Australian Council of Trade Unions secretary Sally McManus says she didn't know bikies were getting jobs in a Victorian union. Photo: ACTU/Supplied
By Paul Johnson, ABC News
Australian Council of Trade Unions secretary Sally McManus says that she never had information brought to her about bikies or members of organised crime syndicates allegedly infiltrating the Victorian branch of the CFMEU.
"Absolutely not," McManus told ABC's 7.30 on Tuesday night.
The ACTU is the peak body representing unions in Australia, but McManus says while she had heard some rumours about the Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union, she had never heard rumours about organised crime within it, until a 60 Minutes report aired on Sunday night.
"There were Facebook posts of people, that people allege were bikies or used to be bikies.
"I'd raised those issues immediately with the relevant leaders of the CFMEU at the time, and made it very clear that there's no place for this in our union movement."
Pressed about the social media posts McManus said she knew little about the actions of bikie gangs.
She said that in the reports she received, there was no information about organised crime.
McManus also denied that she had ignored allegations made against the CFMEU, out of fear of the organisation's power.
"Of course not," she said.
It was alleged on Tuesday by Nine newspapers that Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese were separately sent detailed evidence that CFMEU officials had threatened and banned non-preferred firms from state and federal infrastructure projects.
The letters were sent from an Indigenous labour-hire firm.
A government spokesperson told Nine newspapers that the correspondence was initially sent to an inactive email address and was then sent to the public "contact the PM website".
Asked if she had also been contacted about the incident with that labour hire firm, McManus denied it on 7.30.
"No, I didn't", she said before offering an apology to the people who were allegedly victimised.
"I'd like to say that I'm really, really sorry for what happened."
'Whatever it takes'
McManus added that as ACTU secretary she will look to remove organised crime from any union and that she supported the notion of a government administrator being appointed to overhaul the CFMEU.
"We are dealing with organised crime that has infiltrated one of our unions," she said.
"That's a serious matter and we will not tolerate it. We will stand up against it.
"In terms of … an independent administrator, this is something that unions have sought themselves occasionally when there's big issues they can't address.
"I know that this is a good move for the CFMEU to get an independent administrator appointed by the courts."
ACTU executives will meet on Wednesday to consider the matter and the response of the CFMEU.
Labor's national executive could also meet on Wednesday to discuss banning political donations from the Victorian branch of the construction division of the CFMEU moving forward, as well as requests from state premiers to suspend affiliation between the union and the state parties.
All options for federal intervention are currently being weighed up by Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke, including deregistering the construction division.
Former Labor leader Bill Shorten, who placed the scandal-plagued Health Services Union's east branch into administration as workplace relations minister in 2012, said he expected the government's next steps to be revealed "in the near future".
"The clear evidence emerging now is that there's a level of penetration in some parts of the construction sector by organised crime which is so far beyond acceptable," the NDIS minister told ABC radio on Tuesday.
"This is certainly an incredibly serious issue and it's a betrayal of taxpayers. It's a betrayal of the vast bulk of people who belong to unions."
- ABC