Construction unions using bikies as \'hired muscle\' in industrial disputes Victoria Police - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) PDF

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11/14/2019

Construction unions using bikies as 'hired muscle' in industrial disputes: Victoria Police - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corp…

Construction unions using bikies as 'hired muscle' in industrial disputes: Victoria Police By Alison Savage Updated Fri 8 Jan 2016, 2:50pm

Construction unions are using outlaw bikie gangs as "hired muscle" in industrial disputes, according to Victoria Police. In its 2015 submission to the Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance and Corruption, the force identified a "culture of fear" in the construction industry. Victoria Police has asked for additional powers to tackle the use of bikies as "debt collectors" by unions, and has called for the construction industry watchdog to be reinstated. "There is a climate of fear amongst people who are either the victims of trade unions' unlawful activity, or who uncover unlawful activities within their unions, making them unwilling to speak to any authorities for fear of retribution," the submission said.

PHOTO: Victoria Police has called for the construction

industry watchdog to be reinstated. (ABC News: Margaret Burin)

Key points: Victoria Police has identified Outlaw Motor Cycle Gang (OMCG) members being used by union officials as "hired muscle" for debt collection, with "standover" tactics used to intimidate victims. The submission said a number of known bikie gangs, including the Rebels, Comacheros and Banditos, had been identified as being actively involved in trade union activities like strikes of picket lines, or debt collecting.

Police call for more powers to investigate union links to bikies Concerns outlined in submission to trade union royal commission Opposition calls on Government not to ignore problems with construction industry

It said some of the activities amounted to "debt collecting in the broadest sense and is really more akin to blackmail, since it involves demanding money with menaces". Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton has previously lobbied for broader police powers in relation to bikie gangs, as well as greater coercive powers to investigate instances of standover and extortion tactics in the debt collection industry. The Victoria Police submission also detailed a number of cases of alleged standover tactics employed by the union. They included at least one incident in which two bikie gang members, and others, attended the home of a person who owed money to a building subcontractor. "All the attendees wore tops with the insignia of the OMCG of which these two people were members," the submission said. "No overt threats were made in the conversation between the debtor and his visitors."

CFMEU rejects call to reintroduce watchdog The CFMEU said Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner Stephen Fontana's verbal evidence under cross-examination in 2014 contradicted Victoria Police's 2015 submission. Assistant Commissioner Fontana told the royal commission that police had begun several investigations into allegations of violence, intimidation and debt collection carried out by outlaw bikie gang members for the union. But he said police had been unable to make any arrests because alleged victims had withdrawn their statements in fear of their own safety. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-01-08/construction-unions-using-bikies-as-hired-muscle-victoria-police/7075728

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11/14/2019

Construction unions using bikies as 'hired muscle' in industrial disputes: Victoria Police - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corp…

The union said they had "always pledged cooperation with the police in any investigation of criminal activity" and rejected calls from the return of the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC). "The question of the return of the ABCC is a political issue and it is important that the police are seen to be above partisan politics and controversies that are the domain of political parties," the CFMEU said in a statement. "The ABCC is an industrial regulator that curbs rights of workers and unions to organise on sites. It has no role in dealing with criminal matters."

Construction industry 'climate of fear' The Victorian Opposition said the concerns raised by Victoria Police could not be ignored by Daniel Andrews' Labor Government. Spokesman Robert Clark said it was clear there was criminal elements in the trade union movements. "We've got bikie gang members acting as union enforcers, we've got a climate of fear and intimidation," he said. "There have been problems in the Victorian building and construction industry for years. "This Victoria Police report shows the extent, and the fact that they are continuing unabated." PHOTO: CFMEU members protest outside Melbourne

But the State Government said it would carefully consider Victoria Police's request for more power.

Magistrates Court where blackmail charges were heard against John Setka. (ABC News: Stephanie Anderson)

Victorian Employment Minister Jacinta Allan said the Government would continue to discuss the issues raised with force command. "We obviously take seriously the views that are expressed by Victoria Police and take on board their issues. We have ongoing conversations across a range of different areas with Victoria Police and this would fall into that category," Ms Allan said. Late last year the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union's Victorian Secretary John Setka and his right-hand man Shaun Reardon were charged with blackmail by a royal commission taskforce. Topics: police, crime, law-crime-and-justice, unions, government-and-politics, building-and-construction, royal-commissions, melbourne-3000, vic

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-01-08/construction-unions-using-bikies-as-hired-muscle-victoria-police/7075728

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