A veteran CFMEU official has lashed out at John Setka, accusing him of pursuing a “personal revenge campaign” that undermines the reputation of the “whole trade union movement”.
The controversial CFMEU Victorian state secretary made front-page headlines last week with an extraordinary, expletive-laden attack on the AFL’s head of umpiring Stephen McBurney.
Mr Setka threatened to withhold cooperation on any AFL-related projects unless the league sacked Mr McBurney, who in his previous role as head of the now defunct Australian Building and Construction Commissioner, initiated legal actions that cost the CFMEU millions in fines.
The union official was widely condemned for his comments and the Fair Work Ombudsman has initiated an investigation into whether he broke the law.
But Mr Setka’s actions have also drawn fire from rivals within his own union, with the CFMEU’s manufacturing division secretary Michael O’Connor describing the threats against the AFL as “ham-fisted and clumsy”.
Mr O’Connor, who resigned as the union’s national secretary in 2020 following a Setka-backed campaign to oust him, said the Victorian state secretary’s threats were made because he “holds a grudge” against the former ABCC head, rather than for the benefit of union members.
“While McBurney is not a reputable figure in our eyes due to his former conduct as the head of the notoriously anti-worker ABCC, Setka’s threat to derail projects if he is not sacked by the AFL is ham-fisted and clumsy, an overreach that’s not in the best interests of members or the broader Australian trade union movement,” Mr O’Connor told The Australian.
The veteran CFMEU official said that unlike Mr Setka’s construction division, the union’s manufacturing division didn’t condone using members money to fund “personal revenge campaigns” and did not threaten to “hold public projects to ransom to settle personal grudges,” behaviour he said “undermines the reputation of the whole trade union movement.”
“This is just the latest episode of Setka and the CFMEU construction division putting their personal agenda first – spending members’ money to settle a grudge and failing to act in the collective interests of members and the union movement,” he added.
The comments by Mr O’Connor, who is the brother of Skills Minister Brendan O’Connor, came at the same time CFMEU members endorsed a new Enterprise Bargaining Agreement – put forward by Mr Setka – which includes a 20 per cent pay rise over four years.
Melbourne’s Festival Hall was packed to capacity with CFMEU members on Monday morning, with many forced to listen to proceedings from outside.
Sky News Australia’s Simon Love, who was at Festival Hall when the agreement was approved, reported members greeting the 20 per cent pay rise proposal by exclaiming there would not be enough Ford Rangers in the country.
“Twenty per cent pay rise? There’s not enough Ford Rangers in the country!” a union member was heard to say.
“Vote this in and let’s get back to the pubs!”