State warned of ‘illegal union activity’

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David Marin-Guzman, Financial Review, 27 April 2023

Victorian Deputy Premier Jacinta Allan was warned about ‘‘illegal’’ CFMEU coercion of Indigenous firms on the state’s infrastructure projects last year, sparking alerts across political offices.

Emails released under freedom of information laws show a state infrastructure executive briefed Ms Allan about an unnamed Indigenous labour hire firm that the CFMEU allegedly kicked off nine government projects, including the state’s signature project, the $200 billion Suburban Rail Loop.

However, Victorian Indigenous business chamber Kinaway, which raised the issue, said the government did nothing about the matter with builders or the union and instead referred the firm to the soon-to-be scrapped industry watchdog.

The government’s failure to address the alleged coercion of Indigenous firms contrasts with Major Roads Projects Victoria promoting a new Mick Gatto-linked Indigenous firm on the $222 million Mickleham Road upgrade last week.

The Australian Financial Review contacted several Indigenous labour hire firms understood to have been forced off projects for not having a CFMEU agreement but all declined to comment out of fear of repercussions.

One firm owner, speaking anonymously, said the actions had had a ‘‘severe impact’’ on cash flow, the livelihood of their business and its workers.

‘‘The flow-on effect of this is it disadvantages the marginalised people who are employees of the Indigenous companies,’’ he said.

‘‘These are ex-offenders who come out of jail, are doing really well and have been in a job for 18 months, working with 10 other Indigenous people, and all of a sudden they get pushed off by the CFMEU, don’t have the same continuity of work and fall back into the cracks and end up reoffending.’’

In a June 14 email with the subject header ‘‘Impact by Illegal CFMEU Activity’’, Major Transport Infrastructure Authority IR director Darren Driscoll said ‘‘the allegations of union coercion to displace him [the unnamed Indigenous firm owner] has now extended to 9 projects, including SRL [Suburban Rail Loop]’’.

‘‘We briefed the [Transport] Minister and further work will occur across the political offices,’’ he said in the email released under FOI.

The email was addressed to the CEO of the North East Link project, Duncan Elliott, and MRPV CEO Allen Garner.

The name of the firm was redacted as part of the FOI release, as was the entire letter the firm wrote to the minister detailing its coercion claims.

A day after the letter, a CFMEU political organiser emailed Ms Allan to invite her to a union meeting with new Indigenous firm Dardi Munwurro, which is in a joint venture with ASX-listed labour hire business Ashley Services Group.

The unnamed official pitched the CFMEU-backed firm as the ‘‘only company that has a 100 per cent aboriginal workforce on the ground’’, according to the email released under FOI.

The CFMEU did not respond to requests for comment before deadline.

Kinaway chief executive Scott McCartney said the chamber had been ‘‘trying to work out what had changed because these businesses had been on these sites for a couple of years’’.

Mr McCartney said the Andrews government had told it there was nothing it could do and instead suggested an approach to the ABCC. The Albanese government stripped the watchdog’s powers a few months later.

Workplace correspondent