The Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia (CEPU) and one of its organisers have been ordered to pay penalties of $15,400 for unlawful conduct involving the exclusion from a building site of four apprentices.
On Monday, the Magistrates Court of Victoria, Industrial Division, at Melbourne accepted that CEPU organiser Peter Mooney attended the Tasmania-Victoria Consortium Bass Link Project at Loy Yang in Victoria on 8 November 2004 and demanded that four apprentices leave the site because their employer did not have an agreement with the CEPU.
Later in the day, Mr Mooney told two of the apprentices that the employer would not sign a certified agreement and as soon as it did, the apprentices would be permitted back on site.
Within a few days, Mr Mooney also told the employer that the apprentices would not be permitted on site until the employer signed a certified agreement with the CEPU.
The respondents admitted that they had contravened s.170NC of the Workplace Relations Act 1996 (WR Act) by intending to coerce the employer to enter into a certified agreement. Mr Mooney and the CEPU, agreed to the penalties of $2400 and $13,000 respectively. Magistrate Hawkins accepted the settlement and imposed the agreed penalties.
The maximum penalty for breaching the coercion provisions of the WR Act is $6,600 for individuals and up to $33,000 for a body corporate.
Acting ABC Commissioner Nigel Hadgkiss said coercion was a serious issue which continued to plague the building and construction industry.
“Allegations of coercion have accounted for almost 20 per cent of the matters investigated by the ABCC since 1 October 2005,” he said.
“The penalties imposed by the Court should persuade union officials to think twice before applying pressure on employers to sign workplace agreements. This case was particularly concerning because the conduct targeted affected apprentices in a country area who are often more vulnerable than other workers.
“I do however commend the CEPU for admitting to the offences and for negotiating an appropriate settlement with the ABCC. It is important that we can continue to work together to uphold lawful conduct on building sites.”