Vic: State admits it acted inappropriately, commission told

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Vic: State admits it acted inappropriately, commission told

The Victorian government has admitted it acted inappropriately over its part in employinga plumber who didn't work a day to satisfy the demands of a union.

The admission is contained in the Victorian government's statement of fact tenderedto the Cole royal commission into the building industry.

The government says it failed to take any step to prevent Peregrine Management Groupfrom employing the plumber.

Peregrine was employed by the government in January this year to provide industrialrelations advice on a food processing facility in Melbourne's west, for Japanese companySaizeriya.

The government says Peregrine advised it that in order to deliver a 56-hour workingweek on the site, it sought to satisfy a union demand to employ the plumber.

But the plumber never worked on the Saizeriya site.

The government says it didn't take any steps to prevent Peregrine from carrying thearrangement into effect until Saizeriya expressed concerns to the government.

A partner of Peregrine Management Group, MICHAEL PAYNTER is now before the commission.

AAP RTV ce/szp/jlw/smb/rp

KEYWORD: COLE (MELBOURNE)