More than 60,000 workers have walked off the job around Australia in capital cities demanding: Hands Off CFMEU Alongside this forced federal takeover of building unions and a royal commission.
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On Tuesday, about 50,000 Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union members gathered outside Trades Hall in Melbourne to rally.
Another 8,000 gathered in Sydney, and about 4,000 in Brisbane.
The total number of protesters across the country was greater than the population of Queensland’s Hervey Bay.
In Melbourne, protesters dressed in hi-vis clothing and work gear, holding signs like “Hands off the CFMEU,” waved union flags, and blocked major roads around the CBD, chanting, “When I say union, you say power.”
In Sydney, union members blocked Macquarie Street outside the NSW Parliament, shouting “union power” and “f*** Albo.” Former CFMEU NSW state secretary Darren Greenfield, who has denied corruption charges, criticized the ACTU and its leader.
“Sally McManus is a sellout,” he said as boos erupted from the crowd.
“We pay her to look after us, and she sold us out to the Labor Party.” In Brisbane, protesters filled the CBD’s Queen’s Gardens, causing authorities to shut down nearby Elizabeth, George, and William streets.
No arrests were made in either Sydney or Brisbane, with Queensland Police describing the rally as “peaceful.”
This protest has one just days after Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus placed the union under administration amid allegations of criminal infiltration and widespread corruption in the construction industry.
The action is not protected, so protesters who walk off the job to take part in rallies today face fines from the industrial watchdog.
In Brisbane, federal Greens MP Max Chandler-Mather addressed the crowd, accusing the government of setting a precedent for taking control of a civil movement or union.
“Labor is using these unproven allegations to attack an entire union,” he said. “You may be labeled as radicals, but it’s not radical to believe a construction worker deserves a fair trial just like a CEO, banker, or politician.”
Leaders from the Electrical Trades Union also spoke at the rallies in Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney.
Queensland ETU secretary Peter Ong told the crowd, “This is the union, comrades,” pointing to the large gathering.
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