Building union may seek judicial review of new agreement

One of the country's main building unions has told the Labour Court that it is seeking a judicial review of a new agreement for the construction industry, which has been lodged with the court by ICTU and the Construction Industry Federation. According to sources within the Building and Allied Trades Union, it has been told that it could face expulsion from the ICTU if it went ahead with its decision to challenge the lodgement of the agreement with the Labour Court.

BATU's decision to refer the negotiation of a new agreement to the High Court would be unprecedented and could have widespread implications for the negotiation of other sectoral agreements between unions and employer bodies. The row has arisen because BATU found itself isolated in negotiations on subcontracting, which it is trying to eradicate.