„The project must be stopped immediately, no other work must be completed, no other contracts are signed and the CRRDA must be dissolved so that we can resolve the IR and cost chaos. We will not accept lower quality industrial agreements that fall far short of similar agreements elsewhere, this government must facilitate a fair negotiation process to ensure that there is a single project agreement covering all unions on the site, otherwise the ETU and our members will have no choice but to campaign during the five years of the project. Given the history of the CFMEU, the company stated that it had „not ruled out the possibility that approval of the agreements could give rise to an illegal industrial apology.“ Martin D`Uva, Managing Director of Pacific Partnerships, said: „Our integrated approach puts us in delivering a flawless, life-long solution that delivers better value for money to our customers. We are proud to be involved in the development of the Cross River Rail project, which will free up existing bottlenecks within the Brisbane CBD and ensure that passengers benefit from safe and efficient rail service. The CFMEU and other trade unions intervened and asked the Commission to reject the agreement on the grounds that its authorisation would „increase the potential for industrial decommissioning“. The electricity union called the deal a „dirty business“ and called on the Palaszczuk government to allow the negotiation of an agreement for all local unions. Juan Santamaria, Managing Director of CPB Contractors, said: „CPB Contractors has a strong track record in providing high quality railways throughout Australia. Our team will bring this experience and skills to provide this important project for South East Queensland safely. UGL said: „This project underlines our position as a leader in mechanical, electrical and rail maintenance services in Australia. We are committed to working together as a long-term partner with the local community to create employment and business opportunities. Counsel for the CPB, Garry Hatcher, SC, responded that there was nothing wrong with an employer having a „very respectable agreement on absolutely critical infrastructure“ with one union over the others. On this page, you will find information on jobs at the Cross River Rail Authority, employment opportunities with our major contractors, tender opportunities for subcontracting in our 3 large plant packages and assistance resources available from the Queensland government. Gary O`Halloran, Queensland`s grain union secretary, said: „A hasty and opaque tendering and authorisation procedure has led to a squalid project agreement well below comparable industry standards.“ More than just a rail project, Cross River Rail will create a rotating and en route transportation system, stimulate economic development and create thousands of jobs.
The Greenfields agreement provides for workers to pay $220,000 per year for the project for a 56-hour week, with annual wage increases of 3.5 percent. The current rail network is already close to capacity and is limited by a single crossing of the river and only 4 urban stations, leading to the bottleneck that limits the ability to run more trains. „We have been promised productive relations, fair negotiations and a hands-on approach to implementing industrial agreements in accordance with comparable infrastructure projects elsewhere. What we have had is stone walls in negotiations by the victorious CPB consortium for more than 9 months, blowout costs, a deduction for CRRDA representatives even attend meetings. All the while, they were sitting on their hands, while the CPB was doing dirty business with a certain union that was under-offering wages and conditions behind the backs of our members. It`s a recipe for disaster. He said. To help us supply Cross River Rail, we want to create a diverse staff of dedicated professionals in a wide range of specialties.