News

Workers Sacked for Body Hire

By Bernadette Moloney

Workers for a firm which fits out Woolworths and Coles supermarkets have been sacked and replaced by body hire in a bid to cut labour costs.

	Builders Protest at Woolies

About 300 CFMEU members today picketed and occupied Woolworths' main city store after 30 joinery shop workers employed by Metro Shoplifting Group were sacked earlier this month.

CFMEU state secretary Andrew Ferguson warned that if the dismissals were not reversed, thousands of building workers would be back next week.

While the workers were told the company had decided it was no longer going to do this type of work, within a week Metro had employed 20 new casual workers through an employment agency. They also placed a security guard on the door to keep out the sacked workers and their representatives.

The sackings would be illegal under reforms proposed by the NSW Labor Council to tie labour hire companies to enterprise agreements that cover the site where the casual workers are placed.

CFMEU Eyes Body Hire Clauses in Next Pay Round

Revelations of the sackings came as building workers tackle the increasing use of labour hire in their industry by pushing for much more restrictive clauses governing its use in the next round of Enterprise Agreements.

CFMEU Construction Division National Secretary John Sutton said that Labour Hire had become so common in the building industry, that "if we don't do something soon there will be hardly anyone left in direct employment in the industry in five years' time".

"What began as temporary 'top up' labour is now becoming the norm. And the trend is growing so that big builders and many subcontractors are shedding direct labour crews in favour of body hire," Mr Sutton said.

The drivers are both costs and the managerial prerogative.

"There is substantial evidence that even the more reputable Labour Hire companies are able to manipulate the system to provide labour at rates about 20 per cent cheaper than direct employment - with little or no risk to themselves," said Mr Sutton.

Those who breach awards and hire workers as 'permanent casuals' or under an all-in PPS rate can undercut costs even more.

But in the age of downsizing, the managerial advantages of a totally 'flexible' workforce is probably an even greater incentive for construction contractors.

Employers are relieved of their legal responsibilities to provide adequate supervision and regular employment for workers and protection against unfair dismissal.

"And workers are condemned to a day-to-day existence -- waiting by the phone to discover if they will have work the next day, week or month. If conditions are bad or they are underpaid, they dare not complain for fear they will never get work again," said Mr Sutton.

"Body hire merchants don't produce anything. They don't train workers. They don't take responsibility for safety on building sites.

"If the trend to use more and more body hire merchants in the construction industry continues, it will wreck the industry.

"The CFMEU will not allow this to happen. We will be taking the issue of body hire to our members over the next few weeks with a view to developing a strong campaign to combat this cancer in the construction industry."

Reith's Hypocrisy

The CFMEU also challenges the hypocrisy of Peter Reith's latest plans to legislate against patter bargaining in the construction.

Mr Sutton said such a move would not get through the Senate and would probably breach the government's own Workplace Relations Act which emphasises freedom to bargain.

"At the same time as Peter Reith is planning to intervene in this industry with new laws to restrict site and industry agreements, his Employment Advocate Jonathan Hamberger is moving to introduce pattern AWAs.

"Peter Reith finds it perfectly reasonable for workers in a hotel in Wagga and workers in a hotel in Bega to have identical AWAs. But it is not acceptable for building industry employers to use industry agreements, so they can get maintain the same level of labour costs as their competitors and not waste precious time negotiating the minutiae of enterprise agreements.

"Peter Reith's position shows how little he understands the construction industry. Here's a Government Minister who says he doesn't want third part intervention, but increasingly he is coming in and saying you shall bargain according to the way I tell you," said Mr Sutton.

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  Issue 14 contents

»	Call For IR Crisis Talks as Country Conference Looms
»	Workers Sacked for Body Hire
»	British Union Secures Free Net Access
»	Cab Charge Wars: SBS Workers Fight for Their Lives
»	State Wage Case Smooth - Except for Brack
»	FOI Loopholes Could Leave Public Servants Exposed
»	Drug Summit Misses Tokin� Gesture
»	Public Will Lose Again From Rail Sackings
»	Robin Hood Strikes Again
»	CPSU shows it cares�
»	Unions Take Action on Timor, Stolen Generation

»	Guest Report
»	Sport
»	Trades Hall
»	Piers Watch

»	Faction Calls Miss Point
»	Don't Ignore the Class Divide
»	Timor: Look at the Map!
»	Songs of the Revolution Feedback

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