Barangaroo fall death reveals murky union world in Australian building industry
HE was 23, father of a small child and when he fell 30m from scaffolding at Barangaroo the impact of his death reverberated throughout the building industry.
HE was 23, father of a small child and when he fell 30m from scaffolding at Barangaroo the impact of his death reverberated throughout the building industry.
His death has helped shed light over the alleged links between crooks, bikies, standover men and the building industry that the Gyles Royal Commission into the NSW building industry in the 1990s had identified and warned about.
"I've been quite concerned at what has been said this week," Commission chair Roger Gyles told The Daily Telegraph.
At the heart of the problem sits the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU), which has the power to grant employers Enterprise Bargaining Agreements giving them the green light to put workers on to any building site in the city.
The union is there to protect workers' rights, but when the young scaffolder died the union had to have a whip-around because employer contributions to his workers compensation cover had not been paid.
His employer, Active Labour, is run by George Alex and had received an EBA from the union - even though at one stage last year Mr Alex's companies reportedly owed more than $1 million in workers benefits and unpaid taxes. Mr Alex has not commented on the allegations.
Listed among the former company officers of Active Labour are relatives of both Alex and his close associate Joe Antoun, who was described by loved ones as a "gentle family man" after he died in a hail of bullets on the doorstep of his home in December.
Antoun was the muscle. NSW Supreme Court documents show that he, Alex and Underbelly hardman Mick Gatto stood over Queensland hire firm boss Kevin McHugh and persuaded him to sign over his companies to them. There is no suggestion Alex had anything to do with Antoun's murder.
This was all too much for whistleblower Brian Fitzpatrick, a 25-year CFMEU veteran, who came forward to say that union officials had given Active Labour a dream run. He quit as tensions rose over his investigations into Alex's companies.
He singled out CFMEU Secretary Brian Parker, who had previously said Alex was a "professional … he sticks to his word."
Parker was on leave as the storm erupted this week. He confirmed a professional relationship with Alex but added: "I do not have a social relationship with George Alex and have not played any role in promoting Active Labour Hire on the Barangaroo project."
Parker, known as Sparkles in the industry, was a pallbearer on Tuesday to his close friend and well-known building industry figure Denis Delic.
Parker and Delic were part-owners together in a racehorse called Versace Vain, which had been put to pasture after a couple of trials.
Parker and CFMEU National Secretary Dave Noonan both issued statements after the storm erupted.
Mr Gyles said their names were familiar to him from his earlier inquiry.
"A lot of familiar names were all in the union when I was looking at the industry. They were at a much lower level then. Of course it is only a concern if they have been up to the wrong thing," he said.
"I think the unions need to be looked at. They are registered organisations and they receive many privileges and so they certainly need a good looking at," he said.
NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell has ordered an inquiry into the Barangaroo site and Prime Minister Tony Abbott is poised to announce a Royal Commission. NSW police are investigating.
Mr O'Farrell said his preliminary advice was that there were only 40-50 employees on the Barangaroo site who were "in some way" connected to Active Labour, out of a total workforce of 600, and that it didn't pose a threat to the project. "I'm concerned about the identities involved,'' Mr O'Farrell said. ''I've asked for a report on the matter."
His preliminary advice was there was no state funding of Active Labour's indigenous employment program, through which the dead worker had been hired.
The industry's problems were addressed for a time by the Australian Building and Construction Commission, which the federal Labor government replaced in 2012 with Fair Work, Building and Construction (FWBC).
FWBC director Nigel Hadgkiss said, in general: "The building and construction industry lends itself to organised crime. Where there is a profit motive there is continued criminal activity, there is cash around, there is violence and there is corruption.
"I am aware of paper bribes to senior union officials … I brought these to the attention of both Victoria Police and ultimately the Crime Commission. When matters do not get proper attention it is frustrating for all concerned."
FWBC has referred two matters to Victorian police and Victorian CFMEU organiser Danny Berardi quit after it was revealed he had his house renovated for free by a building company.
That is not enough for Barangaroo developer Lend Lease, which has called for the reinstatement of the ABCC. Chief executive officer Steve McCann said: "Corrupt activity on any of our building sites will not be tolerated.
"The Australian building and construction industry must demonstrate it is committed to robust governance and strong management."
It cannot come soon enough according to one building industry insider. He said it was a common industry practice that firms often take contracts with an award wage of, for example, $34 an hour for workers.
"They then subcontract that out with a wage of $30 an hour, pocketing the difference.
"By the time the backpacker on the security gate gets $20 cash in hand a lot of people have made a lot of money and the worker has not had any of his entitlements, such as super and workers compensation paid. Isn't that what the union is supposed to be protecting?" said the insider.
In the 1990s the Gyles Royal Commission found such criminal activity widespread in the building industry.
"The worst factors I saw are reappearing in a more troubling form because of the allegations of the infiltration of organised crime and bikies into the union at a reasonably high level, particularly as the allegations are coming from within the organisation," said Mr Gyles.
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