The ABCC today won an appeal in the Federal Court. The appeal was against an earlier decision to dismiss an ABCC application in the matter of Ponzio v Caelli Construction Pty Ltd, CFMEU, Crnac, Spernovasilis.
A Federal Court full bench imposed penalties of $6000, suspended for 12 months, on Caelli Constructions Ptd Ltd for paying strike pay and $5000 on the CFMEU for demanding strike pay. North J had dismissed the prosecution on 11 September 2006. This order was set aside.
Caelli employees on an apartment project in Melbourne stopped work on 5 and 6 August 2003 following the death of a construction worker in Shepparton. There was no connection between the work of the Shepparton employee and that being performed by the Caelli employees.
On 25 and 26 August 2003, CFMEU officials Illia Crnac and Elias Spernovasilis enforced work bans at another Caelli site in Port Melbourne. The bans were in support of union demands that the Caelli employees be paid for the strike action on 5 and 6 August 2003. After the union officials threatened further industrial action on 26 August 2003, Caelli agreed to make the strike payments.
Lander J stated in his judgement: “…the Court should indicate that it views coercive behaviour of the kind indulged in by the Union and the third and fourth respondents as a serious contravention of the Act and the penalty should be constructed to deter any like organisations from engaging in the same or similar conduct.”
ABC Commissioner John Lloyd said he was pleased with today’s successful outcome.
“Today’s decision and recent decisions in strike pay matters reflect the serious nature of these breaches and demonstrate that the courts are not reluctant to impose significant penalties,” Mr Lloyd said.
“Since this conduct took place, penalties for demanding and paying strike pay have increased under the Workplace Relations Act 1996 and the Building and Construction Industry Improvement Act 2005.
“The previous culture of the industry has changed and it is now widely accepted that demanding and receiving strike pay is unlawful.”