Heartbroken mother’s fury at thug CFMEU bosses after her teenage son was bullied to death on his first tragic day at work

By Lucy Manly For Daily Mail Australia

Published: 06:25 BST, 16 July 2024 | Updated: 06:35 BST, 16 July 2024

The devastated mother of an 18-year-old who was relentlessly bullied and died following his first shift on a CFMEU worksite says his death exposes the kind of people behind the ‘thuggish’ construction union.

Tammie Palmer says her son Ben Nash was excited to land his dream job with a Melbourne construction company in January.

However, upon returning home from his first day, he confided to her that he had been bullied, humiliated, sworn at and even locked in a shed.

‘They locked him in a shed for three or four hours – just a young boy, with mental health issues.’ she said in an interview with 60 minutes.

The following morning on his 19th birthday, he was found in bed after a fatal overdose of prescription medication.

While the CFMEU denies the bullying claims, Palmer claimed her Aboriginal son was relentlessly targeted because he turned up for work wearing the shirt of a small Indigenous construction firm he had previously worked for.

She said the CFMEU did not like the firm because it was aligned with a rival union, the AWU.

‘If Ben had another shirt on, none of this would be an issue,’ she said.

Ben, who had mental health issues, died of an overdose after being relentlessly bullied on a CFMEU government worksite 

Tammie Palmer claims 18-year-old Ben was bullied to death

Tammie says CFMEU officials visited her and tried to downplay the role of workplace intimidation in Ben’s death but she will not accept any attempt by the union to dodge responsibility.

‘Where was the duty of care for my son? Why was he locked in a shed for so long? Why didn’t they tell him to turn his shirt inside out?’ she told The Age.

‘Kids can’t go to work and end up dead the next day. No family needs to go through this.’

Despite concerns for her safety, the mum says she will not buckle to the methods of  fear and intimidation she says are commonplace in the CFMEU and which had taken away her son.

‘They can’t hurt me more than I’m already hurting,’ she said.

‘People should be able to go to work and be treated with kindness and respect, it’s not hard.

‘All he wanted to do was work.’

Ahead of her bombshell interview with 60 Minutes, CFMEU union boss John Setka resigned on Friday amid a series of allegations about misconduct in the organisation including ties to underworld figures and bikie gangs.

On Sunday, it was reported how Setka had made a menacing night-time visit to the family home of Leo Skourdoumbis, who was also a senior CFMEU figure.

The former leader of the Victorian CFMEU, John Setka (left) has resigned following investigations into powerful branch

Ben was ound in bed after a fatal overdose of prescription medication

The Victorian branch of the CFMEU has been referred to the state’s anti-corruption watchdog IBAC, following allegations uncovered by Nine’s 60 Minutes program.

Premier Jacinta Allan labelled the alleged behaviour as ’thuggish and appalling’ while addressing reporters in a press conference on Monday.

Before becoming premier, replacing Dan Andrews, Ms Allan had been Ministedr for Transport and Infrastructure since 2014, and in that capacity had many dealings with the CFMEU during its period of alleged corruption.

The ALP had received millions of dollars in financial support from the CFMEU at that time. 

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Heartbroken mother’s fury at thug CFMEU bosses after her teenage son was bullied to death on his first tragic day at work

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