The real purpose of the Royal Commission into unions

Vanguard May 2014 p. 5
From an article by Brian Boyd, Secretary of the Victorian Trades Hall Council

 It is important that union members and the public in general understand the real purpose of this exercise, instigated politically by the federal government.

 The Chief Executive of the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association (APPEA), Mr David Byers, spelt it all out loud and clear. He called on the Abbott federal government to impose “urgent workplace reform.” Byers said “lower costs” were the centre-piece for IR reform so that “global capital” can be attracted to build new plants or expand existing energy infrastructure.

The APPEA head said there was currently $180 billion worth of investment on the table. It turns out “lower costs” is code for less wages and conditions for resource sector workers. Mr Byers called for Tony Abbott to introduce “a new type of enterprise agreement.” He said current EBA arrangements between contractors and miners were “driving up costs.”

The whining was pathetic from the APPEA. Apparently unions on behalf of workers used earlier struck agreements as a “the floor for wages and conditions” when renegotiations for new agreements occurred! Shock! Horror! This process has been going on for a hundred years.

Mr Byers specifically wanted more limitations on right of entry of unions, an end of unions using previous agreements to be a starting point for new arrangements and an end to labour market testing for foreign workers coming in on 457 visas.

In recent times APPEA board chair Martin Ferguson (former federal ALP MP and former President of the ACTU) has singled out the MUA and the CFMEU for attack. Their crime; fighting for decent wages and conditions for workers on major resource projects. They were disgusting attacks on two unions that work hard to represent their members and potential members.

This behaviour by Ferguson has been sustained for some time. Recently the West Australian Trades and Labour Council (Unions WA) and the Victorian Trades Hall Council (VTHC) have passed resolutions calling on the ALP to expel Martin Ferguson from the Party for his public union-bashing.

Recently, multi-billionaire mining magnate Ms Gina Rinehart has been exposed as misusing Sec 457 workers on her new project at Roy Hill WA. Some wages are reported to be as low as $18/hour! Is this the new “floor” the APPEA is aiming for?

The FWBC/ ABCC 11 head Nigel Hadgkiss back in March called for agreement clauses allowing industry-wide Rostered Days Off (RDOs), weekend shutdowns and restrictions on subcontractors and labour hire to be “consigned to the past where they belong”.

The truth behind Aussie wage levels

In The Age of Monday February 10, 2014, Ross Gittins reported under the heading – “the fiction of excessive wage growth”:

“It’s been two decades since we had reason to worry about excessive wage growth. This remains true despite cabinet ministers and some economists saying we have a problem.

“The structural reason we don’t have to worry is the continuing effect of the Hawke-Keating government’s micro-economic reforms – particularly the floating of the dollar, the removal of protection against imports, deregulation of many industries and the move from central wage-fixing to bargaining at the enterprise level.

In The Age of Thursday 20 February, 2014 Peter Martin reported under the heading: “Wage growth very low, contrary to what government says”:

“Don’t believe what you’ve heard. Wages are barely climbing. The Bureau of Statistics compiles the only reliable measure and it came out on Wednesday (19 February 2014).

“In the year to December 31, the bureau’s wage price index climbed 2.6 per cent. That’s less than inflation – which is 2.7 per cent.”

On the same day in The Herald Sun of Thursday 20 February 2014, in the business section, under the heading – “Wages growing at slowest rate since 1997” it is reported”:

“It is becoming increasingly tough to land a job, but securing a pay rise seems just as difficult, with wages growing at their weakest pace for more than 15 years.”

 “Labour productivity is improving. Last financial year it rose 2.2 per cent, the fastest growth in 11 years, while Australian workers generate a good deal more output per hour than the average of other developed countries.

 
The Royal Commission needs to be seen in the wider political and economic context. It also needs to be seen in the broader activities of the corporate sector – where corruption and bribery is in the millions of dollars every day - more on that later.