Construction Workers Protest Outside Victoria’s Parliament

Protesters dressed in hi-viz gear and work boots have assembled for a second day outside the Melbourne office of construction union CFMEU before walking through the streets to protest mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations for construction workers.

As they marched, the protesters chanted slogans such as, “every day,” “[expletive] the jab,” and “[expletive] Dan Andrews,” referring to the state’s leader, Victorian Premier Dan Andrews.

The crowd first gathered at the intersection of Elizabeth and Victoria streets in Melbourne’s CBD but were blocked from accessing the CFMEU headquarters by a line of Victoria Police officers.

A line of police also followed the crowd from a distance as they moved through the city towards the state Parliament, where police met them in riot gear, horse-mounted police, and ordinary officers.

It is estimated that the crowd swelled to hundreds, with at least 55 thousand more watching live online via Real Rukshan.

During the march towards the state Parliament, orange smoke was seen, and firecrackers were set off intermittently as the protesters walked through the streets.

The second day of protest comes as the Victorian state government announced that the entire construction industry would be shut down from Tuesday for two weeks in metropolitan Melbourne, City of Ballarat, City of Greater Geelong, Surf Coast Shire, and Mitchell Shire.

CFMEU boss John Setka blamed “professional protesters” for the violent scenes outside the Victorian CFMEU offices, where water bottles were thrown, and the office’s windows were smashed.

“There was a small minority of construction workers, some of them when it all got violent just walked away from it. It was hijacked by the professional protesters,” Setka told ABC Radio on Sept. 21.

Australian federal MP Bill Shorten also alleged that some of the protesters on Sept. 20 were “fake tradies.”

“They’ve been down to the Reject Shop and got themselves a $2 hi-viz hoodie,” he told Nine’s Today show on Sept. 21.

More to come.