A statement by Wilhelm Harnisch, CEO of Master Builders Australia, has warned the Federal Government that the vesting of greater rights in unions under the new proposed industrial relations laws will damage productivity for the building and construction industry and negatively impact upon the national economy. 

“We are concerned that with a 19 per cent unionisation rate in the building and construction industry, the tail will once again wag the dog on building sites,” said Harnisch.

He added that the unions have fought for agreements in the building and construction industry which are fundamentally flawed.

The magnitude of the wage increases still sought by unions is completely disproportionate to the reduced forward orders in the industry; and there is a total lack of productivity offsets in the agreements.

Under the Federal Government’s new IR system, a Greenfields’ agreement cannot be made until it is signed by the employer and each relevant union.

Effectively, when the agreement process has commenced with one union, Fair Work Australia and other unions that might be affected must also be notified of the intent to make a Greenfields’ agreement,” said Harnisch

This will impact builders’ ability to deliver projects with certainty because unions can intervene at a critical time in the tender process.

“On the positive side, the Bill is more simply structured than prior statutes," Harnisch said.