The ACTU condemns the violent attack on the CFMEU Construction Victorian office orchestrated by violent right-wing extremists and anti-vaccination activists.
This violent attack on union property which endangered union officials, staff and the public was reprehensible.
Workers across the country are under extreme pressure because of the threat to life and health the pandemic poses, and the restrictions health experts deem necessary to save lives. Those exploiting this pressure and seeking to divide people are a danger to us all.
Unions put the safety of working people first.
High vaccination rates are the only way for us to get out of lockdown, save jobs and get back to work in safe workplaces and communities.
Division and the spreading of misinformation against the vaccination program are putting the lives of vulnerable people at risk and will lead to the overwhelming of our health care system, endangering the health care workforce.
Where public health experts deem it necessary to mandate a vaccine, everything that can be done to assist those workers to get vaccinated must be done. Every worker who can get vaccinated should get vaccinated as soon as possible.
Australian unions will never be intimidated by violence or threats from extremists who refuse to put the good of the community first.
