Secretary of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) Sally McManus said John Setka “hates my guts”, after her organisation suspended the union he once headed up in Victoria.
Setka stepped down from his role as the head of the Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union (CFMEU)’s Victorian branch on Friday, after the Nine network published damning allegations of infiltration of bikie gangs and criminal figures within the union, bullying and harassment of Indigenous workers, and more.
Minister for Industrial Relations Tony Burke announced an independent administrator will be appointed to overhaul the CFMEU and has asked the Australian Federal Police to investigate any criminal allegations made against the union. Meanwhile, Labor Minister Bill Shorten told ABC’s 7:30 that Labor will cease accepting all donations from the CFMEU – and potentially “eliminate some of the massive donations which come generally to Australian politics”.
Many have criticised the ACTU for not acting sooner: yesterday, the Liberal National Party dug up a video from 2018 of ACTU Secretary Sally McManus defending the CFMEU from accusations of criminal activity at the time. In light of Nine’s recent allegations, however, McManus has denied the ACTU ever knew of criminal activity within the CFMEU.
For years, senior Labor figures have turned a blind eye to the CFMEU's appalling behaviour. pic.twitter.com/wUC7wzmbjo
— Liberal Party (@LiberalAus) July 17, 2024
Speaking with Patricia Karvelas on ABC RN Breakfast on Thursday morning, McManus said there was no way for the ACTU to know of the allegations when people “with all of the resources” – the police – were also unaware or not acting on the allegations.
“It’s one thing to say ‘we knew it’… but why didn’t you go to the police? … If we had known that there were criminal elements in that union, that’s exactly what we would have done,” McManus said.
McManus said that the ACTU “set a standard for behaviour” five years ago by saying it “wasn’t tenable” for Setka to remain in his role when he pleaded guilty to domestic violence charges.
“We stood up to him. We told him to his face, the whole union movement, the ACTU, this same executive supported that call,” McManus said.
“John Setka hates our guts, hates my guts, hates [ACTU president Michelle O’Neil’s] guts, the ACTU as well.”
McManus criticised Setka for his behaviour in the week before his resignation, when he was “busy spraying” the teachers and nurses union, who called out Setka for “not upholding union principles”.
“I would not be welcome in the front door of the office let alone on a building site for the last five years,” McManus said.
Since they “stood up to him” five years ago, McManus said the CFMEU has been “totally isolated” from the ACTU.
“Because Setka’s union has been isolated from the ACTU, we had no idea of this alleged infiltration by criminal elements,” McManus said.
“We thought he did not uphold union principles and that he was someone who pursued vengeance. We did not know this.”
‘I will do what’s necessary.’
After Nine published the allegations against Setka and the CFMEU, the ACTU suspended the construction union. McManus said the suspension will be upheld “as long as necessary” – which she said could take “years”.
“Until they can restore a union that accords switch union values, and that obviously means they have got to be corruption free,” McManus said.
As McManus continues to “take on a powerful force”, host of ABC RN Breakfast Patricia Karvelas asked McManus if she was concerned about her personal safety in speaking out against Setka and the CFMEU.
“Well, a few people have raised that with me,” McManus said. “I’ll tell you this. We will do what’s necessary. I will do what’s necessary. The union leadership will do what’s necessary, we will not flinch.
“We’ll stand up against this behaviour, and we’ll fight to ensure that construction workers get the union they deserve.”