ABC Commissioner’s notice to intervene filed on: Caelli Constructions (Vic) Pty Ltd (“Caelli”) is one of the principal cojntractors engaged in the construction of the $1 billion New Royal Children’s Hospital at Parkville. The hospital is being constructed by the Children’s Health Partnership, as a Public Private Partnership (PPP) under the State Government's Partnerships Victoria model.
Several hundred employees of Caelli went on strike on Friday, 12 December 2008 in protest at the termination of employment of an employee who had allegedly refused to follow a lawful and reasonable direction. Vehicles were also placed across the entrance gates to block concrete deliveries to the site.
Caelli applied to the AIRC for orders to stop and prevent industrial action by employees and stop the CFMEU from organising industrial action.
On 15 December 2008, SDP Watson made an interim order that industrial action at the New Royal Children’s Hospital site stop and not occur and that the CFMEU stop and not organise any industrial action at the site. Section 496 provides that the Commission must make an interim order if the application cannot be heard and determined within 48 hours unless it would be contrary to the public interest to do so.
Caelli’s application had been made before 5.00 pm on Friday, 12 December 2008. In the circumstances, SDP Watson said he was obliged to make an interim order (given that 48 hours had elapsed) in the absence of any public interests questions to the contrary.
SDP Watson then made an interim order that industrial action stop at the site. The interim order was to come into effect at 7.00 am Tuesday, 16 December 2008. Further hearings have been scheduled for 8 January 2009 in relation to the question of a substantive order.
The Senior Deputy President also arranged to set up a conciliation conference before another member of the Commission on Tuesday 16 December to discuss the termination of the employee whose dismissal had triggered the industrial action.