Inquiry seeks 16 men accused of rocking rival union’s car

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The public has been asked to help identify 16 men involved in an incident on a Jindalee job site in February 2024, in which a car belonging to a rival union was surrounded and rocked for more than 20 minutes.

Footage of the incident, tendered to the commission of inquiry into the conduct of the Queensland branch of the CFMEU last year, shows the Australian Workers’ Union car being blocked from leaving the Centenary Bridge upgrade site.

A group of CFMEU members can be seen surrounding the vehicle, shouting at the driver, and rocking the car. Stickers reading “Australia’s Worst Union” were also attached to the vehicle.

CFMEU members surround an AWU organiser’s car at the Centenary Bridge upgrade site.Commission of Inquiry into the CFMEU

The incident continued for about 20 minutes until CFMEU members were told police had been called. A dashcam attached to an AWU car following the first vehicle captured the footage.

The incident followed months of escalating tension between the two unions over representation on major projects, including Cross River Rail and the Centenary Bridge upgrade.

During one of the commission’s hearings in December, AWU state secretary Stacey Schinnerl described the construction union’s efforts to recruit workers on road, rail and tunnel projects, and to exert pressure on her as the union’s first female leader.

Hostility between the two unions rose in 2023 after a worker was critically injured following a fall from height on a Cross River Rail site, leading to a “safety reset” during which the AWU was, at times, excluded by the CFMEU.

In the aftermath, an AWU organiser was blocked from entering one site by CFMEU members who surrounded his car, showed him a weapon, and deflated his tyres. Another AWU delegate was later prevented from entering the site by masked CFMEU members.

The Centenary Bridge site incident occurred about six months later.

The inquiry has released photos of 16 people whose faces appear in the footage and has asked anyone who recognises the men to come forward.

The 16 men sought by the commission of inquiry into the CFMEU.

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