Edmond ‘Monty’ Margjini: CFMEU hard man fighting for industrial life as courts look to strip his entry permits

Cage-fighting street gangster-turned-CFMEU hard man Edmond “Monty” Margjini is fighting for his industrial life, with a court hearing scheduled to determine whether he should be allowed to barge into WA building sites. Mr Margjini will front the WA Industrial Relations Commission after an application was made to revoke his right-of-entry permit — the Government-issued licence which makes select unionists immune to trespass laws. The one-time professional fighter and long-time police target has for years flashed his permit whilst strutting past security personal on construction sites the CFMEU has members working on. That right of entry now hangs in the balance, with three commissioners at the WAIRC to hear arguments about whether the 47-year-old is a fit-and-proper person to hold the permit. “Monty is an organiser respected across the WA construction sector who has recently been the subject of an unjust smear campaign and if this matter is listed, the branch will back him in 100 per cent,” CFMEU State secretary Mick Buchan said. The commission hearing comes as the Government-appointed administrator charged with cleansing the CFMEU of unlawful behaviour wraps up a blitzkrieg of interviews in Perth. The construction division of the CFMEU was thrown into administration a year ago after media reports revealed the union was riddled with bikies and gangsters. Administrator Mark Irving subsequently found deep links between the CFMEU and organised crime figures in the Eastern States. However, he found little evidence that the union’s WA branch had been infected and State secretary Mick Buchan retained control of the west coast operation. That cleanskin status has since been brought into question, with Mr Margjini in particular the subject of media reports highlighting alleged thuggery on Perth building sites. The WAIRC and the Fair Work Commission both launched inquiries into a confrontation between Mr Margjini and a manager on a Perth building site in May. CCTV footage shows the muscular union man press his head against the manager’s forehead, pushing him backwards. The administrator placed the WA branch under formal investigation last week, two days after The West Australian revealed secret deals between the CFMEU and builders which some companies likened to a mafia shakedown. Those so-called memorandums of understanding forced companies to negotiate directly with Mr Margjini on “all industrial relations and site safety matters”. The informal agreements amount to a handshake deal over which the WAIRC and Fair Work have little control. “The building and construction industry must be free of unlawful behaviour,” Master Builders Association WA chief executive Matt Moran said when told about Mr Margini’s commission hearing. “There is no place for anyone engaging in inappropriate, coercive or unlawful conduct, regardless of their position. “We welcome the administrator’s efforts to clean up bad behaviour whether it’s breaching right of entry standards, discrimination against workers or subcontractors, or arranging unlawful industrial action.” The loss of his right-of-entry permit will restrict Mr Margjini’s ability to act as the sharp tip of the CFMEU’s sword as it seeks to extend its reach. But it will not affect his wider influence. Mr Margjini’s on-site swagger and refusal to take any step backwards has made him popular with rank-and-file members, many of whom see him as the heir-apparent to the position of State secretary when Mr Buchan steps down. The one-time Sword Boy gangster is believed to be eyeing off the assistant secretary role held by Brad Upton. The spectre of a Margjini-led CFMEU horrifies many other unionists, who believe the construction hard man’s chequered past will sully the entire movement. The CFMEU official walked from court pounding his chest in March after charges over an historical armed home invasion against him were dropped. He had been charged with four offences in December 2023 over the attempted aggravated armed robbery of a Rockingham home on June 19, 2011. It was alleged the former Albanian cage fighter was dressed in a balaclava when he forced entry into the home about 9pm and, armed with a machete, threatened and assaulted a woman inside. “I am relieved that justice has prevailed with the complete dismissal of the case against me,” he said after emerging from court. “From the beginning, I have maintained my innocence, I should never have been charged, and today’s outcome reaffirms that truth.