April 2007 Cover Story

For business owners, particularly those in small business and in the building industry the war being waged by the unions seems set to continue.

The unions funded the Labor Party’s campaign and the pay off will be a further hardening of their anti-business stance.
Commenting on various articles in the press over the past month concerning WorkCover’s treatment of sub-contractors, the Secretary of the CFMEU, Andrew Ferguson, told the Daily Telegraph, “that his union lobbied tirelessly for WorkCover to increase its wage audits in the construction industry.”
The Daily Telegraph had reported on WorkCover “raking in $1 million a week telling businesses their subcontractors are actually employees and then demanding huge backdated premium payments.
Commenting, June Gibson from the Small Business Reform Group said, “ in spite of Andrew Ferguson’s claims that employers are cheating the system, all employers want is “clarity”. They need to know who is in and who is out.”
“We need to have clarity as to the definition for a contractor and a consistency of that definition across WorkCover, payroll tax and superannuation.”
Many employers who have been caught up with back-dated premiums or massive premiums related to claims have ended up going out of business losing their homes and every

back

Business relocation and expansion consultants