The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has issued a draft determination proposing to grant conditional authorisation to a collective bargaining arrangement by owner drivers, ACCC Chairman, Mr Graeme Samuel, said today.
The application was lodged by the Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy, Industrial Union of Employees, Queensland which will provide secretariat services and advice to the bargaining group. It will not conduct negotiations on behalf of the owner drivers.
Owner drivers use their own trucks to transport materials from construction sites. Under the proposed arrangements, owner drivers will collectively negotiate their contracts with earthmoving contractors for the provision of earthmoving services at construction sites in south east Queensland.
"The ACCC considers that the proposed collective bargaining arrangements are likely to enable the owner drivers to have greater input into their contract terms and conditions and be more commercially efficient," Mr Samuel said.
At present, CFMEU Qld represents 24 owner drivers. The ACCC considers that the presence of up to 1000 other owner drivers in south-east Queensland offers a significant and genuine alternative to dealing with the bargaining group for earthmoving contracts.
However, under the CFMEU Qld's proposal, the size of the bargaining group may increase in the future. The ACCC recognises that if the bargaining group grows to represent a more significant proportion of owner drivers in the industry, earthmoving contractors will face more pressure to negotiate with the group.
"To ensure that the collective bargaining arrangements remain genuinely voluntary for earthmoving contractors, the ACCC proposes to grant authorisation subject to a condition which requires the CFMEU Qld to regularly inform the ACCC of, among other things, the number of participating owner drivers," Mr Samuel said. "This information will assist the ACCC to monitor any growth in the size of the group which may be grounds for a review of the authorisation if it impacts on the ability of earthmoving contractors to choose whether to deal with the group or not."
The ACCC's draft determination will be available from the ACCC website, www.accc.gov.au.
The ACCC is seeking submissions from interested parties in relation to its draft determination. Submissions can be made to: The General Manager, Adjudication Branch, Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, GPO Box 3131, Canberra, ACT, 2601. Submissions can also be lodged by fax on (02) 6243 1121 or by email to: adjudication@accc.gov.au.
Authorisation provides protection from court action for conduct or arrangements that might otherwise raise concerns under the competition provisions of the Trade Practices Act 1974. Authorisation is granted where the ACCC is satisfied that the benefit to the public from the conduct outweighs any public detriment. A party to whom authorisation had been granted may also apply to the ACCC for a minor variation of that authorisation.