ACTU Secretary Jeff Lawrence made the following comments about the trial of Ark Tribe:
“It is outrageous that an ordinary building worker like Ark Tribe has spent the last year with the threat of a jail term hanging over his head simply because he raised concerns about the safety of a project he was working on.
“Australian unions remain as determined as ever to see these unfair and unjust laws abolished.
“These laws criminalise legitimate industrial activity and deny building workers the right to silence.
“The ABCC was established by the Howard Government and given coercive powers to pursue building workers. Until it is dismantled, a part of WorkChoices will remain alive.
“The ABCC undermines the rights of 900,000 hardworking Australians who every day risk their lives on building sites around the nation and play a major role in driving the economy.
“We need to make the construction industry one in which people want to work and are respected for their contribution.
“Any government law enforcement agencies should be focused on policing safety and workplace rights, not prosecuting workers for exercising their basic rights.
“We will continue campaigning to ensure that building and construction workers are treated no differently from the rest of the workforce.”
