‘Get on with the job’: Protests roll into second day after CFMEU High Court ruling

Queensland’s transport minister has told protesting construction workers to “get on with the job”, after disgruntled CFMEU members walked off job sites for a second day on Friday morning.

Members of the union gathered outside CFMEU Queensland’s head office on Campbell Street in Bowen Hills about 5am, closing traffic lanes in both directions.

Police were on site after CFMEU members walked off work sites in Brisbane on Thursday to campaign against the decision to put the union into administration, following reports of violence, intimidation and corrupt conduct across the east coast, and a High Court ruling on Wednesday that upheld the legality of the move.

“We know the entire system is against us,” former CFMEU national president Jade Ingham told the rally at Bowen Hills on the first day of the protest.

“But ... they underestimate our resolve, they underestimate how prepared we are to take this fight on all the way until we win ... mark my words, we will win this fight.”

Victorian barrister Mark Irving – the union’s administrator since the ousting of Ingham, former Queensland secretary Michael Ravbar and other senior figures – reportedly told members the action was unauthorised and they must return to work.

Members of the CFMEU protest on Thursday.Credit: William Davis

“I have advised staff and members that any action [on Thursday morning] is likely to be unlawful industrial action, and I have directed them to return to work,” Irving told The Courier-Mail.

“It is time for all members, delegates and staff to work together to return the union to membership control.”

Queensland Minister for Transport and Main Roads Brent Mickelberg weighed in on Friday morning, calling the protests “nothing more than a dummy spit”.

“I think Queenslanders have had enough of the CFMEU and their bullying and thuggery, and that was recognised with the decision of the High Court two days ago,” Mickelberg said.

Union members at Bowen Hills on Thursday.Credit: AAPIMAGE

“The Queensland government [is] not going to tolerate that behaviour.”

The minister estimated the protest action would cause costs in the millions to infrastructure.

“If I look at the Centenary Bridge upgrade, a large project on the western side of Brisbane ... it is multiple millions of dollars that the CFMEU have added to the cost of this project.

“The majority of our construction workers just want to get on with the job and deliver the infrastructure that we need here in Queensland.

“It is that small minority of CFMEU thugs who are deliberately trying to destroy productivity here in Queensland and across Australia, and we won’t stand for it.”

Civil Contractors Queensland chief executive Damian Long called the rallies “unhelpful” and called for “co-operation, not disruption”.

“Contractors are focused on delivering the projects that matter: fixing the housing shortage,
progressing the clean energy transition and building the infrastructure that keeps communities moving. That’s where our energy should be, not managing avoidable unrest,” he said.

Up to 200 union members walked off job sites around the CBD, including Cross River Rail and the Coomera Connector, on Friday.

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