The CFMEU construction and general division's national office has appointed high-profile silk Geoffrey Watson to investigate allegations of criminal wrongdoing in some branches.
New Workplace Relations Minister Murray Watt has confirmed that he will introduce legislation if needed to ensure the FWC can take over the administration of CFMEU construction division branches accused of corruption, while dampening any expectation of further IR reform before the next election.
CFMEU construction and general division national secretary Zach Smith has told members today he expects the FWC to seek to begin the process of appointing an administrator to "a number of branches" within days, but has not indicated whether the union will formally resist the move.
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan has appointed former Justice Department secretary Greg Wilson to examine the State's construction sector and help eradicate its "rotten culture", including by boosting its ability to weed out criminal activity and protect whistleblowers.
The ACTU told its employees yesterday they should work from home due to the prospect of protest rallies by supporters of the CFMEU's construction and general division.
The Labor Party's national executive has this afternoon resolved to indefinitely suspend the CFMEU construction and general division's affiliations with the NSW, Victorian, South Australian and Tasmanian branches of the party and to refuse political donations from them.
The FWO will investigate whether the CFMEU's construction and general division's making of agreements has been infected by adverse action, coercion, misrepresentation or other unlawful conduct, after a request from Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke.
The FWC has urged the AWU to address its unfair dismissal claim lodgement processes after the union revealed its use of an internal case management system has again played a role in an out-of-time application.
The AWU has abandoned a long history of going it alone in Queensland, re-affiliating with the State's peak union body, while the Mining and Energy Union has also returned to the fold after a shorter absence.
