Construction Workers Plan Protests Over Federal Takeover Of CFMEU

Construction workers in the capital cities are reportedly going on strike Tuesday to protest the federal government's takeover of the construction union, which also led to 270 elected union officials being sacked.

Members of the Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union (CFMEU), Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union, Electrical Trades Union, and the plumbers' union will stage the walkout at around 10 a.m.

The strike comes as former union leader John Setka claimed he resigned from his post of 12 years to prevent the government from appointing independent administrators to the Victorian branch of the union. Setka said this was part of a secret deal, which the workplace relations minister, Murray Watt, called "ridiculous," rejecting it as "absolutely fanciful," reported The Sydney Morning Herald.

The Herald Sun claimed that to escalate the conflict, several Victorian unions will take unprotected strike action on Tuesday at 11 a.m. by going missing from work, reported News.com

Meanwhile, construction workers have been cautioned by the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) not to participate in the scheduled strike in support of the CFMEU after 270 employees were let go. The commission has instructed employers to deduct a minimum of four hours' pay from the wages of employees, who disregard the warning and participate in the unprotected industrial action.

"Please be aware that if an employee fails to attend the workplace or stops work without authorization from their employer, this conduct may be unprotected industrial action in contravention of the FW Act. Any person 'knowingly involved' in a contravention of the FW Act is also taken to have contravened that provision," a FWO spokesman said.

"Where an employee has engaged in unprotected industrial action, the employer is required under the FW Act to deduct a minimum of four hours wages from the employee, even if the industrial action was less than four hours."

The CFMEU's construction division was placed under federal supervision following allegations of corruption and links to criminal gangs. The government took control of the CFMEU construction union, limiting its autonomy and ability to organize for up to three years. The administration will be in charge of each branch of the construction division as a result of this action, which comes in response to the government's attempts to suppress the union's operations.