For Students

The CFMEU receives lots of requests from school students for help with assignments about unions. Most requests can be satisfied by material we have published on this site.

• Basic info


• Need info about a campaign or dispute?


• Find out more about trade unions

Basic info

CFMEU is short for the Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union. The CFMEU is Australia's main trade union in construction, forestry and forest products, furniture, mining and energy production. The CFMEU has offices in all capital cities in Australia and in many regional centres. The union has 160,000 members and employs around 400 full time staff and officials.

The CFMEU is a blue collar union - meaning that most of the union's members are employed in manual labour.

The CFMEU is motivated by the welfare of its membership. While the CFMEU has a broad agenda in furthering the interests of its members there are a number of issues which are consistently high on the union agenda. These are:

• Wages and conditions
• Workplace safety
• Training and education

Need info about a campaign or dispute?

If you explore this site further you will find more information about the union's activities. For landmark struggles and a history of the union, check out Our Proud Past. To find out about current campaigns read News. You will find out about our policies by reading the sections on Training and OH&S. We have also published some of our Research on this site. Also, you can look at what the union is doing In Your State.

Find out more about trade unions

There are many resources on the internet which could be useful for school projects about unions. Try these links:

Good luck with your assignment!

United we bargain - Divided we beg.

Contact the National Office, Construction Division at:
Level 12, 276 Pitt Street, Sydney, NSW 2000
Ph: 02 8524 5800
Fax: 02 8524 5801
Email: queries@fed.cfmeu.asn.au

Postal address: PO Box Q235, Queen Victoria Building Post Office, Sydney NSW 1230.