Office of the Australian Building and Construction Commissioner

Allegations in the ABCC’s statement of claim

• A subcontractor was engaged to carry out concreting work at the Westfield Doncaster Shoppingtown project in Doncaster, Victoria.
• On 3 March 2008, the company director and two employees were engaged in a concrete pour at the project. The workers were asked to attend a meeting with CFMEU organiser Mr Tony Ioannidis at the CFMEU site office.
• Mr Ioannidis asked the director and the two employees whether they were members of the CFMEU. The director was a financial member of the CFMEU but the two employees were not.
• Mr Ioannidis told the two employees that he was going to stop them working at the site because they were not members of the CFMEU.
• The three workers left the site after the meeting and did not perform any further work at the site that day.

Alleged contraventions

• The ABCC alleges that Mr Ioannidis and the CFMEU contravened the freedom of association provisions at s.797(3)(a) of the Workplace Relations Act 1996 (WR Act).

ABCC Prosecution

• The ABCC filed proceedings in the Federal Magistrates Court at Melbourne on 27 May 2009. The first directions hearing is scheduled for 10 August 2009.

Penalties

• The maximum penalties for a contravention of the WR Act are $6,600 for an individual and $33,000 for an organisation.