Minister’s office said contractor should handle CFMEU or lose work in Victoria, Big Build inquiry hears
Summary
A Victorian royal commission heard that a manager at the state infrastructure agency relayed a warning that contractors John Holland and CPB Constructions could lose future work in Victoria if they did not resolve an industrial dispute at the Gap Road level crossing project. A project delivery director said union pressure affected workers and that the union’s safety concerns did not justify stopping work.Key Facts
- Peter Wilkinson said his manager, Evan Tattersall, told him in June 2022 that the minister’s office had warned contractors they could lose further Victorian work if they could not manage industrial relations.
- Wilkinson assumed the minister’s office meant the office of then-transport infrastructure minister Jacinta Allan.
- The contractors named in the warning were John Holland and CPB Constructions.
- Wilkinson said he passed the warning to Joe Aygur, a manager involved in delivering the project.
- Stephen Villella, the project’s delivery director, said union officials pressured workers, who feared consequences for attending work.
- Villella said the CFMEU’s safety concerns were not serious enough to require work to stop.
- The inquiry is examining the 2022 Gap Road level crossing removal project in Sunbury.
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