Union official fined over workplace breaches, including climbing a crane and yelling expletives

A former union official who told construction site management to “get f...ed” and climbed cranes while they were in operation has been handed a significant fine.

The former union official climbed two cranes while they were in operation on Devonport’s Living City site. Picture: SAM ROSEWARNE

A FORMER construction union official who told on-site management to “get f...ed” before climbing operating cranes twice in two days has been fined in the Federal Court.

A Federal Court decision handed down on Thursday ruled Richard Hassett flouted several provisions of the Fair Work Act when he visited a Devonport work site in 2017.

The court heard the former Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union official climbed an operating crane twice over two days in June that year while checking some workers were properly qualified and others’ rates of pay.

Mr Hassett first visited the Living City site on June 5, 2017, to investigate what he thought were contraventions of the Work Health and Safety Act.

“When asked for his ‘notice’ by site management, he responded by giving the middle finger and saying ‘get f...ed, that will never happen’,” the ruling said.

Mr Hassett then climbed a moving crane to ask its operator about their wages and refused to climb down, interrupting work on the Fairbrother-led project for 20 minutes.

Mr Hassett returned to the site the next day. He again climbed an operating crane to have a conversation with the crane operator and refused to leave the machine for five minutes.

Mr Hassett and the CFMMEU were fined a combined $137,000 for what the Federal Court ruled were “serious” breaches of industrial laws.

The proceedings were brought against the union and Mr Hassett by the Australian Building and Construction Commission.

Commissioner Stephen McBurney on Thursday said Mr Hassett’s actions were at odds with the CFMMEU’s claims about protecting workers’ safety.

“The penalties imposed on both Mr Hassett and the CFMMEU reflect the Court’s disapproval of the unlawful conduct,” Mr McBurney said.