Five companies who are engaged in the construction of the Boddington Gold Mine Expansion Project in Western Australia applied to the AIRC for orders to stop industrial action by employees who had imposed a ban on overtime in pursuit of a number of claims relating to travelling and accommodation allowances. All of the demands involved extra claims over and above the provisions of the applicable workplace agreements between the companies and the unions.
The Boddington Gold Mine Expansion Project has a cost of $2.4 billion and the site is located 130km south east of Perth.
Following hearings on 27 and 28 November 2008, Commissioner Williams found that there was a compelling picture of a co-ordinated decision to refuse to work overtime and that there had been and continued to be a co-ordinated and continued refusal to accept overtime. He said that there were long standing grievances and the overtime ban may continue into the future and that it was "probable" that industrial action would continue into the future. He found that the action was not protected.
Accordingly, the Commission issued orders that each employee must stop industrial action and industrial action must not occur and that the CFMEU, the AMWU and the CEPU must not engage in industrial action.
The order came into effect from 28 November 2008 and will remain in force for a period of one month.