The Australian, November 19, 2010
Photo caption: Workers at the Wonthaggi desalination plant in southern Victoria walk off the job yesterda after news of the spying scandal spread. Picture: Aaron Francis Source: The Australian THE builders of the Brumby government's $5bn-plus desalination plant last night stood down two of the project's senior executives over claims of spying on workers.
This comes as union fury threatened to spread across the nation.
Workers employed by giant building company Thiess will stop work around Australia from today as unions demand a federal police probe into the revelations, published in The Australian yesterday.
Ahead of crisis talks with unions leaders in Melbourne this morning, Thiess announced last night that the Wonthaggi plant's project director, Greg Miller, and human resources manager, Marcus Carroll, had been stood down pending an investigation into the engagement of notorious strike-breaker Bruce Townsend and his company, Australian Security and Investigations.
Thiess's chief executive in Australia, Nev Power, said: "Due to the serious nature of this matter, this decisive action is necessary."
There is no suggestion Mr Power knew of the secret arrangement with Mr Townsend, which was dubbed Pluto Project.
A source told The Australian last night that Thiess had sacked another manager who was one of the operatives secretly recruited by Mr Townsend to spy on the workforce and make regular reports.
That manager had remained as a worker at Wonthaggi despite Pluto Project being terminated in June.
It is understood the man was given no reason for his sacking yesterday, but there were concerns for his safety in the event of union members discovering his identity.
The Australian understands the sacking means that all the operatives who were reporting covertly to Thiess on the project from March to June are now gone from the desalination plant.
At crisis talks at the plant yesterday, Thiess executives demanded to know the full scope and penetration of Pluto Project.
Workers were sent home from the plant on Victoria's south coast yesterday morning as union anger mounted at the building company's alleged monitoring of workers.
Electrical Trades Union Victorian secretary Dean Mighell reiterated last night that the desalination project was "dead" until the full truth about the spying activities was revealed.
He said work would not resume until Monday at the earliest.
Thiess executives have agreed to attend crisis talks with union leaders at the ETU headquarters in North Melbourne this morning.
Mr Mighell said the future of relations between Thiess and the workforce hinged on the company's response to its investigation into the scandal.
"It's a bit like finding out your partner's been cheating on you," he said. "It's jeopardised the future of the project, no doubt."
Earlier yesterday, Thiess admitted hiring a company to spy on its workers, but insisted it was done without the knowledge of senior management and was "totally inappropriate".
Mr Power said ASI had worked for Thiess for about 15 weeks between March and June.
He said ASI was appointed to review security, recruitment and subcontracting processes at the site, but project management subsequently concluded that ASI was not appropriate for the project and terminated its services.
"The use of this consultant was totally inappropriate and contrary to Thiess business practice," Mr Power said.
"While the investigation has so far found no evidence of privacy breaches, we will continue to investigate to determine what action should be taken."
The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union yesterday wrote to the Australian Federal Police seeking an investigation into the monitoring of employees, as it believed the conduct appeared to be in breach of federal telecommunications laws.
The building industry watchdog, the Australian Building and Construction Commission, also announced an investigation, expressing concerns at the claims of covert monitoring of employees.
The Brumby government has sought to distance itself from the scandal, which comes just eight days out from the state election.
Premier John Brumby yesterday described the news as "deeply concerning" and said that if the conduct was proven, it was "completely unacceptable".
"We would expect the company to address these issues," he said.
"They are obviously running that site; I would expect them to conduct their industrial relations and employment policies within the context of the law, by the letter of the law and in the spirit consistent with what makes a good workplace."
Opposition Leader Ted Baillieu said it was not right for the government to try to absolve itself of responsibility for the scandal.
Mr Baillieu said he was also worried about the taxpayer paying for the costs of industrial action.
"(My) principal concern here is if this leads to increased costs at the desal plant, then families will be paying more," he said.
Officials from the Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union said the union would visit every Thiess site across the country to hold meetings with workers as the employees felt they had been "stabbed in the back".
Dave Noonan, the national secretary of the union's construction division, said workers wanted assurances that covert operations were not being carried out on other Thiess projects.
Prior to last night's standing down of Mr Miller and Mr Carroll and the sacking of Mr Townsend's operative, Mr Noonan said Thiess should identify the managers responsible and sack them.
"It is unacceptable that working people should be monitored in this way," he said.
"The ripple effect of this covert activity will be felt on Thiess jobs all around the country.
"From (this) morning, the union will be visiting every Thiess construction site to hold meetings with members.
"The union will be advising members of their rights to privacy on every Thiess construction job and questioning management on the use of illegal and unethical spying tactics.
"Workers want assurances that they are safe to work alongside their colleagues without wondering if their conversations are being recorded."
ACTU secretary Jeff Lawrence demanded a full, open investigation into the company's conduct, particularly the hiring of Mr Townsend.
"No worker should expect to be spied upon by people paid to pose as work colleagues and secretly gather information," he said.
"The employment of Bruce Townsend, who has a criminal record for receiving stolen goods and is a known agent provocateur, was an appalling error of judgment by Thiess."
Opposition workplace relations spokesman Eric Abetz said the company's alleged activity highlighted the need for the retention of the ABCC.
"This is a prime example of the developing deterioration of the industrial relations climate in Australia (that) companies feel forced to resort to these activities," Senator Abetz said.
A spokesman for Workplace Relations Minister Chris Evans said last night that "the government is pleased that the appropriate authorities are thoroughly investigating this matter".
A spokesman for Attorney-General Robert McClelland said the minister was not aware of specific allegations being made regarding access to communications. "Whether a breach of the Telecommunications Interception Act has occurred is a matter that can be investigated by law enforcement agencies," the spokesman said.
URL: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/investigations/union-fury-over-thiess-spy-scandal/story-fn6tcs23-1225956013098
