Laurie Ferguson (Werriwa, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Over the last month the State Secretary of the New South Wales CFMEU, Mal Tulloch, has received some media coverage with regards to the undermining of conditions and wages of New South Wales building workers through the utilisation of foreign labour. Often people are very desperate and unaware of the nuances of Australian industrial practice and are clearly exploited by Australian based companies. This is not the only form of exploitation that bedevils the industry. Recently the case of William Hodge from the Campbelltown region has started to receive some notoriety. William, despite being persuaded by his employer to take out an Australian business number—supposedly the total criteria as to whether you are an employee or not—for 11 years has worked as a bricklayer for DMW Bricklaying, whose principal is Mr Darren Williams.

The superannuation rules and employment rules state that if 80 per cent of your time is with a particular employer and they in reality determine your hours and conditions, then you are an employee and thereby you are entitled to superannuation payments. In the course of 11 years this man, who has a mortgage, a wife and three dependent children, has received no superannuation payments from this company. In addition, there has been no holiday pay, sick pay or wet weather pay. With regard to superannuation, the total amount due is now $70,000.

This is not an unusual circumstance in the industry. It is estimated that approximately 170,000 people in the building industry are in fact sham contractors. Basically pieces of paper are exchanged and thereby there has been some attempt to construe them as not being in fact employees. In the industry they also obtain a front person, who is usually a person of very little means, to set up a company, exploit workers for a period of time, collapse that company and start all over again.

I am pleased to note that Unions New South Wales, the state organising body of the trade union movement, has taken up this case. William Hodge is currently conducting a one-man picket outside the offices of Skyton Developments. Skyton come into this because they are a large development company that in due course subcontracts to DMW Bricklaying. Whilst DMW are technically the employer, the reality is that companies such as Skyton should not get away scot-free when they utilise contractors, ask no questions and do not care whether the subcontractor who has a close relationship with them in fact abides by conditions. They are simply going for the lowest price possible. By doing that of course they exploit workers in the industry.

I very much associate myself with Mr Hodges's efforts to make sure that Skyton, who indeed have a very attractive website and are currently finishing a project in Warby Street Campbelltown, come to the party and their state manager, Mr Gus Martinez, gets a little more active about finalising this matter. I intend to publicise his efforts far more in the near future. I hope the CFMEU is successful in this campaign.

I will now briefly turn to the recent disability efforts by a variety of groups in my electorate, including the Share Care Centre, Northcott Disability Services, the Australian Foundation for Disabilities and the Macarthur Community Representatives Network. All of these actively campaign for national insurance with regard to disabilities. I was approached by and interviewed Sherie Avalos, the CEO of Share Care and a former Disability Services Australia and Macarthur Disability Services employee. I am impressed by the efforts of parents, carers, community organisations et cetera in the Campbelltown-Macarthur region. I have to say that, having represented Reid for 20 years, the level of activity on these issues was nothing like I have witnessed over the period that I have represented Werriwa. Whether it is because of the presence of housing department properties or an inclination by some communities to be more open in their discussion of these problems, Campbelltown, Werriwa, Macarthur et cetera are characterised by incredible activity on this issue. Constituents would be pleased that the current government has reversed the Liberal Party's record of disability cutbacks and funding freezes. They would be keen to note that the current government has brought in the $7.6 billion National Disability Agreement and that it has in recent days announced its support for national insurance in this field.