Finally, the three-week battle between Grocon and the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) that brought parts of Melbourne to a standstill has ended. Union members have suspended industrial action and returned to work after Grocon agreed to commence negotiations.
The battle marks a further deterioration in the decade long feud between Grocon and the union. Played out in public the dispute's latest chapter has been exacerbated by an unedifying and bitter personal exchange between the involved parties.
At the centre of the dispute is the CFMEU's claim that Grocon is denying workers the opportunity to elect their own safety stewards and display union regalia. The Fair Work Act explicitly gives workers the right to elect health and safety representatives.
Union elected safety representatives are well versed in occupational health and safety laws and have the ability to flag safety hazards and organise an immediate walk off.
Many argue that the union's blockade of Grocon sites has nothing to do with safety. A number of conservative pundits have condemned what they perceive to be the insidious tactics of the CFMEU. Opposition leader Tony Abbott and industrial relations spokesman Eric Abetz have blamed the dispute on so-called union 'thuggery'. Apparently, the dark days of 'militants' and 'goons' have returned.
However, the safety concerns of construction workers are not trivial, and to suggest otherwise is vacuous. A detailed assessment of data compiled by Safe Work Australia clearly demonstrates that Australian construction sites are unnecessarily dangerous.
Statistically, one construction worker is killed on the job every week in Australia. Vagaries in the collection method often exclude fatalities caused by exposure to silicas, dusts and solvents. Thousands more are left permanently injured or disabled as a result of workplace incidents.
Australia's safety record compared with other developed nations is embarrassing. In Britain the fatality rate in the construction industry is half of Australia's. Moreover, in most developed nations the fatality rate is trending down. In Australia the trend is up.
Some in the industry are calling attention to this grim reality. Stephen Sasse, a former right hand man at construction giant Leighton Holdings, wonders 'Does it have to be this way? Should we just get used to the idea that it's a tough industry? Does the needle of our collective moral compass stay steady if we accept the notion that people who work in construction are more than twice as likely to be killed at work than those in other industry sectors?'
Construction workers and the CFMEU are acutely aware of the tragedies that too frequently befall their colleagues. They will not accommodate arrangements that compromise onsite safety. The status of safety representatives speaks to the fundamental rights of workers.
Indeed, the protection of workers' rights is at the heart of this dispute. The Federal Opposition has signalled its intention to rewrite parts of Australia's industrial relations system. Employer groups and business lobbyists are calling for greater 'flexibility' to be returned to the labour market. Accordingly, few political commentators are convinced by Abbott's pledge that Work Choices is 'dead and buried'.
Compounding the animosity is the matter of the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC). Daniel Grollo, CEO of Grocon, has twice attempted to impose non-union employment agreements on his workforce. These (failed) attempts served as the political catalyst of the Cole Royal Commission into the construction industry, in the aftermath of which the ABCC was established to police the industry.
Labor scrapped the Howard-era ABCC earlier this year, replacing it with an industry inspectorate within Fair Work Australia. However, during the ABCC's years of operation controversy was never far away. The infamous case of Ark Tribe, a construction worker and unionist prosecuted for refusing to meet with ABCC investigators, was denounced by the CFMEU as a travesty of justice.
The CFMEU was incensed by the investigatory powers afforded to the ABCC. The Australian Council of Trade Unions campaigned to have the ABCC abolished. The ABCC's unilateral ability to impose crippling fines and jail sentences upon construction workers who refused to cooperate was unprecedented. Rarely in Australia's history has there been a more egregious suspension of a group's legal and civil rights.
The Coalition has promised to reintroduce the ABCC if elected. Their enthusiasm to crush the opposition of the CFMEU is near evangelical.
This is the first round in a fierce industrial relations debate to follow. Expect neither side to back down.
Dustin Halse teaches politics and history at Swinburne University and is a member of Swinburne Institute for Social Research. He has worked for the ALP and has written political opinion for the The National Times, The Drum, The Conversation, New Matilda and Australian Policy Online.