The Fair Work Ombudsman has secured a total of $131,100 in penalties in court against the Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union (CFMEU) and two of its officials for unlawful conduct at a construction site in Brisbane.
The Federal Court has imposed penalties of $105,000 against the CFMEU, $15,000 against Andrew Blakeley and $11,100 against Dean Mattas.
The unlawful conduct occurred at the Inner City South State Secondary College construction project in Dutton Park.
Mr Blakeley, and through him the CFMEU, breached the Building and Construction Industry (Improving Productivity) Act 2016 (BCI Act) on 21 July 2020 by threatening to cause employees of subcontractors at the site to refuse to carry out work, with the intent of coercing the site's head contractor to remove its project manager from the site and thereby not allocate him the duties or responsibilities associated with his role.
Justice Darryl Rangiah described Mr Blakeley's conduct as "illegitimate", finding the threat he made was "grossly disproportionate" to his concerns about the project manager.
Mr Mattas, and through him the CFMEU, subsequently breached the BCI Act by organising unlawful industrial action at the site in July and August 2020, by directing the employees of seven subcontractors operating at the site to cease work.
The industrial action was found to be unlawful because Mr Mattas was unable to issue lawful directions to the employees to stop work as he was not a validly appointed Health and Safety Representative.
Justice Rangiah found that some of the industrial action organised by Mr Mattas, specifically in relation to the employees of four of the seven subcontractors, was done with the intent to coerce the head contractor to remove the project manager from the site.
Justice Rangiah also found that there were "alternative lawful and legitimate forms of action that Mr Mattas and the Union could have taken" to address their concerns.
His Honour found that Mr Blakeley and Mr Mattas had not expressed any remorse for their conduct and there was a need to impose penalties to deter future breaches.
The legal action against the CFMEU, Mr Blakeley and Mr Mattas was commenced by the Australian Building and Construction Commissioner (ABCC) in 2020.
Under federal legislation, responsibility for the case transferred from the ABCC to the Fair Work Ombudsman in December 2022.
Acting Fair Work Ombudsman Michael Campbell said the court penalties affirmed the seriousness of breaching laws relating to lawful conduct on Australian construction sites.
"There is no place for unlawful conduct aimed at coercing contractors on any worksite," Mr Campbell said.
"Improving compliance across the building and construction industry is a priority for the Fair Work Ombudsman, and we will continue to investigate reports of non-compliance and hold to account those who act outside the law."
The Fair Work Ombudsman has now secured total penalties of more than $3.6 million in court cases that have been finalised since they were transferred to it in December 2022.
A large majority of these penalties have been secured against the CFMEU or its officials.
All building and construction industry employers and employees can seek sector-specific workplace information, advice and assistance from the Fair Work Ombudsman.
