Australia: Union puts picket thug on sideline
The national construction union boss at the centre of controversy over his thuggish behaviour outside a Sydney factory will be removed as the public face of his union, leaving him with little or no role in its affairs.
John Sutton will be sidelined as national secretary of the construction division of the Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union after it was agreed he could no longer campaign publicly on behalf of his union.
It is understood Mr Sutton will keep his job title for the time being, but he is under intense pressure from colleagues to resign. From now on, the national secretary of all the CFMEU's divisions, John Maitland, will take over Mr Sutton's duties as the national union figure in charge of handling construction issues.
In particular, Mr Maitland will run the union's case as it lobbies against legislation planned by the Howard Government to crack down on militant union behaviour following recommendations by the Cole royal commission into the building industry.