CFMEU workers stop work on construction site and clash with non-union members trends now
Tensions escalated at a construction site after union members stopped work on a multi-billion dollar project and attempted to prevent non-union colleagues from entering the worksite.
On Wednesday, CFMEU members working on the Cross River Rail Project in Brisbane entered their second day of strike action.
Months of enterprise bargaining negotiations between contractor CPB and the CFMEU broke down after the union rejected a pay deal, which sparked the strike action.
The CFMEU has demanded that the new EBA include a $2,000 pay rise for some workers and 20 extra rostered off days a year.
Sources familiar with the union's demands revealed that under the proposal, an entry-level worker would receive a pay increase of $15,000, bringing their annual salary to an eye-watering $240,000.
Tensions escalated at a construction site after union members stopped work on a multi-billion dollar project
Video footage captured on Wednesday afternoon shows union workers joining arms to block non-union workers from re-entering the work site.
In the footage, one man forcefully tries to breach the line from the front while another approaches from behind in an effort to separate the workers' linked arms.
Non-union workers were repeatedly challenged to 'try and cross' the blockade by the union workers.
A non-union tradie dismantled the fencing at the site, allowing his coworkers to enter through the gap, before a union worker called him a 'f***ing dog,'
A worker, who wished to stay anonymous, slammed the CFMEU for keeping non-member worker with 'families to feed' from working.
'At the gates (the union) had a force stopping people entering the site – it's f*cking crazy' the worker told the Courier Mail.
The union said CPB had been provided with a list of concerns months ago, including improved job security, the introduction of a heat policy and the inclusion of traffic controllers and cleaners in the EBA.
