The CFMEU is a strong union, and has won enviable wages and conditions for workers in the construction industry. The union has not been afraid to break the law through unprotected industrial action and against the oppressive industry-specific laws enforced by the ABCC until their abolition. Whether it be stopping work to ensure safe worksites; demanding amenities for women workers; or winning and protecting their RDO calendars, the CFMEU has been effective. In most states, the CFMEU negotiated 5 per cent annual wage increases in the 2024 round of Enterprise Bargaining Agreements (EBAs).

Construction workers who have worked on both EBA and non-EBA sites are quick to recognise the difference the CFMEU makes in safety, wages and conditions. A strong union is needed to enforce the conditions won by generations of workers. Wage theft is common in the industry with both wages and entitlements often underpaid or not paid at all. Bosses are constantly cutting corners on safety to speed up jobs and save money. Conditions such as heat and rainy weather policies and appropriate amenities need to be actively defended. The presence of an organiser or official on site to ensure that the conditions that are in agreements are actually enforced. This requires a union that isn’t just a call centre and a social media presence, but organisers with experience in the industry who will actually show up to a job site. Without this “in real life” representation wages, conditions and safety are all at risk. Reduced representation will lead to more deaths on construction sites.

The legislation put through Parliament by the ALP to put the CFMEU under administration was rushed through to circumvent normal legal processes. The Fair Work Commission initiated proceedings in the Federal Court to appoint an independent administrator to the CFMEU, but the Federal Government was not satisfied to let this process run its course – specifically any legal challenge from the union. When the union refused to accept the appointment of an administrator the Government introduced legislation into the parliament to make new laws and rules that allowed an administrator to be imposed on the union immediately. The legislation itself says that the Minister does not have to have regard for the rules of natural justice. The CFMEU has not had an opportunity to argue its case against the administration in a court of law.

Despite the breathless media coverage with allegations of corruption, standover tactics and harassment, only one CFMEU official has been charged with any offense since this media beat-up began. Any evidence of wrongdoing should be handled by the police, not the media or the government. While there are historic allegations of corruption against two union officials, these cases are working their way through the court system and the officials involved have strenuously denied the allegations. Regardless of the outcome, everyone has the right to the presumption of innocence, and to a fair trial.

The allegations reported by the media are no basis for penalising tens of thousands of construction workers by putting their union into administration. This overreach shows this onslaught for what it is – an opportunistic attack to discipline and hobble the CFMEU.

CFMEU EBAs are now subject to additional “measures” before being approved by the Fair Work Commission. This has slowed the approval process to a glacial speed..Some employers had started paying 2024 EBA rates from 1 July prior to agreements being approved by the FWC. But now with approvals stalled and allegations flying, some have reverted back to the lower 2020-23 EBA rates. Other employers are arguing that EBAs aren’t genuine because of alleged coercion. The Master Builders Association is encouraging builders not to sign EBAs at all. The FWC website also has a prominent banner where you can anonymously report “concerns” about the CFMEU. In addition to these direct attacks on wages and conditions, the legislation passed by the Federal Parliament has sacked elected officials and officers of the CFMEU, banning them for life from working for a union again. The legislation hands complete control of the running of the union to the administrator. Union assets can be sold, and union employees sacked. Union elections are suspended until the administrator decides to hold them, and with 270 officials and officers sacked, all decision making for the union sits with one man, administrator Mark Irving. This is an affront to the principles of unionism and democracy.

There has been little to no scrutiny of the behaviour of bosses in the construction industry. The ABC published an article that outlined an allegation backed up by multiple sources that senior Comancheros bikies are “linked” with a security provider (Host Group) employed by BMD on Centenary Bridge upgrade project in Brisbane. It is further alleged that a Comanchero member acting for Host Group threatened a CFMEU delegate and his family. This is not an isolated incident. The referral of these allegations to the FWO for investigation pales in comparison to the response of media, government and the ACTU to allegations levelled at the CFMEU. This continues a long pattern of one rule for them, and another for workers. Bosses in the construction industry regularly break the law – through wage theft, OHS regulations, bullying, and even manslaughter through their failure to provide safe workplaces. Too often there are no consequences to their actions, and investigations into the “culture” in the construction industry begin and end with workers and their unions.

The media and the Federal Government directed their initial attack at elected officials and the CFMEU in broad terms. This is now spreading. The administrator has stood down organisers (employees of the union) and forced the removal of union appointed directors from Cbus (the construction industry super fund). What’s next? Staff in union offices, other construction industry super funds, redundancy funds and training organisations are all at risk of interference or destruction from the administrator. Other unions, particularly those that have publicly supported the CFMEU, are also in the firing line for similar attacks by the ALP, and sanctions by the ACTU.

History shows us that the ALP has a track record of this sort of bullshit. Under Labor governments, soldiers were sent to break the 1949 coal strike, the BLF was deregistered, and the 1989 pilots strike broken. In each of these examples, the ALP government was backed by the ACTU. Sound familiar? The ALP have acted with great speed and ruthlessness to put the CFMEU into administration on untested allegations made by the media. The ACTU jumped into line swiftly suspending the CFMEU from ACTU Executive. Sally McManus called on the CFMEU to cooperate with the government and “support” the appointment of an administrator. The ALP and the ACTU both have a preference for tame cat unions that follow the party line; not militant unions like the CFMEU. Administration could turn the CFMEU into another AWU – compliant with the most repressive laws, and loyal to the party machine.

The CFMEU has been under direct government attack for most of its thirty-two-year existence. The union has found itself isolated from the broader union movement, whilst still finding strong connection and solidarity with many blue collar unions including the ETU, Plumbers Union, CEPU, AMWU, AMIEU, UFU, and RTBU. The ACTU’s suspension of the CFMEU marked the union and its members as pariahs. This has meant that at this moment of great attack on one group of workers’ rights, most unions have stayed silent. This is not right. It is not okay that everyday working people have had their union seized and their officials sacked without consultation. Every union should stand up for basic principles of democracy and justice, and the slogan that unites us all: touch one, touch all. Workers from a range of unions are organising workplace motions in support of the CFMEU, and open letters to their elected officials demanding they take a stand. This fight is not just for construction workers — it is for all of us.

While the legislation that has been passed is specific to the CFMEU, this approach sets a dangerous precedent. It warns union officials: don’t be too militant, don’t be too effective and don’t boast about your power – or it will all be stripped away from you. While the Albanese government may have limited their attack to the CFMEU, who knows what a Dutton Liberal Government would do with this new frontier. The NSW Liberals have already flagged that the ETU is in their sights for administration in response to disruptive industrial action in the energy sector. There is also concern administration could be used to discipline the MUA. If we tolerate this overreach and attack on one union, there is nothing to stop an emboldened Liberal (or Labor) government from doing this, or more, to any union deemed the new “most militant”.

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