No wonder Queensland is cutting back on Olympic facilities.
We just can't afford to pay the CFMEU workers.
Premier Steven Miles has told Queensland nurses, teachers and paramedics they have “some of the best conditions in the country” and not to be concerned about the extraordinary perks to those in the construction sector.
It comes after The Courier-Mail revealed some of the deals the state government has gifted the unions and locked in on taxpayer projects worth over $100m – a policy the industry says has crippled productivity and made private housing developments uneconomic.
Double time when it rains, a full month of rostered days off each year, and an extra $1000 a week when working away from home are just some of the sweetheart conditions the state government has struck with the construction unions under its controversial Best Practice Industry Conditions policy.
Mr Miles was grilled over the policy on Wednesday and doubled down, rejecting claims the cushy conditions were contributing to cost blowouts.
The boss of the CFMEU has lashed out at reports the government’s BPIC policy was slashing productivity and driving up costs, declaring he “makes no apologies” for the extraordinary conditions he says is “backing Queensland construction and manufacturing workers’.
CFMEU State Secretary Michael Ravbar claimed there was not a “shred of evidence” BPICs were leading to cost escalations of up to 30 per cent - despite multiple industry heavyweights repeatedly saying it does exactly that.
