‘Rights on Site’ campaign launched

Date: 25 August 2008

http://www.rightsonsite.org.au

Three construction workers, all of whom have been personally attacked by the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC), will today launch the 'Rights on Site' campaign in Parliament House.

The campaign, including a TV advertisement, website and other materials, will educate the public about the draconian powers of the ABCC and build public support for getting rid of the laws.

National Secretary of the Construction Division of the CFMEU, Dave Noonan, said "Charlie Isaacs, Joe Mannucci and Ivan Franjic will be joining me and other union leaders to launch the Rights on Site campaign."

"The ABCC forced Joe and Ivan to attend interrogations under threat of six months jail.

They had no right to silence, and could not refuse to attend. Afterwards, they were not allowed speak to anyone about what was discussed in the interrogation - not even to their families."

"Charlie was prosecuted and fined for standing up for a mate who was unfairly sacked on the job they were working on," he said.

The ABCC powers are sweeping - workers and their representatives can be fined and jailed; union meetings can be secretly recorded; their choice of legal representation can be denied.

"The ABCC is the last vestiges of Howard's unfair IR laws. No other workers, apart from workers in the construction industry, are faced with this sort of heavy-handed and undemocratic assault on their human rights."

"The ABCC was set up to benefit Howard's mates in the construction industry. Now the big end of town is pushing to keep the ABCC, in a desperate attempt to keep their massive profits and intimidate workers from speaking up about safety and their rights on site," Mr Noonan said.

"We're launching the Rights on Site campaign today to highlight the profoundly undemocratic powers of the ABCC. We find it amazing that the Rudd Labor Government, elected to restore Australian's rights at work, should care so little about the rights of people like Charlie, Joe and Ivan and the 900,000 other construction workers in this country."

The new 'Rights on Site' advertisement will run nationally from today.

Click here to get more information about the construction workers rights campaign

Media Conference

11.15am, Monday 25 August 2008

1R3, Parliament House

For more information please call Shannon Walker on 0414 694 476.

For further information

Contact:	Shannon Walker
Union:	Rights on Site campaign
Contact Mobile:	0414 694 476
WWW:	www.rightsonsite.org.au

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