The following motion calling for the abolition of the ABCC and dropping of charges against Ark Tribe was passed at the HSU #4 AGM last week.

This general meeting of the HSU Victoria Number 4 branch voices its opposition to the industrial laws applying in the building and construction industry which:

- Deny workers in the industry basic democratic and work rights, including the right to silence, the right to free speech and the right to choose their own legal representation

- Undermine the safety and conditions of workers in the industry, as attested by the fact that deaths in building and construction have increased by 36% since the establishment of the ABCC

- Has made workers the target of prosecutions, fines and jailing by the politically motivated office of the Australian Building and Construction Commissioner

- Puts ordinary workers like Ark Tribe on trial, charged with not attending an ABCC interview

We demand that:

1) The Labor government fulfil the promises made in the 2007 election campaign to get rid of all of the Howard government’s Work Choices legislation. This includes the immediate abolition of the ABCC and the scrapping of all its powers from the statutes

2) All charges against Ark Tribe be dropped immediately

We pledge our support for the construction unions’ Your Rights on Site campaign. We ask our union office to forward this motion the relevant government authority and the relevant bodies in the construction unions (CFMEU, ETU, AMWU, CEPU, AWU), to request notification from the construction unions of actions called as part of the Your Rights on Site campaign, and to distribute this information to all members as soon as it becomes available.

CARRIED