Union Official Told Royal Commission He Was Given Gold Bracelet After Site Assault

A former official with the Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union told a royal commission on Wednesday that underworld figure Mick Gatto gifted him a gold bracelet after a violent altercation at a construction site. Paul Tzimas was the first union representative to testify before the inquiry into major public and civil infrastructure projects in Victoria.

Tzimas described the physical toll of the assault, which he said left him with a fractured ankle. A colleague sustained a broken eye socket, dental damage, and severe post-traumatic stress disorder, along with the partial loss of vision. Tzimas stated that the individuals who attacked them were linked to the builders and developers involved in the project. He also indicated that he believed the assailants may have had connections to an outlaw bikie gang, though no specific location or date for the incident was provided.

Approximately one week after the attack, union officials met with the builders to discuss the situation. Tzimas noted that the developers arranged for Gatto to attend this gathering. He explained that Gatto was known to work with developers and builders to resolve issues on their projects. During the aftermath of these meetings, Gatto offered Tzimas a gold bracelet. Tzimas said he initially refused the gift.

Counsel assisting the commission, Chris Carr, noted that Tzimas rejected the bracelet because he felt it might appear inappropriate for a union official to accept a gift from someone on the opposing side. Tzimas agreed that the item was not a worthless trinket. After discussing the gesture with Gatto, Tzimas accepted the bracelet. Tzimas said Gatto explained that because Tzimas had refused it initially, the gift was not an attempt to buy favor. Gatto told him that he had a poor opinion of Tzimas as an official and believed he had judged Tzimas too harshly, making the bracelet an olive branch to a friend. Tzimas said he never wore the bracelet.

Tzimas acknowledged that other union officials had also received gold bracelets from Gatto. The commission also examined a letter the union wrote for a man convicted of manslaughter who was seeking parole. The letter confirmed the man would be offered employment. Tzimas said he was unsure why the union assisted the man but suggested the individual’s father, who was a union delegate at the time, may have influenced the decision. Tzimas agreed with Carr that 11 of 15 men whose names were read to him were union members affiliated with bikie gangs.

The current hearings focus on a level crossing removal project at Gap Road in Sunbury, north of Melbourne. Tzimas attended the work site as part of union action that eventually halted construction. He also participated in a meeting at CFMEU headquarters on 7 June 2022 between project managers and union officials. That meeting led to the resumption of work on the site. The commission has previously heard that the union demanded its own health and safety representative, along with union-affiliated traffic management and labor hire companies, be installed on the project to allow work to continue.

Tzimas, who left the union in January and is currently unemployed, is testifying before commissioner Christopher Kourakis. The proceedings continue as the commission investigates the integrity of major infrastructure projects in the state.