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[Johnny Bananas]

There are dodgy people and or Companies in every industry.
No Doubt that Unions have their place but in the Construction Industry and particularly the CFMEU have always had too much power and it has only got stronger in recent years.

The criminal activity is certainly a problem if the investigation finds it to be true. But again, unions wouldn't have anywhere near as much power if they were representing workers that are not in great demand and easily substituted.

I'd bet everything I own that the unions covering retail and fast food workers haven't been able to extract pay increases anywhere near what the CFMEU have. If that's the case, then one of the following has to be true:

1. The CFMEU are an extremely competent union and the retail and fast food ones are totally incompetent.
2. Every single government in Australia for the past four years has been in the pocket of the CFMEU, including the Liberal ones.
3. The CFMEU represents workers in areas of significant skills shortages and high demand, whereas the retail and fast food ones are not.

Which do you think is true?

 

[Dalions]

The criminal activity is certainly a problem if the investigation finds it to be true. But again, unions wouldn't have anywhere near as much power if they were representing workers that are not in great demand and easily substituted.

I'd bet everything I own that the unions covering retail and fast food workers haven't been able to extract pay increases anywhere near what the CFMEU have. If that's the case, then one of the following has to be true:

1. The CFMEU are an extremely competent union and the retail and fast food ones are totally incompetent.
2. Every single government in Australia for the past four years has been in the pocket of the CFMEU, including the Liberal ones.
3. The CFMEU represents workers in areas of significant skills shortages and high demand, whereas the retail and fast food ones are not.

Which do you think is true?

2. (Qld only) But hard to lay any blame on the LNP since they have spent 3 years in Power in the last 30 years.

 

[mighty_lions]

The criminal activity is certainly a problem if the investigation finds it to be true. But again, unions wouldn't have anywhere near as much power if they were representing workers that are not in great demand and easily substituted.

I'd bet everything I own that the unions covering retail and fast food workers haven't been able to extract pay increases anywhere near what the CFMEU have. If that's the case, then one of the following has to be true:

1. The CFMEU are an extremely competent union and the retail and fast food ones are totally incompetent.
2. Every single government in Australia for the past four years has been in the pocket of the CFMEU, including the Liberal ones.
3. The CFMEU represents workers in areas of significant skills shortages and high demand, whereas the retail and fast food ones are not.

Which do you think is true?

I don't think any of those 3 are the reason, the reason is the consequences are greater, I work in hospitality as a chef, if the hospitality industry went on strike you could still get food somewhere, the construction industry no one else can do it and there's a cost associated with any strikes

 

[Johnny Bananas]

2. (Qld only) But hard to lay any blame on the LNP since they have spent 3 years in Power in the last 30 years.

Cost increases are not particular to Queensland only. Multiple federal and state projects around the nation have had significant cost increases. On top of which, there is no legal or bureaucratic barrier on internal migration. People are free to hire tradies from anywhere in Australia to work on their projects. So why haven't the construction industry just hired a bunch of workers from interstate on cheaper wages then?

I don't think any of those 3 are the reason, the reason is the consequences are greater, I work in hospitality as a chef, if the hospitality industry went on strike you could still get food somewhere, the construction industry no one else can do it and there's a cost associated with any strikes

That's what my point 3 is, just expressed in a different way. There's an easy substitution of workers in the fast food industry and there isn't in construction. My point is, this is just the CFMEU playing the cards they were dealt and doing their job. The real issue is we want to build a lot of things but we don't have enough tradespeople. And this isn't a new problem either, I distinctly remember hearing warnings about it in the mid 2000s.

 

[Dalions]

Cost increases are not particular to Queensland only. Multiple federal and state projects around the nation have had significant cost increases. On top of which, there is no legal or bureaucratic barrier on internal migration. People are free to hire tradies from anywhere in Australia to work on their projects. So why haven't the construction industry just hired a bunch of workers from interstate on cheaper wages then?

Cost increases for Materials and Labour are not the issue.

 

[Johnny Bananas]

Cost increases for Materials and Labour are not the issue.

I thought cost increases for labour were the issue, according to the LNP anyway.