Victorians have witnessed disturbing and violent protests by construction union members rolling across the city over the week. Many union representatives claim that the unionists have been infiltrated by anti-lockdown, and right-wing fringe groups.
The casus belli is the Victorian government’s announcement of mandatory vaccination for the construction industry. Following violent scenes outside the CFMEU offices on Sunday, the government announced a two-week shutdown of the construction industry. The cost of the shutdown is estimated to be around $400million.
On Tuesday, between one and two thousand high-viz clad unionists, infiltrated by what union officials say are “anti-vaxxer and far right activists”, marched through Melbourne’s CBD often clashing with Victorian Police.
Ben Davis, the Australian Workers’ Union (AWU) Victoria Branch Secretary, called the events “disgraceful” when talking to Neos Kosmos.
“The protests have been hijacked by anti-vaxxer and far right activists, but there are several members of various unions and there’s construction workers there, but I can’t excuse the violence,” Mr Davis said.
Mr Davis called the vaccine mandate “premature” and said it is “having the opposite effect because it is forcing people who are vaccine hesitant to make a decision that is either to get the jab or not.”
Mr Davis said he supports public health orders, “but no notice was given for the construction mandate, we could have had a more comprehensive engagement we could have been driving around sites and assisting workers to understand.”
The union official highlighted problems with compliance, “particularly in the cottage and the small non-union sectors and the [Department of] Health ignored it even though we made them aware.”
“The way to get the vaccination rates up is to take it to large workplaces whether they’re building sites, or factories, or shopping centres to tall buildings in Melbourne CBD.
“You’ve got to make it easier for people to go get vaccinated, the online booking system is a shambles, my first jab took three hours, I got an appointment for the second one and that still took two-and-a-half hours, and I had to travel across Melbourne to get it,” Mr Davis said, adding that if the government is trying to get people vaccinated, “this is the worst way to go about it.”
“Let’s be clear, the industry has complied with all the rules, at the same time those sceptical or hesitant about the jab are being pushed to become anti vaxxers,” the AWU Victorian Secretary said.
“In 2020, the unions and employer groups “all got together and spoke with one voice.
“They formed a group that made representations to government about the best way to go forwards during the second wave, and the government was holding them up as the template”
He blamed the bureaucrats in the Department of Health which Mr Davis says, “won’t engage with us directly.”
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Neos Kosmos sought a response to Mr Davis’ comments from the Department of Health on Wednesday morning, however the department said it would be unable to meet print deadline. We will reach out again.
A Greek-Australian senior representative of a Tier-2 national builder, who wants to remain anonymous, said that “union membership has worked well with the industry and is mostly pro vax and will do the right thing by getting vaxxed. ”
“The knock-on effect of the industry shutdown by government will immediately stop cashflow, expose builders to contractual risk and lead to job losses in the hundreds as builders can’t carry that level of financial exposure,” the builder said.
He said that “contrary to popular belief” builders have been working in a very competitive environment on historically low margins for the last two years.”
On Wednesday, the protesters marched onto the Shrine of Remembrance and were finally dispersed by Victoria Police. The group included tradies, and a range of extreme fringe groups.
Former Victorian Labor Minister John Pandazopoulos said the protesters were “deliberately targeted by far-right activists to portray that they are fighting in the spirit of the Anzacs.”
“Apart from totally ignoring what this spirit is – these whingers, if they were at war would refuse to climb over the trenches, or land at the beaches of Normandy.
“You can’t make me run into bullets and shell fire. Bunch of self-entitled knobs. In fact, they would end up being collaborators in war.”