Page 5666 - Week 17 - Thursday, 5 December 1991
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CONSTRUCTION EMPLOYEES REDUNDANCY TRUST
Discussion of Matter of Public Importance
MR SPEAKER: I have received a letter from Mr Collaery proposing that a matter of public importance be submitted to the Assembly for discussion, namely:
Actions by the Follett Administration in expending public monies to augment the Combined Employees Redundancy Trust at a time of severe financial restraint upon community services especially Home and Community Care.
MR COLLAERY (3.10): Mr Speaker, this matter of public importance focuses upon the financial priorities of the Follett Administration and the extent to which its industrial relations policies undermine the chance of there being an effective building industry agreement. Briefly, despite the self-confident assertions of the Minister for industrial relations, Mr Berry, a few moments ago, the situation is that the ACT Government, the Follett Government - in stipulating in certain contracts for government works, particularly at the Gordon Primary School site, that contractors shall pay $41.60 per week per employee to the Construction Employees Redundancy Trust Fund - has, in effect, since it is providing a fee for its own contractual services, charged itself more than the required award payment.
The particular agreement which is placed into the schedule of industrial requirements by ACT Public Works reads as follows:
Redundancy agreements
8.1: The Contractor must comply with the provisions of building industry redundancy pay scheme agreements reached from time to time between the Australian Federation of Construction Contractors ("AFCC") and either or both the Australian Council of Trade Unions ("ACTU") and the unions representing the Contractor's personnel working on the Site, or other redundancy pay scheme acceptable to the relevant unions and the superintendent.
In other words, as a precondition to taking a contract and getting a construction agreement, a contractor has to comply with agreements which are, in effect, over-award agreements. In requiring an over-award agreement for an ACT public works building site, the Government in effect charges to itself that extra sum. I will come back to that.
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