Demand to CFMEU after alleged death threat to business owner

A minister has condemned a controversial decision to re-employ a union organiser who is facing charges relating to an alleged death threat.

Senator Murray Watt has taken aim at a controversial re-employment. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

The federal Employment Minister has condemned a controversial decision by the CFMEU administrator to re-employ a union organiser facing criminal charges.

CFMEU administrator Mark Irving has allowed Joel Shackleton to keep his job despite the senior union organiser facing allegations of threatening to kill the owner of a labour hire company.

Mr Shackleton was charged with making threats to kill and threats to inflict serious injury after being captured on video telling the owner “I’ll f**king take your soul and I’ll rip your f**cking head off”. He denies the allegations.

During an interview with 4BC, Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Murray Watt said he asked for an explanation into Mr Shackleton’s hiring after he was suspended on full pay from his job as a CFMEU Indigenous organiser in September when the charges were laid.

“I have asked for an urgent briefing on this to understand the background,” Senator Watt said.

Senator Murray Watt has asked for a please explain. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

The Albanese government in August forced the CFMEU’s construction division into administration and sacked officials en masse, declaring it was shocked and disturbed at the ­alleged widespread infiltration of the union by organised crime and outlaw ­bikies.

“Our government has taken the strongest possible action with the CFMEU construction division by putting them into administration, so an external administrator has been appointed to run the union and make the employment decisions,” Senator Watt continued.

“It’s not only on the union side, we’ve seen a lot of employers do the wrong thing and they need to pay a price as well.

“Moving forward we want to clean up the CFMEU construction division.”

In a statement to The Australian on Wednesday, a spokesman for Mr Irving confirmed that Mr Shackleton would be employed in the union’s Melbourne office.

“Until the finalisation of that court process, Mr Shackleton will be working from the CFMEU ­office and will not be exercising any right of entry to access construction sites,” he said.

“In this revised role, Mr Shackleton will continue to represent Indigenous members.”

Mr Shackleton, 40, has been bailed to appear at Melbourne Magistrates Court on November 22 and intends to plead not guilty to the charges.

The union says it will stand behind Mr Shackleton until the finalisation of the court process. Picture: NewsWire / Aaron Francis

Detectives arrested Mr Shackleton on September 5.

Police allege he made threats to inflict serious injury on two owners of an Indigenous labour hire company during a confrontation on a Victorian Big Build site run by contractor CPB.

In the covert video recorded in March 2022, and subsequently broadcast by the Nine Network’s 60 Minutes in July, Mr Shackleton and a second CFMEU official, Gerry McCrudden, are shown having a confrontation with the owners of Marda Dandhi, which was aligned with the CFMEU’s union rival, the Australian Workers Union.

Originally published as Demand to CFMEU after alleged death threat to business owner