Dealing with issues on behalf of members and the civil construction industry, reminds me of a wildlife tale. Over the break I was visiting relatives in Tasmania. We parked in a multi-level car park and went to lunch nearby.
On returning to the car we were confronted by a number of police officers who had commenced searching for the driver of our hire car. We were advised that a snake had been seen climbing into the drive-train area of the car as it was parked some hour or so earlier.
Two snake handlers were on site and had started to jack up our car to get better access. After about 15 minutes one of the snake experts launched out from under the back of the car with a snake tail in hand. Following a tug of war the 1.5m (thick as your wrist) tiger snake finally came free and was secured in a hessian bag. The snake handler was emphatic that we could have been in danger if the snake had not been seen climbing under our car.
Issues for our industry are like snakes. They can creep up and bite us often with little or no warning. We need our members to identify where the snakes are and let us know. The CCF management group of CEOs is functioning very well and it is through this group that information is passed by members. Often what may seem to be a non-venomous grass snake at a local level can in fact turn out to be a tiger snake impacting on many members.
The impacts of the financial crisis were very much front of mind last year. On the bright side there is now a lot of more positive news, particularly when we compare our situation with what is happening overseas.
However, we know from members that there are still variations state by state and across regions. Even though work flow is picking up for some members overall the position is patchy. Work is in the pipeline but when will it come on line and will there be a spread of contract sizes and types? There are still credit problems which impact on members, which result in higher facility charges, imposed by financial institutions.
The financial situation last year to a great extent masked the increasing problem of skills shortages. We know that these problems are still there are being increasingly felt by members.The CCF is continuing to focus on these key issues on behalf of its members.
We have a great opportunity with elections in 2010 at a federal level and in some states to promote CCF policies to create improvements for the civil construction industry.
Whilst we have been active over the past 12 months through submissions to governments there remain challenges for us. Significant changes in the industrial framework came into effect from 1 January 2010. Generally we are supportive of the removal of barriers through a nationally uniform approach to industrial regulation.
However, we are facing re-regulation where we have had flexibility in the past. We don’t see this being settled yet with much work to be done on award modernisation. Recently we have supported applications by others to vary the modern award classifications. Members are saying that the classifications do not appropriately reflect the civil construction industry.
Further, there has yet to be a legislative change to the Australian Building and Construction Commission. Our industry views have been put clearly so we will wait with interest as the legislation is addressed.
The impacts of the $3m limit, relating to the Federal Safety Commissioner’s (FSC) requirements, are being felt by a number of regional members. This will be a continuing issue for discussion as we work with the FSC with a particular emphasis on addressing civil construction industry issues separate from the building industry.
We have strengthened our ability to represent and support CCF members over the past 12 to 18 months. The organisation is in the best shape it has been to provide representation through policy development. This is now being supported by recent National Office appointments. They will provide strong economic input and communication skills, to enable greater access by members and greater visibility and understanding of the issues, by those we are trying to influence.
To add further to this, we need data to support the positions we put. That data must be real and you, the members, are best placed to provide it.
In closing I encourage all to identify the presence of “snakes” and then respond to our calls for details about the specific impacts of those “snakes” on your business.
