“Ego-driven”: fresh brawling erupts in CFMEU

Incoming CFMEU national construction secretary Zach Smith has accused former leader Michael O’Connor of wasting members’ money.

Incoming CFMEU construction division national secretary Zach Smith.

Hostilities have reignited across the CFMEU as the union’s ­incoming national construction secretary, Zach Smith, accuses the union’s former leader Michael O’Connor of wasting members’ money on an “ego-driven personal crusade”.

Mr O’Connor, who remains head of the manufacturing division, has launched Federal Court action to bring on a vote of the manufacturing division to split from the union.

Lawyers for the manufacturing division have lodged papers seeking to challenge a Fair Work Commission decision last month that rejected the division’s bid to ballot members.

In an interview with The Australian, Mr Smith said the manufacturing division had “thrown good money after bad”.

“It’s extremely disappointing personal ambition and ego ­appears to be taking precedence over members’ interests,” he said.

“The umpire made its decision. But instead of trying to concentrate all efforts behind the core business of representing members, instead we’re going to see another drawn-out legal process that spends union money on a personal crusade.”

Mr Smith claimed the manufacturing division had recorded multimillion-dollar deficits and there were questions over whether it was solvent.

“I don’t think it’s in the best interests of the members to be spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on legal challenges, which are about ambitions and egos,” he said.

“This is a division that’s thrown good money after bad into an ­argument, which they’ve so far lost. The Fair Work Commission’s decision should have been the catalyst to start repairing the ­finances of the manufacturing division that posts million-dollar deficits each year.

“This appeal has nothing to do with the best interests of the members of the manufacturing division and everything to do with the ambition and egos of the paid officials. The workers who are members of that division deserve better.”

Michael O'Connor. Picture: David Geraghty/The Australian

Mr O’Connor, who declined to respond to Mr Smith’s comments on Sunday, described the union as a “horror show” last year.

He accused the construction division of damaging the reputation of the union.

The mining and energy division last year reached an agreement with the construction division that opened the way for a ballot of mining and energy members on whether to split from the union.

Mr Smith said it was proposed the new union would retain the CFMEU acronym and be known as the Construction, Forestry, Maritime Employees Union.

He said an understanding had been reached around separate coverage.

Asked about Mr O’Connor’s “horror show” comment, Mr Smith said: “The real horror show is the state of their finances, their ability to represent members, and the horror show will be for the members of that division if they are successful in this application because I don’t think they can represent their members. I think that should be their number one priority – getting back to the business of representing their members.”

He said it was not in the ­division’s members’ best interests to split and if they knew all facts they would be dismayed.

“I think it’s a fair question to ask them: what is their plan when they get out – to stand on their own two feet or is their plan to roll into another larger union?” he said.

“It’s not in the best interests of the members just to take your bat and ball and go home based on nothing more than your own ­ambition and ego.”