CFMMEU fined $85K for delaying work on Metro Tunnel
The construction union CFMMEU has been fined $85k for delaying work on the Metro Tunnel after making bogus safety claims.
Victoria
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The militant construction union has been fined $85,000 for delaying work on the Melbourne Metro Tunnel project, after the CFMMEU made bogus safety claims.
Construction on the $11 billion infrastructure project was held up in 2019, when a CFMMEU shop steward directed two groups of workers to not commence work.
The steward said the first aid room on a site had inadequate facilities and lighting.
Many workers did not commence work following the steward’s accusation, despite being told by their employers there was no risk to their health and safety,
The union’s decision to undertake unlawful industrial action led to charges from the country’s federal building regulator.
Handing down the Federal Court’s ruling on Monday, Justice Kerr said the union had a “gross history” of breaking industrial legislation on dubious health and safety grounds.
“What the union has done is a modern acknowledgment of the moral of the boy who cried wolf—that too many such cries can lead to demands for safety measures being ignored even when they may be fully justified and need to be instantly responded to,” he said.
ABCC Commissioner Stephen McBurney said there was “no excuse” for employees to stop working on the major infrastructure project.
“The CFMMEU admitted the safety concerns did not present any imminent risk to the health and safety of workers,” he said.
“The safety of workers on construction sites remains the paramount priority in the industry but concerns about safety should never be used as an excuse to engage in unlawful industrial action.
The CFMEUU shop steward, Steven Parker, had his $5000 penalty suspended for three years on condition he doesn’t commit further offences against key building industry legislation.
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