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Issue No. 141 | 21 June 2002 |
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Bitter Pills
Interview: The Fels Guy Solidarity: Life or Death? Unions: Back to Basics International: Global Terror History: Sorry Business Technology: Future Active Satire: Executive Presents PowerPoint Eulogy at Mother�s Funeral Poetry: Santa Claus Was Coming to Oz Review: Dial 'M' For Minority Report
The Soapbox The Locker Room Week in Review Bosswatch
 Tanya IncTom Bites BackRoot Canal Therapy
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Unions Back to Basics
*************** Tony Papa could have choked on his coffee when he opened the Sydney Morning Herald to see four years' hard slog written off as a bribe. The headline thundered - Paying For Peace: Meriton Accused. Papa could hardly blame the Herald. It had merely reported the latest red herring spawned by the Royal Commission into the Building and Construction Industry. Again it was one of the highly-paid Counsel Assisting, who had been fish farming. In cross examination, Dr Matt Collins, had asserted Meriton had bought industrial peace by paying $2.25 million over the odds for a central city building owned by the CFMEU. Denials from Meriton corporate counsel, Richard de Carvalho, couldn't dampen his enthusiasm. The theory, truly Collins Class, went something like this: - Meriton was traditionally anti-union and un-unionised - In May, 1997, the CFMEU turned down an $8.25 million offer for its Kent St, Sydney, headquarters - In 1998 Meriton wrote to Workplace Relations Minister Peter Reith and, in March 1999, to the Employment Advocate, complaining of running battles with the CFMEU - In July, 1999, Meriton bought the CFMEU's Kent St property for $10.5 million - In "late 2001" Meriton agreed to forward employees' union fees to the CFMEU Ipso facto, the doctor insisted, Meriton had forked out $2.25 million for industrial peace. Collins made no concession to Sydney's galloping inner-city property boom or the fact the CFMEU had turned down the $8.25 million offer, more than two years earlier, as inadequate. Despite the Commission having 135 fulltime workers and being funded to the tune of $60 million Collins couldn't say whether or not, in the interim, the vendor had gained a development order, which would have substantially boosted the site's value. A bit of homework would have revealed it had. Most importantly, he hadn't factored in Tony Papa, an old-school unionist with a modern approach. Papa joined the CFMEU in October, 1998, after an acrimonious, gut-wrenching split from the Maritime Union in the wake of that year's waterfront dispute. To do so, the then 48-year-old left behind the desk and salary of an assistant national secretary to recruit as a junior organiser. "It wasn't easy," Papa admitted, "I went to sea when I was 16 in 1965 and had been involved in the maritime unions until I resigned in 1998. I'm still ringing seawater out of my socks. "I could have stayed and drawn a wage out of union funds under false pretences but I would have lost my dignity." Papa was offered work by employers and even thought about striking out as a consultant but those options vanished when he was offered a start with the CFMEU. "It wasn't a blow to my ego. I saw it as a continuation of what I had believed in all my life, working for trade unions and the working class," he explained. Another long-serving CFMEU official recalled new workmates thought Papa was "@#$ mad" when he put his hand up for the thankless task of organising Meriton sites. The construction company was self-contained or, vertically integrated, as they say in the industry. Owner, Harry Triguboff, had organised it so Meriton was entirely self-reliant. It bought its own land; was the principle builder on the 10-15 city sites it ran it any one time; sold its own apartments and even arranged, supplied and underwrote the finance buyers needed. As far as most knew, none of its employees were union members. In truth, a handful were, but kept it quiet for fear of repercussions. The general consensus around the movement was that Triguboff, besides being a multi-millionaire, was an anti-union bastard who needed a good kicking. "That's bullshit, that's primitive thinking, mate," Papa reacts. "It's infantile thinking and it is one of our problems. "If we don't change that mindset we won't survive. "The days of no ticket no start are behind us. What we have to do today is win people's hearts and minds for trade unionism. "If people don't think we are credible, we are pissing in the wind. Employers have a role to play and so do unions." Papa took this approach onto Meriton sites. For months, even years, it was a frustrating exercise. Basically, he says, he just kept turning up, building a rapport with workers, middle and senior managers alike. One former Meriton employee recalls Papa arriving at the 1999 company Christmas Party in Pyrmont. He was uninvited and, worse still, wore a CFMEU t-shirt. "You had to admire him," he said, "I remember this big bloke being amazed. He kept going up to him as though he didn't believe what he was seeing and saying - man, you've got some balls, coming down here on your own." Papa laughs. "I didn't want to intimidate anyone. I just wanted to see what happened at a Meriton Christmas Party," he said. "I stayed a couple of hours, it wasn't bad." But don't for one moment think we are talking yellow unionism. Born in Greece and raised in an immigrant hostel, out of Wollongong, Papa had rejected those options by the time he left Port Kembla as a cabin boy. Trips to Asia and experiences on ships, convinced him of the need for strong, active trade unions. As an Able Seaman he was almost invariably elected delegate on whatever ship he sailed. In 1986, he took his wife and three children to Melbourne to serve as Victorian branch secretary of the Seaman's Union. They returned to Sydney so he could become assistant national secretary. Seafarers confirmed him in that position with the biggest vote in the organisation's history. Inevitably, Papa says, there will be workplace conflicts - it's the nature of the relationship. "But," he argues, "there should be a level of respect between the parties and after a stand-off it should be back to business. We shouldn't hold grudges, it's not personal." Certainly, despite Collins' assertions, Merition has known what the Commission calls "disputation" since Papa's arrival. Within minutes of his pay-for-peace claim, Dr Collins was grilling Meriton's counsel about three instances of "disputation" subsequent to the sale of the Kent St building. Perhaps, the real source of his frustration is that CFMEU membership amongst direct Meriton employees is nearing 100 percent. Seven hundred took the union option last year and have been joined by dozens of subbies and contractors. In testimony, de Carvalho, put it like this: "The CFMEU understands Meriton's role, they don't want Meriton to stop building, and Meriton understands the role of the union. "So, we are not a pro-union company and we are now, I would say, not an anti-union company. Papa says the new relationship reflects the way the CFMEU has adapted to changed circumstances and, more importantly, worker understanding that now, possibly more than ever, trade unions are important. The bribe claim, he dismisses as "a joke - an insult to all of us".
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