VIC: Desalination anti-union scam exposed

The company building Victoria's desalination plant has admitted it gave a strikebreaker confidential information on hundreds - and potentially thousands - of its employees, including medical records and salaries.

On Friday, the union representing electrical workers at the Wonthaggi desalination plant won a Federal Court order instructing the strikebreaker, Tasmanian Bruce Townsend, to hand over by 2.15pm today files on at least 500 employees and job applicants.

The records in Mr Townsend's possession could ultimately detail the personal details of up to 18,000 people.

Workers walked off the job in November 2010 after The Australian reported the secret operation headed by Mr Townsend to spy on union members, delegates and contractors. Plant builder Thiess has previously said only very basic and low-level information about employees had been given to Mr Townsend as part of his 2010 role on the Wonthaggi project - for which Thiess paid him more than $500,000.

But an email from a senior manager at Thiess, sent two weeks ago and tendered by the union in its Federal Court action, shows Mr Townsend's investigative activity allowed him access to extensive personal documents on workers and job applicants.

''There are details on approximately 500 job applicants and starters,'' the email from Thiess' general manager of people, safety and environment said. ''For each person there are a number of documents that contain scanned copies of things such as driver's licences and certification tickets, resumes, pre-employment medical results, interview notes, letters of offer depending on whether the person was successful in gaining employment.

''At this stage we do not know if this is all of the information that [Mr Townsend's firm] have in their possession,'' it said.

Electrical Trades Union assistant secretary Troy Gray said: ''It's despicable that a bloke like Bruce Townsend … who promotes himself as a head-kicker for the landed gentry, has the home addresses, the mobile phone numbers, the work history, and the medical records of employees at the desalination plant.
''How in hell did this happen?''

Serena Middleton, spokeswoman for the Thiess Degremont desal joint-venture, said hiring Mr Townsend's firm had been ''contrary to the business practices'' of the companies.