There has been a lot of mud thrown at the CFMEU in recent days, but you do not expect it from the leadership of the QCU. Here is an account of what happened after the Labor government ‘administrator’ appointed a QCU official to head up the union in QLD and the NT. “The Storm” has the ring of truth. The article was first published in Hard Hat by rank and file CFMEU and ETU members and delegates. – Ian Curr, 6 April 2025
On Wednesday the 19th of February 2025 a small but vocal group of nearly 200 rank-and-file unionists rallied outside the offices of the Queensland Council of Unions (QCU). This was in response to the QCU’s support of the CFMEU administration. The QCU backed the appointment of their own assistant new Abbott as the general secretary, Jared executive officer, for the QLD/NT branch of the CFMEU. Prior to this new appointment, the QCU had not publicly supported the administration of the union. So the appointment of Abbott has been seen as a kick in the teeth with the knowledge that the QCU now stands firmly alongside the administrator in their efforts to control the CFMEU.
Heavily armed with a stickered up megaphone, the group gathered on the steps outside the office block in the hope of speaking to Abbott in person and handing him their resolution. The goal of this resolution was to call on Abbott to reject his appointment to the role of executive officer and to show solidarity with the CFMEU QLD/NT branch. This was seen as an important message by those who took to the streets because they believe in the importance of union solidarity. It also would have sent a strong message to Australia’s most politically prominent union body, the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), who are seen by many as having played a major role in helping the federal government establish the administration for their own ends.
Mark Irvine promised retribution against any imagined “ringleaders”. In an astounding example of the pot calling the kettle black Irving even went on to say, “the targeting of fellow trade unionists is deplorable”.
It makes you wonder how somebody who holds that opinion could be in the position of leading the destruction of one of
the countries strongest and most militant union.
Irving’s remarks serve to highlight the position of the administration in stifling the voices of CFMEU members and serve as a worrying reminder that the
man appointed to run the union either doesn’t recognise or doesn’t approve of
peaceful demonstrations and expression of opinion by rank-and-file members. Irving’s inflammatory media release painted a one-sided and heavily imagined
version of events that day. But l’ve spoken to men and women on the ground and have unsurprisingly heard a different version of events.
Irving’s claim that unionists “stormed the offices of the Queensland Council of Unions” was laughed at by rank-and-file members, one describing the event “pretty chill really, describing the event as “pretty chill really, a few chants, a few laughs
and we were on our way”. The atmosphere
was friendly on the ground with QCU workers coming and going as they made jokes with the CFMEU crowd, letting them know that they didn’t want to get in the way of their rally, they were just popping out for a while and would be coming back through in a few moments.
Clearly there was no intimidation, in fact in seems more likely that the QCU workers were a little excited to finally see what passionate unionists looked like.