Union rights

Build the movement

The Department of Public Prosecutions (DPP) last week dropped charges of the serious criminal offence of “blackmail” against two Victorian construction union officials. The charges were yet another attempt to criminalise legitimate trade union activity which has served workers well for many decades.

Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) secretary Sally McManus said, “I welcome the withdrawal of these charges – they should never have been laid.”

Govt after more blood

The Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union has already paid around $10 million in penalties and damages in relation to alleged blockades and boycotts against the concrete company Boral during its dispute with construction giant Grocon.

But the Turnbull government was not satisfied with that. It wanted more blood, the blood of individuals, by seeking heavy personal fines or jail sentences with the charge of blackmail.

Union secretary John Setka and assistant secretary Shaun Reardon faced up to 10 years in jail if convicted. They had been living with this cloud over their heads since they were charged in 2015 under section 87 of Victoria’s Crimes Act. Their families had also experienced considerable pressure.

The allegations of blackmail arose out of a dispute with construction company Grocon and a blockade of concrete deliveries by Boral over the appointment of union occupational health and safety representatives at Grocon building sites.

Case collapses

It became clear to the court when the evidence in the committal hearing was presented that there was no case to meet the requirements of the legislation to be convicted of blackmail. The legislation requires that the unionists made “unwarranted demands with menaces”.

One Boral executive told the court that the mood of the meeting between CFMEU officials and Boral executives where the threats had allegedly been made was “calm, it was pleasant ... There was no overt aggression ... .” Another Boral executive admitted that he did not view the comments as threats at the time.

It is highly questionable whether the charges of blackmail, a serious criminal offence would stand up to a legal challenge as it was in relation to an industrial dispute. This is covered by the Fair Work Act and the Act setting up the Australian Building and Construction Commission.

The attack by the government and employers arises out of the discredited Heydon Royal Commission that was nothing short of a political witch-hunt against trade unions, the CFMEU in particular, and their officials.

The Royal Commission, in which the normal rules of evidence did not apply, was an $80 million splurge of taxpayers’ money used to vilify and smear the reputations of union officials and trade unions. The blackmail charges arise out of it.

The class conscious construction division of the CFMEU that has consistently fought for its members was the principal, but not the only, target of this expensive exercise conducted by Justice Heydon.

A number of trade unions have called for the repeal of these and other laws that are aimed at outlawing the right to fight. Their repeal is long over-due.

“It is not acceptable for any government to attack the elected representatives of working people in order to advance their political agenda,” McManus said.

“John Setka and Shaun Reardon have stood up for working people in the Victorian construction industry. They stood up for safety in an extremely dangerous industry.

“And for doing that they have faced unwarranted and discredited criminal charges. Working people deserve answers about how this happened.”

McManus also said she rejects the criminalisation of industrial disputes and that the charging of Setka and Reardon is out of step with industrial law in democratic countries.

In a media release last year, she commented that, “Right now, we are seeing widespread abuse of our industrial laws by employers who are stealing money from the pockets of working families or seriously exploiting temporary visa workers. Disregarding our laws that protect working people has become a business model for too many employers.

“On one hand we see the leaders of working people being pursued and dragged through the court for standing up for working people, on the other we see the Turnbull government ignoring daily abuse of working people by some employers.”

It was a great opportunity for Labor leader Bill Shorten to defend trade union rights and trade unions. Instead, Shorten responds by saying he will “not protect” lawbreakers within the trade union movement.

It is clear that Labor has no intention of abolishing the Fair Work Act and other repressive, anti-union laws, let alone legislating for the right to strike.

According to the draft policy document for the upcoming National Conference of the ALP, paid union officials face fines of up to $216,000 if they act in a way that “materially prejudice the interests of the union or its members.” In other words if their actions result in a fine or damages payment.

The draft policy may also be referring to Labor’s plans to give the Australian Securities and Investments Commission the power to investigate serious contraventions of the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act as if trade unions were corporations and union officials were paid executives on multi-million dollar salary packages.

The draft policy also states: “Labor will abolish the Australian Building and Construction Commission.” They said that last time, but all they delivered was slightly revamped legislation giving the Australian Building and Construction Commission a new name, bringing it under the Fair Work umbrella and restoring fines to the same level as in other industries.

Act now for real change

Relying on the battery of union-bashing laws to be repealed and replaced by democratic legislation recognising basic trade union rights and freedoms requires a lot more than a swing back to Labor in Parliament.

Only the strength of a mass campaign of democratic and left and progressive forces outside of parliament can achieve this. Such a movement cannot be built overnight.

If the union movement is to survive the current offensive then it will require maximum unity of all trade unions and strong relations with and support from the community. The independence of trade unions is an important part of this struggle – by those who are on the side of the working class.

The CPA supports this struggle for unity and the rights of workers to form unions. We campaign for:

Independent trade unions

Legalisation of the right to strike

Rights for workplace union representatives

Union representatives on company boards elected by the workers

Union run labour hiring halls and an end to labour hire companies

Allow and protect rights to collective bargaining

Full inspection rights to workplaces for union officials.

If you would like to join us or become a supporter, then call your nearest CPA contact (details on website) or phone the CPA on 02 9699 8844 or send an email to the CPA, info@cpa.org.au. We look forward to hearing from you!