Manufacturers Seek to Walk From Union Amid AFL Grudge

Members of Victoria Police stand outside the CFMEU Office in Melbourne, Australia, on Sept. 21, 2021. Darrian Traynor/Getty Images

Friction between the Construction, Forestry, and Maritime Employees Union (CFMEU) and an AFL boss has helped prompt a bill being put to Parliament that would allow the manufacturing division of the CFMEU to de-merge.

Victorian CFMEU boss John Setka called on the AFL to sack its umpire boss Stephen McBurney over his former role as the head of the construction watchdog the Australian Building and Construction Commission.

It comes after Mr. McBurney launched numerous legal actions against the CFMEU during his tenure as construction watchdog. This had caused difficulty for construction workers, Mr. Setka claimed.

The vendetta has led some to fear AFL construction projects could stall due to the disagreement.

The heavy-handed approach has bothered some members of the CFMEU, and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told media that Mr. Setka should end his grudge against Mr. McBurney.

The union boss told the ABC it would be fair to describe his feelings towards Mr. McBurney as a grudge and said he was not making threats, but “exposing people.”

He said the CFMEU would not be placing bans on AFL construction projects.

Mr. Setka did state, however, that if projects stalled because construction workers didn’t go out of their way to work overtime or weekends for the AFL then it would be a case of “bad luck.”

It’s not the first time Mr. Setka has been involved in controversy, having been expelled from the Labor Party by Mr. Albanese in 2019 following accusations he told colleagues Rosie Batty’s domestic violence advocacy had hindered men’s rights.

Mr. Setka rejects he ever made such comments.

Potential Demerger

Deputy Opposition Leader Michaelia Cash said a vote next week would determine the fate of the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Amendment (Standing Up Against Bullying, Thuggery and Intimidation) Bill 2024 that would allow manufacturing workers to break away from the CFMEU.

A key mechanism of the bill will enable a secret ballot to occur on the de-merger question.

Shadow Attorney-General Michaelia Cash speaks during Senate Estimates at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, on June 3, 2024. AAP Image/Lukas Coch

“These members of the manufacturing division are mostly women and they have wanted out of the CFMEU for a long time,” Ms. Cash said in a statement.

“I’ve met with them in the past and they were very clear. They said that they were sick and tired of being associated with the actions of the militant members of the construction division of the CFMEU, and in particular John Setka.

“They talked about intimidation, stand-over tactics and even violence from members of this union.”

Ms. Cash urged Labor members to support the bill.

“Last time a bill of this nature to allow them to de-merge from the CFMEU came before the parliament, the Labor Party voted against it,” she said.

CFMEU Manufacturing Division national secretary Michael O'Connor has welcomed the move to de-merge.

Mining workers split from the union last year.

The CFMEU was contacted for comment.

A decision on the bill will be made when Parliament resumes next week.