The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) is Australia's main trade union in construction, forestry and furnishing products, mining and energy production. Image File history File links CFMEU.gif Summary http://www. ... Year 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar). ... The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) is the peak national body representing workers in Australia. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... The Sydney Opera House on Sydney Harbour Sydney (pronounced ) is the most populous city in Australia, with a metropolitan area population of 4,119,190, and 151,920 in the City of Sydney, as of the 2006 census. ... Capital Sydney Government Constitutional monarchy Governor Professor Marie Bashir Premier Morris Iemma (ALP) Federal representation  - House seats 50  - Senate seats 12 Gross State Product (2004-05)  - Product ($m)  $305,437 (1st)  - Product per capita  $45,153/person (4th) Population (End of March 2006)  - Population  6,817,100 (1st)  - Density  8. ... A trade union or labour union is a continuous association of wage-earners for the purpose of maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... A decidous beech forest in Slovenia. ... Chuquicamata, the largest open pit copper mine in the world, Chile. ...

The CFMEU has offices in all capital cities in Australia and in many major regional centres with the head office of the union in Sydney. The union has 120,000 members and employs around 400 full time staff and officials. An official is, in the primary sense, someone who holds an office in an organisation, of any kind. ...

Divisions

The CFMEU is structured into three main divisions being the Construction and General Division, the Mining and Energy Division and the Forestry and Furnishing Products Division. Each division operates largely autonomously although there is some crossover of coverage.

Construction and General Division

The Construction and General Division is an amalgamation of numerous craft unions involved in the construction industry. Its coverage includes building tradespeople including bricklayers, carpenters, plasterers, painters; skilled non-trades construction workers such as crane drivers, steel fixers and operators; and construction labourers and trades assistants. This coverage has expanded due to the absorption of the Federated Engine Drivers and Firemens Association of Australasia (FEDFA) which had coverage of jobs such as crane drivers and other unions such as the Builders Labourers Federation (BLF). Categories: Stub | Australian trade unions ...

The division also has members working off-site in manufacturing workplaces such as shopfitting workshops, joinery shops and other establishments involved in the pre-fabrication of materials used in the construction process. Members also work in brick, tile and pottery manufacturing and in Queensland, the union covers furnishing trades as there is no formal Forestry Division in the State, due to the Australian Workers Unions historical coverage of this industry. The Queensland Branch does, however have a presence in Queensland's forestry sector with CFMEU members employed by the State Government working for the Department of Primary Industries. The Australian Workers Union (AWU) is one of Australias largest and oldest trade unions. ...

The Construction Division is often associated with the left-wing of the Australian labour movement. They are well known for their militancy and have a hostile relationship with the federal Liberal government. In politics, left-wing, political left, leftism, or simply the left, are terms which refer (with no particular precision) to the segment of the political spectrum typically associated with any of several strains of socialism, social democracy, or liberalism (especially in the American sense of the word), or with opposition... Eight-hour day banner, Melbourne, 1856 University of Melbourne site where Stonemasons won the 8 hour day in 1856 The history of the Australian labour movement reaches back to the 19th century and the movement has a long tradition of organised unions of workers and links to political activity. ... The word militant has come to refer to any individual or party engaged in aggressive physical or verbal combat, normally for a cause. ... Judicial High Court Lower Courts Constitution State and territory governments Executive Governors and Administrators Premiers and Chief Ministers Legislative Parliaments and Assemblies State electoral systems ACT - NSW - NT - Qld. ... This article or section cites very few or no references or sources. ...

The division also has coverage battles with the Australian Workers Union (AWU) over civil construction projects, as both unions' rules allow them to cover civil construction (eg roads, bridges, dams etc.). This has led to many demarcation disputes. Employers will often want their civil construction site to be an "AWU site" because of the perceived lack of militancy displayed by that union.[1]

Forestry and Furnishing Products Division

The CFMEU Forestry and Furnishing Products Division was first registered as a Federal Organisation the 21 August 1907, as the Federated Sawmill, Timber-yard and Woodworkers Employees Association of Australasia. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... is the 233rd day of the year (234th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1907 (MCMVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ...

The Union's name was changed in 1913 to the Amalgamated Timber Workers Union of Australia, and again in 1918 to the Australian Timber Workers Union.

In late 1990 a ballot was conducted by members of the Australian Timber Workers Union and the Pulp and Paper Workers Federation of Australia endorsing the amalgamation of both Unions to form the Australian Timber and Allied Industries Union.

Another ballot was conducted in mid 1991 on the amalgamation between the Australian Timber and Allied Industries Union and the Building Workers Industrial Union. This endorsement supported the first stage in the development of what is now the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union. The Forest and Furnishing Products Division represents 20,000 members nationally.

Mining and Energy Division

The Mining and Energy Division consists of a number of unions which have amalgamated. The largest union to contribute to the formation of the division was the Miners’ Federation which was previously the Australasian Coal and Shale Employees’ Federation (ACSEF) which had a continuous history dating back to 1915. Predecessors to the ACSEF had existed on and off since the 1850s. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...

Industries covered by the Mining and Energy Division include the coal industry, coal ports, the metalliferous mining industry, electric power generation, oil and gas and the small coke industry.

• The Coal Industry: The coal industry is the majority of the Mining and Energy Divisions' coverage. Of more than 16,500 members around 13,000 work in the coal industry. The CFMEU is the primary union for the coal mining industry. It represents a clear majority of the workforce.

• Coal Ports: The union represents most workers (approximately 500) at export coal ports located along the east coast of Australia

• Metalliferous Mining: The Division covers most metalliferous miners in Broken Hill where silver, lead and zinc ores are mined. There are around 400 members at Broken Hill. Other mines are largely covered by the AWU.

Through the amalgamation with the FEDFA, the division also has around 1,500 members at metalliferous mines in Western Australia, South Australia, Tasmania and Queensland.

• Oil, gas and electricity: The division has around 2,200 members employed in power stations, oil refineries and other parts of the oil and gas production chain. This division is the major union representing workers in the Victorian power generation industry.

• The Coke Industry: This industry as a stand-alone commercial industry is quite small in Australia. Most coke production is tied to iron and steel operations. There are stand-alone coke works on the South Coast of NSW (north of Wollongong) and in Bowen in Northern Queensland.

The Mining and Energy Division covers the cokeworks on the south coast and the AWU covers the Bowen site. The CFMEU has approximately 50 members in the coke industry.

Capital Perth Government Constitutional monarchy Governor Ken Michael Premier Alan Carpenter (ALP) Federal representation  - House seats 15  - Senate seats 12 Gross State Product (2004-05)  - Product ($m)  $100,900 (4th)  - Product per capita  $50,355/person (3rd) Population (December 2006)  - Population  2,050,900 (4th)  - Density  0. ... Capital Adelaide Government Constitutional monarchy Governor Marjorie Jackson-Nelson Premier Mike Rann (ALP) Federal representation  - House seats 11  - Senate seats 12 Gross State Product (2004-05)  - Product ($m)  $59,819 (5th)  - Product per capita  $38,838/person (7th) Population (End of September 2006)  - Population  1,558,200 (5th)  - Density  1. ... Capital Hobart Government Constitutional monarchy Governor William Cox Premier Paul Lennon (ALP) Federal representation  - House seats 5  - Senate seats 12 Gross State Product (2004-05)  - Product ($m)  $16,114 (7th)  - Product per capita  $33,243/person (8th) Population (End of September 2006)  - Population  489,600 (6th)  - Density  7. ... Capital Brisbane Government Constitutional monarchy Governor Quentin Bryce Premier Peter Beattie (ALP) Federal representation  - House seats 28  - Senate seats 12 Gross State Product (2004-05)  - Product ($m)  $158,506 (3rd)  - Product per capita  $40,170/person (6th) Population (End of November 2006)  - Population  4,164,590 (3rd)  - Density  2. ... Wollongong is an industrial city located on the eastern coast of Australia in the state of New South Wales. ... This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. ...

Recent events

Internal Divisions

In recent years there has been some tension between the Forestry and Furnishing Products Division and the rest of the union particularly in regard to the Division's hostile attitiude to the Australian Labor Party in the 2004 Federal Election over the Federal ALP's policy on logging in Tasmania. Scenes of loggers openly cheering and congratulating John Howard were seen as treachery by the other divisions. This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... Legislative elections were held in Australia on 9 October 2004. ... Capital Hobart Government Constitutional monarchy Governor William Cox Premier Paul Lennon (ALP) Federal representation  - House seats 5  - Senate seats 12 Gross State Product (2004-05)  - Product ($m)  $16,114 (7th)  - Product per capita  $33,243/person (8th) Population (End of September 2006)  - Population  489,600 (6th)  - Density  7. ... John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939), Australian politician, is the Prime Minister of Australia. ...

Relationship with the Howard Government

Martin Kingham, Victorian secretary of the CFMEU speaking at a rally to oppose the Howard government's then-proposed VSU legislation.

In 2001 the Howard Government initiated the Royal Commission into the Building and Construction Industry (commonly known as the Cole Royal Commission). The Commission and its findings were largely condemned by the ALP and the Greens which argued that the terms of reference were too narrow. The CFMEU asserted that the purpose of the Commission was a "witch-hunt" to reduce the power of the CFMEU rather than to investigate crime. [2] Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1712x2304, 2732 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Eureka Flag Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1712x2304, 2732 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Eureka Flag Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the... John Howard John Winston Howard (born July 26, 1939), is an Australian politician and the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, coming to office on March 11, 1996 and winning re-election in 1998, 2001 and 2004. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... The Australian Greens, commonly known as The Greens, is the Green political party in Australia. ...

As a result of the Commission's findings the Building and Construction Commission was established. It has a wide range of powers, including forcing people to answer questions under oath. Penalties of up to $22,000 for individuals and $110,000 for corporations and unions will apply for breaches of the Building and Construction Industry Improvement Act 2005.

Under WorkChoices, situations where industrial action can take place will be reduced, but industrial action about safety concerns will still be allowed. However, the onus of proof will be reversed. The CFMEU and workers will now have to prove a workplace was unsafe if they wish to stop working. Construction workers, unions and employers face fines four times higher than other sectors for actions deemed illegal. WorkChoices, or the Workplace Relations Act 1996 as amended by the Workplace Relations Amendment (Workchoices) Act 2005, came into effect in March 2006. ...

Prosecution of Western Australian building workers

On 6 July 2006 the Australian Building and Construction Commission served writs on over 100 workers who are currently employed on the Perth-Mandurah rail project. Each worker could be fined up to $28,000 for taking strike action in support of a sacked union shop steward.[3]

External links

• Official website
• Australian Council of Trade Unions
• Building Industry Taskforce
• Australian Trade Union Archives entry
• CFMEU Queensland Branch

See also

• Solidarity Park

Organized Labour Portal