Relationship raises conflict of interest questions for CFMEU boss and construction exec

The Allan government is being advised on its industrial relations strategy by a senior manager of a major construction firm who is in a relationship with a high ranking CFMEU official being investigated by police for alleged corruption.

Six construction industry and union sources, who mostly spoke on the condition of anonymity, citing fear of repercussions, have raised concerns about the potential for conflicts of interest to arise from the relationship between the construction manager of big builder Multiplex, Amy Pitchford, and embattled construction union assistant secretary Derek Christopher.

Pitchford’s influence on the state’s construction sector extends beyond her senior role at Multiplex to her role on the Victorian government’s Building Industry Consultative Council, which offers high-level advice to Industrial Relations Minister Tim Pallas on key issues in the construction industry.

While there is no suggestion Pitchford has ever acted improperly, Victoria Police has since 2017 been investigating allegations Christoper corruptly received benefits worth an estimated $200,000 from big building companies, including Multiplex, in return for union favours. The benefits allegedly included free labour and materials used to renovate Christopher’s suburban home.

Christopher has not been charged but is the subject of a police investigation. There is no suggestion from this masthead he is guilty of an offence, a finding that can only be made by a court.

Amy Pitchford is construction manager at Multiplex, a company with close ties to the CFMEU.Credit: LinkedIn

The allegation against Christopher was revealed as part of the Building Bad investigation by this masthead, The Australia Financial Review and 60 Minutes. That series also aired allegations the CFMEU had been infiltrated by bikies and organised crime, and triggered the resignation of former CFMEU Victorian division leader John Setka.

The sources said Christopher’s influence as the longtime right-hand man of Setka had the potential to impact Multiplex’s construction business in Victoria, which is partly managed by Pitchford. Prior to Setka quitting the union last month after receiving questions about the Building Bad revelations, he had anointed Christopher to take over the union’s top job. Christopher declined to comment when contacted by this masthead on Friday.

A Multiplex spokesperson said in a statement that “the relationship [between Christopher and Pitchford] has been declared and any potential conflicts have been appropriately managed”.

“This is a personal matter and we won’t comment further.”

Multiplex’s relationship with the CFMEU is hugely influential across the state’s construction industry, with the enterprise bargaining agreement struck between the firm and the union typically creating an industry-wide standard.

Pitchford has previously played a direct role helping Multiplex negotiate its enterprise bargaining agreement with the CFMEU. Her signature appeared alongside Setka’s in the tier one firm’s October 2020 union EBA.

This masthead does not know the exact date the relationship between Christopher and Pitchford began, but sources say it commenced after the 2020 negotiations and continued while Pitchford has advised the Victorian government as a member of its Building Industry Consultative Council.

Victoria’s CFMEU assistant secretary Derek Christopher.Credit: Luis Enrique Ascui

Pitchford helps manage Multiplex’s Victorian construction business, which can rise or fall depending on its interactions with the CFMEU, where Christopher has had a leading role for more than a decade. Pitchford’s LinkedIn profile says she has worked with the company for 18 years and began her latest role as construction manager in 2021.

Construction executive turned consultant Stephen Sasse, an industrial relations expert, said the personal relationship between the union boss and the Multiplex manager created a conflict of interest that had the potential to ripple through the industry given it usually “falls behind Multiplex” in its dealings with the union.

“Multiplex is notoriously close to the CFMEU and as a typical first or early mover in reaching deals with the CFMEU in pattern agreements, effectively sets the pay and conditions for the entire industry,” Sasse said.

“There is an opportunity for Multiplex to have a commercial advantage because of the potential for this manager to have insights into the CFMEU’s thinking regarding terms and conditions. If you have an inside line to the union, you’re ahead of everybody else.”

Pitchford was appointed to the 17-person BICC advisory council in 2018 and, along with union, industry and public servant representatives, offers what the government has described as “high-level” advice to Industrial Relations Minister Tim Pallas on “economic and industrial relations issues affecting the building and construction industry.”

Asked if it was appropriate that the partner of a union boss facing a corruption investigation was advising the government, a Victorian government spokesperson said the council “provides advice to government on sector issues” and was “not a decision-making body”.

The spokesman also revealed that the government had temporarily suspended the CFMEU’s representative on the council “as part of our efforts to eradicate the rotten culture exposed in parts of the Victorian construction sector”.

However, the spokesman said as Multiplex’s “nominee” on the advisory council, Pitchford retained her position.

At a recent union mass membership meeting, Christopher did not disclose his relationship with the Multiplex manager as he attacked large building firms “making f---ing millions” and demanded they pay more to building workers.

The relationship, not widely known about among union members, has created unease among some building workers. They say they are concerned about the potential conflict of interest between a senior union official being in a relationship with a senior executive of a major employer who plays a key role in setting wages and conditions in the industry.

The links between Multiplex and the union have been close for many years with former secretary John Setka’s son David a long time CFMEU delegate on Multiplex projects. The giant builder regarded by industry insiders as one of the union’s closest corporate allies.

Veteran industrial relations expert Lawrie Cross highlighted that project managers have the “absolute control” over the final selection of subcontractors on site - a key area of influence for the CFMEU.

“In my experience as former head of industrial relations for Master Builders Victoria, Multiplex has long maintained strong ties with John Setka and the CFMEU in lieu of support for any form of industry regulator like the ABCC (Australian Building and Construction Commission),” he said.

“Personal relationships between business executives and CFMEU officials serve only to reinforce costly and inappropriate industry practices costing taxpayers and the community.”

In 2014, the Australian Crime Commission gathered intelligence from industry insiders that a labour hire company had paid kickbacks to a CFMEU official to win work on a Multiplex’s ‘Upper Westside’ Spencer Street construction site. Multiplex later suspended a CFMEU delegate from the same project over allegations of ghost contracting and corruption. Christopher was closely aligned with the two union officials involved in both allegedly suspect dealings with Multiplex.

In 2018, a police taskforce codenamed Operation Pantile— which police recently said continues to probe Christopher— gathered evidence suggesting a Multiplex union delegate may have been part of an alleged scheme involving big building companies unlawfully providing $200,000 in free labour and supplies to Christopher’s home renovation.

On Thursday this masthead revealed the CFMEU assigned Marty Albert – a senior Bandidos bikie enforcer – to work as a union organiser on major Victorian government construction projects and to sit on the governing board of the union branch, a role he was allowed to keep even after he was charged over a violent assault.

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