About 10,000 workers walked off building sites in Brisbane on May 5 and rallied outside Parliament House. They were protesting against the Campbell Newman government鈥檚 changes to industrial legislation affecting workplace health and safety.
They also called for the return of the Labour day public holiday to May. The Monday after May 1 had previously been a public holiday celebrating workers' rights, but one of Newman鈥檚 first acts after being elected was to move the holiday to October.
Unionists in Queensland have refused to accept this date change and have held Labour Day celebrations, rallies and marches across the state in defiance of the government.
The said: 鈥淯nder the Fair Work Act, anyone who rallies during work hours without permission from their employer could be taking part in unlawful industrial action鈥.
: 鈥淔WBC will not hesitate to investigate possible breaches of the Fair Work Act 2009 and bring people before the courts where necessary 鈥 Building and construction industry workers who attend the rally during their work hours without their employer鈥檚 permission could face penalties of up to $10,200 if they are found to have breached the Fair Work Act.鈥
In concluding the rally, Construction Forestry Mining Energy Union official David Hanna issued a call for workers to not return to work. Hanna said that Labor politicians were not invited to attend the rally because 鈥渟ome of the Labor Party don鈥檛 want to be involved with unions any more.鈥