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One of Australia’s most powerful unions has sparked outrage by awarding life membership to a previously jailed and expelled official who took revenge on a company by rampaging through its offices and terrorising its employees.
Craig Johnston, the former Victorian Secretary of the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU), was honoured at the union’s state conference in May – despite being booted from the group in 2004.
Johnston made headlines in 2001 after he led 30 balaclava-clad people in a violent ‘run-through’ through the offices of Skilled Engineering in Box Hill, in Melbourne‘s east.
The group smashed windows with chairs, overturned filing cabinets, trashed computers, and sprayed fire suppressant throughout the offices.
A pregnant woman was among the staff members who were screamed at and threatened by the intruders during the terrifying rampage.
Skilled Engineering, a labour hire firm, was targeted by Johnston and his cronies following a dispute over redundancies and the use of non-unionised labour.
Johnston was later found guilty in Melbourne Magistrates’ Court of riot, affray, criminal damage, and aggravated burglary.
He was sentenced to nine months in prison in August 2004, fined $10,000, and ordered to pay $44,000 in compensation.
Craig Johnston, the former Victorian Secretary of the AMWU, has been handed life membership despite being expelled in 2001 (pictured red-circled)
Johnston (right) was jailed for his role in a terrifying ‘run-through’ of the offices of Skilled Engineering in Box Hill, in Melbourne’s east
A separate investigation by the AMWU in July of the same year saw him expelled from the union for misconduct.
At the time, then-AMWU National Secretary and ACTU Vice-President Doug Cameron – who later became a Labor senator – publicly condemned Johnston, declaring he ‘would not be welcome back’ in the union.
‘We expelled him for some serious misconduct and, as far as we are concerned, what he does as an individual is up to him,’ Cameron told ABC Radio in 2005.
‘But he will not be coming back as an AMWU member.’
Yet at the recent AMWU conference, Johnston was photographed celebrating alongside several high-profile union figures, Daily Mail Australia can reveal.
Some of those pictured were supporters of embattled Victorian CFMEU Secretary John Setka, who resigned following explosive allegations of corruption and links to organised crime within that union.
The award given to Johnston noted his ‘recognition of a life spent advancing the lives of working men, women and their families’.
It also features the quote, ‘Dare to struggle, dare to win’, which was popularised by Chinese Communist Party founder Mao Zedong, whose policies, including the Great Leap Forward, are estimated to have caused the deaths of up to 45million people.
Johnston (middle right) was fined $10,000, served nine months in jail and was forced to pay $44,000 in compensation following the raid on the Box Hill business
The decision to grant Johnston life membership was criticised by Victorian Opposition Leader Brad Battin.
‘It’s concerning that someone previously jailed for violent workplace invasions is being celebrated,’ Battin said.
‘I’m sure many decent unionists and workers share my view that this sends a dangerous message: intimidation and violence can be rewarded.’
Photos from the event show Johnston posting with CFMEU National Secretary and Setka supporter Zach Smith, with one man pictured wearing a ‘Free Johnston’ t-shirt, a slogan used by Union activists during Johnston’s jail term.
He was also pictured rubbing shoulders with Christy Cain, the retired National Secretary of the CFMEU, who remains one of Mr Setka’s loudest backers.
Troy Gray, Victorian Secretary of the Electrical Trades Union, also attended the event.
Meanwhile, the CFMEU remains under administration across Australia, following a failed High Court challenge last month.
The Queensland government will investigate the CFMEU following a bombshell report (pictured, union workers participate in a rally at Bowen Hills in Brisbane)
The Queensland Government has launched a commission of inquiry into the state’s CFMEU branch after a damning report by barrister Geoffrey Watson.
Watson’s report uncovered a culture of entrenched misconduct, including allegations of violence and harassment against women, which he described as possibly the single worst aspect of the violence perpetrated by the CFMEU.
The inquiry will use its full powers to probe what the government has called a deeply embedded culture of bullying, intimidation, misogyny, and corruption within the powerful construction union.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted the Victorian AMWU, Australian Council of Trade Unions and Victorian Treasurer and Industrial Relations Minister Jaclyn Symes for comment.
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