Published: 9 Aug 2016
The 2016 General Construction Enterprise Agreement is compliant with the existing (2013) Federal Government Building Code.
Contrary to a campaign of misinformation from both the Master Builders Association and the Herald Sun, the current EBA has been certified by Fair Work Australia and has been deemed Code Compliant by the FWBC (see here).
At no point has the CFMEU suggested or maintained that the current 2016 Agreement would be compliant with the proposed draft 2014 Code. However, it is also important to note that the draft 2014 Code is exactly that: a draft code. It was not voted on by the past Senate and has yet to be put to the newly elected Senate.
Around 500 companies have now lodged and/or had the agreement certified. These include:
This represents almost 50 percent of the onsite membership.
It is clear that the Liberal Government, working in conjunction with the Master Builders Association is intent on sowing as much confusion and discord in the construction sector as possible to justify their ongoing ideological war against the CFMEU and construction workers. Regardless of the ongoing and antagonistic stance by these parties, the CFMEU continues to work collaboratively with the vast majority of the industry to roll out an Agreement that will deliver certainty, stability and increased productivity for the next three years and beyond.
John Setka