FWO drops ABCC action against union organisers

Legal action taken against two union organisers by the Coalition’s former union regulator has been discontinued.

Fair Work Ombudsman Sandra Parker. Picture: Aaron Francis/The Australian

The Fair Work Ombudsman has dropped contentious legal action taken against two union organisers by the Coalition’s former union regulator, the Australian Building and Construction Commission.

The FWO, which took over the ABCC’s legal matters as the agency was being abolished last month, confirmed on Friday that the court proceedings had been discontinued.

The ABCC alleged the officials, James Darnton-Turner and Brian Windsor, obstructed work from occurring at the $500m Founders Lane development in Braddon, ACT, in 2021.

The ABCC claimed that, through their conduct, the Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing And Allied Services Union had breached section 500 of the Fair Work Act.

“After the proceedings were transferred to the Fair Work Ombudsman, the FWO undertook a case assessment process in accordance with its compliance and enforcement policy,” a spokesman said.

“The case assessment process considers a range of matters, including sufficiency of evidence and the public interest. In the circumstances of this particular matter, the FWO determined to discontinue the proceedings.”

The ABCC alleged that Mr Darnton-Turner and Mr Windsor intentionally hindered or obstructed workers, and that Mr Darnton-Turner also acted in an improper manner while exercising entry rights as permit holders. It was alleged that the CEPU engaged in the above contraventions through their two officials.

In its statement of claim, the ABCC alleged Mr Darnton-Turner prevented formworkers from undertaking their work by standing in front of an electrical distribution board, which he claimed was non-compliant and had to be shut down. The ABCC alleged Mr Darnton-Turner refused to move until the inspector who had certified the board as safe came to the site so Mr Darnton-Turner could “school him”.

In a second incident, the ABCC alleged Mr Darnton-Turner deliberately pulled a power lead from its socket, damaging the lead which had to be replaced.

A third incident, involving Mr Windsor, is alleged to have resulted in fire safety workers being delayed when Mr Windsor directed them to stop work and then stood in a position that prevented the workers from carrying out work for about 20 to 30 minutes.

The maximum penalty for each alleged contravention was $63,000 for a body corporate and $12,600 for an individual.

Union officials declined to comment, despite it being a win for the union.

One official said the union did not want to comment because it feared any publicity about the abolition of the ABCC would be seized on by Labor’s critics in the lead up to the NSW state election.

The NSW government announced last month it would revive the watchdog at a state level to police union conduct on construction projects.

The union official alleged the ABCC’s case in the proceedings had been “weak” and video evidence taken by ABCC inspectors allegedly did not support aspects of its statement of claim.