Baillieu's building code: Bad for building workers

Miffed by Federal Labor turfing out the appalling ABCC, right-wing union hating, Premier Ted Baillieu plans to introduce a similar failed building code in Victoria.

The Victorian Liberal leader is blackmailing construction companies into leaning on building workers to abandon our unions and our hard-won wages and conditions. If bosses don’t try to monster us, Baillieu will see to it that they get no more Government work.

Baillieu’s bitch

The role of Baillieu’s attack dog has been accepted by John Howard’s old poodle, Nigel Hadgkiss. A former Federal snoop, Hadgkiss has form as the deputy director of the hopeless ABCC until 2008, when he slipped the leash. Since then, his major claim to fame has been getting carpeted while executive director of the Office of Public Prosecutions in NSW, for giving a ‘boob’ apron to a colleague.

Trash talk

Baillieu’s union bash is a recipe for a return to the bad old days of crap wages, crap conditions and lethal worksites, as bosses trash agreements in favour of profits and sucking up to Ted the toff. It will also gift his mate Tony Abbott a stick to beat workers with in the run-up to the next Federal election.

Workers? What....?

If you have any doubt about Baillieu’s attitude to workers, look at what he did to public servants, to nurses, and now to teachers.

Already he is attacking our right to fly the Eureka flag, to wear union clobber and to trumpet our pride in our unions with stickers and badges. Baillieu’s big mistake is that he seems to have forgotten that we too are taxpayers, that we too are voters – but mostly that we are proud union members, who won’t cop this blatant assault on our hard-won rights. 

Fight back

On Wednesday 4 July 15,000 building workers rallied at Trades Hall in Lygon Street to remind Baillieu of who he’s dealing with. The campaign will be ongoing, so keep an eye out for updates.

Take a look at the image gallery from the 4 July rally.