A redundant agreement that allowed unions to know what firms were seeking government contracts has not been used for years and will be formally torn up, the ACT government says.
The Canberra Liberals on Wednesday called for pro-union elements of the territory's procurement system to be scrapped, including the Secure Local Jobs Code and a 2015 memorandum of understanding with UnionsACT.
The memorandum, signed by Chief Minister Andrew Barr, said a list of tenderers for each government contract would be provided to UnionsACT.
The memorandum said unions would have 10 working days after receiving the list to advise the government on its views about whether the applicant met work, health and safety, employee and industrial relations obligations.
The ACT government on Wednesday said work was underway to formally terminate the memorandum and it had not applied to procurement processes for many years.
"As the Integrity Commissioner clearly acknowledged in his report on Operation Kingfisher, the memorandum of understanding with UnionsACT was superseded by the Secure Local Jobs Code and has not had practical effect since 2019," a government spokesman said.
UnionsACT said the Liberals had got the procurement system badly wrong.
"The Secure Local Jobs Code exists to make sure taxpayer-funded contracts go to employers who do the right thing by their workers. Scrapping protections against wage theft, unsafe workplaces and sham contracting isn't integrity reform, it's a race to the bottom," a UnionsACT spokesperson said.
The government defended the Secure Local Jobs Code, which was introduced with changes to procurement laws in 2018, as a way to level the playing field for businesses that "do the right thing by their workers".
"The Secure Local Jobs Code, government procurement regulation, directions and guidance provide a transparent framework for ethical procurement by the ACT government. All of these documents are publicly available on the government's procurement website," the spokesman said.
"In recent months, the government has been considering how best to review the operation of this framework, following significant reform in the last term of government. A discussion paper has been circulated to the Secure Local Jobs Advisory Council to seek members' views on key issues and next steps."
However, under the government's ethical treatment of workers evaluation information about tender bids can still be provided to unions.
"In undertaking the evaluation, the Secure Local Jobs Branch must seek information from relevant sources and entities. This may include seeking comments from regulatory bodies such as the Work Health and Safety Commissioner about work safety matters, the relevant trade union in relation to employee matters and confirmation of consultation with employees on labour relations training and workplace equity plans, and ACT government agencies about compliance with contractual terms," the ethical treatment of workers evaluation direction said.
"Based on the assessment of a Tenderer against the Fair and Safe Employment Evaluation Criteria, the Secure Local Jobs Code Branch will recommend to the delegate whether or not a tenderer should remain in consideration in the procurement process."
Opposition Leader Mark Parton had said the government's Secure Local Jobs Code should be abandoned because it had prioritised unions' interests rather than ensuring workers and businesses were protected.
"Operation Kingfisher, and the Campbell Primary School procurement at its heart, showed how special relationships and back-door channels can influence live tenders," Mr Parton said.
The Master Builders ACT backed the Liberals' call for the Secure Local Jobs Code to be abolished because it prevented local businesses from tendering for local construction projects.
"For years, Master Builders ACT has warned the Secure Local Jobs Code places an unnecessary administrative burden on local building and construction businesses, particularly smaller businesses," Master Builders ACT chief executive Anna Neelagama said.
"It favours big interstate and international firms, and as a result we are seeing the spending on the ACT government's infrastructure going interstate and overseas."
Property Council ACT and capital region executive director Ashlee Berry said it was appropriate for the procurement process in the ACT to be examined after the Integrity Commission's findings.
"Government procurement is a relationship between government and contractors. There is no place for third-party involvement in ACT procurement. Procurement decisions must be objective, transparent, and based on merit," Ms Berry said.
Integrity Commissioner Michael Adams KC has criticised the memorandum of understanding with UnionsACT but told budget estimates the Secure Local Jobs Code "does seem to be a reasonable approach to a difficult problem".
Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith earlier this month told budget estimates she thought the memorandum would be phased out when the Secure Local Jobs Code was introduced.
Ms Stephen-Smith told the Assembly in 2018 when she introduced the bill to establish the code that the memorandum would end.
