Royal Commission Hears CFMEU Used Government Pressure to Force Contractors

A royal commission heard testimony that the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) forced a work stoppage at a level-crossing removal project on Gap Road in Sunbury, Victoria, in June 2022. CFMEU delegates occupied the site and blocked machinery, resuming work only after the contractor, John Holland, installed union-aligned labour hire, traffic control, and health and safety representatives.

Joe Aygur, a project director for John Holland, testified that Peter Wilkinson of Rail Projects Victoria warned him that failing to resolve the dispute could prevent the company from winning future state work, specifically mentioning the Melbourne Airport Rail project. Aygur attributed this warning to a Victorian Labor minister's office. Further testimony revealed a health and safety representative was pressured to join the CFMEU and switch employers to BK Labour following the dispute.

Former CFMEU organiser Paul Tzimas testified that 11 union organisers and health and safety representatives with affiliations to outlaw motorcycle gangs were placed on major Victorian projects. Tzimas also admitted to breaching the law multiple times and receiving a gold bracelet from underworld figure Mick Gatto. Meanwhile, WorkSafe inspector Quinton Drury testified that the Sunbury site occupation was assigned the lowest possible priority for resolution because the agency prioritizes safety risk over project delays, meaning inspectors arrived only after the dispute ended.