Office of the Australian Building and Construction Commissioner

Allegations in the ABCC’s statement of claim

• Paper Australia Pty Ltd owns and operates the Maryvale Paper Mill facility in Morwell, Victoria. During 2007 and 2008 Paper Australia was undertaking a large expansion project involving various building and construction works at the site, known as the Pulp Mill Project (PMP).
• BMC Welding and Construction Pty Ltd (BMC) were engaged by Australian Paper to perform welding work on the PMP under the terms of the BMC Welding and Construction Maryvale Pulp Mill Agreement 2006 (BMC Agreement).
• On 5 February 2008 Mr Steven Dodd, an organiser for the Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union (AMWU) held an authorised meeting with BMC employees at the brew hut on the PMP during their morning tea break. The meeting was scheduled to finish at 10.10am.
• When the meeting had not concluded at 10.20am BMC’s General Manager, Mr Michael Dixon and Supervisor Mr Mark Haley went to the brew hut and told Mr Dodd that the meeting had gone over time.
• Shortly after 10.25am Mr Dodd told Mr Dixon and Mr Haley that he was going to reconvene the meeting with BMC employees outside the project gate.
• At approximately 11.00am the BMC employees left the Maryvale Site and attended a meeting with Mr Dodd outside the site gates.
• Following this meeting, the majority of BMC employees who attended the meeting failed or refused to attend for work for the remainder of the day.
• The ABCC alleges that the industrial action was “industrially motivated action” for the purposes of the Building and Construction Industry Improvement Act 2005 (BCII Act) and was motivated by the purpose of supporting or advancing claims against BMC.
• The ABCC alleges that the purpose of the alleged unlawful industrial action was to protest the following circumstances:
• On Saturday afternoon 2 February 2008 BMC was required to tighten a series of large retaining bolts on the PMP with a hydraulic wretch;
• BMC Supervisor, Mr Ian Cox was not able to secure the services of any BMC employees to undertake the work;
• BMC engaged a contractor, On Site Machining, to perform the work;
• On 4 February 2008, AMWU shop steward Mr Mark Chapman told Mr Dixon that he was disappointed that BMC had not used company employees to tighten the retaining bolts.

Alleged contraventions

• 10. The ABCC alleges that Mr Dodd and the AMWU engaged in unlawful industrial action by banning employees of BMC Welding from performing work at the PMP, in contravention of the following workplace laws:
• Section 38 of the BCII Act;
• Section 719 of the Workplace Relations Act 1996 (WR Act). The WR Act was allegedly contravened through a failure to follow the dispute resolution procedures at clause 11 of the BMC Agreement.

ABCC Prosecution

• The ABCC filed proceedings in the Federal Magistrates’ Court at Melbourne on 27 March 2009. The first directions hearing is scheduled for 20 April 2009.

Penalties

• The maximum penalties for a contravention of s.38 of the BCII Act are $22,000 for an individual and $110,000 for an organisation.
• The maximum penalties for a contravention of s.719 WR Act are $6,600 for an individual and $33,000 for an organisation.