Page 7 - ETU Journal Autumn 2017

UNIoN NEWS > ROYAL COMMISSION RECOMMENDATIONS
*what a surprise*
trade Union royal commission recommendations are word for word Liberal Political agenda.
the commIssIon Found that andRew ZaF’s allegatIons oF John setka weRe...
the lIbeRal goveRnment Is cleaRlY unwIllIng
to make coRpoRate austRalIa moRe accountable. but It wIll stRuggle
to change coRpoRate and competItIon laws In a waY that captuRes unIons at the exclusIon oF emploYeRs.
The only surprise in the Trade Union Royal Commission’s (TURC) inal report is that so little efort went into concealing its bias.
The report’s primary recommendation is the return of
the ABCC and its powers to detain construction workers without charges for up to six months.
It also recommended another regulator, in addition to the Fair Work Ombudsman and the ABCC, to demand invasive personal information and threaten higher penalties and bans for union members and oicials on petty administrative grounds.
The folly of the inal report is that evidence doesn’t justify the ludicrous recommendations, many of which seek to simply criminalise legitimate union activity.
Oops, corporations could get caught too
By initiating recommendations
to change laws and increase ines, penalties and jail time for union conduct, the TURC started weaving
a web that inadvertently captures the fact that some of the conduct they are seeking to criminalise applies to businesses too, such as secondary boycotts.
The government is clearly unwilling to make corporate Australia more
accountable. But it will struggle to change corporate and competition laws in a way that captures unions at the exclusion of employers.
It is for this reason that many of the TURC’s recommendations will not become law any time soon.
breach of internationally- recognised human rights, and workers’ rights
Many of the
recommendations
are in blatant
breach of
Australia’s
commitments under
the United Nations’
International Labour Organisation Treaty.
This Treaty holds
that all human beings
have the right to belong to a union and to collectively negotiate with their employer.
That doesn’t just mean workers can join a union — the union needs to be free from political interference that would prevent it from
using its collective power to reach
a balanced outcome with employers. That includes the right to be organised and strike.
How low did the turC go?
Commissioner Heydon never spoke to a single rank and ile worker, or even to any of the main construction industry employers.
He dismissed the dangerous and exploitative conduct of employers who were the star witnesses alleging union thuggery.
Instead, the Royal Commission pursued
allegations from bottom-feeder
employers, like Lis-Con, who were
alleging union misconduct,
despite knowingly
and intentionally being in arrears of
over $500,000 owed to workers.
The TURC recommended perjury charges for two Cbus workers,
who the TURC found responsible for attempting to assist the union
to access the over $500k of non- payment to workers.
Yet they did not recommend perjury for their star witness, Andrew Zaf, whose allegations that John Setka accepted kickbacks, and others threatening conduct for ‘whistle blowing’ at the TURC, were proven to be without foundation.
The Commission never took issue with Andrew Zaf for his poor safety record and the death of a worker on his site, or for threatening unionists with a gun. n
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tHE Etu > AutuMn 2016
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