Big Build Royal Commission Hears CFMEU Ultimatum on Rail Site
A John Holland superintendent told Victoria's Big Build royal commission on November 10, 2026 that CFMEU officials demanded changes at the Gap Road rail project and hinted at future work. A crane operator said he was pressed to join the union.
A John Holland general superintendent told the Big Build royal commission in Victoria on Tuesday that officials from the Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union (CFMEU) said his company would be looked on favorably for future projects if it met the union's demands.
Steve Testolin gave evidence at the first public witness hearing of the royal commission. The inquiry is examining the integrity of major public and civil infrastructure construction projects in Victoria.
The June 2022 meeting
Testolin described a June 6, 2022 meeting at the union's headquarters. Three of his colleagues attended with him, along with CFMEU officials Joe Myles and Paul Tzimas.
The meeting followed a work stoppage at the Gap Road level crossing removal project in Sunbury, north of Melbourne. The site is the focus of the commission's November hearings.
The project was meant to involve non-stop construction of a rail bridge over 30 days. The commission previously heard that union officials unlawfully entered the site and stood in front of equipment.
Testolin said his company felt it had to deal directly with the union because authorities were not backing it. He named police, WorkSafe and the state government, which was the client on the project.
“I knew that eventually we would have to concede … because we weren’t being supported by authorities,” he told the commission. “We were pretty much being left standing alone.”
Demands and the offer of future work
Testolin said Myles opened with: “Enough with the small talk, what do youse want.” He replied: “How bout you cut the bullshit and tell me what you want?”
The union then demanded that its health and safety representatives be appointed on site. It also wanted union-affiliated labor hire and traffic management companies to replace the firms already in use.
Myles made clear that if John Holland aligned itself with the union, it would be looked at favorably for upcoming projects, including the airport rail link, Testolin said.
Work resumed the next day once the demands were met. Testolin said safety concern notices issued by the union fell from 12 a day to one for the rest of the project in 2022.
Workers pressed to sign up
Glenn Tyrell, a crane operator and health and safety officer on the project, said he and 15 other workers received an ultimatum about a week after the stoppage. A union official and site management told them to move to BK Labour Hire and join the CFMEU if they wanted to keep working there.
Tyrell told Tim Jefferie, junior counsel assisting the commission, that there was no practical reason to change labor hire groups. He said the new contracts carried the same award rates as before.
Another worker, Robert Van Den Tol, told the commission he thought the union “were on a mission” when it shut down the project. He said the job was run by “the last crew in Melbourne” that the CFMEU had not
