ABCC v Mitchell, Papaconstuntinos, CFMEU & CFMEU (NSW Branch)
CFMEU NSW official Thomas Mitchell has surrendered his right of entry permit for the next 12 months, as part of an agreed penalty submission provided to the Court in ABCC v Mitchell, Papaconstuntinos, CFMEU & CFMEU (NSW Branch).
For the 12 months from 16 August 2011, Mr Mitchell will not hold an entry permit and therefore will not be allowed to exercise a right of entry under the Fair Work Act 2009 to enter a site to investigate breaches of relevant laws or for the purposes of conducting meetings with eligible employees, unless specifically invited to do so.
The Court found that Mr Mitchell acted unlawfully on a building site in Dee Why, Sydney on 17 June 2010, when he acted in an improper manner by verbally abusing managers working for Cavill Properties Pty Ltd.
When asked a question by a Cavill management employee, Mr Mitchell replied with words to the effect of “Who the f*** are you to ask me a question? Stand there take your f****** notes and shut the f*** up.” Mr Mitchell used similarly aggressive language throughout his visit.
Raphael FM accepted all points of the agreed penalty submission, imposing penalties of $5000 on the CFMEU National, $5000 on the CFMEU NSW, and $2500 on Mr Mitchell. All other allegations against Mr Mitchell were withdrawn, as well as the one allegation against Mr Papaconstuntinos.
Fair Work Australia had earlier suspended Mr Mitchell’s permit in May 2011 for a period of three months, following separate ABCC proceedings (see Darlaston v CFMEU & Ors).
If you are a right of entry permit holder or a site manager and would like more information on right of entry in the building and construction industry, visit www.abcc.gov.au or call us on 1800 003 338.