NECA welcomes support for ABCC reinstatement

Former Labor minister Martin Ferguson’s support for the reinstatement of the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC) has been welcomed by the National Electrical and Communications Association (NECA).

“When the former head of one of Australia’s major unions is backing an initiative of this nature - just when the unions themselves are in the spotlight - it demonstrates that we have reached a turning point and that the landscape must change,” said Suresh Manickam, NECA’s national CEO.

“Like other sectors linked to the building and construction industry, the electrical and communications sector has been through a few tough years. If history is to be any guide, a return to the ABCC would also include a return to transparency, probity and business confidence. We encourage parliament to embrace Martin Ferguson’s support of the industry watchdog and look forward to the prompt reinstatement of the ABCC.”

'”Rather than seeing the ABCC as a tool that allows one side to get an upper hand over the other in some never-ending ideological skirmish, it should be seen for what it was: a mechanism that holds both sides to account and which can help deliver projects on time and on budget,” the Sydney Morning Herald reported Ferguson as saying.

“As the son of a bricklayer, I know a thing or two about the building industry. But it is time that some in today’s union leadership recognised that their members’ long-term interests are aligned with their long-term job security.”