Union boss John Setka’s member ‘poaching’ case dismissed
A civil stoush within the CFMEU over John Setka’s poaching of members has been dismissed in the Federal Court after members defected from different divisions within the union. Here’s how it unfolded.
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A civil stoush within the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union over John Setka’s poaching of members has been dismissed in the Federal Court.
CFMMEU national secretary Michael O’Connor launched court action in a bid to stop the controversial Victorian secretary from encouraging members to resign from Mr O’Connor’s manufacturing division and instead join his construction branch.
Since August last year, 219 members of Mr O’Connor’s division had defected to Mr Setka’s branch.
Mr O’Connor argued this was a breach of the union’s national rules.
He said cabinet makers, floor layers and glaziers employed on Victorian construction sites should be represented by his manufacturing division.
The union’s four divisions – construction and general, manufacturing, mining and energy, and maritime – each have its own rules.
Mr Setka argued his interpretation of the rules was the members rightly belong to the construction and general division.
Federal Court judge David O’Callaghan today agreed with Mr Setka, finding he had not breached union rules.
He said Mr O’Connor’s reading of the rules was “most improbable”.
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