After an anti-vaccine mandate protest that turned violent outside the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union offices in Melbourne yesterday, leaders were quick to blame extreme fringes for the violence and agitation.
“This crowd was heavily infiltrated by neo-Nazis and other right-wing extremist groups and it is clear that a minority of those who participated were actual union members,” the CFMMEU said in a statement.
This statement serves the union’s interests — after all, it’s not a great look if your own union members are violently protesting against you — but is it true?
Here’s what we know:
Organising for a Victorian construction workers protest against mandatory vaccines began in late August on social media, but gathered little notice initially. A flyer circulating on Telegram advertising yesterday’s protest claimed that workers from defunct unions were attending. Even in the small online communities set up specifically for CFMMEU members against mandates, members identified themselves as not being unionists but in the industry.
This movement was boosted and co-opted by much bigger general anti-vaccine, anti-lockdown and fringe groups. Advertising for yesterday’s protest was shared among a larger group of general anti-vax, anti-lockdown online groups, encouraging others to “blend in” and wear high visibility gear. Even still, the protest didn’t seem to get much attention compared with the “freedom” protests that have happened semi-regularly.
By the start of the protest at midday on Monday, there were a few hundred protesters dressed in high vis gear. Nine’s Ben Schneiders reported that CFMMEU sources told him that more than 80% of Monday’s protesters were building workers.
But researchers and watchers of the anti-lockdown movements in Australia noticed some regular faces who were not just disgruntled construction workers, people such as Lizzy Rose and known members of far-right groups were there.
“News about the protests went out on a few of the big Telegram channels about an hour after the protests had already started, encouraging people to go join in, and a lot of those conspiracy and fringe right figures showed up later in the day,” Institute for Strategic Dialogue researcher and journalist Elise Thomas said.
Much like how generalist anti-lockdown online groups and figures amplified organising before the protest, figures with enormous online following like Avi Yemini and Real Rukshan broadcast the events live — serving as advertisements in the protest. As a result, the composition of the protests appeared to change throughout the day. By the time riot police had been called in, the protest had been going for hours and become increasingly aggressive.
It’s impossible to know how many of the protesters were construction workers angry at industry conditions and how many were not — but it’s clear it was at least some of both.
Data from the University of Melbourne suggests that employees in the “construction & utilities” industry listed as industry with the most vaccine hesitant, at 37% of workers. The Victorian government said checks on 200 worksites last week found that 73% of construction sites were not compliant with health directions, according to Nine. Now the industry has been temporarily shut down.
Last week’s “smoko” protests also demonstrated that the industry was willing to mobilise to push back against COVID-19 restrictions. To paint those worried about vaccines as extremists plays into the hands of extremists who hope to exploit this anxiety and fear of people during uncertain times. And doing so also misses that some can be persuaded or convinced to get vaccinated and follow public health measures.
If institutions hope to maintain their relevancy and keep us all safe, they must figure out how to bring them along with them.
Editors note: This article has been updated to include new reporting on the composition of the protest turnout and data about vaccine hesitancy among the construction industry.
The building workers, certainly the industry and even more likely contractors, have an appalling record on COVID negligence on site. I have to agree with Andrews that they have had a free kick and on this case seem to have abused it. The union itself is happy to demand membership etc and they need to get their heads out of their arses here. I am in favour of unions, but how can they justify denying a safe workplace. The ICU docs listed young, fit tradies as a particular group among the hospital cases. Well they wouldn’t listen and now they are in lockout. Too dopey for words, but if theunion wants any credibility it needs to organise how is there much better.
Too true. You only have to walk past a building site in Melbourne to see how lax they are in following the rules.
90-100 years is obviously a good timespan in which to resurrect the same methods and tactics that were used against democracy before to unseat it. If we do not learn the lessons of history it seems it is true that we are doomed to repeat it. The shame of it all is that we in this time do actually have the history well documented and available to study and warn us that should prevent us from repeating it.
Religion aka tax-exempt business organisations, their pathetic adherents defy the knowledge gained from history such is the deficit of intelligence in our species
Construction workers are happy to comply with Occupational Health and Safety issues like hard hats and safety boots.
Young mobile construction workers are an ideal vector for infection.
They are aware of Long Covid which appears to hit the young badly
Parts of Europe learnt last summer that youth and/or younger working age, in pre-vaccination phase last summer and winter, were more prone to spread Covid due to their propensity to socialise more; schools too were identified as an issue via pupils with no symptoms then passing onto mum and/or dad…..
The moron anti vaxers have excuses , stupidity, and ignorance . What excuse do building workers have? The building workers who want to eat their hot meals in their poorly ventilated lunch rooms as they discuss the site allowances are spreading the virus and most likely taking it home . They should give a thought for the medical staff already overworked who will nurse their family members as they struggle to breathe isolated from family The medical staff will be in full PPE as they complete a double shift .Site allowances for nurses? Not likely. Building workers need to isolate themselves from the trash that hijacked the protest
No evidence of long covid affecting the young ‘badly’
Nowhere have I ever read that “long covid”, if its even real, hits the young badly.
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You haven’t been missed.
It’s time we started calling it the “pro choice vaccination movement”. The word ant-vaxxer doesn’t even half way describe all the nuances of people’s passions around this subject, that are often not anti-vaccination at all. Using this word, is itself polarising people into a polarised society, when a simple decision to understand each others point of view does wonders for every sort of conflict – this one included.
When you say it was the CFMMEU in your headline are you implying it is the Union itself? Or some of its ordinary members? Do you have evidence for either claim? In an industry which is about 80% or more non-union you have about a 1 in 5 chance of being right. Lift your game.
I agree with you. The article has strong evidence out outside involvement, with just an assumption on union members.
The Guardian has some photos of Trump flags and Proud Boys T shirts, so union membership seems maybe just an assumption. Folk like John Setka behaving like thugs encourage behaviour like this American look alike stuff. The fact is that the construction industry is spreading COVID a lot, according to health stats. Gladys shut it down some time ago in nsw, it needs shutting down in Melbourne clearly. It is not clear to me what the construction industry is, my husband was a carpenter his whole working like, and never involved in anything like this.