The issue,as argued by them,is one of costs and productivity. Claims of project budgets being inflated by as much as 30 per cent as a direct result of the best practice approach are being thrown around,though with little concrete evidence.
Ongoing national supply chain issuesaround materials,or ashortage of workers able and willing to do the work,is less frequently mentioned. Similarly,the cost blowouts and delays on a significant number of othermajor infrastructure projectsacross the country,without such a scheme.
But the clearest argument may have comeback in 2021,when the Queensland Major Contractors Association – representing the state’s biggest firms – told a federal parliamentary inquiry the idea of the best-practice approach launched in 2018 was “good intentioned in theory”.
However,what had been guidelines became requests and ultimately a mandatory requirement for any major contractor wanting to land a government gig with more than $100 million,locking out smaller companies said to be lacking the ability to deal with unions.
“Governments cannot and should not get involved in the IR[industrial relations] landscape unless it is in relation to their own employees,” chief executive Andrew Chapman wrote.
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“Government intervention in the IR landscape through mandation of industrial relations outcomes via the procurement process distorts the market as only those that comply with the Qld government’s view of ‘IR best practice’ would be considered to win projects”.
Not all companies in the construction and major projects sector are singing from the same sheet on the best practice approach – which has also been used to suggest important new housing targets won’t be met,or blamed as “largely” the reason behind the shortage.
Scott Hutchinson,the chairman of the Queensland-based building firm sharing his last name and the title of one of the country’s largest privately owned construction companies,has described efforts to blame unions as a “red herring”.
Why? Hutchinsontold the ABC last month that the real issue was in the amount of demand for construction work,and the shortage of workers to do it.
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Because of this,he said he’d turned down 80 per cent of jobs offered last year ($1 billion each month) to avoid the productivity issues of stretching teams too thin and manage cost pressures from past fixed-price jobs where materials had increased.
Despite some newer,“independent” though LNP-linkedworkers’ associations using public debatefor their own purposes,the peak collection of the state’s registered unions – the Queensland Council of Unions – is clear in its support for the best practice approach,and the deeper issue at play.
“The reason for these cost blowouts and overruns is simply because of the sheer number of projects expected to be delivered by all governments across Australia over the next five years,” general secretary Jacqueline King said in a statement.
“Queenslanders need these projects built to secure our future. Queensland workers also deserve to know that both Labor and the LNP will commit to keeping BPICs in the long term”.
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Premier Steven Miles and his cabinet have given no suggestions otherwise,offering defences over days now that the scheme is simply a collection of the best wins negotiated by workers in various agreements across the state. LNP leader David Crisafulli hasrefused to answer.
Queensland’s own independent government number-cruncher has also made a point of the nationwide construction squeeze.In a December report about major projects in the state,the Queensland Audit Office warned about the current “boom”.
“The large volume of capital projects in the pipeline for Queensland,along with other significant capital projects under way across Australia,means the construction sector will face several challenges for years to come,” the report said.
“These include a very tight labour market and significant supply chain disruptions following the response to the COVID-19 pandemic and conflict in Ukraine.
“The Queensland government must proactively manage these risks,and plan for realistic time frames to ensure it can successfully deliver its extensive infrastructure agenda.”
There was no mention of double-time for working in the rain.