News

Body Hire Campaign Hots Up

By HT Lee CFMEU Construction

The CFMEU Construction Division has commenced a national campaign against the misuse of body hire labour targeting major contractors who have been the worst offenders on this issue.

There is a building boom in Sydney and Melbourne but more and more of the work is going to body hire firms which have colluded with the big builders to destroy regular jobs.

What began as a temporary top-up labour is now become the norm. Increasingly many builders and sub-contractors see body hire as a way of getting cheap labour through the back door--a way of breaking down hard won conditions.

The spread of body hire threatens workplace safety, job security, award payments and entitlements such as redundancy payments, workers comp, training, annual leave, long service leave and sick leave.

Stop work meetings have been held at selected sites throughout Australia. At those meetings workers have endorsed the campaign to end the abuse of the use of body hire labour.

As a result of the concerted national campaign Multiplex which has not been employing many direct workers lately but had relied on subcontractors has agreed to employ more workers.

Workers to be employed by Multiplex directly includes some of the following classifications:

- first aid attendants

- hoist drivers

- labourers and carpenters performing site safety maintenance and minor works

- dry hired crane crew--specialist subcontractor crane crews will be permitted where they are provided with a crane

- amenities attendants (nippers/peggies) on smaller jobs--on larger jobs Multiplex will be permitted to use specialist cleaning contractor with its own permanent workforce

- traffic attendants (stop/go men) on smaller projects--on larger jobs specialists subcontractor may be used and during the excavation phase earthmoving contractors can supply their own stop/go man.

Multiplex has also agreed to proper regulation of the use of body hire labour which can only be used in genuine short term top up situations--short term peak production problems and unforeseen absences with an absolute limit of four weeks on the use of body hire in any circumstance.

The use of body hire labour by subcontractors will also be monitored to ensure they are not abused.

Subcontractors committed to providing training and career opportunities for their direct workers will get preferences from Multiplex. Other contractors are now negotiating with the union.

Another result of the campaign is some contractors have taken on regular workers when prior to the campaign they were relying on body hire to get their workers.

RSA continues abuse of body hire

Meanwhile the Rail Services Australia (RSA) a NSW State Government-owned corporation once part of the State Rail Authority continues to abuse the use of body hire labour.

RSA has been shedding most of its permanent workers over the past four years and has tendered out its jobs to the lowest bidder. Body hire firms are bidding and winning the jobs.

The body fire firms have not been paying their workers award payment and proper entitlements.

One of the 'preferred' body hire firms Sheridan Plant Hire has been indulging in the unfair dismissals of its workers.

The unions at the recent ALP Country Conference called for strict regulations on the use of body hire labour. But instead of following up the concerns of the unions the RSA continues to abuse the use of body hire labour.

The question that must be asked of Transport Minister Carl Scully is why the government is flouting the genuine concerns of the unions? Isn't it time Scully listens to the workers?

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  Issue 21 contents

»	Aussies To Go For Gold in Foreign Uniforms?
»	Howard Warned: Time Ticking On Entitlements
»	Hotels Charge Triple Time - Now for the Workers
»	Air Attack - Qantas Telesales Under Fire
»	The Hills Are Alive - With the Sound of Pay Cuts
»	National Trust Places Green(back) Bans on Unions
»	Body Hire Campaign Hots Up
»	Attack of the Killer Skips Rocks City
»	A Holiday With a Social Consience
»	East Timor: Emergency Public Meeting Called

»	Guest Report
»	Sport
»	Trades Hall
»	Piers Watch

»	Conference to Heal Rifts in the Labour Movement
»	Fabians Scour Poll Ashes
»	Holiday Confusion

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