Construction Forestry Mining Energy Union

Protecting Workers’ Entitlements Package - 26 July 2010
The Gillard Labor Government’s Protecting Workers’ Entitlements package will provide the strongest protection of employee entitlements Australian workers have ever had. [ MORE ] "Good jobs figures" hide underemployment and its consequences - 13 July 2010
One of the fears you hear in the debate over asylum seekers is that Australia is being flooded by refugees. Well, fear not. Australia is being flooded by new arrivals - but they're not refugees. [ MORE ] Local skills a priority, says Crean - 7 July 2010
AUSTRALIA should reduce its need for skilled migrants by boosting its home-grown skilled workforce, Employment Minister Simon Crean says. The more effective it was in developing a skills agenda, the less it would need to rely on people from overseas, he said. [ MORE ] Law Professor says ABCC undermines liberty - 6 July 2010
In the heated, protracted battle over the Australian Building and Construction Commission, it can be hard to separate fact from fiction. When I first looked at the law that underpins the commission, I expected many of the strongest attacks to be wildly overstated. I was wrong. [ MORE ] For some workers, the struggle will never end - 18 June 2010
GURINDJI member Peter Inverway grew up hearing his stockman father's tales of once having been paid in rations, never dreaming he might one day know the same indignity. [ MORE ]

ACTU Letter to the Prime Minister - Labour Market Testing and why Australia needs its reintroduction
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CFMEU first national union to join international boycott of illegal Israeli settlement products
The CFMEU National Executive Committee has recently endorsed the boycott of products coming from the illegal Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The resolution can be read here. [ READ MORE ]

Super-profit tax will benefit all Australians
Australia's natural resources underpin our national economy and our prosperity. With the mining industry booming, profits are set to skyrocket by tens of billions of dollars more from this year on. The proposed Resources Super Profits Tax (RSPT) is designed to ensure that all the people of Australia get a fairer share of these windfall profits. To learn more about the RSPT, [ READ MORE ]

Resourcing The Future: CFMEU Submission to National Resources Sector Employment Taskforce
The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union of Australia, (CFMEU) welcomes the opportunity to make a submission to this Task Force. We are the major union in these industries and represent approximately 110,000 members. The CFMEU supports a strong and sustainable resources sector in Australia that provides real and lasting benefits to Australia. [ READ MORE ]

CFMEU paper on Australia's international trade commitments and the 457 visa
This paper produced by the CFMEU challenges the Federal Government's argument that it cannot give preference to local workers over temporary overseas workers due to WTO and free trade agreement rules. [ READ MORE ]

A Better Life? Stories of Exploited Guest Workers in Australia
The hope of a better life is the common thread that runs through the stories of almost all guest workers who come to Australia. For many, however, the life that awaits them here does not match expectations. All too often, guest workers' vulnerabilities are exploited. The fact that guest workers are twice as likely to die at work is tragic evidence of this vulnerability. [ READ MORE ]

CFMEU backs Government proposals to stop sham contracting
The CFMEU applauds the recent statement from the Assistant Treasurer that the Rudd Government is determined to see an end to sham contracting rorts. The scale of sham contracting has been demonstrated by the CFMEU in its analysis of ABS statistics showing that 116,000 labourers were classified as so called 'independent contractors'. The Government report recommending a crackdown on the tax abuse integral to the 'NO ABN NO START' rorts enforced by some employers is attached. [ READ MORE ]