Laws threaten legitimate union activity

By

Rob Durbridge

Noel Washington faces jail. His alleged crime? Sticking to the union.

Noel Washington has been a union official for over half of his life. He's also a family man. Noel wears his CFMEU jacket with pride and is the Senior Vice President of his union in Victoria. In his time he's seen the ups and downs of a tough game. As he says, "We're no angels but we're not terrorists or drug-runners either." Yet is seems that is how he is to be treated.

He points to an industry where the employers play for keeps. Like the firm in Melbourne where he went to a lunchtime meeting off site just before the federal election, a firm which had ruthlessly enforced Howard's laws against the union and sacked its shop stewards in a recent downturn. Restrictions on union right of entry meant that the union meeting could not be held on site or during working time so the CFMEU put on a BBQ lunch in a nearby park.

Little did Noel know that when he attended that meeting of more than 500 members that he would be called in by the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC) to inform on those who spoke at the meeting, to tell them what was said, to name who said it and to undergo hours of interrogation. Or that if he told anybody about the interview (which he did not attend), even his wife, he could be jailed.

Noel Washington now faces six months jail for refusing to obey written directions to attend an interview to "dob in his mates". To the ABCC this is a crime. One of the few areas of the recent Federal Budget which was not cut was the ABCC, which received $33 million to continue its work. The Government recently announced an inquiry into how the work can be taken over by Fair Work Australia after 2010. ALP policy calls for its abolition.

Despite the capacity of the Federal Minister to intervene on how the ABCC's powers are used, Noel's prosecution is going ahead. His case has been referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Repressive laws

Building unions recently met in Brisbane to unite to give full support to the campaign against the ABCC and to support any worker victimised by it. Noel is likely to be the first. Building unions are preparing a TV ad campaign to bring the issues to the public.

These laws threaten all legitimate union activity and the ALP should repeal them. The building unions ask supportive union members to email Federal politicians, attend rallies and sign petitions as they come around. Union and community support for the rights of the Maritime Union of Australia was decisive. We may well need to rally again for the rights of building and construction workers, and for Noel Washington in particular.

Send your views to your local ALP member and to Kevin.Rudd.MP@aph.gov.au and Julia.Gillard.MP@aph.gov.au

Noel Washington now faces six months jail for refusing to "dob in his mates".

Rob Durbridge is the AEU Federal Industrial Officer.

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