Construction manager alleges CFMEU stopped Victorian rail project until union-linked firms were installed
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A royal commission heard testimony alleging that the Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union shut down work on a Melbourne rail bridge project and pressed for the appointment of union-linked labour hire and safety representatives before allowing the job to continue.
The Big Build royal commission heard evidence on Tuesday that the Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union (CFMEU) halted work on a Victorian government rail bridge project and used the stoppage to force through the appointment of union-affiliated labour hire and health-and-safety representatives.
John Holland general superintendent Steve Testolin testified that he attended a meeting on 6 June 2022 at the union’s headquarters with CFMEU officials Joe Myles and Paul Tzimas. He said the union delivered an ultimatum, after which his company conceded to the demands, allowing work to resume the following day.
“How bout you cut the bullshit and tell me what you want?” Testolin recalled saying during the meeting.
The demands included placing union health-and-safety representatives on site and replacing existing labour-hire and traffic-management firms with those affiliated to the CFMEU. Testolin said Myles indicated that aligning with the union would improve the company’s prospects for future contracts, such as the airport rail link.
Rail Network Alliance general manager Joe Aygur said government officials warned that failure to resolve the dispute could jeopardise the firm’s ability to win further Victorian contracts. He attributed the pressure to the office of the minister for transport infrastructure.
Aygur estimated that the occupation could have cost up to $750,000 per day in penalties, $500,000 per day for replacement bus services and $3 million per day in additional labour costs.
A crane operator and health-and-safety officer, Glenn Tyrell, told the commission that he and other workers were given an ultimatum to join the CFMEU and sign with a new labour-hire company within days of the stoppage, despite the new contracts offering the same award rates.
Former supervisor Robert Van Den Tol described the union’s actions in late May and early June 2022 as “unusual” and suggested they were aimed at installing a CFMEU health-and-safety representative.
The commission, chaired by Commissioner Christopher Kourakis, will continue hearings on Wednesday.