CFMEU not buying Coalition's fair work focus

The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) says that the latest announcement regarding increased resources to end systemic wage fraud from the Turnbull government is nothing more than smoke and mirrors. 

National Secretary Michael O’Connor says that allocating $20 million in funding into the Fair Work Ombudsman budget is in direct opposition to the funding and staff cuts announced in the Budget in early May.

O’Connor says that unions, academics and welfare groups have been warning of exploitation of workers for over three years, while the government has done nothing, and that the announcement is driven by the prospect of an election.

“Already in terms of visa workers, there are only 17 FWO inspectors to deal with 1.4 million foreign workers currently in Australia who have working rights,” he said. 

“Not coincidentally, the FWO funding was also cut in the previous Budget at the same time as the so-called Fair Work Building Inspectorate budget was increased by the same amount, despite the fact that they stopped investigating wage fraud and sham contracting and handed over that work to the FWO.

“In this year’s Budget, the FWBI will add 24 staff to its payroll. The only conclusion to draw from this is that whilst pretending to be dealing with the exploitation of foreign workers, what this government is actually doing is going after Australian workers and their unions.

“When you add in the expected influx of workers from China and India due to the terrible free trade deals done, you understand clearly that, far from protecting Australian jobs and wages and giving Australians opportunities to work, this government’s greatest wish is to destroy them,” O’Connor said.