Lend Lease has finalised an agreement with the CFMEU to pay approximately 65 workers who had been ripped off on the $630 million Bendigo Hospital development.

A large proportion of the workers were of Chinese descent and been working for a subcontractor on the Lend Lease job for up to nine weeks without any pay, superannuation or long service leave. Lend Lease has agreed to pay the workers in full. It’s estimated that the total amount of wages and entitlements that have been recouped by the CFMEU for these workers will be just under $600,000.

The subcontractor, Asset Interiors, had been operating insolvent since February despite repeated warnings from the CFMEU to Lend Lease management.

CFMEU State Secretary John Setka said, “It’s a disgrace that Lend Lease had to be embarrassed into paying these workers. The situation was akin to slavery on a major Government project and Lend Lease Group did everything they could to wash their hands of the matter, leaving these workers without money to put food on the table.”

“Lend Lease has a track record of dodgy building practices and a recent conviction for corruption by the FBI in the US. It begs the question how they continue to win government contracts. I believe that while Australian tax payers want value for money on government projects, they also want a fair go for every worker on those projects, no matter where they’re from.”

The support shown by the CFMEU saw thousands of construction workers offer their solidarity and stand side-by-side with the ripped off workers.

The incident comes after revelations that over 28 Asset Interior workers on the same project were working without correct visas and leaving the site under the cover of dark. The whereabouts of these workers remains unknown.

Mr Setka continued to draw attention to the fact that the FWBC has repeatedly ignored exploitation of workers to focus its resources on prosecuting construction unions.

“The CFMEU is out there fighting for workers safety, pay and entitlements while at the same time, trying to stop visa rorts and the exploitation of vulnerable workers. The FWBC, on the other hand, couldn’t give a stuff about workers. It’s no wonder the cross benches voted against Turnbull’s anti-worker laws. It speaks volumes that having just won workers back their wage entitlements we anticipate that instead of investigating the exploitation of these workers, the FWBC will now prosecute the CFMEU.” Mr Setka said.