CFMMEU fined for Brisbane strikes

The construction union and seven of its officials have been fined over a series of strikes against Hutchinson Builders in 2016.

The CFMEU has been fined for a 2016 strike. Picture: Liam Kidston.

The construction union and seven of its officials have been fined $522,000 over a series of strikes against Hutchinson Builders at nine projects across Brisbane in 2016.

Officials visited nine sites, convened meetings and organised the workers to stop work on nine different dates in August and September 2016. The strikes were designed to coerce Hutchinson into engaging a contractor covered by a union enterprise agreement

The Federal Court found the conduct of the officials contributed to a “deliberate, premeditated and sustained campaign of unlawful industrial behaviour orchestrated by the CFMMEU, including elements of intimidation, threat and coercion”.

“The timing of the disruption at the various sites was such that eight concrete pours were cancelled due to the stoppages.’’ Judge Berna Collier said.

The union, which showed no contrition, was fined $432,000 while the officials were fined $90,000 in penalties. The union will be able to pay the fines of behalf of the officials

Handing down the penalties today, Judge Collier said the history of prior contraventions by the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union demonstrated a strong need for deterrence and a requirement for high penalties.

She supported a previous judgment that the union’s record of contraventions “bespeaks an organisational culture in the union in which contraventions of the law have become normalised”.

She said it was not an understatement to describe the number of separate legal proceedings involving the CFMMEU as “vast”, and that heavily critical comments of the union and its recidivism in respect of workplace law breaches had been made in many court judgments

“It is questionable whether the imposition of pecuniary penalties in previous cases has affected the conduct of the CFMMEU,’’ she said. “To that extent the need for specific deterrence of the CFMMEU is a very important factor for consideration in this case.”

Australian Building and Construction Commissioner Stephen McBurney said the unlawful conduct in this case was a concern.

“The overwhelming pressure applied in this case was aimed at forcing a head contractor to discriminate against smaller subcontractors who did not have CFMMEU enterprise agreements,” Mr McBurney said.

“These are often small-to-medium sized businesses and the unlawful behaviour seen in this case could have impacted their businesses and their workers’ livelihood.”