Union sends Premier Daniel Andrews letter demanding he stop promoting Grocon work

THE Victorian boss of construction union the CFMEU has written to Premier Daniel Andrews demanding he stop promoting work done by its industrial nemesis Grocon.

CFMEU construction branch state secretary John Setka has written to Premier Daniel Andrews demanding he stop promoting work done by its industrial nemesis Grocon. Picture: Aaron Francis

THE Victorian boss of construction union the CFMEU has written to Premier Daniel Andrews demanding he stop promoting work done by its industrial nemesis Grocon.

In a bizarre letter addressed to the premier, state secretary of the union’s construction division John Setka accuses Police Minister Lisa Neville and Planning Minister Richard Wynne of “flaunting their relationship with this company”.

Mr Setka tells Mr Andrews that if this doesn’t stop, then he and his members “will not continue to support your Government”.

The attack on Ms Neville is understood to relate to a social media post on Saturday, in which she thanks Grocon for their work doing the Wye River and Separation Creek bushfires clean-up.

Ms Neville described this work as “over and above expectations” for the communities affected by the fires that destroyed 116 homes.

Police Minister Lisa Neville. Picture: Michael Dugdale

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews. Picture: Alex Murray

In response to Ms Neville’s post, Mr Setka wrote that her support for the company’s clean-up effort was “disgraceful” and that she should “stand down now”.

The bitter battle between Grocon and the CFMEU, and which is acknowledged in Mr Setka’s letter as “an ‘industrial war’”, has been simmering since an extraordinary protest that shut down the CBD at the building giant’s Myer Emporium site in 2012.

Since then, they have continued to clash publicly as Grocon resists the union’s control of building sites.

The letter signed by Mr Setka says the premier and his team have a “moral responsibility” to avoid Grocon.

“The Victorian Branch of the CFEMU Construction and General Division, on behalf of its members, cannot and will not continue to support your Government if it continues with the pathetically weak and morally corrupt stance of promoting and supporting companies such as Grocon,” the letter says.

Mr Setka and Mr Andrews are both part of Labor’s Socialist Left in Victoria, but are aligned to different subfactions.

Mr Setka says in his letter that while he thinks Labor in power would be better for workers in Victoria, he writes in “dismay and in utter disgust” that the premier would promote Grocon.

Government spokeswoman Lisa Maksimovic said correspondence is received from “many different organisations and like all others, the union is entitled to express its views”.

Grocon declined to comment, while Mr Setka did not return calls.

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