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HANDS OFF THE CFMEU!
Women of the CFMEU
8 March 2025
Women in the CFMEU
The CFMEU has a well established track record of fighting for workers in the construction industry and that includes women. Like all working class women, those in construction deserve a strong union that fights for their rights. That fights for fair pay so that they can have financial security for themselves and their loved ones. That fights for good working conditions that makes working in construction a viable long term career. That fights for safe work-places in a dangerous industry so that every worker makes it home safe. And a union that fights for us when we come up against exploitation and discrimination, often perpetrated by bosses whose own bias will often exclude women from even being able to enter the industry.
But the CFMEU does not just fight for women in the construction industry, to ensure they have all the rights, protections and benefits they deserve. The union has no shortage of strong women leading the fight for both themselves and all the women who will join the construction industry in the future.
Changing the industry
The construction industry is changing and women are a big part of that change. With the number of female apprentices increasing by 80% over the last 5 years, there are more women than ever choosing to work in construction. But this increase hasn’t appeared out of thin air, it comes from decades of work by unions like the CFMEU. Make no mistake, bosses don’t care about equality. Time and time again we see companies say they value diversity and inclusion, but when it comes to actually putting in the work to make the industry more inclusive for women they are nowhere to be seen. It’s actually trade unionists putting in the hard yards to make change happen. As recently as June 2024 CFMEU members in Queensland took to the streets to demand better access to female toilets on construction sites, something that is the bare minimum bosses can do for the women working for them, but somehow manage to continually fall short of achieving.
The CFMEU’s work towards making the industry more inclusive for women is not limited to fighting for toilets. They have been behind countless initiatives and campaigns to support women in the industry and to encourage more to join. From historic campaigns like fighting to remove pornography from job sites, to ensuring clauses that specifically address employers’ responsibility to maintain a safe and respectful work environment for women are enshrined in EBAs. More recently, the CFMEU has been pushing for job sharing arrangements which would allow more women with caring responsibilities to be able to enter the industry. The new EBAs that are being rolled out in Victoria make employers responsible for providing menstrual products on site – a massive win for women. But unfortunately a gain that was delayed by administration and the fair work commission.
The CFMEU’s contributions to the union movement
The CFMEU has always been a powerhouse for the trade union movement and has mobilised its members and resources for countless fights and been involved in numerous campaigns that not only benefit their own members, but also working class people from every industry. Campaigns like the fight for flexible work arrangements, making industrial manslaughter an offense and for marriage equality to name a few. The CFMEU has also been working in campaigns that predominantly affect working class women like the “We Won’t Wait” campaign for domestic violence leave; and the fight for superannuation payments during parental leave; In 2024, at the International Women’s Day march in Melbourne, CFMEU women took to the stage to speak about how the misuse of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) disproportionately affects women, supported by dozens of rank and file CFMEU members.
Sexism in administration
Again and again we are told that the CFMEU has been put into administration in order to clean up corruption within the union. But in fact what we have seen is an undemocratic and unaccountable hostile takeover. This take over has been facilitated by a Labor government that has passed some of the most anti-union legislation we have ever seen. This has opened the door to the same attacks being used against any union.
The administration has seized control of one of Australia’s most effective and most militant unions. One of the first actions taken by the appointed administrator, Mark Irving, was to remove over 270 union officials from CFMEU Construction & General Division branches and decision making bodies across the country. Most of these unionists were removed despite there being no accusations against them. This “clean sweep” also removed a number of women in positions of leadership. Women like Rita Mallia, the NSW Branch president and over a dozen more mostly rank and file women who had stepped up to participate in the running of their union.
The nature of this administration and the powers bestowed upon it by the Albanese government’s new legislation means that the likes of Mark Irving can remove anyone he chooses without evidence of any wrongdoing, without any investigation, with no right of appeal and no explanation. For many of the elected officials who were removed from their positions they were not even given the courtesy of being told that they were being removed. The news came to them through the media. As trade unionists we would not accept this in any workplace, so why is it acceptable for workers in the CFMEU?
But it’s not just those first officials reported in the media who have been in the firing line of this administration. Grahame McCulloch, who was initially appointed as the administrator of the Victorian branch had to step down from his position not long after he had taken it because of his inappropriate behavior towards female staff. And as time has gone on we see more and more an attempt to shut down and silence strong vocal women who are critical of administration either through the misuse of NDAs or making them a “removed person”. When an official or employee of the union is made a “removed person”, it is not just simply removing them from their position, it also means they are not entitled to take up an unfair dismissal case, or to any redundancy payments. It also comes with a lifetime ban from working for any other union or acting as a bargaining representative.
The latest person to be removed is Esther Van Arend, a prominent CFMEU organiser and mentor who is extremely passionate about health and safety. Esther was removed with no investigation, no right to reply, no right to appeal and it was done as retaliation for expressing her political views to journalist Nick McKenzie. A single phone call from McKenzie to Irving was all that was needed, and in less than 24 hours Esther was the latest removed person. How does removing strong women who are skilled organisers and mentors help the union?
Make no mistake – the CFMEU has no shortage of strong women, and men, who stand with Esther and will not back down until she is reinstated to her position. The administration will have a hard time removing them.
Every worker deserve a democratically controlled union. Administration specifically affects the women of the CFMEU as it has stripped women from leadership roles and decision making bodies leaving women members unrepresented and silenced.
No government official, regulator, or representative of the administrator has asked the women of the CFMEU what they want. The answer is simple – they want their union back.