AMMA gets tough on rogue unionists

The Australian Mines and Metals Association has called for a "no-nonsense" approach to illegal strike activity by rogue unionists in a member discussion paper released yesterday.

Speaking at an industry breakfast in Western Australia, AMMA chief executive Steve Knott said the paper targeted rogue unionists and unions which flout the law and are repeat offenders.

"The majority of AMMA members have been operating in modern, productive and dispute-free workplaces. This has been vital in ensuring that not only employers can get on with the job, but so can their highly valued employees," Mr Knott said.

Recommendations of the peak employer group for the resource and energy sector include giving unions immediate sanction for unlawful industrial action; disqualifying union officials found to have committed breaches of the Fair Work Act from holding office; and, requiring unions to report annually on legal and illegal industrial action taken by their members.

Mr Knott said the reforms proposed in the paper intended to improve the knowledge about access to appropriate industrial action, make unions more accountable, and "confirm" that industrial action should be the "weapon of last resort" in enterprise bargaining.

"Australia has made significant progress over the last decade in repairing the damage done by the crippling disputes of the 1970s and 1980s," Mr Knott said.

"In looking to the future, AMMA believes that in order to remain as key contributors to Australia's economic and employment growth, these vital sectors require a modern industrial relations architecture which minimises the prospect of detrimental industrial action in the workplace depriving employees of wages and causing loss to employers."

Mr Knott said employers across the nation's resource and energy sectors say they are encouraged by the no-nonsense approach to illegal strike activity currently being promoted by Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard.

"We're hopeful government bodies will be provided with adequate resources and powers to take targeted action and protect Australia's international reputation as a reliable resources and energy supplier," he said.

"The resource and energy sector is driving the Australian economy forward, and we were pleased to hear the deputy prime minister state unequivocally that illegal industrial activity will not be tolerated by the government."

Mr Knott said it was no secret there were certain unions in WA and elsewhere who have ignored Australia's industrial relations laws and that the discussion paper proposed a range of strategies for consideration to reduce unlawful industrial action and make protected strike action an action of last resort.

The reforms proposed in the discussion paper include:

1. Before a protected action ballot can be conducted, Fair Work Australia should be satisfied claims being made would not adversely impact on the employer or industry concerned, and also ensure industrial action is a matter of last resort in the negotiation process;

2. Unions should be subject to immediate sanction for unlawful industrial action or failure to comply with orders of the FWA or a Court;

3. Unlawful strike action by a member of a union constitutes a breach by the union unless the union can show it has taken all reasonable steps to prevent the unlawful action;

4. Office holders of unions that have been found to have committed serious or repeated breaches the Act should be disqualified from holding office;

5. Unions being required to report annually on both legal and illegal industrial action taken by their members;

6. The Fair Work Information Statement required to be provided to employees should include greater details of circumstances in which industrial action can and cannot be taken.