Building workers demand end of watchdog

Thousands of building workers have marched through Australia's three largest cities, demanding the immediate abolition of the construction industry watchdog.

Union leaders blasted the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC), established by the former Howard government, for undermining workers' rights and safety and also threatened to withdraw support for the federal Labor government if
it did not dismantle the body.
"Mr Rudd, now is the time. Take the training wheels off and do what you said to the
workforce in this country," Russ Colleson, NSW secretary of the Australian Workers'
Union (AWU), told protesters in Sydney on Tuesday.
"We've got to make sure that they get out, fix it up, and then you might get our
support next time.
"But unless you do, be warned, be warned because you won't have us behind you next
time."
ACTU secretary Jeff Lawrence said the ABCC had had a negative impact on safety at
work sites and impaired workers' rights to bargain collectively and be represented
by their unions.
"This is a fundamental question of human rights," Mr Lawrence said.
"We've turned the tide on Work Choices, now it's time to wash away the ABCC and its
discriminatory powers."
The nationwide rallies came after the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions
dropped charges against a Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU)
official who refused to report on a workers' meeting.
Noel Washington, 62, faced six months' jail for refusing to give evidence to the
ABCC about what he saw and heard at a meeting of workers in 2007, before the charges
were dropped in the Melbourne Magistrates' Court last Friday.
Workers at the Melbourne rally applauded the move on Tuesday as the CFMEU's
Victorian branch said it would pursue court costs from ABCC Commissioner John Lloyd.
"I think a lot of people are looking at this now and seeing that an individual has
dared to stand up to these laws, and I think that example will inspire other people
to stand up against unjust laws," Dave Noonan, CFMEU construction division national
secretary, said.
"Noel elected to keep faith with his members ... Noel's not a bloke who would have
ever seen himself going to prison, he's had an unblemished record in the community."
In Queensland, around 1,000 protesters marched on Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's
Brisbane CBD office, pledging to continue the fight until the ABCC was abolished.
"Until then, the nearly one million workers in the construction industry are in
danger of being fined $22,000 or imprisoned for six months just for refusing to talk
to this shadowy group," construction union Queensland secretary Michael Ravbar said.
"We should all be working together to ensure a safe and productive industry, not
fighting secret interrogations and punitive prosecutions," he said.
As well as the state capitals, similar rallies were held in NSW regional centres
Newcastle and Wollongong.