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David Marin-Guzman

This Month

Virtical owner John Palasty at his home in East Hills in Sydney’s west in September 2024.

Virtical boss may have acted as shadow director after resigning

Administrators say John Palasty controlled key accounts and operations despite resigning from the company that owned Hotel Australasia and a luxury resort project.

December 2024

A CFMEU rally in Melbourne against the administration in September.

Will the CFMEU be cleaned out? Many doubt it

With few runs on the board at the end of the year, some fear the “timid” and “constrained” CFMEU administration is losing the battle of public perception.

Two fund directors appointed by the union have been removed from their roles.

Industry slams ‘whitewash’ Victoria government report into CFMEU

Employer groups say Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan’s promise to strengthen whistleblower protections and clean up misbehaviour in the building industry ring hollow.

Ousted CFMEU NSW secretary Darren Greenfield.

High Court challenge delays CFMEU corruption case

A further delay means that ousted CFMEU NSW secretary Darren Greenfield is yet to be committed to trial almost four years since charges were laid.

Darren Greenfield addresses a rally outside NSW Parliament House in September.

Ousted CFMEU officials left in charge of $7m trust

Ex-CFMEU officials, including former NSW leader Darren Greenfield, are on a union-related fund that controls several million dollars, some four months since the union went into administration.

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CFMEU officials Darren Greenfield (left) and Michael Greenfield have denied the allegations of receiving “corrupting benefits”.

CFMEU investigator looks into $30k-a-month payments to Greenfield duo

Ousted CFMEU NSW secretary Darren Greenfield and his son and former deputy Michael received almost $1 million in union members’ money over three years.

Former head of mergers and acquisitions Jillian Wilson claims she was underpaid $30,000 in superannuation.

Finance exec sues over dismissal ‘for refusing to work on leave’

The mergers and acquisitions chief says she was locked out of her emails and subject to an unspecified performance investigation when she returned from personal leave.

Health Workers Union boss Diana Asmar allegedly said “I am going to kill her” in relation to an industrial officer who brought charges against her.

Health Workers Union boss restrained after claims ‘traitors’ targeted

The Federal Court has effectively stood aside controversial Health Workers Union boss Diana Asmar after finding there was a serious question over her alleged attempts to target union staff who she regarded as “traitors”.

Courtney Kelley.

MinRes lawyer claims she was forced out for raising ‘cultural issues’

Former legal counsel claims she was retrenched in May because Chris Ellison believed she would make a whistleblower complaint.

Unemployment rate.

‘Bye-bye’ February rate cut as unemployment rate falls to 3.9pc

More than 35,000 people found jobs in November, pushing the unemployment rate below 4 per cent for the first time since March.

  • Updated
Unionist rallied in Canberra on Tuesday in protest at the CFMEU being placed into administration for alleged links to the crime world.

The secret sting in the union membership surge under Labor

A union membership increase bucking a decade of decline is entirely due to public sector growth, concealing a new low in the private sector.

ACTU secretary Sally McManus on Monday called for interest rate cuts outside the Reserve Bank.

Union growth is back under Labor after a decade of decline

The ACTU says a return to collective bargaining under the Albanese government has helped unions increase their membership to 13 per cent of the workforce.

The University of Melbourne has agreed to an undertaking with the Fair Work Ombudsman to improve its governance after underpaying thousands of staff.

Melbourne Uni’s $72m deal to settle backpay case sets precedent

The University of Melbourne has agreed to overhaul its compliance systems in an underpayment settlement that the regulator says sets the bar for large employers.

Striking workers outside the Woolworths distribution centre in Dandenong South last week.

Hit to Woolworths sales from strike grows to $140m, expected to rise

The supermarket giant agreed to a pay deal with the union on Saturday, ending industrial action. But it will take weeks to restock stores and warehouses.

Queensland Premier David Crisafulli and his predecessor Steven Miles

Labor paid $30m to union-backed bodies in dying hours of Qld rule

Despite promising the money as part of its re-election bid, the state government paid it to union-backed training organisations a day before entering caretaker mode.

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Woolworths Metro/BWS on Collins St, Melbourne with empty shelves due to a prolonged strike by warehouse workers.

Woolworths has partial win in union blockade leaving shelves bare

The retailer’s win at the Fair Work Commission could dent an indefinite strike that has cost it more than $50 million.

George Alex was convicted of tax fraud and money laundering.

Construction boss jailed over ‘rape and pillage’ fraud

Organised crime figure George Alex also had help in claiming millions of dollars of debts from an unnamed CFMEU official, a NSW Supreme Court judge said.

Master Builders Victoria board directors say the employer group is reliant on Incolink for solvency.

How builders got captured by the CFMEU’s $1.2b redundancy fund

Master Builders Victoria’s solvency relies on millions of dollars in grants from the John Setka-backed Incolink fund, which whistleblowers say has created a huge conflict of interest.

MBAV chief executive Michaela Lihou’s role as an Incolink board director has been called into question.

Builders lobby ‘entirely reliant’ on CFMEU millions

The key employer group for builders in Victoria relies on multimillion-dollar grants to stay afloat, creating potential conflicts of interest in its bargaining with the CFMEU, a whistleblower complaint alleges.

Ousted CFMEU NSW secretary Darren Greenfield speaking at the CFMEU protest of the administrator.

Investigation launched into claims ousted CFMEU boss used CCTV to spy

The Fair Work Commission investigation into former NSW union boss Darren Greenfield is the first under Labor’s laws that prevent former officials obstructing the administration of the CFMEU.

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/by/david-marin-guzman-gr047a