The Construction Forestry Mining Energy Union (CFMEU) has released a striking new ad campaign which argues that under regulations proposed by the Australian building and construction commission (ABCC), the nation's building industry workers will hold fewer rights during investigations than those suspected of crimes like drug dealing.
The ABCC bill extends the regulator's investigatory powers and makes it an offence punishable by up to six months in prison not to comply with an order to give evidence, even when doing so may lead to self-incrimination. However, evidence provided cannot be used to prosecute the witness in question.
'This is different to the ordinary criminal situation where people suspected of a crime don't have to speak to police,' commented Kamal Forouque, an industrial lawyer and Maurice Blackburn principal. 'The ad is accurate in that respect, definitely.'
Mr Farouque's stance is echoed by criminal lawyer and Stary Norton Halphen principal Robert Stary, who commented: 'It's true that everyone charged with a conventional criminal offence has many more rights than a building worker in an industrial dispute.' Both the right against self-incrimination and the right to silence are 'cornerstones' of the Australian justice system, he added.
Government officials have dismissed the CFMEU claim as a melodramatic 'stunt', countering that the ABCC's investigatory powers are merely being brought into line with those of other industry regulators, such as the Fair Work Building Commission (FWBC), the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) and Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).
'They will do anything and they will say anything to ensure that the laws in the building and construction industry are not changed,' said employment minister Michaelia Cash.
The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry's workplace relations director, Richard Calver, has also dismissed the CFMEU comparison between building workers and ice dealers as unhelpful and misleading.
'You can't compare an ABCC investigation with a criminal investigation where a suspect risks life imprisonment if convicted,' he argued. 'Rights are context specific. A person in the building industry risks nothing by cooperating with the ABCC, because the answers they give can't be used against them unless they fail [to cooperate] or lie,' he added.
Source: The Guardian
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