Call for maximum penalties for CFMMEU crane blockade

THE construction watchdog has called for senior union officials to be slapped with maximum penalties, after they arranged a Brisbane blockade.

THE construction watchdog has called for senior union officials to be slapped with maximum penalties, after they arranged a blockade against a Brisbane crane company in a bid to make them sign a contentious union agreement.

In August this year, the Federal Court found Michael Ravbar, the head of Queensland’s Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union, had breached workplace laws by coercing a crane company.

Union’s days ‘numbered’

The court heard on one occasion in 2012, Mr Ravbar ordered unlawful blockades against Universal Cranes, with CFMMEU organisers waiting outside the business to follow cranes and disrupt their work once they arrived on site.

Justice John Reeves found the union had arranged the blockade in a bid to force the company into signing a contentious union agreement which included a clause allowing the union to hold two-hour stop work meetings at any time and mean the company had to pay more money into the union’s redundancy fund.

CFMMEU state secretary Michael Ravbar

Australian Building and Construction Commission barrister Christopher Murdoch today told the Federal Court Mr Ravbar, the union and unionists involved in the coercion should be given the maximum penalties by the court.

“They stepped far over the line because this wasn’t a case... of some rogue organiser making a rash error of judgment this wasn’t a case of things at the workplace level on a particular day simply getting out of hand,” Mr Murdoch said.

“This is a case that involves a senior official of the union giving a direction to a group of organisers which was then put into effect the next day which had the intent of seeking to force a company to comply with the unions industrial demands.

“It was a targeted planned exercise which involved the use and deployment of employees officers of the union against particular company which was then … carried into effect the next day with the outcome on that particular day of organisers following a crane and stopping that crane from working...”

Mr Murdoch said the incident was a deliberate and targeted action against the company, and that deterrence was an important factor for the judge to consider in sentencing.

“That’s a factor that looms very large in a case such as this where a corporate entity such as the union has such an extensive history of contraventions,” he said.

“There have been references over and over again...as to the extensive prior history of the CFMMEU.

“We’re talking about a very extensive range of contraventions.”

Mr Ravbar and the union’s national assistant secretary Andrew Sutherland each face maximum fines of $6600 for the offending while the CFMMEU could face a fine of up to $66,000.

CFMMEU barrister Craig Dowling SC said it was unknown if any economic loss was suffered by Universal Cranes and that the offending “does not warrant the maximum penalty”.

“In our submission this is a long way from the worst possible case,” he said.

“This is not gratuitous flexing of muscle for gratuitous sake.”

Justice Reeves has reserved his decision in relation to the penalty.