Devastated workmates have rallied around the father of a young Chinese gyprocker who drowned after he was swept off the rocks while fishing at Little Bay.

The 22-year-old worked with his father on a Rhodes site for one of Sydney’s largest Chinese construction companies.

CFMEU Organiser Yu Lei Zhou said Mr Lin was enjoying a weekend outing at Little Bay last month when a series of waves swept him away and his horrified friends were unable to rescue him in time.

In the immediate aftermath of the tragedy, the CFMEU arranged  a mass meeting at the Rhodes building site where the young man worked and held a minutes’ silence in memory of Mr Lin.

Mr Zhou said Chinese and non-Chinese colleagues were united in their shock at the death and passed around the bucket to raise funds, which have been passed on to the 22-year-old’s father.

Although the young man had only worked with the company for just three months, Mr Zhou said his father and mother would receive a significant death benefit.

“Without the CFMEU checking that companies are paying the right benefits this poor boy would have ended up with nothing because his death happened outside work hours,” said Mr Zhou.

However, his beneficiaries would receive a death benefit from his industry superannuation fund, Cbus, funeral expenses from the redundancy trust ACIRT and other payments from UPlus Top-Up Insurance and the Long Service Corporation.

The tragedy also showed the unity of union members in looking out for each other regardless of race.

A funeral for the young man was held on Monday with his mother flying in from China and his boss paying for 22 of his colleagues to attend the event. His father was presented with a cheque for more than $5000 in funds raised by union colleagues from the CFMEU.

For more information contact Yu Lei Zhou on 0423 567 835