The Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union (CEPU) has been penalised $10,000 after admitting that one of its officials pressured a contractor’s employees on a Melbourne construction site to become members.
The Federal Magistrates Court imposed the penalty after accepting the ABCC and the CEPU’s agreed statement of facts and joint submissions.
Australian Building and Construction Commissioner Leigh Johns said the outcome highlighted some of the outdated recruitment tactics of the CEPU.
“Freedom of association is an internationally recognised human right. The ABCC will always vigorously defend the right of building workers to be a member of the union of their choice,” ABC Commissioner Johns said.
“So precious is this right that it necessarily encompasses the ‘negative right’ to choose not to be a member of a union. Building workers have this right and they must be allowed to exercise it without the fear of pressure that seeks to curtail their freedom of choice.
“Despite the ABCC’s ongoing education about freedom of association, coercion remains an insidious issue in the building and construction industry, accounting for eight per cent of our investigations.
“There is nothing wrong with construction unions promoting the benefits of union membership to workers. But the ‘no ticket, no start’ mentality has no place on construction sites.”
On 16 and 18 September 2009, a CEPU official attended the ANZ Centre site at Docklands, which was being built by Bovis Lend Lease, and spoke with employees of a contractor who were not union members. During these visits, the official told the employees of the benefits of joining the union and then pressured them to do so.
On 23 September 2009, the official and more than 100 employees of other contractors held a stop work meeting with the intention of coercing the non-union members to sign up.
The CEPU admitted that, through its official, it contravened s.348 of the Fair Work Act 2009 by taking and threatening to take action against another person with the intent to coerce them to engage in industrial activity.
The ABCC promotes fair and productive building and construction work. It also monitors compliance and investigates breaches of national workplace legislation.
Employers or employees in the building and construction industry seeking advice on their workplace rights and obligations should visit www.abcc.gov.au or contact the ABCC Hotline on 1800 003 338. Non-English speakers should call via the free Translating and Interpreting Service on 13 14 50.