Thousands March Against Suspension of Union Benefits, Access to Worksites

A CFMEU sign is seen in the Brisbane CBD in Queensland, Australia on July 23, 2024. AAP Image/Jono Searle

Thousands of construction workers marched through Brisbane to the Queensland Parliament in response moves limiting generous worker and union benefits.

Just weeks earlier, Liberal-National Party Premier David Crisafulli suspended the 296-page Best Practice Industry Conditions (BPIC), which offers benefits to union employees like pausing work if the weather gets too humid.

In a joint statement, the Electrical Trades Union (ETU) and the Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union (CFMEU) complained that the government was also limiting union entry into worksites.

ETU Queensland and Northern Territory Secretary Peter Ong said the state had “thrown open the door to dodgy builders.”

“We know from history, every minute matters when it comes to investigating health and safety issues,” he said in a statement.

CFMEU Queensland and Northern Territory Construction Coordinator Matthew Vonhoff said the only people who would benefit by locking out union officials would be bad builders.

“A 24-hour delay will give bosses plenty of time to cover up safety breaches to avoid accountability for injuries and deaths onsite,” he said.

The rally was led by Jenny Newport, whose son died of heat stress on a work site in 2013, and Jess Whitton, whose 17-year-old son suffered a fatal fall at a building site in Brisbane.

What is BPIC?

The BPIC agreement offers a range of benefits to construction workers including double paid time for working in the rain, a $100 weekly allowance for employees using their own mobile phones, and an annual picnic day for metal and engineering workers.

Workers can also stop work if temperatures reach 35 degrees Celsius, or 29 degrees with 75 percent humidity.

BPIC was first introduced in 2018 for the Townsville Stadium project, and applies to all major state projects exceeding $100 million (US$65 million) in value.

It is embedded into the tender and procurement process meaning any business wanting to engage in government projects needs to agree to the provisions.

On Nov. 14, Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie announced that BPIC would be suspended, until the state’s Productivity Commission is revived and a review of the industry carried out.

The Commission was axed by the Labor government just weeks before Queensland was announced as the host of the Olympic Games.

Bleijie justified the suspension, citing Treasury modelling that estimated BPIC added up to 25 percent to project costs, amounting to $17.1 billion over six years. He also said BPIC slowed home building saying there were 22,000 less dwellings across the state, as well as rent increases of 7 percent.