More union whistleblowers are being urged to come forward as allegations of misconduct and criminal links mar the CFMEU’s construction division.
The division has been accused of taking kickbacks, being linked to organised crime and employing standover tactics on worksites, according to a series of reports in The Age, Sydney Morning Herald and Australian Financial Review.
The latest report reveals leaked text messages of a network of Labor-linked women who rallied around fallen union leader John Setka over criminal harassment charges and his criticism of Rosie Batty’s DV advocacy work.
Queensland Nationals senator Susan McDonald.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
“This behaviour has no place in Australia and I urge employers and workers who have suffered from CFMEU thuggery to speak out,” Queensland Nationals senator Susan McDonald said.
Federal Labor became the latest to cut ties with the embattled union on Thursday, indefinitely suspending affiliation between the construction division and the NSW, Victorian, South Australian and Tasmanian branches of the party.
It will not accept political donations or fees from the division in line with announcements from some state counterparts. But it has faced some criticism for excluding states, namely Queensland, from the suspension.
Labor senator Tim Ayres, who sits on the national executive, defended the decision, telling ABC TV that the ALP leadership had “seen very clear requests from premiers in those states”.
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However, McDonald said the CFMEU had “perpetrated a culture of fear in the Queensland construction sector”.
“I’ve spoken privately to individual workers and company heads who outlined the intimidatory tactics and outrageous demands by union heavies but they didn’t want to go public in case they missed out on future work,” the senator said.
“Some examples include dictating that only CFMEU members can perform certain tasks and stopping concrete pours halfway through the job to increase pressure on employers to fall into line.”
AAP
Source Agencies
