Crane operator describes union stoppages at construction inquiry

A crane operator has told Victoria's construction royal commission that work changed after a heavier presence of union officials at a Melbourne rail project in 2022. Glenn Tyrrell was the first witness called to give public evidence in hearings examining major public and civil infrastructure construction.

Tyrrell worked on the Gap Road bridge project in Sunbury through a labour-hire firm and served as a health and safety representative. He said CFMEU officials entered the site and stopped machinery while raising safety issues, including requests to inspect paperwork for lifting equipment.

He described officials standing in front of plant or sitting on barriers in ways that prevented work from continuing. He also said he was later told he would move to another labour-hire employer and had to join the union. These are his accounts to the commission, not final findings about every participant's conduct.

The first block of hearings is focusing on the project and meetings held in June 2022. Counsel assisting has outlined allegations of interference and intimidation. The inquiry is still gathering evidence, so its opening hearings should not be presented as a completed determination of responsibility or proof of criminal offending.