Mate as a man who once belonged to the ETU and has been around the CFMEU for all my working life,I can vouch for their effectiveness in the 80's and early 90's and their uselessness ever since.
They ARE NOT about getting better pay and conditions for employees, that is all a charade - I have personally dealt with these blokes for 10 years now ( which has included 4 EBA negotiations ). The reps are only putting on a show for the employees. Simple as that.
Their real goal is to recruit as many members as possible so as to achieve their ultimate wish…POWER. I remember when Hawke was in power and I was an apprentice, the CFMEU would come storming onto job sites worth 10's of millions of dollars and shut the whole thing down, chaining the gates and leave the site locked for weeks because Johnny had turned up to work p**s and his boss sacked him. We would then be subjected to a rally where the union leader would climb a ladder and scream and rant how we wouldn't be going back to work until these mongrel f'n c's gave in...which they had no choice but to do. Us workers would then be subjected to 12 hour days, 6, sometimes 7 days a week to catch up on lost productivity as the client would not grant an extension as it would cost too much for them to do so.
Where was the union then? back in their offices working their "40 hour weeks" and backslapping each other. One thing I left out was back in those days it was compulsary to be a member and we had to tow their line - not our bosses.
Howard cleaned this mess up over his couple of terms to the point where the unions became almost powerless. They'd still come on the sites and yell and scream but they would have to be granted permission to do so first and usually their meetings would be conducted during meal breaks.
Rudd was swept to power on the back of the unions BS about workchoices and have enjoyed three years of massive growth. They are back on the sites shutting down work, they are threatening strikes at the drop of a hat and as everyone saw yesterday, they are again a very powerful group of organisations. Rudds throat was cut by union powerbrokers and factional warlords who will do anything...ANYTHING to stay in power. Gillard is as union as they come. Why do you think she was their choice?
Having unelected, faceless beauracrats and union heavy weights pulling all the strings to how this country is run is very dangerous indeed. Just look at the mess they have made of NSW and the ridiculous policies they've come out with in the last few years.....they are a cancer on this nation.
