Senate Education and Employment Legislation Committee, , 7:28:28 to 7:34:35
Discussion regarding proposed Commonwealth construction standards and whether they will prohibit union officials from pressuring contractors to use specific labor hire companies.
Topics: Workplace relations, Procurement
Speakers: Senator Maria Kovacic, Senator Jess Walsh, Murray Furlong, Greg Manning, Unknown Speaker
Just a follow-up if possible to that, noting the comments the Minister just made. The government's discussion paper on its proposed Commonwealth construction standards specifically identifies the need to prevent employee bargaining representatives from dictating the choice of subcontractors on construction sites. Does that concern extend to union officials pressuring contractors to engage particular labour hire companies as I articulated in my previous questions? And I'm happy for the Commissioner, the general manager to answer that or a brief answer from the Minister. Yeah. So the government's discussion paper on the proposed Commonwealth construction standards specifically identifies the need to prevent employee bargaining representatives from dictating the choice of subcontractors on construction sites. Does that same concern extend to union officials pressuring contractors to engage particular labour hire companies?
That's a from my perspective, that's a matter of policy, and something that I can't provide you. Sorry, I guess it's a matter of policy and something that I can't do.
Right. So is it not a matter of setting the same standard? So if a standard applies To subcontractors, surely that standard applies to union officials?
My understanding is the standards haven't been made yet. And there's ongoing consultation with the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations into the substance of those standards. And I'm only aware of that because as the regulator of registered organisations, I have been consulted. But my understanding is the consultations continue and that nothing Mr. Manning might might want to add to this that the standards haven't been set.
Okay, well then just to finish and close this off. Do you is it your view or your hope, or would it be your advice that the proposed standards prohibit union officials from pressuring contractors on Commonwealth funded projects to engage preferred labour hire providers, particularly where those officials have personal or financial connections to those providers? Surely that would be a given.
Well, it's very difficult to talk in the abstract in those terms. Well, it's um it's a matter that I think that would that continues to require further the premise does is is not offensive.
So it's okay for union officials to pre it may be okay for union officials to pressure um contractors on Commonwealth projects to take up Senator,
I just want to return to the evidence uh that was provided earlier that my role as a as a governance regulator for its organisations and the financial management accountability of those organisations. Um I'm not best placed to answer short questions.
The Minister mentioned the proposed um standards and the discussion paper, so that's why I asked the question. So surely there would be something in there in those standards that would preclude a union official from coercing forcing um someone to use a labour hire company in which they have a personal or financial interest. I would assume that that is a given.
Mr. Furlong's you know indicated that it's a matter for government and I raised the, as you said, Senator, I raised the standards for the construction industry. Um you talked about the discussion paper which sets out the areas for feedback, so integrity and lawful conduct, productivity fairness and the city.
To coerce someone to use a labour hire company in which they have a personal interest.
It's not hypothetical hypothetical questions about work that is underway and the what is real is the work that is underway. Um I would say is billions of dollars lost Australian taxpayers. I was just in the Minister Walsh. When I was just in the process of giving a broad overview of where we're at in the work that we're doing before going to Mr. Manning to articulate further where we're at. But essentially, you know, we are doing this important work through the National Construction Industry Forum, setting up um uh standards as a discussion paper that it's out. It talks about integrity and lawful conduct and you know, coercion. You use the word coercion, coercion. Um, I would not consider to be um an act of integrity or lawful conduct. Um this is a paper that is out. Um it is uh under consultation at the moment. It's part of the NCIF's ongoing work programme. Um and I believe Mr. Manning has some further information.
Um I was just simply going to say that that the issue you're raising was an issue in which views were expressly sought in the standards discussion paper, it's question nine. Okay in relation to that. So what safeguards, if any, are needed to complement existing laws and commercial practices to ensure decisions about subcontractor engagement are transparent, merit-based, commercially appropriate and free from coercion or inappropriate influence. That's something.
And that's the purpose of my question because it references subcontractor behaviour. So I wanted to get an understanding if the same applies to union officials.
The view sought, of course, relate to the entire system, so all parties in the system. One of the themes in the discussion paper was what if anything else is needed to ensure that the bargaining system arrangements could be strengthened to ensure there's genuine good faith bargaining, for example, and that goes to that issue as well.
Thank you.