Provoking Building and Construction Workers

By Chris White

This paper reports on major problems with the Building and Construction Industry Improvement Act (2005), BCII Act (2005) focussing on the suppression of the right to strike

The new Australian Building and Construction Commission with wide-ranging powers 'investigating' building unionists who may have knowledge of so-called 'unlawful industrial action' with the threat of penal sanctions is explained. Building workers' basic civil rights to silence and not to incriminate themselves have been removed. The government's 'law and order' moves against unionists involved in so-called ' unlawful industrial action' is described. Academic analysis shows this 'command and control' over-regulation is the wrong model. The ILO found this BCII Act (2005) breaches ILO Conventions for workers rights for freedom of association and the right to strike. Together with the Work Choices Act (2006) WC Act (2006) the building and construction industry is a major contested union battleground.

In: 21st Century Work: High Road or Low Road: Proceedings of the 20th Conference of the Association of Industrial Relations Academics of Australia and New Zealand (AIRAANZ)