Industrial tensions on North East Link escalate

A new CMFEU tactic is expected to deliver significant financial pain for builders and increase the risk of blowouts and delays on the North East Link.

Workers linked to the CFMEU on the North East Link are refusing to work overtime amid escalating industrial tensions on the $16bn project.

The Herald Sun has learned that hundreds of union members are being encouraged not to work more than eight hours on early works and other parts of the massive toll road as construction ramps up.

It comes just weeks after it was revealed they had also instructed for a ban on night time work.

Both disruptions are expected to deliver significant financial pain for builders and increase the risk of blowouts and delays.

However the North East Link Authority insists it remains on schedule.

The CFMEU have ramped up their tactics on the signature government project as major contract work begins and as they seek to negotiate a statewide deal with CPB, who are part of the consortium building the toll road.

How the North East Link could look once complete.

They are also continuing to demand that contractors who are not aligned to them be replaced.

Similar to the West Gate Tunnel, the North East Link has now become a flashpoint in an ongoing industrial war in which the CFMEU is working to muscle out its competition on civil construction jobs.

Over the past year, they have repeatedly shut down and delayed government projects until builders remove contractors linked to their rivals the Australian Workers Union or companies who have no union allegiance.

They are typically replaced by companies friendly to the CFMEU.

Insiders have described the tactics as industrial coercion and the Andrews Government has been accused of enabling the behaviour, with major builders concerned of missing out on lucrative government projects unless they do deals with the union.

The Opposition has referred the issue to the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission asking them to look into the escalating dispute.

CFMEU have ramped up their tactics on the North East Link.

Many of the union’s significant shutdown tactics take place on state projects which significantly disrupt the public, such as a level crossing removal project in Sunbury which caused major rail and road delays.

The North East Link has emerged as the latest battleground because new contracts are being awarded, work is ramping up and it is one of the state government’s biggest and most notable projects.

One insider said the decision to restrict overtime would cause frustration with members.

“A lot of people plan themselves around doing 10 hours of work per day as a minimum,” he said.

“Some members will feel like the union is taking money out of their own pockets.”

North East Link chief executive Duncan Elliott said work on the project had ramped up and they were on track to start tunnelling from 2024.

“The management of industrial relations is a matter for our construction partners. We encourage all parties, including unions, to work cooperatively together.”  

One of the project’s major early works contractors, Bothar Tunnelling and Boring has gone into administration and businesses who worked for the company on the North East Link are still waiting to learn if they will be paid.

The collapse came just a year after a similar contractor who assisted with early works, Quinn Civil, went into liquidation, lashing out at contract changes and ongoing issues with the builders.