Page 1130 - Week 04 - Wednesday, 6 April 2016
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I will say that again:
It means more than a mere exchange of information.
Right there in the definitions, this document sets out that it is an agreement intended to be used with force if necessary. The MOU further stipulates:
Only providers/performers of works and services who meet the set criteria will be pre-qualified.
These “set criteria” are a set of demands from the unions; it is as simple as that. This section means that the organisation that sets the appropriate standards for doing business in the ACT is not the duly elected government of the day but the heavies in the unions. The next relevant section demands:
ACT Government agencies must—
I say that again: must—
decline to award a tender proposal for ACT Government Works or Services where a tenderer does not provide an undertaking in their Submission that it will comply with the relevant obligations set out in … this MOU.
That is an important section, Madam Speaker. It does not simply say “should”; it categorically says that the ACT government must decline to award a tender proposal if it does not meet the union demands set out in the MOU. That is an extraordinary abrogation of responsibility of the government, and it hands independence and integrity away from the government and to the unions.
It gets worse. This is particularly evident in clauses that give unions access not just to workplaces but to workers as well. I quote from the provisions:
The list of tenderers for each contract will be provided to UnionsACT and/or relevant Unions as identified by UnionsACT …
That would include the CFMEU. It says that providers/performers of work must—I repeat: must—and I quote:
Afford access by Union delegates and/or officials to enter a workplace …
Disturbingly, it goes on to say:
Afford access to an inspection of the relevant employer records by the union, including the name and address of the employee and the hours worked …
Every bit of information goes to the unions. If you do not get it, the unions do not qualify you. It is unbelievable. Under this MOU the name and address of any employee and hours that they have worked is to be provided to the union. The last section puts the government at the beck and call of the unions. It states:
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