Extra time for Wood inquiry into CFMEU; Gender undervaluation boost now in October; Migrant Workers Centre launched in NSW; and FWC Bulletin final edition.
The CFMEU's South Australian construction and general division branch has today broken away from its Victorian counterpart, newly-installed administrator Michael Crosby describing it as a "very important moment" after two "turbulent" years following revelations about the union's misdeeds.
Union renewal expert Michael Crosby will start today as the CFMEU construction and general division's new administrator, FWC general manager Murray Furlong announced this morning.
The HSU Victorian No.1 branch's auditor has resigned after an investigation by the FWC's general manager found the union's financial reports materially mis-stated elements of its financial position and performance.
CFMEU construction division administrator Mark Irving last year "counselled" then Victorian branch secretary Zach Smith for his "serious error of judgement" in permitting an organiser to meet with underworld figure and "fixer" Mick Gatto, after FWC general manager raised concerns.
Former CFMEU construction and general division Queensland branch leaders Michael Ravbar and Jade Ingham directed membership payments to the state-registered union rather than the federally-registered entity, leaving members without voting power, in a move that might have been intended to "create an impregnable fiefdom into which the national organisation could not reach", administrator Mark Irving KC said today.
The Wood inquiry into the CFMEU's activities in Queensland will put construction division administrator Mark Irving KC on the stand in a hearing this week.
Queensland's Crisafulli Government is removing the former Labor administration's best practice pay and conditions procurement guidelines for new State-funded construction projects, following the release of a State productivity commission report, while the Wood inquiry has appointed new counsel assisting, ahead of its first substantive hearings.
A Victoria Police special taskforce has charged former CFMEU construction and general division Victorian branch secretary John Setka for allegedly sending threatening emails to the CFMEU's administrator, while an ACCC probe has prompted John Holland to ditch deals that limit its choice of labour hire providers.
The FWC is considering legal action against former senior officers of the CFMEU construction and general division's Victorian branch after finding they diverted more than $300,000 in member's funds to re-elect now-ousted HSU leader Diana Asmar.
