Union movement splinters as Setka faces police probe over site visits

John Setka faces the prospect of police action over potentially “unlawful” appearances on large state government work sites as the deepening CFMEU crisis splinters the broader union movement.

Premier Jacinta Allan branded Setka’s appearances at the Metro Tunnel on Thursday and Footscray Hospital on Wednesday “unlawful” at almost the same time as the Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union voted to disaffiliate from the Australian Council of Trade Unions in support of the CFMEU’s former leadership.

The move underlines a deepening rift in the labour movement, with several large unions throwing their weight behind the former leadership of the CFMEU as they challenge moves by the federal and state governments and ACTU to stamp out alleged corruption and intimidation in the union.

Allan confirmed Setka had accessed the taxpayer-funded Metro Tunnel mega-project on Thursday morning following his controversial expletive-laden address to a rally at the $1.5 billion Footscray Hospital construction site on Wednesday.

Allan said she had been told his presence on the projects could be unlawful and the director-general of the Victorian Infrastructure Delivery Authority, Kevin Devlin, had referred the matter to police for investigation. She said Devlin had also reminded Big Build contractors of the government’s expectations.

“There is no place on Victorian Big Build worksites for John Setka,” Allan said. “He was stood down from the union as he should have, and there is no place for him on our worksites.

“In terms of who attends worksites, there are well-established processes here, and it is the government’s expectation that those building industry companies manage this process appropriately, which is clearly not what happened in these incidents over the last 24 hours.”

Setka visited the State Library station for the Metro Tunnel project on Thursday, a union source unable to speak publicly said.

A Victoria Police spokeswoman said it was yet to receive a formal referral but would assess the matter once details had been provided.

“Victoria Police has received a verbal briefing from the police minister’s office about a pending referral regarding a former union official,” she said.

The Fair Work Ombudsman is also investigating whether there were any breaches of the Fair Work Act, which contains strict rules over site access. The Department of Transport was contacted for comment.

Setka resigned from his position at the head of the CFMEU before the publication of a months-long investigation by The Age, Sydney Morning Herald, Australian Financial Review and 60 Minutes into unethical and illegal behaviour on Big Build sites earlier this year.

He used his appearance at the $1.5 billion Footscray Hospital project to launch a tirade against the Albanese government and the ACTU.

Several large trade unions have joined Setka in criticising the federal government and the ACTU over special legislation introduced to put the CFMEU into administration. Tens of thousands of members took to the streets in August to protest against the laws.

On Thursday, the Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union (CEPU) voted to split with the ACTU in protest at its lack of support for the CFMEU’s former leadership.

The CEPU is a larger national union that serves as an umbrella organisation for trade-specific branches such as the Electrical Trades Union, the Communication Workers Union and the Plumbing and Pipe Trades Employees Union.

An ACTU spokesperson said the organisation was disappointed with the CEPU’s decision.

“The actions taken by the ACTU regarding the CFMEU reflect the collective view of its affiliates,” they said.

ACTU president Michele O’Neil said the peak union body had at all times urged CFMEU construction leaders to “act decisively to ensure their union was free of criminal elements, corruption and violence”.

“This included standing down those accused of serious criminal wrongdoing. Unfortunately, those who had the power to act failed to do so,” she said. “ACTU decisions are made at our executive where all unions are represented.”

The split has prompted questions to whether the other unions would split from the ACTU.

Transport Workers’ Union national secretary Michael Kaine backed the council, saying its affiliation would not change.

“We have a standing group of unions that have been in existence since 1928, and we will continue to support that,” he said.

The Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union expressed its support for the ACTU.

“The ACTU is where the collective voice of Australian unions come together to assert our interests,” AMWU national secretary Steve Murphy said.

“We are proudly part of a strong trade union movement that wins for workers.”

Former CFMEU Victorian secretary John Setka. Credit: Eamon Gallagher

Senior officials for the Victorian branches of the AMWU and the ETU spoke at last month’s “hands off the CFMEU” rally in Melbourne’s CBD.

Mining and Energy Union general president Tony Maher also backed the ACTU and said McManus and O’Neill were providing excellent leadership.

“The ACTU has the full confidence of the MEU and the majority of the movement,” he said.

Opposition Leader John Pesutto said Setka’s appearance at the Metro Tunnel worksite on Thursday showed that the premier wasn’t capable of managing the state’s taxpayer-funded projects.

“He has no reason to be there. He had to resign from the CFMEU in disgrace, with the CFMEU facing very serious allegations of misconduct,” he said.

“John Setka is making a mockery of the Allan Labor government, and he is laughing at Premier Allan, who seems powerless and unwilling to do anything about this.”

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