Union penalised $26k for official’s behaviour

Australian Building and Construction Commissioner Leigh Johns said the two penalties, of $13,000 each, against the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) brings the total amount of penalties against building industry participants this year for right of entry breaches to $73,500.

“The importance of right of entry provisions contained in the Fair Work Act 2009 (FW Act) cannot be understated,” said ABC Commissioner Leigh Johns.

“I have said on numerous occasions that the law strikes the balance between the needs of permit holders and the needs of site managers, and those who unlawfully try to tip the balance in their favour will be held to account.”

The ABCC alleged that, on 22 May 2009, CFMEU official Fergal Doyle contravened sections 756 and 768 of the Workplace Relations Act 1996 by entering the building site of the Woolworth’s supermarket in Beaconsfield without a valid permit.

When asked by the site manager to produce his entry permit, Mr Doyle refused to do so, and continued to move through the site. In a separate case, on 19 October 2009, Mr Doyle contravened sections 497 of the Fair Work Act by entering a building site at the Mossgiel Park Primary School in Endeavour Hills without producing his entry permit.

While on the site, Mr Doyle hindered and obstructed a number of workers, and acted in an improper manner, thereby contravening s500 of the Fair Work Act.

“The provisions contained in the law are clear, easy to follow, and do not impose unreasonable restrictions on either parties,” said ABC Commissioner Johns.

“Cases like this are just a $26,000 ‘own goal’ for the CFMEU, and do not advance the interests of their organisation or members. Regardless of whether a site manager or a permit holder contravenes the law, the ABCC will continue to investigate right of entry claims where they arise. It is the case that costly legal proceedings and penalties can be avoided by simply following the law, and I am hopeful to see a reduction in right of entry breaches in 2012,” he concluded.