken for granted – so ensuring EVERYTHING with the precast panel erection process is compliant - is vital.

The Victorian Construction Industry Standard for Precast and Tilt-up – the “Blue Book” is our bible and go-to book to ensure that panels are correctly and safely cast, transported and erected.

Some recent incidents involving precast highlight the importance of following the “Blue Book” to the letter: • a 4 tonne panel “falling” and narrowly missing workers in North Melbourne, • a 10 tonne panel incorrectly cast and subsequently “breaking in half” during erection, • countless panels turn up to sites still “steaming” and obvious to everyone that they are not yet ready to be lifted and transported, let alone installed, • the many times panels have had cracks appearing in them - especially in and around the lifting clutches The CFMEU High Risk Training centre has been running a highly successful, comprehensive and nationally accredited course in the contents and application of the “Blue Book”. It is vital that all CFMEU OHS reps, especially the rigger in charge of the erection crew, have attended this course.

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Indeed, the “Blue Book” explicitly states: “… training and induction programs should include induction into this Industry Standard…” (p.4) and further, that “…at least one of the erection crew, preferably the rigger in charge of the crew, should have been trained in this Industry Standard…” (p.52).

So, without going through all the specifications and requirements of precast erection in this brief article - (although it’s worth mentioning the importance of having an erection design engineer on site, the correct rigging diagrams with the correct erection sequence set out in plain English, always having two braces (props) on each panel – unless explicitly engineered and supervised by the engineer – with the correct checks and balances, and not transporting panels until they have cured for at least 72 hours…just to mention a few) the correct training in and application of our Precast Industry Standard - is a must.

All CFMEU OHS reps and shop stewards need to have a copy of the “Blue Book” on site during any panel erection. There is also lots of information on precast readily available on our website.

If you are in any doubt about precast and the correct casting, transporting and erection procedures - contact the CFMEU: 9341 3444 SAFETY IS UNION BUSINESS! 07

FROM THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY

GED KEARNEY ST. PATRICK’S DAY SAVIOUR SHAUN REARDON ASSISTANT SECRETARY

On March 17 this year, a federal by-election was held to contest the Melbourne inner-city seat of Batman due to yet another politician, this time David Feeney, not properly renouncing his foreign citizenship.

At the time, the Australian Labor Party went into meltdown with many party insiders ready to tap out before even getting in the ring. The Greens had just snatched the state seat of Northcote from Labor after the tragic passing of Fiona Richardson, the federal seat of Melbourne comfortably being protected by the popular and progressive Green Adam Bandt while Daniel Andrews was doing his best to give Brunswick away. It looked like many were prepared to turn their backs on Batman and just blame someone else after the rhetorical feel good post-mortem self-audit.

Then our Ged Kearney steps up, a true champion of the people, equality and a fair go for all. A true champion of worker’s rights, and yes, a loud and passionately progressive voice for those fleeing persecution only to be detained inhumanely on Manus and Nauru.

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Although it being the firm belief of many in the trade union movement and in the general populace that Ged should have been given a much safer seat than Batman to enter parliament, (being a highly successful and respected ACTU president should count for something), Ged has never been scared of a blue.

The CFMEU hit the ground running with many delegates and rank and file members spending hours of their personal time on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights making calls. Door knocking and street stalls became a huge part of their lives with many partners and family members helping out, thank you all the feedback it has been fantastic.

The reason our delegates and members were so prepared to sacrifice their own time to engage in this campaign to support Ged Kearney is simple. Ged has always supported and will continue to support us.

Over the last few years’ construction workers have endured some of the most ferocious government attacks on their rights and conditions in our country’s history. Attacks on their right to be in a union, attacks on their right to a safe workplace, attacks on their right to secure work and fuck me, attacks on their right to wear a union logo or to fly our Eureka flag!

The reintroduction of the ABCC has meant that to be a construction worker in this country, you’re of less value than everyone else. It has meant that builders can lock out union officials from unsafe worksites and underpay workers.

If there were anyone I’d ever want in my corner in a future Shorten government, it would be Ged Kearney. She’s a proven fighter and with fighters like this in Canberra, I’m confident we can finally ‘change the rules!’

CFMEU WORKER

GED KEARNEY

GEDWeKEARNEY MP put a nurse in parliament!

The second youngest of nine children, Ged Kearney grew up in Richmond the daughter of a publican in a household where the importance of the collective, both in politics and society, was emphasised from an early age.

Ged has made a career of representing the workers of Australia as former President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), former Federal Secretary of the Australian Nursing Federation (ANF) and a director of the HESTA Super Fund and Cbus.

As a registered nurse, Ged took part in the famous Victorian nurses’ strike of 1986 which resulted in substantial improvements to pay and conditions.

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Ged actually lived in her electorate of Batman for 30 years where she brought up four children now aged from 16 to 23. She says, “My working life - from nurse to President of the ACTU - has been about taking action, ensuring integrity and fighting for real change.”

A proud supporter of the ACTU’s “Change the Rules” campaign, Ged has vowed to continue the fight for worker’s rights and believes all Australians deserve decent paying jobs and a fairer industrial relations system, saying, “I’ll continue that fight by rebalancing laws that have tipped too far in favour of employers.”

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FROM THE PRESIDENT

BIG JOBS, BIG PROBS RALPH EDWARDS PRESIDENT

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Last year I wrote an editorial about the major infrastructure projects starting this year, and I wrote about the disruption they would cause.

Some people probably thought that dementia had set in, and it was all irrelevant.

increased to four lanes to move traffic from Grattan and a partially closed Victoria St. While St Kilda Rd is a shambles for everyone to enjoy.

This situation will deteriorate more as the Melbourne Metro Tunnel cranks up.

Remember where you heard it first. Yes the Andrews Labor Government is pumping up our industry and creating a very hot labour market. Already roads are gridlocking – within easy walking distance of the Union office, Grattan Street & Franklin Street are closed, and Queensberry Street has been

At the same time, suppliers are pushing up their prices and contractors are signing exclusive supply deals to look after themselves. While others are being priced out and now have their supply lines threatened, and their employees will also be under threat.

The price of having too much work, is disruption and the big players will look after themselves and stuff everyone else. Too much work can be just as bad as too little in many sectors. Small contractors, their employees and their subbies could be put under stress trying to get continuity of work. But many will be on big jobs and getting plenty.

So why would they care? In my life in this industry, every boom has been followed by a bust and nearly everyone pays the price.

For a long time this cycle had been moderated by State, Federal

CFMEU WORKER

FROM THE PRESIDENT Government intervention. The Rudd Government kept the ABCC, the Gillard Government introduced the Anti-Worker Fair Work Act, but they did spend public money during the “Global Financial Crisis” to keep the industry going. But that approach has been thrown out the door and put the industry at risk.

Will the pending boom mean more, better paid EBA/Union jobs?

Or more foreign labour and our bargaining position undermined?

At this time, it is a hard job getting current infrastructure jobs organised and paid our EBA wages and conditions. Multiply this by ten and we have the job in front of us. John Holland/CPB Westgate Tunnel Joint Venture are opening a pre-cast yard in Benalla and telling locals all their Christmases have come at once, and they don’t have to worry about the CFMEU. Plus interstate non-union precasters are being signed up to

supply Melbourne jobs. Keep the Union out, pay lower prices and up your profit. It’s all in front of us.

It’s six months since negotiations were initiated with the Metro Tunnel and Westgate Tunnel projects, there have been a handful of meetings, no agreement document and not even a willingness to sort out a site allowance for the early works. Don’t expect we will get agreements quickly or without a serious fight. A fight that will be joined by a so-called regulator/ umpire, the ABCC, seeking to prosecute for any action against the joint ventures, which have no employees and therefore cannot be legally subject to “protected action” like most employers. While Steve McBurney the new boss of the ABCC is bragging about how he is going to pursue officials, delegates, and members for personal penalties, because the High Court of Australia has decided the Union cannot pay for them.

Welcome to my nightmare. I didn’t have dementia last year, but I am a big chance of being brain f**ked by the end of just one. Too much work going on all at the same time is not all good and we need to think about consequences. It will be those selling their labour who pay the price.

Regardless of the obstacles, the ABCC, the confusion or any other problem, the Union and its leadership is fully committed to coming out on top – good wages and conditions, safe and healthy work sites and hours of work that give you a life, not a sentence for hard labour. It just is not going to fall into our lap.

BIG HEARTS DIG DEEP FOR CHRISTMAS Christmas is a tough time for many and it's also a time for digging deep and giving to our less fortunate.

CFMEU Members paid tribute to two champions of Victoria's less fortunate: • Brendan Nottle from The Salvation Army Australia and • Fr Bob Maguire from the Father Bob Maguire Foundation.

AN AMAZING $17,321 WAS RAISED IN A SHORT TIME TO GIVE HOMELESS VICTORIANS A BRIGHTER CHRISTMAS AND HOPE FOR THE NEW YEAR.

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WE HAVE 39 MATTERS BEFORE THE COURT & 37 INVOLVE THE CFMEU Stephen McBurney Turnbull’s ABCC chief attack dog

As biased as a Collingwood cheer squad!

bold, intelligent and hard-working to reach their peak potential? How can I reframe such a male-dominated culture to remind the women around me that they are valuable members, leaders and innovators of our company?”

Dignified bathroom facilities for workers would be a start?

Hallinan says “a woman should be able to work and lead with the same dignity as any man.” Yet he had the union charged for trying to get one extra toilet on a multimillion dollar building site.

It has become abundantly clear, as case after case of often-fabricated rubbish against workers, gets tried in court, that big business backed by Turnbull’s ABCC has been given way too much power.

BPM Boss Jonathan Hallinan on his own website Self-proclaimed male feminist Jonathan Hallinan is the founder and director of BPM. He prides himself on the way he treats the women that work for him saying, “For many years, women have been reminded in the media, in their homes and, most painfully, in their own minds, that they play a less valuable role in society. They are trained to internalise their opinions and their achievements. I aim to change this mode of thinking, beginning with the women in my very own business.”

Hallinan showed his true colours when the CFMEU’s Gerry Benstead and Steve Long requested that Leanne, a female worker on a BPM site in Brighton receive the female amenities she was entitled. The supervisor refused, suggesting Leanne could have a male worker guard the door for her when going to the toilet. BPM used the ABCC to accuse Benstead and Long of standing over the company and its officials. The CFMEU was in turn convicted of engaging in unlawful conduct.

It’s all a bit rich coming from a bloke worth close to $500 million who declares himself to be a feminist on his website (the same website where he both promotes his money-making developments and sells scented candles.)

His hypocrisy is sickening, asking “As a business leader, how can I work toward empowering women who are

The ABCC witnesses are YOU, construction workers that get dragged in for compulsory interviews. A CFMEU lawyer said, “When you hear one of these interviews back you become an anonymous witness to Hadgkiss (ex-head of ABCC), the imposing ex-officer of the Hong Kong Police, interrogating a worker. You hear the worker trying to be stoic, trying to be strong. But listen closely and you can hear the slight wavering of his voice, as he answers the questions the best that he can.”

Hadgkiss has since been forced to resign after admitting he breached the Fair Work Act by distributing misleading anti-union ABCC propaganda. Ged Kearney said at the time, “He was prepared to put up misinformation, it appears he wanted fact sheets to reflect laws he wanted to be in place rather than what was actually there... It just makes a complete mockery of this Government’s agenda to break down unions and to stop working people get justice at work.”

Unions across Australia have had enough of this kind of rubbish. The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) has launched its biggest campaign in a decade “Change the Rules” and the CFMEU is getting right behind it.

Australian Unions are campaigning to change the rules so that working people have more secure jobs and better pay.

Right now, big business has too much power. A third of them aren’t paying any tax.

And, too many big businesses are in a race to the bottom on wages and job security.

As a result, 40% of Australians are in insecure work and wages have flat-lined.

changetherules.org.au AUTUMN 2018

We need a wage rise and secure work. We need to change the rules to give all working people the basic rights they need to improve their living standards.

We are building a powerful movement to change the rules, and we need you to be a part of it.

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Licensing j Trades with Anne Duggan Plumbers and electricians have enjoyed protection in the form of licensing for a very long time. So why not us?

The CFMEU recently put to the state government that we want our traditional trades licensed and thus protected.

In Victoria, as we all know, any shonky shysters can slap on a nail-bag and call themselves a carpenter and when they do, it makes us all look bad. If our trades are licensed our jobs will be more secure and we will enjoy a higher level of safety. We also want trades licenced to help protect and develop the skills base in our industry which for decades has been under attack.

Anne Duggan from the CFMEU Education and Training Unit says, “We propose that trades such as carpentry, plastering, painting, scaffolding, tiling, glazing, stonemasonry, and bricklaying should be formally assessed and licensed before anyone can work in those occupations domestically or commercially.”

If you’ve been working in the industry without qualifications for years now and you’re scratching your head, don’t stress. Duggan assures us “your experience will be taken into account when the system for licensing is developed.

“There might also be some tradies who haven’t had the full range of experience and for those workers there will be a form of top-up training to make sure they all get through. In fact licensing will provide a level of protection and job security that members have never known.

“Currently in Victoria, workers who have had no health and safety training other than the white card are working in areas that really require a lot more theory, practical knowledge and skill letting shonky operators do our work has really undermined the respect that people have for our trades and ultimately puts all our lives at risk.

“Opportunities for young people to enter our industry through apprenticeship programs have evaporated over the years. Most of our members would relate to the fact that very few plasterers are qualified as there are very few plastering apprentices in the industry. Probably less than 1/3 of our carpenters are qualified and we’ve seen these figures diminish right across the board over the last 10 years.

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“This all fits in with the deregulation and privatisation agenda. This is an attack on training and skills that leaves our members vulnerable to exploitation. If we have proper licensing of our trades we can prevent this from happening and make sure that everyone is on a level playing field in terms of our occupational classifications and conditions.

“The Master Builders Association (MBAV) has put a proposal to the state government for registration of subcontractors which is designed to strengthen regulation around business practices and liability. While this may well be needed, their proposal is directed at controlling subcontractors and does not ensure that all people who carry out construction trades are trained and assessed to work.

“It’s obviously the best situation for the future of the construction industry that young people do a full apprenticeship, attend trade school and not just do a quickie course but do a proper certificate in whatever trade it is they’re doing. On completion of both trade school and experience on the job they are then given an independent assessment which will then give them the licence to work.

“About four years ago the CFMEU started our very successful pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship program. We started the program in carpentry because we were concerned about the decline of apprenticeships in the industry. We felt that we had a lot of expertise to be able to build a model of carpentry apprenticeship training and we believe that’s what we’ve done. Our preapprentices start work job ready. This is the model we are confident in putting forward in terms of apprenticeships and pre-apprenticeships in the construction industry in Victoria.

“Although the legislation still needs to happen, the CFMEU’s position is that we want to protect our trades with a strong licensing system by being involved in the way this is set up. That’s why we’re right at the forefront and we will be really active in any board or organisation that carries out the independent assessments.

“We will make sure that our members’ interests are looked after now and in the long-term, whether they be a new entrant into the industry or one of our members that’s been on the job for 20, 30 or 40 years.”

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CFMEU MAKES VICTORIA’S BIG BUILD SAFE

"Victoria’s Big Build" is what the state government are branding it. A $30 billion spend on transport projects on the go right now throughout Victoria. WorkSafe are clearly not up to the task though, dragging their feet as they struggle to cope with the demand on its Safety Inspectors. Issues are only dealt with after intervention from the CFMEU, but is a reluctant and under-resourced regulator putting workers at risk?

On the Metro Tunnel job in late February around one hundred metres of old tramway conduits lined with asbestos were dug up near the corner of Domain and St Kilda roads just opposite Melbourne Grammar School.

The area was not immediately isolated however, and works continued that potentially may have disturbed the asbestos conduit further.

CFMEU Official, Paul Tzimas said, "John Holland, the principal contractor, was more concerned about trying to lock out the Health and Safety Representative than dealing with the toxic mess that was left uncovered and fully exposed until the CFMEU got involved."

Joe Myles, CFMEU official said, “WorkSafe had refused to talk with the CFMEU and allowed work to continue.

With some extra measures being put in place to try and eliminate the risk of exposure to workers and public after one week of the site being like this, it would not be hard to believe there is a potential that people have been exposed.”

Asbestos material was eventually covered up and removed but John Holland's management team failed to promptly notify WorkSafe of the find. As no one can actually guarantee asbestos fibres were not released during this time, the CFMEU recommends, anyone in that area or working on that job between 28th of February and 3rd of March should file an asbestos exposure registration form - you can download the form from the CFMEU website and file it with Slater & Gordon.

The return details are also provided on the form.

connecting ladder beams to the top of the stairs and calling it an engineered point, clearly it is not.”

“It was a three to four months’ battle constantly serving notices of suspected contraventions of safety breaches, around eighty in the end but finally the job was made safe.”

The North Eastern Program Alliance, or NEPA, is the project responsible for removing the Grange Road, Lower Plenty Road, Bell Street and High Street level crossings. Several concerns were raised by the CFMEU over cracked precast elements and incorrect stacking of these elements causing structural damage. It wasn't until CFMEU members exposed photo and video evidence of the damaged precast structural elements being used, and even buried in an attempted cover up, that anything was done. Nick Vamvas, CFMEU's pre-cast organiser, in conjunction with Paul Tzimas and Gerry McQuaid, spent a long weekend living out at NEPA to make sure the damaged panels were returned to VSL in Thomastown.

Days of lengthy and colourful consultation and NEPA is back on track.

We did build this city and its infrastructure, we leave it for our grandchildren and theirs. Thanks to the diligent and tireless work of Joe Myles, Paul Tzimas, Gerry McQuaid and John Thomson, NEPA won't be disintegrating before its time.

PANEL STORAGE

BEFORE AFTER Excavator lifting panels

Mernda Rail is the eight kilometre rail extension from South Morang to Mernda and has been plagued with safety issues. Timber bracing with star pickets (as pictured) were used as props.

Nick Vamvas, CFMEU's pre-cast Organiser said “I was shocked to see it, I’ve been in the industry twenty-eight years and I’ve never seen this done before.”

Unbelievably, WorkSafe signed off on them, Tzimas said, “Other projects throughout the industry were watching closely because, one, they were horrified that WorkSafe engineers were signing off on it, and two, other contractors were watching to see if they could cut some corners on precast safety too,” Tzimas also said, “A Franna was used to lift and move the stair access scaffolds instead of using scaffolders to decommission and re-erect them. They were just AUTUMN 2018

BEFORE AFTER Timber star picket props

BEFORE

AFTER 017

Little Finlee started kinder this year, he just turned four late last year.

He’s happy as he wanders around the construction workers among the Sky Rail sheds in the South Eastern suburbs, energetic and seemingly fearless.

Amanda and Joseph, Finlee’s parents, explain that he doesn’t show stress, but lately he’s been having nightmares after kinder.

Amanda, as Finlee’s mum, really senses the anxiety Finlee experiences in stressful situations: “Shops are a nightmare, he gets really stressed. I’ve got a pram with the baby and Finlee can run off if he gets upset.”

With both Autism and Dyspraxia, a disorder that disrupts messages from the brain which can affect movement, coordination and speech, Finlee certainly has more to deal with than most kids. His parents worry his nightmares may come from extra anxiety and stress he gets from kinder and other noisy, busy environments.

Joseph’s sister works for CSIRO, she found out about the program and told Finlee’s parents.

Thanks to CFMEU Members at Sky Rail, some assistance is on the way in the form of a dog.

The dogs help kids like Finlee in the community - going to shops, getting through more stressful situations. They are calming when kids get anxious, and they assist kids to sleep, it could even end Finlee’s nightmares.

Not just any dog – a specially trained companion dog. It’s a fairly new idea, that assistance dogs can assist kids with Autism and other neurological conditions, but it makes sense.

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“Dogs are a best mate, a companion,” says dad Joseph.

“They help them to sustain a natural life, assist with everyday activities.”

It costs $25,000 to raise and train an assistance dog for a child with Autism and other developmental disorders. With no government funding at all, families have to find the money themselves.

Joseph has been on Sky Rail just over a year, on and off. When shop steward Steve and the CFMEU Members onsite heard about Finlee and the assistance dog program, they didn’t hesitate.

“Our goal was to raise the $25k,” says Steve. “As we say, your family is our family and we do what we can.”

“This is the stuff that doesn’t get a lot of publicity. We do it with our hearts, not for recognition.”

“Hopefully we don’t have to do it again, but there’s bound to be something else and we’ll pull together again as we do, we just do what has to be done.”

As we prepare to say our goodbyes, the news comes in that 1st prize raffle winner Andrew Lemmings has donated the Dreamworld family trip he won back to Finlee and his family. Does it get any better than a CFMEU Member?

CFMEU WORKER

Dogs for Kids with Disabilities Dogs for Kids with Disabilities (DKD) is a not-for-profit organisation based in Victoria. Our Assistance and Companion dogs improve the lives of children and young adults who face a range of challenges (including physical disabilities, intellectual disabilities and autism spectrum disorders).

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Every person with a four-legged best friend knows the benefits of their unconditional love and loyalty. Now imagine a dog who is loving, loyal and has been expertly trained to help a child; trained to prevent bolting, decrease selfharm behaviours and reduce melt-downs in children with autism, and raised to help children sleep better, reduce anxiety and build communication.

Most importantly, imagine the comfort and companionship that DKD dogs provide. It’s a beautiful relationship and one that we are proud to establish and support.

To help us cont inue to make a difference fo r kids, you can donate, sp onsor or volunteer: ww w.dkd.org.au

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CANCER IS MORE THAN SKIN DEEP WHAT IS SKIN CANCER? Skin cancer is a disease of the body’s skin cells. Skin cancer develops when the cells which make up our skin are damaged and grow abnormally. The sun’s ultraviolet (UV) radiation is the main cause of skin cancer. Each time your skin is damaged by UV, changes take place in the structure and function of our skin cells.

If UV damage keeps adding up, skin cells become less able to repair, increasing the risk of skin cancer. Using sun protection during sun protection times will prevent UV damage and cut your cancer risk – and it’s never too late. Using sun protection will cut your risk of skin cancer at any age.

INTRODUCING INCOLINK SKIN CHECK PROGRAM

Incolink is excited to announce a partnership with Skin Patrol to offer a comprehensive Incolink Skin Checks program for our members. This is an extension of our more general Health Checks program which has been very popular with members. Skin Checks are now available to be rolled out on site and will be conducted by a General Practitioner.

The Incolink Skin Checks program is rolled out over 2 steps on site.

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Step.1 -Skin Cancer Awareness Sessions – the importance of early detection of melanoma

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Step.2 - Skin checks – Full body skin check performed by a GP with full follow up and education about any skin issues.

WAYS TO PROTECT YOURSELF 1. Slip on sun protective clothing 2. Slop on SPF 30 or higher sunscreen. Apply sunscreen liberally to clean, dry skin at least 20 minutes before you go outside and reapply every two hours.

3. Slap on a hat. A broad-brimmed, legionnaire or bucket-style hat provides good protection for the face, nose, neck and ears.

Caps and visors do not provide enough protection.

4. Seek shade 5. Slide on some sunglasses. Sunglasses should be worn outside during daylight hours. Choose closefitting wrap-around sunglasses that meet the Australian Standard AS 1067.

For more information, go to incolink. org.au/skinchecks or get your employer to contact David Cronin Incolink Team Leader, Health Checks & Partnerships to arrange Skin Checks for your site on 0418 470 409 or via email davidcr@incolink.org.au

Source: cancer.org.au

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CFMEU WORKER

XXX HEADER

WHAT CAN AUTISM LOOK LIKE:

AFTER 7 YEARS AND RAISING OVER $1,000,000 FOR THE ROYAL CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL, THE CFMEU ARE THROWING THEIR SUPPORT BEHIND A NEW CAUSE: AMAZE. CFMEU Members are a unique bunch of people, everyone is different but we come together as one in our union. Every person on the Autism Spectrum is different, no two people on the autism spectrum are alike and each will experience autism in different ways.

Most of us have a family member, friend, workmate or someone close to us who is on the Autism Spectrum. In fact, it is estimated that 1 in every 100 Australians is on the spectrum, as many as 230,000 Australians.

AMAZE raises awareness and influences positive change for people on the autism spectrum and their families. They provide support and independent, credible information and resources to individuals, families, professionals, government and the wider community.

WHAT IS THE AUTISM SPECTRUM? Autism is a neurodevelopmental condition which affects the brain’s growth and development. It is a lifelong condition, with symptoms that appear in early childhood.

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Challenges with communication and interacting with others

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Repetitive and different behaviours, moving their bodies in different ways

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Strong interest in one topic or subject

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Unusual reactions to what they see, hear, smell, touch or taste

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Preference for routines and dislike change

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Autism can affects the way that individuals interact with others and how they experience the world around them.

HOW YOU CAN BE AMAZE-ING The CFMEU is partnering with AMAZE to raise awareness of Autism and support people on the Spectrum and their families. Almost a third of people participating in the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) are on the spectrum and many more are unable to access that support or have not been properly diagnosed.

CFMEU MEMBERS HAVE A BIG ROLE TO PLAY: 1. If you don’t already know about Autism, find out and spread the word – talk to your family, friends and workmates. Awareness is crucial to improving peoples lives. Start by taking a look at the AMAZE website: amaze. org.au 2. Tell your story – send your story about how Autism Spectrum Disorder affects you and your family and you could win new CFMEU-AMAZE merchandise and a $200 voucher! Send your story, member number and contact details to: viccomms@cfmeu.org 3. Buy the merchandise and raise money for AMAZE to change lives. Talk to Beck in the CFMEU office about visiting your site, or buy merchandise online: vic.cfmeu. org.au/shop

THANKS FOR BEING AMAZE-ING! AUTUMN 2018

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B Y L I S A Z A N AT TA In March, hundreds of union women across the Victorian union movement participated in yet another successful Women’s Rights At Work Festival (WRAW Fest). The WRAW Fest is a week-long festival borne out of the Victorian Trades Hall Council (VTHC) Women’s Team.

Ms Connor Borchard Burns from VTHC reports that, “This year's festival really was a union-led extravaganza all about how we can work together to #ChangeTheRules for Working Women.”

CFMEU Women attended many events such as, Organising Globally presented by APHEDA and Australian Asia Worker Links who teamed up to present some incredible international women who detailed how they organise globally. We learned about work that The Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission are doing to help Stop Gendered Violence at Work, and a packed Clyde Hotel in Carlton held a

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Feminism in the Pub event which explored how we can collectivise the #MeToo Movement in our Workplaces.

The CFMEU along with sisters from the ETU, RTBU, and MUA held a feminist movie screening about equal pay. The night bought together 60 women across male dominated unions. National Campaign Coordinator Kara Keys from the ACTU, spoke passionately about inequality.

Ms Keys reported shocking facts regarding inequality.

She said inequality was at a 70 year high and that the gender pay gap was 15.3%. Other disturbing statistics are that women continue to be employed in part-time and/or casual employment more so than our male counterparts. Ms Keys also told the audience that 818 million women and girls globally have experienced sexual harassment and violence. A majority of these experiences were in their workplaces. We learnt that 1 CFMEU WORKER

in 10 women experience domestic violence and that 11 Australian women so far this year have died at the hands of their domestic or former partners. Women currently are retiring with 53% less retirement savings and that 70% of homeless people are single women over the age of 55 years.

Last December, Bill Shorten announced that if Labor were to be elected at the next federal election, he will legislate for 10 days’ paid leave as part of the NES.

Ms Keys reminded us that in order to change the rules we must organise for change. A good example of doing just that was last year. Unions across the country campaigned and rallied their support behind the #WeWontWait campaign for 10 days paid Domestic Violence Leave to be included in the National Employment Standards (NES). Thanks to the CFMEU delegates and members who willingly participated in this campaign because WE WON!

Fair Work Australia’s recent approval of the union amalgamation means that CFMEU women will be uniting with women from the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) and the Textile Clothing & Footwear Union (TCFUA).

This amalgamation will significantly increase the overall women working in male dominated occupations and industries.

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Mr Shorten, the Union Women of Australia will keep you to that promise!

The CFMEU strongly advocates women working in the Building and Construction Industry. We believe that more women construction workers will help to break down stereotypes, change attitudes and improve workplace cultures.

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ORGAN Mick

Myles “It’s Mick not Mike I’m not American mate” begins Mick Myles, our new CFMEU Offsite and Shopfitting Organiser. Mick moved down from Queensland where he’s had a long and proud family history of unionism.

If that wasn’t bad enough they rubbed salt into the wounds of their working class fans when they donated money to the Liberal party. With two horrible decisions like that there’s no third strike, YOU’RE OUT…

Joining the union at age 16, he and brother Joe (CFMEU Civil Organiser) have become the fourth generation of the Myles family to be locked up at picket lines. His great grandmother was the first, locked up at a picket line during the anticonscription campaign of WW1.

“Unions are the only effective organisations that can represent working class interests, particularly in this country,” says Mick, “and we always have to look after our own, that’s the way I have been brought up.”

Although AFL doesn’t really grab him, he is still a passionate supporter of the Queensland Maroons and backs the Melbourne Storm in the NRL now because the Broncos scabbed. Mick said, “It’s not an easy thing changing teams, the Broncos were my team and I supported them for years until they refused to negotiate an EBA with the Rugby League Players Association.”

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Mick has vowed to work hard representing CFMEU members in negotiating fair EBAs and would like to see shopfitters get back on EBAs. “Many out there are contracted by the shop leasees and often they’re not on a great deal or don’t have anywhere near the same conditions as they used to have or others working on the same union sites.”

CFMEU WORKER

NISERS GERRY MCCRUDDEN Gerry McCrudden is the new CFMEU Organiser for the Northern Suburbs so how’s he finding it?

plane (or as you say ‘off the boat’) I did a year as a bricky’s labourer and travelled around a bit.

“Yeah it’s different to what I expected to be truthful, but it’s really rewarding. I enjoy it and it’s a different ball game to working on-site.”

“I went home in 2006 for the World Cup in Germany but came straight back, and I haven’t looked back since. I continued as a bricky’s labourer then scaffolding. After that I was given the opportunity to be a Delegate and this is where it’s led me to.”

“When you’re a Delegate you’re looking after that one site, you’ve got it contained, you’ve got it under control. Out there as an Organiser it’s a jungle.

Then there’s jobs that are good, jobs that are bad, and with all the unjust laws being legislated we’ve got to play smart but not take a step backwards”.

McCrudden, originally from Belfast, grew up amidst the troubles of Ireland in the 80’s and 90’s so he’s definitely got the backbone for the job. In Ireland, McCrudden worked for years alongside CFMEU Organiser Gerry McQuaid on commercial ferries, and recalls, “They were good times mate. Gerry had a lot of family out here and I just came out to have a look. When I got off the

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“Now I am married to Becks with four-year-old twin girls, it’s flat out and there’s not enough hours in a day.

“I love football and Liverpool’s my team but that’s my only real interest outside my family and my job.”

Gerry is realistic about the work ahead: “It might be a bit easier with Labor in but everybody needs to be active and do their part and take an interest.

“I am part of the young activists in the CFMEU and I would recommend it to all the young members to come along and find out what the Union’s all about.”

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CFMEU MANUFACTURING

BuildinG Solidarity CFMEU MANUFACTURING

“We hit the ground running immediately,” Michael O’Connor said on the 5th March when the Fair Work Commission approved the merger of the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA), the Textile Clothing and Footwear Union of Australia (TCFUA) and the CFMEU.

Michele O’Neil, Textile Clothing and Footwear Union of Australia National Secretary, welcomed the amalgamation, saying: “The TCFUA has a proud history of fighting for the rights of some of Australia’s lowest paid and most exploited workers.

The very same week, a conference was held at the new CFMEU office in Elizabeth St to launch the new Manufacturing Division of the CFMEU, a merger of the TCFUA with the Forest and Furnishing Products Division (FFPD).

“The combined strength of the CFMEU, MUA and TCFUA in our new union will write a new chapter in Australia’s union movement. Ordinary workers now have a powerful new force for change on their side.”

“Big Business has too much power, we have record levels of inequality in our community, and working families are finding it hard to make ends meet. We will be fighting every day to restore the fair go,” said Michael O’Connor.

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The Manufacturing Division Conference was attended by over 170 delegates. The theme for the Conference was: “Change the government, change the rules, grow the movement”

CFMEU WORKER

CFMEU MANUFACTURING

Speakers included leader of the Labor Party Bill Shorten, ACTU Secretary Sally McManus and Sharan Burrow, General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and a former ACTU President.

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Who’s doing the installation?

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Who’s supplying the installer?

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Who’s the original manufacturer of that product?

Conference sessions led by Michele O’Neil and Leo Skourdoumbis covered supply chain organising and organising floor covering workers while delegates from ABC Tissues and RM Williams spoke about their experiences and provided real life examples of successful campaigns for delegates to follow.

“There’s a heap of ethical questions that come with that: is it Aussie Made, sustainably resourced, are EBAs in place, what are the wages and conditions and the workers rights to organise and have representation?”

KNOW YOUR PRODUCT Paul Duncan, newly recruited CFMEU National Organiser with the Manufacturing Division makes the link between the new Manufacturing Division and Construction clear.

Starting as an apprentice carpenter in 1980, he was a shop steward by 1983: “I’d put my notice in to quit after a fight with the foreman, but in a few days I was a shop steward at age 18.”

He’s done a few years in construction, some with the FFPD and six years at the ASU as an organiser, working with a mix of blue and white collar workers.

“I had a lot of success with contractors, using my experience in construction. Workers are workers, they just want support and strong leadership.”

In between, Paul worked in domestic construction, government contracts, tenders and so on, including being hit by the recession in the 1990s. “It’s that education that gives me the background to talk to workers in the building products area.”

On his new role in organising building product manufacturers: “It’s Pandora’s Box, you catch out one, it leads off into a thousand others.”

“Go back 50 years, the builder employed everyone on site, other than suppliers. Now everything is contracted out. If I ask a question about who’s supplying products, it’s like peeling an onion there’s so many layers.”

“Sometimes the installers are a different subbie to the supplier, so it’s hard to track where things have come from and whether we’re dealing with union members, even whether we’re still dealing with Australian products or overseas imports.”

“Number one is health and safety – the further you get away from the site, the less chance you have of representation on site, the worse the safety, bullying, harassment, everything.”

Any members who are concerned about building products or suppliers should talk to their shop steward.

Shop stewards who identify problems or have any questions – just give Paul a call.

“Don’t get stressed out, if you’ve got time to track the supply chain, fantastic, some delegates can do it. If in doubt, just give me a call.”

“There’s 95 sites in the ‘site allowance’ area, over 400 across the state that have delegates on site. I’m starting with the low-hanging fruit, where we have a presence on site.”

“If I find a contractor on 10 sites across the city, we can start having a conversation.”

“It’s not just a matter of signing people up or getting EBAs, members have got to be serviced.”

While the new manufacturing division is recruiting and servicing off-site members, there’s big benefits for construction members and representatives i working together.

“It works both ways, I might get job lists from suppliers that help us identify where there’s opportunity for onsite organising.”

One big and growing union – there’s a reason big business and their lackey Liberal Government are worried.

“There’s companies that might have been supplying building sites for 30,40, 50 years, say form ply, that have been doing the right thing. There’s others that might source their product overseas – with who knows what conditions? The timber might be unethical, so many issues.”

“The companies that are doing the right thing, we need to protect, otherwise those workers will become unemployed.”

Paul has been talking to construction organisers and delegates who are encouraged to ask a few simple questions:

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h Contact Paul Duncan throug the CFMEU Office: 9341 3444

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CFMEU WORKER

Trucks laden with precast are rolling up, the crane is set up and good to go, it’s a busy morning in South Melbourne. There’s no traffic management on site, so he stops the job with an air of calm akin to a rock star, but wait he is… CFMEU delegate Jason “DJ Jedi Master” Howard from the iconic Aussie band 28 Days and he rocks the rank of Shop Steward. Under his belt is five studio albums and five EPs three of which debuted in the ARIA top 40, and a world tour playing to crowds of 80,000 plus.

What a stellar career so how’d we end up here?

EASY COME, EASY GO

“Well originally I was a landscape labourer and I did a few different labouring jobs. I was also a DJ at the same time doing various gigs around Melbourne when the band thing took off.

“It became a full-time job for about seven years, we were making a living out of it and traveling the world doing a lot of tours, that's where we made the bulk of our money.

“We were pretty hard-working in that sense and then one day, as all good things must, it came to an end.

“The money wasn't flowing in like it once did and I guess reality kicks in, you think I’ve got to make a crust. I had a lot of mates working in construction so they got me on some labouring jobs and it went from there.

“I was doing a lot of domestic work and then I started getting some commercial sites that were non EBA. There was particularly one over in Port Melbourne years ago it was probably the worst site I’ve ever been on it was absolutely atrocious.

“This builder had pro ABCC posters stuck up all around the joint and it was shocking. Not just the safety aspects, it was the way he treated the workers just letting guys go left right and centre.

Until one day there was a safety issue and the CFMEU rocked up. They got WorkSafe in and shut the job down, I was thinking well this is the way to go and they actually turned that site around big time. Then from there I got onto a union site one day and signed up.

UNION TIME

“It's been really positive experience with the CFMEU - we don't always get it right. I remember an organiser once told me, “Look, we don't always get it right, but when we get it wrong we get it wrong for the right reasons.” Sounds like a bit of lip service but it's one hundred percent true.

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“The support I used to get from the delegates themselves was just fantastic and it’s something I have never forgotten. I was lucky enough to work under some really good shoppies in the past, some older guys who sort of took me under their wing, showed me the ropes. That's an opportunity that’s there for everyone.

“Especially the younger blokes out there, if you’ve got an interest in it start speaking with your shoppie, go to the branch meetings or young activist meetings, they’re fantastic opportunity to get in there and they are a real breeding ground for young unionists.

TOUR OF DUTY

“The band as far as unionism is concerned, we were always sort of borderline on the political side of things. We came from that background and we always did a lot of volunteer work. We went to Afghanistan that was voluntary to go over there to play for the troops. It turned out to be a career highlight to play for the locals and expose them to Western music that was a very big eye-opener.

One thing it did was, open my eyes to the media because what I saw over there compared to what we get shown on TV and told is going on are two totally different things and I know most CFMEU members know the media is full of shit. But that really brought it home. I could sit down and talk to you for hours about what I actually saw going on and then what we were told.

FUN TIME, NOT THE BIG TIME

“28 Days, spent a lot of time trying to break overseas, we spent six months in Europe touring flat out trying to break. We also went to Japan and the US trying to break. It's like any business, you try to expand your business in a sense although when you’re that young you don't really consider the business you’re kind of steered by the record companies and unless you’re really big time there's not a lot of longevity, only a handful actually make enough to set themselves up.

“We’re all best mates we always have been and always will be, now we look at it more like a fun weekend away because we’re all so busy with family and work now. Some guys go fishing and hunting.

“We still have a booking agent so we can sort of pick and choose our gigs and we like to travel, have a weekend away together as a bunch of mates, play a gig, get some extra pocket money and that’s where we’re at, at the moment. It's all about the fun for us now which is the way it should be, we got back to the basics.

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the class war

of 1856 Almost 200 years ago the first trade unions in Australia were founded by printers, cabinetmakers and shipwrights.

It wasn’t long after that construction workers from the Stonemasons union (formed in 1850) began the fight for the eight-hour day that gave birth to Labour Day. It was also coined the ‘48-hour week’.

Australia was the first country in the world where workers won an eight-hour day, earning our reputation as “the working man’s paradise”. Although we were still working six or seven days a week, for a country like Australia at the time, this was revolutionary.

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Employers who were upset at the unions then began importing Chinese labour in an attempt to undercut the award.

This gave rise to the White Australia policy, that lingered in some form until Gough Whitlam introduced the Racial Discrimination Act in 1975.

The eight-hour day was first proposed in 1817 by socialist Robert Owen but it would take almost one hundred years for it to be realised. For the next few decades it would be common place to work twelve to fourteen hours a day, with only half a day on Saturday and Sunday off. The

union argued that the British industrial relations model being used at the time was not fit for Australia because, among other things, our harsh climate required a shorter working day and that workers would be, “better husbands, fathers and citizens if they were given”, as the slogan went, “Eight hours’ labour, eight hours’ recreation, eight hours’ rest.”

It wasn’t until March 1856, when fed-up workers called a public meeting, that real change began. They told their bosses from the building companies and the government, “The time has arrived when the system CFMEU WORKER

T H E 8 H O U R D AY

of eight hours should be introduced into the building trades and that after the 21st of this month we promise to work eight hours and no longer.�

walked off the job and marched to Parliament House. Along the way stonemason brothers from other construction sites joined their stop work march.

Melbourne was expanding rapidly; quality skilled stonemasons mostly from Britain were few in number and in high demand. They were in the perfect position to fight for the eight-hour day and they knew it. Negotiations continued between the union and building companies but eventually broke down. On the 21st of April stonemasons led by James Stevens on the construction site at Melbourne University downed tools,

It took months of negotiations with the building companies and the government but eventually an agreement was reached. Stonemasons would work an eight-hour day and collect the same wage they had previously been paid for ten hours.

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Only a select group of workers, mainly in the building trades, received the eight-hour day or 48-hour week, while most (including women and, yes,

children) generally worked longer hours for less pay.

It wasn’t until 1916, ninetynine years after it was first proposed by Robert Owen, that the Eight Hour Act was passed in Victoria and New South Wales. The fight for the five-day week continued for years but eventually (seventy years ago this year) in 1948, the Commonwealth Arbitration Court approved a forty-hour five-day working week for all Australians.

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WE NEED INDUSTRIAL MANSLAUGHTER LAWS

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CFMEU WORKER

WRITTEN BY LUKE HILAKARI SECRETARY, VICTORIAN TRADES HALL COUNCIL

When negligent bosses put profit before safety, working Victorians are killed. And, as long as the law says killing a worker doesn’t deserve jail time, our workmates will keep getting killed.

No fine, however large, is going to change that.

If someone is responsible for a worker’s death, they should go to jail. It’s that simple.

For more than 20 years, Dr Gerry Ayers, the CFMEU’s Health & Safety Unit Manager, has attended sites where a worker has been killed.

He’s carried bodies out, cleaned up blood and consoled workmates. He’s seen grown men in uncontrollable fits of tears and families devastated at unnecessary funerals.

And what makes it unbearable is that every one of these deaths was preventable. If more had been done, these men would still be alive and their families would still be together. If there were significant consequences for big corporations that kill workers, then our workplaces would be safer.

Right now, the rules are too soft on big construction companies if there are fatalities on site. The reality is: these companies roll the dice with people’s lives.

Workplace deaths leave complete devastation for families and work mates. There’s a ripple effect through communities and things are never the same.

This doesn’t have to be the case. This can be avoided and these lives can be spared.

The good news is that there are ways to make our worksites safer. That’s why Victorian Trades

Hall, the CFMEU and other union members are calling on Daniel Andrews to introduce Industrial Manslaughter laws here in Victoria. Laws that would punish big corporations where they have been negligent and force them to take safety seriously.

They send a clear message to corporations that their negligence can kill. By holding negligent employers to account, these laws will make our workplaces safer.

Queensland, the ACT, the UK and Canada are ahead of Victoria, with laws that mean negligent corporations and senior managers can be charged over the death of an employee. 23 people have been killed at work this year in Victoria. One death is too many and it’s time for action.

It’s not good enough that corporations and their senior officers can negligently cause the death of a worker and evade justice.

Public pressure works on politicians, which is why your help is needed. As we kick off this campaign, we need 10,000 signatures on a petition that Gerry has started, so our demands as workers can’t be ignored. We won’t stand by while workers are killed and families are devastated.

You can sign the petition calling for Daniel Andrews to introduce industrial manslaughter laws and make Victorian worksites safer, by visiting www.industrialmanslaughter.org.au

Scan this code with your phone to sign the petition!

DID YOU KNOW?

Did you know that in Victoria, if your employer killed a cat on your worksite, they could theoretically go to jail for up to two years?

But if that same employer’s negligence kills one of your workmates on the job, odds are their company will cop a modest fine at best.

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The tragic death of Ivica Andrijasevic at the Melbourne Convention Centre 18 months ago followed two previous Elevated Work Platform (EWP) tragedies at the Royal Adelaide Hospital in just a couple of years.

“The CFMEU’s view was that we wanted some sort of physical protection standing over the operator when they are at the controls, and our view hasn’t changed,” says Alex.

A committee had been formed after the second fatality in Adelaide with WorkSafe SA, Hansen Yuncken, EWP suppliers and the CFMEU in South Australia. “It basically fell by the wayside until the Victorian fatality,” said CFMEU Victoria Safety Officer Alex Tadic.

There was another meeting in March this year at the CFMEU High Risk Training centre where a couple of the machines were brought down to have a look at.

Both machines had the anti-crushing device fitted in front of the controls, one had physical protection above the operator.

The committee was reformed with WorkSafe Victoria and CFMEU Victoria, along with ETU and PTEU and the Victorian Safety Construction Alliance representing major contractors.

Meetings of the new committee were held and one thing that came out of that was to have anti-crush devices fitted in front of the controls. This was supported by most people involved.

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“Our training centre is now getting overhead protection fitted to one of our EWPs in order to train people with the device actually in place.”

There is a mix of views from workers who have used EWPs with the overhead protection in place.

CFMEU WORKER

NOBODY PLANS TO GET CRUSHED INTO A STEEL BEAM IN AN EWP, WE NEED TO TAKE OUT THE POSSIBILITY OF HUMAN ERROR.

“We’ve had one out on site at the convention centre and speaking to the riggers who were using it, they had some issues with being able to operate it in amongst the steel structure they were building.”

“It’s a matter of trying to get our members to understand that the reason we are insisting on it is to protect the members using this equipment every day.”

“If you can’t get to where you need to with the overhead protection in place, it’s the wrong piece of plant for the task. If you identify there’s the potential for crushing, it’s the wrong piece of plant for the task.”

“EWPs are the only piece of mobile plant that doesn’t have physical protection for the operator while that piece of plant is moving.”

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Two different kinds of plant are now being looked at.

“There’s always going to be the crush bar or the contact alarm and we’re happy for those to be on there, but that’s not enough. We need physical protection for the operator when they’re at the controls.”

“There will be more meetings, the discussion is continuing to find the best possible protection that is workable for our members, but our position supporting overhead physical protection remains the same.”

Another important factor is consistency in design. “We need the toggles to be all exactly the same, so you know up is up and down is down, at the moment it can go either way.”

“Nobody plans to get crushed into a steel beam in an EWP, we need to take out the possibility of human error.”

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GoAuto.com.au

100% INDEPENDENT CAR REVIEW BY TIM NICHOLSON

pick up the best in suvs PICK-UPS are big business in Australia, and not just for the work site. Aussies are snapping up 4x4 utes in massive numbers to use as family transport, weekend getaway cars and as traditional workhorses. Now there are a bunch of new SUV models based on these pick-ups that offer genuine off-road ability and the convenience of seven seats.

Here we test the five top high-riding 4x4 wagons in Australia.

ISUZU MU-X

MITSUBISHI PAJERO SPORT

Isuzu is a funny car company. They only sell two models – the D-Max ute and related MU-X seven-seat off-roader – and a lot of people don’t even know they exist. Yet in Australia, they outsell major brands like Audi, BMW and Jeep.

They might share a nameplate, but the Pajero Sport is no relation to the bigger and older Pajero. It is, however, a direct sibling to the Triton pick-up – not that you could tell from the styling.

In fact, of the five or so four-wheel-drive wagons that are based on utes sold Down Under, the MU-X is the best seller.

Mitsubishi’s five- and seven-seat Pajero Sport carries its own unique – and polarising – design, but it shares a lot with the Triton.

The Japanese auto-maker has put a serious focus on value for money. Up until Toyota chopped pricing of its Fortuner in late 2017, the seven-seat MU-X was the most affordable offering of its kind.

As is the case with a lot of SUVs these days, many buyers will never head off road, so Isuzu offers two-wheel-drive versions of the MU-X, and each 2WD variant is about $7000 cheaper than the 4WD equivalent.

Three spec grades are available – LS-M, LS-U and LS-T – and of all of its competitors, the MU-X has the most basic cabin.

There’s a lot of standard gear, but there is nothing fancy about the overall look and feel of the interior.

Isuzu upped torque in the 3.0-litre turbo-diesel engine about a year ago to 430Nm and it now qualifies for Euro 5 emissions standards. While it’s a noisy unit from inside the cabin, it offers a good dose of grunt and is good for towing three tonnes.

It’s not the flashiest offering in the segment, but the MU-X is solid, seriously capable off road and excellent value for money.

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It uses the same 133kW/430Nm 2.4-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel unit as the ute, but given its extra weight, sips a bit more fuel at 8.0L/100km on the combined cycle. The engine is refined, smooth and efficient compared with some of the rivals here and the eightspeed auto is class leading.

The Pajero Sport is also no slouch when it comes to off roading. It has a ground clearance of 230mm, which is one of the highest of all of its competitors.

Three model grades – GLX, GLS and top-spec Exceed – are available, and both the five- and seven-seat version are identically priced. The range kicks off at $45,000 and tops out at $65,990.

All Pajero Sports get a reversing camera and rear parking sensors, auto-locking doors, seven airbags, hill descent and hill start assistance plus electronic stability, traction and trailer sway control.

The Mitsubishi is the second most popular pick in this segment and it is another strong contender, with a big tick for value for money.

CFMEU WORKER

FORD EVEREST Ford’s Victorian-based engineering and design team were responsible for the development of the Everest and its twin under the skin, the Ranger pick-up.

The Everest is offered in three spec grades, including the base Ambiente in two-wheel and four-wheel-drive guise as well as with five or sevens seats, followed by the 2WD or 4WD Trend and 4WD Titanium. The latter two are seven-seaters.

Each variant is powered by a meaty 147kW/470Nm 3.2-litre turbocharged five-cylinder unit.

Ranging from $47,990 to $74,701, the Everest is pricier than its rivals but offers superior on-road dynamics and ride quality.

HOLDEN TRAILBLAZER Sharing its underpinnings and front-end design with the Colorado ute, the Trailblazer is offered in three spec grades – LT, LTZ and flagship Z71 – ranging from $47,990 to $53,490 and each of them use the same 147kW/500Nm 2.8-litre turbo-diesel unit driving all four wheels via a six-speed auto.

About 18 months ago Holden launched a heavily revised Trailblazer, ushering in big improvements to the ride quality, cabin quietness and comfort and overall driveability of the big seven-seater. It went from a middling offering to a serious contender.

It is also very well specified from the base variant up, meaning value for money is strong.

TOYOTA FORTUNER It might be the slowest seller here, but Toyota’s Fortuner is based on the reliable HiLux pick-up.

The Fortuner has a modern look and prices range from $42,590 for the base GX – the lowest opening price of all five offerings here – through to $56,990 for the Crusade.

Each variant has four-wheel drive as standard and the 2.8-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel makes 130kW/420Nm when paired with the six-speed manual or 130kW/450Nm with the six-speed auto.

Annoyingly, the third row seats fold up to the side when they are not in use, while the other models here fold into the floor, but aside from that the Fortuner is a reliable pick.

SIDE BY SIDE MODEL Isuzu MU-X

Mitsubishi Pajero Sport

Ford Everest

Holden Trailblazer

Toyota Fortuner

$47,990-$74,701 excluding on-road costs

$47,990-$53,490 excluding on-road costs

$42,590-$56,990

133kW/430Nm 2.4-litre turbocharged fourcylinder diesel

147kW/470Nm 3.2-litre turbocharged fivecylinder diesel

147kW/500Nm 2.8-litre turbocharged fourcylinder diesel

130kW/420-450Nm 2.8-litre turbocharged four-cylinder diesel

Six-speed manual or Transmission six-speed automatic, allwheel drive

Eight-speed automatic, all-wheel drive

six-speed automatic, rear and all-wheel drive

Six-speed automatic, allwheel drive

Six-speed manual or six-speed automatic, allwheel drive

Fuel economy 7.9L/100km

8.0L/100km

8.5L/100km

8.6L/100km

7.8-8.6/100km

excluding $45,000-$53,000 Price $42,800-$56,100 on-road costs excluding on-road costs 130kW/430Nm 3.0-litre Engine turbocharged fourcylinder diesel

Weight 1992-2157kg Braked towing capacity 3000kg Cargo space 235L ANCAP safety rating Five stars AUTUMN 2018

2045-2070kg

2370-2495kg

2190-2203kg

2120-2013kg

3100kg

3000kg

3000kg

3000kg

673L (five seat), 502L (seven seat)

1050L (five seat), 450L (seven seat)

235L

200L

Five stars

Five stars

Five stars

Five stars

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UNION & EUREKA FLAGS ?

D E N N BA M A L COL M TU RN BULL AN D HI S LI B E R A L PA RTY WA N T TO B A N FL A G S A N D U N I ON I MAGE RY ON CO N S T RUC T I O N S I T ES. H E R E ’S H O W CFM E U M E M B E R S R E SP O N D E D T O A NOT HER AT TAC K O N T HE R IG H TS O F CO N STR U CTIO N W O R K E R S.

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CFMEU WORKER

AUTUMN 2018

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ABCC LIES Bazmatt Pty Ltd

BFD Constructions Pty Ltd

Masterafix Steelfixing Pty Ltd

PO Box 445, Essendon, Vic 3040.

41 Schooner Bay Drive Frankston, Vic. 3199

Office 2/117 Bangholme Road Dandenong South, Vic. 3175

Mob: 0416 181 212 (Theo)

Email: info@c2-group.com.au Web: www.c2-group.com.au

Ph: (03) 9776 6592 Mob: 0407 168 371

C2 Group

Ph: 03 9370 5103

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ABN: 72 132 502 222

masterafix@bigpond.com

Ph: (03) 9791 9800 M: 0418 573 512 Web: bfdconstructions.com.au Labor Senator Doug Cameron summed it up:

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“So a wo rk er ca n ge t kil Piling le d, Systems yo u Pty Ltd do n’t ac t. An d a Advanced Cranes & Rigging Pty Ltd wo rk er ca n we ar (03) 9644 6200 a un ion loPh:go an d a co mpan y ca n lo se a co nt ract .

Wh at a biz ar re Australian Post Tensioning Pty Ltd pr op os iti on .”

Post tensioning & suspended concrete slab design contractors The tustee for Piling Systems t/as

TRACTING: ONwww.citylinescaffolding.com.au ON SHAMy C to my level” “I haven’t had an come EACHES: aches FETY BRBUILDERS SASIMON ONU. L.

PO Box 361, Wendouree Ph: 03 5339 8286 Email: admin@advancedcranes.com.au Web: www.advancedcranes.com.au

Email: Kerry@cityrendering.com.au

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haven’t been any bre to “There aren’t any. There 2016 s onover ety lawfor ★ Building on quality and saf innovation 60 pro yearsjects of the work health and ge.” Street, Fitzroy North 3068 ledNicholson our know 818

Ph: (03) 9488 0000

32 Enterprise Way Sunshine West, Vic. 3020

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rney and 3/7ne Chaplin CC boss Stephen McBu w ABDrive When Lane Cove, NSW 2066 Cathy Cato faced up to Deputy Commissioner Cityline ualLtd was the usPty s, it Scaffolding ate nate Estim144 g in Se tionin Freight Drive, Somerton VIC 3062 ques Ph: (02) 9420 0313 us eral Party ind trial ed to from the LibPh: us are we s lie (03) 9308 5311 Fax: (02) 9420 0118 Fax: (03) 9308 5711 attack dog.

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Phone: (03) 9702 4557 CW 21/3

www.austpt.net.au

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We’ve got your back Slater and Gordon is proud to partner with the CFMEU

Contact the CFMEU on

03 9341 3444 for a referral to Slater and Gordon Services for CFMEU members + Workers Compensation + Motor Vehicle Accidents + Asbestos + Wills and Estates + Conveyancing

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slatergordon.com.au CW 21/3

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CFMEU WORKER

HEARING LOSS Hearing loss causes numerous difficulties for sufferers, including problems communicating on the telephone and in social situations.

In particular hearing loss can diminish your ability to distinguish conversations, thereby affecting your capacity to participate in group activities and functions.

Severe or profound hearing loss can make even simplest tasks – like buying an item in the shop - confusing, complicated and distressing.

Of note, a person with hearing loss will often be unaware of the extent or level of that loss. It is family, friends and colleagues who often notice the signs of hearing loss before the sufferer.

Scott Arundell of Slater + Gordon is committed to ensuring you obtain full compensation for any work related hearing loss. He will provide you with information and support and ensure that you obtain your maximum entitlements.

If you are suffering from work related hearing loss, you may be entitled to a range of benefits under WorkCover, including: •

a lump sum for any permanent hearing impairment, depending on the level of permanent injury.

Generally these claims can range from $15,000.00 to $30,000.00

•

payments for being unable to work

•

payment for high quality hearing aids, and

•

maintenance and battery replacement for hearing aid

FREE INDEPENDENT HEARING TESTS

In conjunction with numerous audiologists, and as a service to members of the CFMEU, Slater and Gordon can arrange free independent hearing tests to truly determine the level of work related hearing loss.

These free tests can be arranged via a booking with the CFMEU, or directly with Slater + Gordon who will arrange the test with an audiologist in your local area.

Slater + Gordon work solely on obtaining the best possible outcome for you. They will advise you on whether or not you qualify for the scheme, the full range of entitlements available to you, and the process for obtaining them. When claiming lump sum benefits, there are particular considerations you must be aware of.

Slater + Gordon acts on behalf of CFMEU members on a “No Win No Fee” basis in hearing loss claims. If you think you have suffered hearing loss as a result of exposure to noise in the course of your employment, contact the CFMEU to arrange a free, no obligation appointment with Scott Arundell.

These benefits are payable irrespective of fault.

For the best compensation, be sure to seek assistance as soon as you’re aware of suffering hearing loss.

It is important that you obtain your own independent, expert legal advice in the early stages of the claims process. Early investigation and gathering of information are critical to the success of your claim and may affect your compensation entitlement.

WorkCover insurers have their own lawyers who advise on their obligation to pay compensation. They will not provide independent legal advice, nor automatically pay your full compensation entitlement.

AUTUMN 2018

Scott Arundell 041

BACK TO BASICS

WA G E S – E N T I T L E M E N T S – R E P R E S E N T A T I O N

Back to basics for

ORGANISING PLASTERING The finishing trades are suffering from years of pressure, from the sub-contracting trend started by tradies two decades ago to more recent exploitation of temporary visa workers, use of gang leaders, wage theft and loss of qualified and experienced tradespeople.

It won’t end at the finishing trades if it is allowed to continue, and already other trades are seeing pressure to follow the model being pushed on plasterers, painters, tilers, cleaners and others.

One particularly bad example uncovered by a diligent shop steward and exposed by a subsequent CFMEU investigation was a plastering company who had just 92 employees legally able to work in Australia out of over 400 workers.

Workers on temporary work visas are particularly vulnerable to exploitation, wage theft and unsafe work environments and methods of work. When your visa and residence rely on your job and employer, on top of your income and family commitments, even as a union member you are in a less powerful position to push back.

The CFMEU is pushing back. The company found to be operating illegally and underpaying wages and entitlements has put on a shop steward to check compliances and wages and organise workers. All plastering companies have been put on notice, along with builders, that wage theft, exploitation of temporary visa workers and failing to pay workers funds and insurances will not be tolerated.

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It’s back to basics organising at its best – explaining member benefits and how unions make us stronger.

One of the major barriers for members understanding their entitlements and member benefits is language. CFMEU delegates are assisted by workers like Nick, who speaks both English and Chinese. He’s Australian, went to school and grew up here, but his parents spoke Chinese at home so he is an excellent translator.

A good starting point is Incolink, who are also reaching out to members in the plastering trades.

Working with CFMEU delegates and translators like Nick, members are getting a good understanding of Incolink, redundancy pay and the insurances and other benefits available to them.

Toolbox meetings are lively and full of discussion, word is spreading throughout the industry making it more and more difficult for bosses to get away with stealing entitlements, wages and members funds.

A worker is a worker. When we are all on the same wages and conditions, when we defend everybody’s rights at work, it levels the playing field.

There’s plenty more work to be done in the finishing trades and across the construction industry, but a significant start has been made and bringing all CFMEU members along and sticking together has always been how we’ve won and still is.

CFMEU WORKER

AUTUMN 2018

043

You can’t bottle the spirit of refractory workers, but you would if you could.

“This company's had a lot of work, so we've been good for the last few years,” says Ronnie.

They don’t get much recognition, but it’s thanks to the work of refractory workers that we have stubby bottles, jars for Vegemite, wine bottles, steel, bricks, cement, crematoriums, power stations, aluminium, boilers, timber mills, gas plants and lead smelters.

Glass tanks can operate for 10-15 years before the brickwork has to be replaced. In between jobs, it’s back to concreting for some, domestic work for others.

If it’s hot, there’s a good chance a refractory worker has made it possible and it is hot, dirty, hard work.

Generally the first step is the demolition of the existing structure, and that’s the dirtiest stage. Workers could be jackhammering out glass as well as the bricks and structure around it.

Some things have changed in refractory work over the years, but it’s still dirty and dusty.

“There used to be no diggers or anything,” says Ronnie.

“We were all on jackhammers. Used to have a layer of lead as well as a layer of glass to get through.”

“After 3 weeks, you couldn't close your hands. No shock absorbing gloves or anything like that.”

It gets a bit cleaner after the demo when the structural work and bricklaying begins, but pretty soon they’re into the heat-up and they’re working in some of the hottest conditions you can imagine.

HEATING UP

There's no 35 degree limits here, it can be a lot hotter than that in the middle of winter.

“Crawling over the crown with the foil over the wool and ceramic, after two runs in there during the heat-up you're totally drained.”

UNION STRONG Refractory bricklayers and trade assistants have a very long and proud tradition of union involvement,” says CFMEU organiser Fergal Doyle.

At O-I Glass in Spotswood, new tanks are being built by Dominion Industry (formerly Beroa Australia).

“Members enjoy a $3.50 an hour all-purpose site allowance, the best rates of pay,” says Fergie, “dozens of workers have joined up.”

“A bit of back pay, good representation and they’re happy to join.”

INDUSTRY VETERAN RONNIE BOGLE “It’s heavy work, lots of manual handling, sometime dirty, dusty work,” says Ronnie, a veteran of the industry.

Ronnie worked with Fergal on the tools in 1991 on the MB4 glass tank rebuild at the same Spotswood site they’re working on now. They were working for Andreco Hurll, who aren’t around anymore.

It’s also intermittent work that takes them all over the country and sometimes overseas. Members at the O-I Glass site have worked in Rockhampton, Tasmania, Western Australia and even Papua New Guinea.

“You get accommodation provided and meals allowance,” Ronnie says. “Or you can take full LAHA.” (Leaving Away from Home Allowance) They’re fairly short jobs, so workers have to put something away for in between.

AUTUMN 2018

“When it's finished there's a heat-up, that's when it gets hot. Goes on for a couple of weeks, testing the expansion. Everything starts cracking, but it closes up.”

The risks are very real. “Don't be a hero,” Ronnie warns, too much time in that level of heat is a serious health risk.

These kilns heat to 1700 degrees Celsius. Heat’s not the only danger, there’s plenty of manual handling and some of the materials are very heavy.

“The 1/2 tonne blocks, you’ve gotta watch your fingers on them,” says Ronnie.

“You get to know all types in this business - acid brick work is a whole different kind of work.”

THANK A REFRACTORY WORKER It’s a tight schedule, production at the plant is down and they need to get demo, rebuild and heat-up done before they can re-start.

“It’s a shutdown, so it’s a lot of weekend work and long hours.”

The roof of the tanks are made of arched bricks and insulated, it can't be made of steel or it would melt in the very high heat. There’s different levels of insulation with different materials, including dry stacked inso (insulation) bricks.

A spill area is also built into the plant in case of an overflow or leak – the steel holding up the shed has to be protected by bricks too: molten glass would take down the whole building without the brickies important work.

Next time you’re having a stubby or Vegemite toast, think of the refractory brickies who built the tanks that go so hot they melt silica sand and recycled glass into molten glass.

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CFMEU WORKER

AUTUMN 2018

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ONSITE

MELBOURNE UNIVERSITY

048

CFMEU WORKER

ONSITE

AUTUMN 2018

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ONSITE

CONVENTION CENTRE

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CFMEU WORKER

ONSITE

OLDERFLEET BUILDING AUTUMN 2018

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Making a claim can be a daunting and emotional process, so we’re working to ensure you get the best possible support and guidance.

Our new dedicated Claims Assist team will explain the claims process more simply and clearly, provide a point of escalation, help you assess your options or refer you to financial planning support if you need it.

Better online tools ■■

Our Insurance needs calculator at www.cbussuper.com.au/calculators lets you see how much cover you could need to support your family, pay off any loans and pay for day-to-day expenses if you can no longer work.

Most members saw their insurance premiums decrease last year. Check your cover at www.cbussuper.com.au/insurance.

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Contact 1300 361 784 or visit www.cbussuper.com.au for a copy.

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BUILDING AND WOOD WORKERS’ INTERNATIONAL A major campaign that BWI has been involved in, is the fight for better conditions and safety for the workers preparing the sites of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. The Gulf state who won the right to host the tournament amidst much controversy was exposed by unions for exploiting the migrant work force building the FIFA events infrastructure.

The CFMEU’s own Dave Noonan, BWI’s Regional Vice-President for the Asia/Pacific region said, “There are hundreds of thousands of workers that work in Qatar that come from other countries, they are temporary migrant workers and for years they've been treated very badly, they’re essentially slave labour workers. They have their passports confiscated and live in atrocious conditions.

“It’s illegal for them to even be a member of a union and it is estimated that unless there are dramatic improvements in safety, as many as 3000 workers are likely to die in the construction of the facilities for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.” The BWI with other global trade unions have had moderate success through the campaign “Red Card for FIFA” that severely embarrassed the Qatari government. BWI also applied strategic pressure on multinational corporations involved in the construction of the venues which in turn put pressure on FIFA itself.

The BWI groups together around

334 TRADE UNIONS REPRESENTING AROUND 12 MILLION MEMBERS IN 130 COUNTRIES WITH ITS HEADQUARTERS IN GENEVA, SWITZERLAND. CFMEU recently affiliated with BWI, the Global Union Federation grouping of democratic unions with members in the Building, Building Materials, Wood, Forestry and Allied sectors.

AUTUMN 2018

Noonan said, “Qatar have been forced to accept that workers can be collectively represented particularly on safety matters and have abolished the kafala system, a migrant labour system that’s akin to slavery.

“They have also agreed to refund thousands of workers’ equipment fees that they were forced to pay just to get work there. So there has been a lot of progress made.”

Although the Qatari government haven't actually legalised unions, they have agreed to regular safety inspections by international unions. Nigel Davies, CFMEU’s National Assistant Secretary for construction is over there at the moment with Victorian Official Alex Tadic. Both join a wide range of union members from around the globe. Stay tuned for more…

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complete removal of asbestos

only long-term solution

BEST PRACTICE: DALLAS BROOKS HALL It might be 2018, but it seems builders never learn and workers are still getting exposed to deadly asbestos.

There is no safe level of exposure to asbestos and a new report has backed up the CFMEU’s position that complete, safe removal of asbestos is the only safe option.

From Kane Construction’s small refurbishment arm Arete to John Holland on Metro Rail and Hansen Yuncken at the Eye and Ear Hospital to WorkSafe’s own office building, asbestos is being inappropriately handled, stored and disposed of – exposing workers and the public to ‘death dust’ as it’s known.

Australia’s Asbestos Safety and Eradication Agency has found in a new report that the only safe way to manage the long-term risks of exposure to asbestos related disease is the total removal of asbestos. The report included case studies of best practice examples in effective and safe approaches to asbestos removal on large projects across Australia.

An analysis of 11 asbestos building removal and seven contaminated land removal projects around the country showed how best practice projects used careful planning, flexibility, effective communication, innovative thinking and a business case which goes beyond a simple cost benefit analysis.

These asbestos building removal projects include the Dallas Brooks Hall in Melbourne, the Amcor Botany Mill in Sydney, the Port Lincoln Hospital in South Australia, and a paper mill in Burnie, Tasmania.

WORST CASE: ARETE ASBESTOS EXPOSURE “Despite what many might think, asbestos deteriorates as it ages,” said Peter Tighe, CEO of the Asbestos Safety and Eradication Agency.

“Over time, asbestos in bonded building materials can break down, and as long as it remains it will pose a hazard to human health and the environment.”

“The only way to reduce asbestos-related diseases in Australia is by preventing exposure to this deadly substance, and that means completely removing it from our community.”

Australia has the highest per capita incidence of mesothelioma in the world with an average 700 deaths each year and the rates of all forms of asbestos-related diseases is up to five times this number resulting in approximately 4,000 deaths per year.

“These case studies highlight the benefits for governments and organisations of being proactive about removing asbestos from the workplace and the general community.”

“Australia was one of the highest per-capita users of asbestos-containing materials for decades until the late 1980s and now has to deal with significant legacy issues associated with that use.”

The Asbestos Safety and Eradication Agency was established to coordinate, monitor and evaluate the implementation of the National Strategic Plan for Asbestos Management and Awareness 2014-18 with asbestos research as one of the primary goals.

Organisations opting to proactively remove asbestos reduce risk to employees and contractors, remove the need for ongoing maintenance and asbestos audits, and ultimately increase the value and potential reuse options for the site.

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CFMEU WORKER

D E A T H

D U S T ,

They call it the “gig economy” - one-off jobs advertised online so workers can bid on who wants to be most exploited.

You only have to take a brief look around on Airtasker to see the many completed jobs that are being done by unlicensed cowboys, like asbestos removal that obviously requires a license to do, but the price of the work being done is often less than councils charge just for handling and disposing of the deadly waste.

It’s against the law for a plumber, electrician or an asbestos removalist to advertise and not display their licence or permit number. Airtasker ignore this, allowing all sorts of shonky operators to advertise these services without any regard for the law.

Union NSW Secretary Mark Morey has said, “This is really unregulated and unsafe work that’s being done by people who potentially have bid for the job, who are not qualified to remove asbestos. They’re creating safety issues, not just for themselves but for the people around them the neighbours and everyone in the environment.

“We can’t see any evidence of what happens once the job is completed, with asbestos it needs to be appropriately disposed of. We don’t think the rates at which the jobs are being offered are protecting the individual when they’re doing it, or more importantly deal with the appropriate disposal of the asbestos.”

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O N

D E M A N D

Although operators are working outside of a traditional regulatory system the issue is not just confined to Airtasker; Ubercare have recently set up to cash in on the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).

Morey said, “They are now setting up as businesses saying catch us if you can, we are going to operate unregulated until someone says stop” and further, “Platforms like Ubercare are now setting up with similar structures, posting jobs, and people are actually bidding for that work. And we’re not sure these people are qualified to do the work.”

But it gets worse as reports of similar platforms operating in the childcare area are also evolving.

In a statement from the Federal Department of Jobs and Small Business it was said that, “Current workplace health and safety laws already exist. It’s up to the workers and these platforms to comply.”

Morey says he does not believe this self-regulation is working and he wants the Federal Government and Labor Opposition to create a dedicated, independent body to monitor the situation.

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Olderfleet A blas t from the pas t

Steve Long was a builders labourer at the Olderfleet building, working for Becton, when in 1984 they decided to place a time capsule while renovating the building.

the time capsule had been placed 34 years ago, only to find an open hole where the plaque had been removed and the concrete box inside broken open.

“I decided to throw my union ticket and some magazines in there, to throw Steve Crabb (Victoria’s Industrial Affairs Minister at the time) off his game,” says Longie.

The time capsule wasn’t far away though, the demo workers had removed it and the builder was holding onto it. Longie’s ticket and the magazines, sadly, had been removed or turned to dust.

Thirty-four years later, Longie is talking to some blokes in the pub about the new Olderfleet job and it triggers a memory.

“I had to go have a look, see if my union ticket was still in there.”

When he arrived at the job there was no faulting his memory, he walked straight to the spot where

056

Inside the capsule were newspapers from the time, brochures on the Olderfleet Building, Betamax news video tapes, a 150th Anniversary of Victoria commemorative plate and a bottle of wine.

The best find? The project agreement with Becton and 11 unions as well as Victorian Trades

Hall Council covering workers on the job, including Longie.

There on page 3 of the Olderfleet project agreement was the famous ‘No Ticket No Start’ clause: nobody was going to work on that job and receive hard-won union conditions without paying their share.

Those were different times recalls Longie: “we were doing demo, using grinders to cut asbestos.”

“Builders labourers were doing the work, we even placed the capsule and it was all in the middle of the deregistration fight for the BLF.” The project agreement was signed

by Norm Gallagher, Secretary of the BLF in Victoria, which would be deregistered by the Hawke Labor CFMEU WORKER

Government two years later in 1986. The other unions party to the agreement were the Amalgamated Society of Carpenters & Joiners, Operative Painters, Decorators & Signwriters, Victorian Operative Bricklayers Society, Electrical Trades Union, Slaters, Tilers & Roofing Industry Union of Victoria, Building Workers Industrial Union of Australia, Plumbers and Gasfitters Union of Australia, Victorian Plasterers Industry Workers Union, Victorian Plasters Society and Furnishing Trades Union.

On the front page of The Age on Wednesday 21 November 1984 was a headline “Canberra Takes on Rebel Union”. It wasn’t referring to the

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BLF though, or any other building union. The Hawke Government was threatening to cancel the Federal Food Preservers' Award, removing the right of the Food Preservers Union to represent 7500 members before the Arbitration Commission.

The Government claimed a 5% wage claim by 150 Rosella employees who had been on strike for 9 weeks threatened the prices and incomes accord between the ACTU and the Government.

The time capsule really did provide a journey back through time: “they’re a good thing, we should keep up the tradition,” says Longie.

“you’d have blokes singing like a barbershop quartet.”

“One time the big timeclock got knocked off, one of these student pranks they’d do. When the students came back to return it, I was out the front. I got my photo on the front page of the Herald Sun!” Thanks to his time capsule find, Longie was back on the news, Channel 7 TV this time.

Watch the story here: vic.cfmeu.org.au/olderfleet

He remembers drinking at the pub across the road from the Olderfleet,

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With Matt Seadon

As the weather starts to turn, so do most of the fishermen/women…. to the comfort of their ducted heating and leather couches. Boats are away in garages with covers on all nice and snug for the winter because who in their right mind goes fishing this time of year?

Some would say only the die hard and committed (CFMEU members). This is the time of year where everything gets big! Big drives, big boats, big seas, big days on the water, but most importantly big fish because its SBT season! For the laymen SBT is ‘Southern Bluefin Tuna’, one of the most prized and sought after species off Victoria’s south-west coast.

Portland is the Victorian mecca for tuna fisho’s. At roughly 4-5 hours drive from Melbourne's CBD just getting there is a task. Most who venture down take pride in trailering their 6 and 7 metre boats that are decked out in everything required to handle the Southern Ocean on the brink of winter, but the reality is, you don't necessarily need the big rig to be able to share in the SBT spoils.

The rig Like any boating you need to be sensible and put safety first (just like at work) but when the conditions suit there is nothing stopping a small boat getting out on the tuna. At times you will find the smaller school fish really close to land and easily accessible 058

for the smaller boats, you just need to pick your days and always be prepared to head down on short notice because the fishing window is generally a small one.

CFMEU WORKER

The fishing itself is not that difficult, most boats run super heavy gear and that’s understandable because with tuna fishing there is always the chance you could run into the fish of a lifetime, “BARREL” tuna often weigh in excess of 100kg. Without the heavy gear you pretty much have no chance of landing the fish, but medium to heavy gear will do the damage most of the time. Running a spread (3,4 or 5 lines out) and trolling skirt and bibbed lures is the most popular technique, but keep in mind the variation of available lures is almost endless and can be expensive, so do your research (what size and colour are the fish taking?).

What to look for

Happy ending If you’re lucky enough to get a hook up keep the boat in gear, DON’T stop. A lot of the time by keeping the boat running it will help set the hook but it also gives you the chance of hooking 2, 3 or even 4 fish. Once the boat stops you take your lures out of the action.

SBT are built to swim and swim fast so even the smaller 10-15kg fish can take some getting in. Once you have landed the fish it is extremely important to care for it, they need to be bled quickly to preserve the flesh then put on ice. There is a lot of meat on a tuna so it can be good practice to limit your catch, not catch your limit.

Obviously if you’re running a sounder you should look for bait balls, the fish will normally be there or not far away but probably the most important thing to look for is signs of life!

Not cooked?

Big bunches of birds diving into the water is a dead giveaway. This will generally happen when tuna drive the bait fish to the surface where they are then also targeted by birds, this is where you want to be trolling your lures. Other signs of life could be a “boil up” this is where the water looks like its bubbling, also an area you want to be trolling your lures, the bubbles are normally created by fish feeding on the surface which is the ultimate time and place to be fishing.

Remember this is a world-class table fish and highly sought after, sometimes the simplest things are the best.

There are many ways to prepare tuna but without doubt the simplest and nicest way is to eat it raw!

Thinly cut with a side of wasabi and soy and you just can't go wrong.

Enjoy and always stay safe on the water.

OF THE Send in photos of your best catch in your CFMEU fishing gear and you could feature in the next magazine and on our Facebook page!

Send photos in a message to the CFMEU Vic-Tas Facebook page: facebook.com/CFMEUVic Or, email to: viccomms@cfmeu.org

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A U T O M AT I O N , I N E Q U A L I T Y &

OUR FUTURE IF MACHINES PRODUCE EVERYTHING WE NEED, THE OUTCOME WILL DEPEND ON HOW THINGS ARE DISTRIBUTED, SAID LEGENDARY PHYSICIST AND AUTHOR STEPHEN HAWKING JUST TWO YEARS BEFORE HIS DEATH.

“Everyone can enjoy a life of luxurious leisure if the machine-produced wealth is shared, or most people can end up miserably poor if the machine-owners successfully lobby against wealth redistribution. So far, the trend seems to be toward the second option, with technology driving ever-increasing inequality.”

STEPHEN HAWKING

Technological change is creating uncertainty for workers.

But technological change itself is not the problem.

Whether technology and automation will be positive or negative for working people depends on political decisions, and the social and economic policies that are in place.

In 2016 the CSIRO released a report into the future of Queensland’s Construction Industry and the impact on construction workers.

As things currently stand, technological change will likely lead to more insecure work and inequality.

The report outlined four scenarios ranging from little change in the industry to large change. At the extreme end of their scenarios, artificial intelligence and robotics has the potential to substantially change the construction industry by putting intelligent machines at the core of construction work. Historical trades and jobs are replaced by workforces of robot technicians and knowledge professionals.

But this is not inevitable. It is a choice.

To fix the problem, we need to fix the problems in our industrial and workplace systems. We need to restore power to working Australians. We need to change the rules.

THE FUTURE OF AUSTRALIA’S CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY Automation and robotics is creating the potential for fast and massive change in Australia’s construction industry.

New technologies, such as 3D printing and drones, and new materials, such as graphene and aerogel, have the potential to completely change what we know about how we build.

These technologies will have substantial implications for workers in the construction industry.

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The report found that technological change will mean the jobs of the future are not the jobs of today.

Regardless of which scenario ends up being most likely, the construction industry will face a steep change in the next 20 years. New jobs and competencies will emerge and others will disappear.

The jobs they predict include technicians who oversee robotic systems; people who manage online platforms; a movement from architects to industrial designers in the form of construction ‘artists’; trainers in virtual reality as trainers and apprentices could meet virtually; drone operators; and robot resource managers (as opposed to human resource managers). Other traditional roles may become obsolete.

CFMEU WORKER

“A technological advance by itself can either be positive or negative for jobs, depending on the social structure as a whole….this is not a technological consequence; rather it’s a political choice.”

SETH FINKELSTEIN PROGRAMMER IN SMITH AND ANDERSON (2014)

THE IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY ON EDUCATION AND TRAINING

the new technology, materials and equipment, including augmented technology. We will also need the people with the new skills to train the apprentices.

The precise nature of the jobs that will emerge in the next 20 years is difficult to predict but what is known is that the skills required will be largely based on operating new technology and computer programs, and using new materials and production methods.

Unfortunately Australia’s VET training system has a preoccupation with privatised funding models (i.e. a market based system) that is negatively impacting the quality of education, and focusing on profits rather than the best interests of students and the nation.

This will have a massive impact on the way in which the industry has traditionally trained workers, i.e. through apprenticeships and traineeships and more generally through the gradual learning of skills on the job.

The reality is, 20 years is not that far away, the current tinkering with competency standards and qualifications will have an impact on apprentices starting in 2019 and finishing at the end of 2021/22. The question is, with the increasing advancement of technology, will these apprentices have the skills required in 2021/22 or should more dramatic changes be made now?

Apprenticeships and traineeships will still be important, but what apprentices will be taught will change.

There will be a greater focus on using technology to perform tasks.

New materials and production equipment will emerge.

Apprentices will still need to know the theory of building techniques and their limitations, but this will likely be more focused on ensuring that the computers and technology they are using are working properly.

The changes in apprenticeships will require significant changes to the curriculum and training resources that are used. TAFE colleges will need to provide access to AUTUMN 2018

Unless these issues are addressed now, inequality will continue to grow, particularly amongst young people.

Unless we change the rules, technology will speed up inequality and further erode workers rights.

READ THE FULL CFMEU SUBMISSION INTO THE ‘FUTURE OF WORK AND WORKERS’: CFMEU.ORG.AU/POLICY-RESEARCH

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Clarrie O'Shea W O R K I N G

C L A S S

By Russell Jones, Melbourne Tram Museum

H E R O

Clarrie O’Shea is a controversial figure in Australian industrial history. Reviled by conservatives as a communist stooge and union militant, he is upheld to this day by the radical left as a hero and defender of workers’ rights and privileges. A case can be made that he was a critical factor in the retention of Melbourne’s tramway system during the 1950s and 1960s, although this came at a heavy financial cost.

He was born Clarence Lyell O’Shea in 1906 in Tasmania. As an employee of the Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board (M&MTB) in the 1920s at North Melbourne, he was active early in his career with the Australian Tramway & Motor Omnibus Employees’ Association (ATMOEA).

He assumed the role of ATMOEA State Secretary in the mid-1940s, a position he held for over thirty years.

Under O’Shea’s direction, the Victorian Branch of the ATMOEA was a fierce campaigner for workers’ rights and privileges, particularly in the areas of shorter working hours, improved leave and sick pay allowances, and better retirement provisions. He had frequent clashes with the M&MTB management, especially after the formidable Major-General Sir Robert Risson was appointed Chairman in 1949. Risson’s predecessor, H.H.Bell, said of the union under O’Shea’s leadership that it was “like having a gun always pointed at your head”.

Bell refused to believe that O’Shea represented the views of more than one in five tramway workers, and referred to him in private as nothing but a communist thug and bully.

PAY & HOURS OF WORK O’Shea’s battles with Risson began almost immediately. In February 1950, the union under his direction went out on strike for an overaward payment of £2 per week, representing an increase of 15%.

Risson lodged a court case which resulted in the deregistration of the AUTUMN 2018

ATMOEA, resulting in the union no longer being allowed to represent workers in the Arbitration courts. The strike continued for sixty days, and was ended only after the M&MTB agreed not to oppose re-registration of the ATMOEA. However, the union failed in its bid to get the overaward payment.

O’Shea fought for the introduction of the 40 hour week - the standard award had M&MTB workers rostered for 44 hours - and inclusion of conductors’ pay-in time as part of their hours of employment.

FINES IGNORED Over a period of five years from 1964 to 1969 the ATMOEA had accumulated 40 fines totalling

This sentencing resulted in national general strike action across a wide range of industries. There were a number of marches in many state capitals, often culminating in violent clashes between strikers and police.

The level of public unrest caused anxiety to both Federal and State Governments, but they could not afford to be seen to back down, as they would otherwise appear to be soft on unions. This dilemma was only broken by the action of Dudley MacDougall, a former advertising manager for the Australian Financial Review, who paid the outstanding fines acting on behalf of an anonymous public benefactor who was said to have won the NSW State Lottery.

O’Shea was released from Pentridge Prison on 21 May 1969.

PENAL POWERS

$13,200 as a result of industrial action, none of which were paid by the union. O’Shea was ordered by the Commonwealth Industrial Court to provide the financial records of the ATMOEA, so that the court could determine the union’s ability to pay the outstanding fines. However, he point blank refused to provide the records.

GENERAL STRIKE The culmination of this conflict occurred on 15 May 1969 when O’Shea was jailed by Justice Kerr (later Sir John Kerr and GovernorGeneral of Australia, notable for the sacking of the Whitlam Government) of the Commonwealth Industrial Court for contempt over the failure to answer summonses and pay fines totalling $8,100.

On his release, O’Shea announced, “My release is a great victory for workers. I am certain that all workers remain adamant in their opposition to the penal powers, which are designed to suppress the workers. The infinite power of the workers when they are really aroused has frightened the life out of the government and the employers ... I am certain the workers will continue the struggle for the abolition of all penal powers.”

The penal powers were never used again, there is little doubt the inflexible and intimidating Risson made a conciliatory approach impossible. The inability of the M&MTB to utilise one-man crews removed much of the financial incentive to replace trams with lower capacity buses. Therefore, indirectly O’Shea and his industrial advocacy was a key element in the retention of Melbourne’s trams during his tenure as State Secretary of the ATMOEA. Clarrie O’Shea died in 1988, a hero of the Australian trade union movement and the radical left.

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A H R D V O E S O T G AT ARDEN GARDENS Every Thursday night, Rob and Shirley volunteer with St Vinnies at the soup kitchen in Melrose St, North Melbourne.

Union Members at Arden Gardens have regular BBQs and collections to help Rob, Shirley and St Vinnies keep doing the great work they do.

They’ve been getting a bit of help from some big-hearted construction workers just down the road at Arden Gardens.

As well as donations from generous CFMEU Members, St Vinnies receives fresh food leftovers from Tasty Trucks who deliver food to workplaces around Melbourne.

St Vinnies runs at least three food vans that feed homeless Melbournians and those doing it rough around town. Rob and Shirley ride with the Fitzroy van that starts in North Melbourne before stopping in Fitzroy streets and boarding houses, the CBD and finally Queen Victoria Market.

“People know where to find us,” says Shirley.

As well as food, the vans provide blankets and once a year they have jackets to help people get through the winter.

One van is equipped for hot food, the others provide cold food. The hot food includes pies, sausage rolls and hot dogs while the cold food is sandwiches and rolls.

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Oz Harvest are also a major contributor: “It can be feast or famine,” says Shirley. “But we’re lucky to receive donations from Oz Harvest, generally leftovers from parties.”

It’s not half eaten sausage rolls though, Oz Harvest is Australia’s leading food rescue organisation, collecting quality excess food from commercial outlets and delivering it directly to more than 1000 charities supporting people in need across the country.

“It’s all very safely prepared and transported,” says Shirley.

HOW CAN YOU HELP? You can donate food, money or time through Oz Harvest, go to: ozharvest.org/give-a-little-love If you’re having a big party that seriously over-caters, call 1800 108 006 or get in touch with the local Oz Harvest team: (03) 9530 4281 or email: melbourne.info@ozharvest.org To donate to St Vinnes, go to: vinnies.org.au/donate

CFMEU WORKER

ONSITE ATARDEN GARDENS

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G N I D L I BU What do the new principal at South Melbourne Primary and CFMEU official Gerry “Buzza” Benstead have in common?

A whole lot it turns out.

CFMEU Members, represented by Gerry Benstead, built the new South Melbourne Primary campus - the first vertical government school in Victoria - but it is principal Noel Creece who is now building a community there.

It started in East Geelong, where Gerry Benstead and Noel Creece

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grew up together as neighbours in housing commission homes next to the racecourse. They’d both jump the fences when the show was on.

“Money left on the ground was a big bonus,” says Noel. “There’d be $10 notes sitting there.”

This is how Gerry and Noel met, but it’s also how they developed their passion for the underdog and working class solidarity.

They lived literally a stone’s throw away from each other. Noel says Buzza was known as The Enforcer; “we were scared of him!”

Perhaps Buzza was showing early signs of his future career path.

Meanwhile Noel was heading in a slightly different direction.

Noel finished school at Geelong High while Buzza was off to East Tech and was more friends with Noel’s brother.

“I was useless with tools,” says Noel.

“All my brothers and sisters were at trades school.”

A friend of Noel’s was in teachers school, it sounded like a good gig to Noel who was clearing the last of his barriers to becoming a teacher: “I wasn’t allowed to graduate until I sanded off all my graffiti.”

Once he graduated, there was no stopping Noel, he taught all over the place, from Werribee to Dubai.

With the mix of backgrounds in the families sending kids to the new South Melbourne Primary, Noel has a big job ahead to build a cohesive community around the school. Just as the site of the campus was a flat piece of earth 12 months ago, this is largely a new community starting from scratch.

Noel is inspired by the work of the CFMEU Members who got the building ready for the new school

CFMEU WORKER

year. “I didn’t believe it was going to be ready in time,” he says.

CFMEU Delegate Paul Briggs knows what went into getting it done: “We came back on the 3rd of January to get the job done in time for the first day of school.”

Noel knows the building is central to the success of the school: “It’s built for function, allows for flexible groups, for large groups down to breakouts of 6 kids.”

“We can fit several grades together, a full school assembly.”

Some floors are even connected by play equipment so kids can climb rope ladders or navigate tunnels instead of taking the stairs or the lift.

The building will also house community facilities, with Port Phillip integrated services, maternal health and a kindergarten on the top floor, as well as out of school hours care for students.

The new basketball gym is available to the community in the evening.

South Melbourne has families from the new Southbank apartments as well as the housing commission flats down the road.

The social issues around East Geelong were clearly good preparation for Noel to do what he’s doing, a generous bloke who will make sure kids have shoes and a uniform or whatever they need, even if it comes out of his own pocket.

They have started straight away with Prep to Grade 6, 160-170 students out of a 525 capacity.

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Education & Tra

New group of pre-apprentices

Gippsland Asbestos Training

2018 started with a flurry of activity for the Education and Training Unit. In addition to our regular courses we have been inundated with requests for VOCs. A new carpentry pre-apprenticeship group has commenced and we are onto our 3rd group of carpentry apprentices. Our new Alimak is in operation and we have purchased a new EWP (boom type under 11 metres).

Verification of Competency (VOC)

Pre-Apps and Apprentices

As predicted, Verification of Competency (VOC) has been big in 2018. More major construction companies have come under pressure to ensure Verification of Competency systems are in place and are requiring workers to produce VOCs for all high-risk work before starting on site.

15 bright eyed, enthusiastic young people have commenced our new carpentry pre-apprenticeship. For the next 22 weeks they will be learning the fundamentals of carpentry with Craig at our facility in Sabre Drive. Liam O’Hearn (CFMEU Apprenticeship Officer) is ensuring that the realities of work in the commercial construction industry are included in the course.

The CFMEU Education and Training Unit has established standards for VOCs that are directly linked to national competency standards and assessment instruments. It is in members’ interests to have a VOC system that reflects the skills and knowledge of construction workers and that protects our members from dodgy operators.

We can do the verifications on site but because we need to use relevant plant and equipment it is better if we can do the assessments at our facility in Port Melbourne. We treat the VOCs as an opportunity for our members to refresh and update their skills.

Most workers come to us a bit annoyed at having to do the VOC, particularly our very experienced members, but once they realise what we are about they agree to make the most of the opportunity to refresh their knowledge and skills.

Meanwhile, we now have 3 groups of star apprentices doing their off-the-job apprenticeship training with us.

As the CFMEU pushes the industry and government to license the trades it is even more important that we play a leading role in apprenticeship training.

Our apprentices are doing us proud.

GIPPSLAND ASBESTOS TRAINING The Education and Training Unit has held their first asbestos removal training course in Gippsland where there is a large amount of asbestos removal work to be done, but also many people re-training after losing jobs in the energy sector.

Avoid the shonks - please contact the Unit if you are being asked to verify competency.

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CFMEU WORKER

aining Unit news New Alimak

New EWP

Health & Safety Courses

Our new Alimak

Health and Safety courses

Our new Alimak Scando 65/32 with state of the art communication systems has arrived and a training board offering all current configurations is on its way. Members who have completed courses with the new Alimak reckon it’s a great addition to the Education and Training Unit.

Please don’t forget to keep your OHS and First Aid tickets up to date. HSRs are entitled to do a refresher every year. We have commenced a new intake of Certificate IV in WHS and are interviewing for Certificate III and Diploma.

A new EWP

Members are urged to consider upgrading their OHS skills and knowledge by doing one of these higher-level courses. It’s a commitment, but in doing so you are making an important contribution to safety - the most critical part of working in the industry.

We have purchased a new EWP – a Genie Z33/18 Electric Boom Lift with Operator Protection Alarm and use it on our Elevated Work Platform course. This is a boom type elevated work platform and meets the competency standard requirements for booms under 11 meters. Our VOC work has revealed a lot of confusion amongst members about yellow cards and what tickets are required for Elevated Work platforms.

A high-risk work license is required for boom type EWPs over 11 metres. The High-Risk Work license does not cover scissors or booms under 11 metres. A national competency standard is used to show competency in the operation of this plant. Many yellow cards have been issued without training or assessment being conducted to nationally agreed competency standards. If in doubt, contact the Education and Training Unit.

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Health and Safety Representatives, activists and workers wanting to upskill in OHS should download the application form from our webpage and send it to the Education and Training Unit as soon as possible to arrange an interview.

For further information about our training and courses please contact the Unit on 93413444 or check our website at vic.cfmeu.org.au/training

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20 years of

Photo Credit: Elley Harrison Surfing Victoria

CFMEU SUPPORTS THE WOORRANGALOOK VICTORIAN KOORI SURF TITLES The surf was up and the weather was fine for celebrating two decades of indigenous surfing with the Woorrangalook Victorian Koori Surf Titles over the weekend of 17th-18th February at Urquhart Bluff on the Great Ocean Road.

More than 120 indigenous surfers from across the state gathered to celebrate the 20th annual event, which brings together indigenous communities in a fun weekend of surfing and indigenous culture.

Communities represented at the event included East Gippsland, Portland and the South West, Koroit, Bendigo, Ballarat, Shepparton, Metropolitan Melbourne, Bass Coast, Mornington Peninsula as well as Geelong and the Surf Coast.

The event was opened on Saturday

by Corrina Eccles and the Deadly Dancers Troupe who cleansed the event with a traditional smoking ceremony. This was followed by learn to surf sessions where all

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of the participants were given a skills and a water safety lesson.

Saturday saw pumping conditions with light offshore winds and sunny skies. In the afternoon the junior competitive divisions were finalised along with the Open Women and Masters Women.

Sunday brought slightly smaller waves for both Open and Masters men’s divisions. Jordie Campbell of Sandy Point won his 10th consecutive Open Men’s Title and gained a wildcard into the Rip Curl Pro Trials at Bells Beach.

communities gather together and spend the weekend at the beach enjoying the ocean.”

Under 13 Girls Champion Fenella Collins from Pt Leo, Joe Joe HayesGriggs from the Latrobe Valley and Blade Butler of Geelong were awarded surfboards donated by Strong Brother, Strong Sister and painted with traditional Indigenous artwork by Cormach Evans.

The Good Sports Award was awarded to Alla Purcell from the Macarthur in South West Victoria.

The CFMEU is proud to support the Koori Surf Titles with thanks to Apprenticeships Officer Liam O’Hearn and others who put in a great effort this year.

“This event is such a fun weekend” said Campbell.

“It’s awesome to see so many CFMEU WORKER

Winners U/6 MIXED Jarven Hume (Healesville) U/10 GIRLS Sapphira Mobourne (Latrobe Valley) U/10 BOYS Isaac Boney (Hamilton) U/13 GIRLS Fenella Collins (Pt Leo) U/13 BOYS Donshay Bonney (Hamilton) U/16 GIRLS Amber Harrison (Lakes Entrance) U/16 BOYS Zade Kennedy (Geelong) U/18 GIRLS Sonya Graham (Geelong) U/18 BOYS Aaron Wunungmurra (Melbourne) OPEN WOMEN Corrina Eccles (Torquay) OPEN MEN Jordie Campbell (Sandy Point) MASTERS WOMEN Corrina Eccles (Torquay) MASTERS MEN Rhys Collins (Pt Leo)

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CFMEU WORKER

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WINNERS

AMAZE QUIET SPACE FOR KIDS WITH AUTISM For the first time, the CFMEU partnered with AMAZE to create a quiet space for kids with autism and their parents to make it easier for everyone to participate in the picnic day.

The view over the animals shed was fantastic and the room had great sensory toys and relaxing bean bags for some quality quiet time.

Staff from AMAZE know exactly how to create a welcoming environment and support families who might find the noisy, intense atmosphere of the day more challenging.

Amaze is the peak body for people on the autism spectrum and their supporters in Victoria.

They raise awareness and create positive change for people on the autism spectrum and their families/ supporters, providing independent, credible information and resources to individuals, families, professionals, government and the wider community.

CLASSIFIEDS

Construction of concrete structures for multistorey office and apartment buildings; and large shopping centres. Including formwork, reinforcement supply and fix, post tensioning supply and installation, concrete supply, concrete place, concrete pumping, construction of concrete lift cores, structure safety screens and provision of other self climbing systems.

68-76 Drake Boulevard, Altona, Vic. 3018

Ph: (03) 8331 7100 Fax: (03) 8331 7150 Email: info@form700.com.au Website: www.form700.com.au CW 21/3

J. Simos Steel Fixing

Cityline Scaffolding Pty Ltd

Pty Ltd

144 Freight Drive Somerton VIC 3062

Mobile: 0437 481 288

Ph: (03) 9308 5311 Fax: (03) 9308 5711

VICTORIA

www.citylinescaffolding.com.au CW 24/1

Northern Masonry

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CIVIL INFRASTRUCTURE GROUP PTY LTD

Concreting, Formwork & General Building Contractors 344 Mascoma Street, Strathmore, Vic. 3041

Ph: 0418 354 764 CW 24/1

H Civil Construction Contractors specialising in Bridges PO Box 439, Flemington, Vic. 3031

CARDABUILT CONSTRUCTION PTY LTD COMMERCIAL FORMWORKERS PHONE: 0400 988 692

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Phone: 0438 284 316 www.civilinfrastructuregroup.com.au

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CLASSIFIEDS

Gym Isolation Acoustic Panels Building Isolation Swimming Pool Isolation

1/50 Hudson Street Spotswood, Vic. 3015

Engineered Timber Flooring

Phone:

(03) 9041 1490 Flooring Engineering

E: office@kospolinteriors.com.au CW 24/1

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CFMEU WORKER

CLASSIFIEDS

Supporting the CFMEU Supporting the CFMEU Bishony Nominees Pty Ltd Bishony Nominees Ptyt/as Ltd t/as COMPOSITE SUPPORT SYSTEMS VICTORIA COMPOSITE SUPPORT SYSTEMS VICTORIA * Metal Formwork & Stud Welding * Metal Formwork & Stud Welding PO Box 106,106, Vermont, Vic. 3133 PO Box Vermont, Vic. 3133 Mobile: 0417 583 383 Mobile: 0417 583 383 Phone/Fax: (03) (03) 98749874 11081108 Phone/Fax:

I & D Group P/L In support of the CFMEU & Workplace Safety

KAKO SI CONSTRUCTION KAKO SI CONSTRUCTION 178 178 Bridge Road, Keysborough, Vic. 3173 Bridge Road, Keysborough, Vic. 3173 Phone: (03) 9798 4801 Fax: (03) 97699769 18951895 Phone: (03) 9798 4801 Fax: (03) Website: www.kakosi.com.au Website: www.kakosi.com.au

Unit 4/3 Faigh Street, Mulgrave, Vic. 3170

P: 03 9560 1812

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STILCON SCAFFOLDING PTYPTY LTD LTD STILCON SCAFFOLDING 134-140 Fairbairn Road, West Sunshine, Vic. Vic. 30133013 134-140 Fairbairn Road, West Sunshine, Mobile: 0418 912 772 Mobile: 0418 912 772 Email: daryl@stilcon.com.au Email: daryl@stilcon.com.au SOLO PROJECTS PTYPTY LTD LTD SOLO PROJECTS PO Box 543, Bayswater, Vic. Vic. 31533153 PO Box 543, Bayswater, Phone: 04580458 312 312 882 882 Phone: Website: www.soloprojects.com.au Website: www.soloprojects.com.au

Brady Constructions (Vic) Pty Ltd

XE Concrete Constructions Pty Ltd

Commercial Construction Specialising in Design & Build

11-13 Randor Street Campbellfield, Vic. 3061

Ph: (03) 8622 8100 www.bradygroup.com.au CW 24/1

PROUDLY SUPPORTING THE CFMEU

Phone: (03) 9357 7769

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Supporting the CFMEU

Rising Star Interior Pty Ltd John 0402256202 Billy 0413511211 Toby 0451141215 www.phoenixtraffic.com.au info@phoenixtraffic.com.au

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506 Fullarton Road, Airport West, Vic. 3042

Ph: (03) 9988 3355 CW 24/1

Citywide Precast Pty Ltd • Commercial • Industrial • Residential

38 Star Crescent Hallam 3803

Commercial & Industrial Formworkers Warehouse 11, 26-32 Pipe Road, Laverton, Vic. 3026

Ph: (03) 9702 4726

Ph: (03) 9314 4404

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AUTUMN 2018

Ardreagh Formwork Pty Ltd

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077

CLASSIFIEDS

TIMBER FLOORING SERVICES COMMERCIAL PTY LTD 55 McGregors Drive, Keilor Park, 3042

P: (03) 9338 9511 F: (03) 9338 9500 CW 23/2

MATIC PLASTERING P/L

20 & 25 tonne frannas & mini crawler cranes Mobile cranes up to 220 tonnes Specialised rigging solutions

Phone: 0424 584 872 dean@gravityrigging.com

www.gravityrigging.com

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CW 24/1

18 Reema Boulevarde, Endeavor Hills, Vic. 3802 Ph/Fax (03) 9708 0559 Mob: 0401 681 748

CW 24/1

COMMERCIAL, INDUSTRIAL & RETAIL BUILDERS & CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT

CONTRACT HOIST AND RIGGING PTY LTD

MABEN GROUP PTY LTD ABN 63 255 276 365 22 Blackwood Street North Melbourne Victoria 3051 t 03 9329 2166 f 03 9329 2188 CW 23/3

EURO

SPECIALISTS IN PLANT HIRE MAN AND MATERIAL HOISTS RIGGING SERVICES PH: 03 8336 8336 E: info@contracthoistandrigging.com.au

CW 23/2

Able On-Site Services ★ BOILER CLEANING ★ INDUSTRIAL CLEANING ★ TWIN ROPE ACCESS

PRECAST 8787 8991

20 Railway Road, Thorpdale, Vic. 3835

2-10 Arkwright Drive, Dandenong South, Vic. 3175

Ph: 0411 669 356

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PO Box 942, Williamstown, Vic. 3016

Ph: 0400 150 580

PRECAST PATCHING

E: admin@llinstallations.com.au Commercial building construction & joinery installations

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078

03 9017 6522 www.sgibuild.com.au

CW 24/1

CFMEU WORKER

CLASSIFIEDS

L & Y Commercial

03 9322 4222 www.vertigo.net.au

Postenco Pty Ltd 68-76 Drake Bvd, Altona, Vic. 3018

Phone: (03) 9095 6835 CW 24/1

CW 24/1

105-109 Munster Tce, North Melbourne VIC 3051

P: (03) 9329 8600 F: (03) 9329 8605 Email: info@daac.com.au Website: www.daac.com.au Commercial Window Furnishings

CW 24/1

166 Abbotsford Street, North Melbourne 3051

Schiavello Construction (Vic) Pty Ltd

1 Sharps Road Tullamarine, Vic. 3043

Ph: (03) 9330 8888 Fax: (03) 9330 8899

CW 24/1

C2 Group

Ph: 03 9370 5103

CW 24/1

PO Box 45, Mentone, Vic. 3194

Vertcon Pty Ltd

Email: info@camhammondfloors.com

PO Box 759, Beaconsfield, Vic. 3807

PO Box 209, Carlton South, Vic. 3053

Mobile: 0439 316 600

P: (03) 9320 8504 M: (03) 0412 317 713 CW 24/1

VESTA STEEL PTY LTD

Email: hutchinsonrigging@hotmail.com

E: accounts@creativefitout.com.au

Mobile: 0425 747 785

Supporting the CFMEU

A Line Installations

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HARD CORE (VIC) 14 Cherry Blossom Chase Pakenham, Vic. 3810

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Pty Ltd

Contacts:

M: 0413 547 110

Mark: 0481 878 465 Jason: 0481 878 466

E: alineinstallations@hotmail.com

E: hardcorevic1@gmail.com

Proud supporter of the CFMEU

CW 24/1

17 Vella Ave Sunshine West Ph 1300 812 746 Fax 9315 2178 E: accounts@ studdcorp.com.au

Specialising in Commercial Joinery

87 Soldiers Rd, Jannali, NSW 2226

E: dblazev1@bigpond.net.au

CW 24/1

Hutchinson Rigging

Creative Fitout Solutions Pty Ltd

Shotcrete Specialists Melbourne and Southern Victoria www.vertcon.com.au

www.beyondblue.org.au or phone 1300 22 4636

Ph: (03) 9584 1833 Fax: (03) 9584 3888 CW 24/1

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Fax: (03) 9312 1735

www.lnycommercial.com E: info@lnycommercial.com

DEPRESSION GET HELP CW 24/1

Specialists in Quality Flooring

Ph: (03) 9312 3688

Fax: (03) 9546 2223

CW 24/1

Supporting the CFMEU

Cam Hammond Floors Pty Ltd

PO Box 975 Melton, Vic. 3337

Ph: (03) 9546 2229

M 0434 210 502 P 03 9789 1114 F 03 9789 1555 E brett@urban1.com.au

PO Box 445, Essendon, Vic 3040.

Email: info@c2-group.com.au Web: www.c2-group.com.au

147 Westall Road Clayton South, Vic. 3169

0404 454 358

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Geelong Concrete Testing P/L Independent Testing Service

41 Henderson Street, Clayton, Vic. 3168

Mobile: 0416 181 212 Ph: (03) 9561 5655 Email: teknisteelfixing@bigpond.com

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AUTUMN 2018

31 Albert Street 5248 8809 Moolap, Vic. 0418 522 433

Corcrete Group Pty Ltd Proud to support the CFMEU

PO Box 313, Fawkner, Vic. 3060

0408 416 758

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Clifton Formwork (Vic) Pty Ltd PO Box 1103, Epping, Vic. 3076 Mobile:

47 Albert Street Abbotsford, Vic. 3067

T: 03 9912 4999 F: 03 8648 6842

0412 471 956 CW 24/1

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E: info@hamiltonmarino.com.au W: www.hamiltonmarino.com.au

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Pty Ltd

www.eiregroup.com.au Email: info@eiregroup.com.au

CW 24/1

Ph: (03) 9357 5538

Tekni Steelfixing

E: onewaysaf@gmail.com W: www.onewayconstructions.com.au

Unit 3, 10 Princes Hwy, Doveton, Vic. 3177

Eire Group Pty Ltd 1-5 Failla Avenue Campbellfield, Vic 3061

CW 24/1

P: 03 9794 0880 M: 0424 860 000

Project & Quality Control Testing NATA Accredited Servicing Geelong & Melbourne

079

CLASSIFIEDS

CC

• DRAINAGE

CYCON CIVIL PTY LTD

• SEWAGE • ROADS • ELECTRICAL INFRASTRUCTURE

ANTHONY CICCONE 0414 979 169

PO Box 77, Thomastown, Vic. 3074 ac.cyconciv@telstra.com

CYCON

CIVIL

Brad Potter DIRECTOR CW 24/1

First Class Coolrooms Pty Ltd P.O. Box 2229, Blackburn South,Vic 3130

ABN - 90 153 677 484 ACN - 153 677 484

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PROJECT MANAGER

Tel: 0404 321 825

E-mail: brad@firstclasscoolrooms.com

SUNTEX INTERIORS PTY LTD

H Proudly supporting the CFMEU

LANDSCAPE PLUS

★ quality commercial landscapes & civil construction projects 34 Glenvale Cres, Mulgrave, Vic. 3170

Ph: 03 9562 0659 www.landscapeplus.com.au

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BMD Formwork Pty Ltd

Proudly supporting the CFMEU

Ph: 03 9803 9304

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TCS Repair Solutions &4'#/ +6 $7+.& +6

Timber, Ceramic & Stone Repair Solutions

Ph: 0477 949 317

CW 24/1

BROWNS PILING The Piling Professionals

CW 24/1

Moncor Investments Pty Ltd Trading as

MCM Tile & Stone

1 Milkman Street, Coburg, Vic. 3058

4/2 John Street, Dandenong South Vic. Ph: (03) 9791 6983 W.A. Ph: (08) 9261 7722

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P.O. Box 489 Kew East, Vic. 3102 Mobile: 0404 446 633 Email: vlad@ccserv.com.au

Ph: (03) 9354 9322 Fax: (03) 9354 9344

CW 24/1

A Class Cladding COMMERCIAL INDUSTRIAL GOVERNMENT

Ph: 0418 143 152 CW 24/1

080

www.cmmgroup.com.au info@cmmgroup.com.au 03 9899 9789

E: aclasscladding@gmail.com

CW 24/1

CFMEU WORKER

CLASSIFIEDS

Express Interiors

Specialising in all aspects of steel fixing

Pty Ltd

Ph: (03) 9793 9522

E: nickm@rapidsteelfixing.com.au PO Box 8080, Croydon Victoria 3136 CW 24/1

Seal Co Sealants Caulking Services Phone:

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Industrial Waterproofing & Protective Coatings H Commercial H Industrial H Civil H Residential & Domestic Concrete Care

0424 919 782

23/73 Assembly Drive Dandenong South, Vic. 3175

CW 24/1

44 Sarah Street Campbellfied, Vic. 3061

Ph: 03 9357 6387 mail@qasteelfixing.com.au

PO Box 521 North Melbourne, Vic 3051 mboyer@rapidcrete.com.au

VICTORIA CW 24/1

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M: 0428 970 631 VICTORIA

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X-PRESS

W M Fix

PROUDLY SUPPORTING THE CFMEU

ALUMINIUM WINDOW INSTALLATIONS

PLASTERING PTY LTD PHONE:

0433 333 688

CW 24/1

Matt Boyer 0438 770 360

PTY LTD

DOMESTIC COMMERCIAL INDUSTRIAL

38 Brindley Street Dandenong Sth Vic. 3175

Nick Mitsikas M: 0406 256 549

DGL SAWING

Pty Ltd

Unit 3/506 Fullarton Road Airport West, Vic. 3042

Phone: 0417 599 809

CW 24/1

117 Bakers Road Coburg North Vic 3058

T +61 3 8353 2333 F +61 3 8353 2334 M +61 412 528 470

Phone:

103 Derrimut Drive, Derrimut VIC, Australia 3030

9495 0613

www.dellermay.com.au hugo@dellermay.com.au

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CW 23/1

Raven Scaffolds

Supporting the CFMEU

Proudly supporting CFMEU

Caelli (Vic) Constructions

For all your scaffolding solutions

Crystal Interior Concepts Pty Ltd 115 Henderson Road Rowville, Vic. 3178

Ph: (03) 9756 5300 Phone: 9359 3880 Web: ravenscaffolds.com.au

CW 24/1

AUTUMN 2018

Email: info@crystal-ic.com.au Website: www.crystal-ic.com.au CW 24/1

Pty Ltd

32-34 Alex Avenue Moorabbin, Vic. 3189

320 Hume Highway Craigieburn, Vic 3064

Phone:

Tel: (03) 9305 7733

1300 651 669 CW 24/1

www.caelli.com.au CW 24/1

081

XXX HEADER

YOUR WAGES

EBA WAGE RATES ONSITE 36-HOUR WEEK: Your Union EBA brings increases in wages, allowances, superannuation and Incolink contributions.

Be paid-up and proud, it’s worth it!

For sector EBA’s see vic.cfmeu.org.au/wages (civil, contract scaffold, precast, traffic control, demolition, apprentices, mobile cranes, steel erection, shop fitting)

RATE PER HOUR

RATE PER WEEK

WEEKLY PRORATA ANNUAL LEAVE

WEEKLY PRO-RATA A/L LOADING

$45.51

$1,638.36

$126.03

$25.08

Painter – new work

$44.49

$1,601.64

$123.20

$24.59

Painter – re-paint

$44.44

$1,599.84

$123.06

$24.57

Marker/Setter-out, Letter Cutter

$47.38

$1,705.68

$131.21

$25.99

Signwriter

$46.38

$1,669.68

$128.44

$25.51

$49.16

$1,769.76

$136.14

$26.85

$44.24

$1,592.64

$122.51

$24.47

$42.78

$1,540.08

$118.47

$23.76

$41.46

$1,492.56

$114.81

$23.12

(36 HOUR WEEK)

Tradespersons Carpenter/Joiner Tile-layer Stonemason Artificial Stoneworker Marble & Slate-worker Plasterer Cladding Fixer Bricklayer

Roof-tiler Special Class Tradesperson: Carver * All Rates include Tool Allowance

Labourers GRADE 1 - CW3 - 100% Rigger/Dogman Sign industry worker Concrete pump operator

GRADE 2 - CW2 - 96% Scaffolder Hoist/Winch Driver Steel Fixer Concrete Finisher

GRADE 3 - CW1 - 92.4% Trades Labourer Concrete Gang, Hoseman Jack Hammerman Concrete Cutting Machine Operator

082

CFMEU WORKER

X X X HYOUR E A D E R WAGES

Crane Crews - Building Sites TOWER CRANE CREW - CW7 - 120% Operator and Dogman/Crane hands

$51.53

$1,855.08

$142.70

$28.00

Trainee Dogman/Crane hand (fixed cranes)

$47.92

$1,725.12

$132.70

$26.25

Plant operators PCW7 - 120% - Excavators over 115 tonnes, Crawler Tractors over 350kw, Graders experienced final trim $50.42

$1,815.12

$139.62

$27.46

PCW6 - 115% - Excavators 65 to 115 tonnes, Wheel & Track Loaders over 300kw, Crawler Tractors 200 to 350kw, Graders final trim, Construction Trucks over 200 tonnes, Tower Cranes $48.57

$1,748.52

$134.50

$26.57

PCW5 - 110% - Compactors over 200kw, Excavators 25 to 65 tonnes, Wheel & Track Loaders 200 to 300kw, Scrapers over 400kw, Crawler Tractors 100 to 200kw, Graders over 130kw, Construction Trucks 120 to 200 tonnes, Mobile Cranes 15 to 100 tonnes $46.71

$1,681.56

$129.35

$25.67

PCW4 - 105% - Compactors up to 200kw, Excavators 16 to 25 tonnes, Wheel & Track Loaders 100 to 200kw, Scrapers 300 to 400kw, Crawler Tractors up to 100kw, Graders up to 130kw, Construction Trucks 60 to 120 tonnes, Mobile Cranes up to 15 tonnes $44.91

$1,616.76

$124.37

$24.79

PCW3 - 100% - Rollers over 10 tonnes, Skid Steer & Backhoe/Loaders over 200kw, Excavators up to 16 tonnes, Wheel & Track Loaders up to 100kw, Scrapers up to 300kw, Construction Trucks 12 to 60 tonnes, Forklift Operators, Winch Drivers & Mobile Hydraulic Platform Operators $43.12

$1,552.32

$119.41

$23.93

PCW2 - 96% - Rollers 5 to 10 tonnes, Skid Steer & Backhoe/Loaders to 200kw, Construction Trucks up to 12 tonnes $41.41

$1,490.76

$114.67

$23.10

$1,435.32

$110.41

$22.35

PCW1 - 92.4% - New Entrant for plant only, Rollers up to 5 tonnes $39.87

Note: If unsure if agreement applies to you, check with the Union for your company sector-specific EBA, e.g. Civil.

EBA Benefits and Allowances

Multi-storey Allowance

Travel allowance: $45.00 per day

Start to 15th floor

$0.55 per hour

Superannuation: $205 per week (increasing to $215 per week 1/7/2018), or 9.5% of ordinary time earnings, whichever higher.

Floors 16 – 30

$0.66 per hour

Floors 31 – 45

$1.02 per hour

Floors 46 – 60

$1.32 per hour

Floors 61+

$1.62 per hour

Incolink payments: $78.05 per week paid into Incolink. Income protection, trauma insurance and portable sick leave are also available (paid into Incolink).

Long service leave: 13 weeks after ten years, pro rata after seven years (paid into CoInvest).

Overtime meal allowance: $25.89 when required to work overtime for one and a half hours or more on an ordinary working day (CPI increase 1/7/2018).

Site & General Wage Related Allowances Service Core Allowance

$1.45 per hour

First Aid Allowance

Living away from home allowance: $770 per week

Minimum qualification

$2.91 per day

Site allowance: Check the CFMEU Allowances Schedule for more information: cfmeu.vic.org.au/wages

Higher qualification

$4.61 per day

As well as a 5% pay rise every year for three-years, all overtime is double-time, fares and travel are up, living away is up, super is up, and meals are up. Stay paid-up and proud, it’s worth it!

AUTUMN 2018

CFMEU WORKER

083

E IS D N A H C ER M ZE A M -A EU FM C BUY YOUR M IS T U A H IT W S IE IL M FA T R O P AND SUP

P O H S / U .A G R .O U E M F VIC.C