The dispute
In late 2008 John Holland Pty Ltd was engaged as the principal contactor on the West Gate Bridge Strengthening Project in Melbourne. The project involves strengthening and providing additional lanes on the West Gate Bridge and installing anti-suicide barriers.
Workers engaged by labour hire firm Civil Pacific Services (Vic) Pty Ltd were undertaking building work on the project for John Holland. The employees were covered by an agreement between Civil Pacific and the AWU.
On 3 February 2009 the CFMEU and AMWU contacted John Holland and requested that it make an agreement with the unions to cover employees at the project. The next day John Holland told the CFMEU and AMWU that they were not in a position to finalise an agreement with the unions. On 8 February 2009, Civil Pacific signed an agreement with the CFMEU and AMWU which required it to pay its workers higher rates of pay. In order to cover the increased labour cost, Civil Pacific requested John Holland increase its contractual payment. John Holland refused. This provoked a protracted demarcation dispute between the CFMEU, AMWU and the AWU.
The proceedings
In the afternoon of Friday, 6 February 2009, after a picket was established at the site, the ABCC obtained an injunction in the Federal Court restraining the CFMEU, the AMWU and their members from preventing or hindering access to the project.
John Holland later brought its own proceedings, which were heard in their interlocutory stages with the ABCC proceedings. The ABCC intervened in the John Holland proceedings. The John Holland proceedings were later discontinued.
The ABCC and John Holland obtained broadened injunctions on four occasions, 17 February 2009, 24 March 2009, 30 April 2009 and 1 May 2009. The number of injunctions reflected the progressive extension of protest conduct.
At a direction hearing on 29 May 2009, the parties, by consent, presented the court with proposed orders removing some of the existing injunctions to ensure work on the project was not prevented, delayed or hindered by the injunctions.
The ABCC filed a Statement of Claim in the Federal Court in Melbourne on 7 August 2009 alleging 92 contraventions of the Building and Construction Industry Improvement Act 2005 relating to the industrial dispute at the West Gate Bridge.
On 23 February 2010, the Federal Court was advised that the ABCC had reached an agreement with the CFMEU, AMWU and the union official respondents by which the ABCC would present evidence to the Court concerning 52 contraventions and the respondents would not oppose that evidence. If the Court found that each contravention was made out on the evidence, then an agreed penalty amount for each of those contraventions would apply.
On 28 July 2010, the Federal Court made orders reflecting the agreement between the parties and ordering the respondents to pay total penalties of $1.325 million.