Office of the Australian Building and Construction Commissioner

Background

Allegations in the ABCC statement of claim

• Bovis Lend Lease (BLL) engaged Caelli Constructions (Vic) Pty Ltd (Caelli) to perform building work at the following sites:
• New Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH) site, 52 Flemington Road, Parkville;
• Olsen site, 637 Chapel Street, South Yarra; and
• Myer, Robin, ANZ, Montage and Merchant sites in the Docklands, Victoria.
• Joe Angelino was employed by Caelli and was the CFMEU delegate and OHS representative at the RCH site. On 11 December 2008 he was directed to work on another site.
• At 7am on 12 December 2008 CFMEU officials Matthew Hudson, Noel Washington, Derek Christopher, John Setka, Bill Oliver, Elias Spernovasilis and Shaun Reardon blocked the front entrance of the RCH site with CFMEU-owned vehicles until 1pm, preventing access by concrete, steel and waste management trucks.
• Mr Washington told a BLL manager that they were waiting for a Caelli director to attend the site.
• At 10.30am, Mr Hudson, Mr Angelino and Mr Oliver entered the site to request a meeting with a BLL manager regarding Mr Angelino. Mr Oliver allegedly told the manager that the gates to the site would open once a meeting with the Caelli director was organised.
• After 10.30am, Caelli directed Mr Angelino to come back and perform work at the RCH site.
• Mr Angelino refused to comply with this direction and Caelli terminated his employment.
• At 12.30pm, Mr Hudson and Mr Washington allegedly encouraged Caelli employees at the RCH site not to perform work for the remainder of the day. The employees did not perform any more work that day.
• At 6.30am on 15 December 2008, Mr Hudson and Mr Washington again encouraged the Caelli employees not to perform work that day. The employees did not perform any work after 8.30am that day.
• After the meeting, Mr Hudson and Mr Washington asked Caelli’s director if Mr Angelino would be reinstated on the RCH site.
• As the Caelli employees were leaving the site, the BLL manager instructed them to stay. Mr Hudson and Mr Washington responded by stating that a resolution had been passed and they needed to follow it.
• On 5 February 2009 Caelli’s directors met with Mr Washington and Mr Setka about Mr Angelino’s future employment.
• On 9 February 2009 Caelli wrote to Mr Angelino offering to employ him on the Myer project at Docklands.
• On 10 February 2009 the CFMEU wrote to Caelli stating that Mr Angelino would not attend for work at the Myer site and it was an unlawful direction to require him to do so.
• On 11 February 2009 Mr Angelino attended the Myer site and began the induction process. He refused to have his photograph taken for a security pass. Mr Angelino told the site manager he was leaving the site for personal reasons.

12 February to 13 February 2009 - strikes at multiple sites

• On 12 and 13 February 2009 the CFMEU and its officials engaged in unlawful industrial action and took action with the intent to coerce Caelli to allocate particular responsibilities to Angelino, and with the intent to coerce Caelli to make an agreement with the CFMEU.

RCH site

• On 12 February 2009 Mr Hudson and Mr Washington attended the RCH site and encouraged the Caelli employees not to work that day. The employees did no further work that day.
• On 13 February 2009 Mr Washington and Mr Hudson conducted a meeting with the Caelli employees on the RCH site at a park near the site, where they encouraged them to go on strike for the remainder of the day. Most of the employees did not work for the rest of the day.
• At 11.30am Mr Washington, Mr Hudson and Mr Spernovasilis entered the RCH site and encouraged about 12 remaining Caelli employees to leave the site and go on strike. These workers remained at the site.

South Yarra - Olsen site

• On 12 February 2009 CFMEU official Adrian McLoughlin and another official encouraged Caelli employees at the Olsen site to go on strike for the day. The employees did not perform further work that day.
• On 13 February 2009 Mr McLoughlin again attended the site and encouraged Caelli employees to strike. The employees did not perform further work that day.

Docklands sites

• On 12 February 2009 Mr Christopher, Mr Reardon and Mr Spernovasilis encouraged Caelli employees at the Myer, ANZ, Robin and Merchant sites to go on strike for the day. The employees did no further work that day.
• On 13 February 2009 Mr Christopher and Mr Spernovasilis conducted a meeting of the Caelli staff engaged on Docklands sites, in the car park of the ANZ site. Mr Angelino’s termination and the fact that Caelli had not signed a new agreement with the CFMEU were discussed.
• Mr Christopher and Mr Spernovasilis encouraged Caelli employees at the Docklands sites to go on strike for the day. They did so.

18 February – 2 March 2009 blockade at RCH site

• On 18 and 19 February 2009, CFMEU officials including Mr Hudson, Mr Washington, Mr Christopher, Mr Setka, Mr Spernovasilis and Mr Reardon blocked the entrance of the RCH site with CFMEU-owned vehicles preventing access by concrete, steel and waste management trucks.
• On 18 February 2009, Mr Hudson told BLL’s industrial relations manager that the blockade had been established because Angelino was ‘not being employed at RCH to represent the men’ and that the ‘cars are staying until the issues are resolved.’
• BLL applied to the Federal Court for an injunction to end the blockade. On 19 February 2009 Marshall J ordered that the CFMEU stop obstructing or interfering with access to the site and move the vehicles that were blocking the entrance to the site [(P)VID114/2009].
• From 20 to 27 February 2009 Mr Hudson, Mr Washington, Mr Setka, Mr Reardon and other CFMEU officials blockaded the entrance to the RCH site with CFMEU-owned vehicles.
• For the duration of the blockade Caelli was hindered in accepting delivery of materials. Consequently some work was not able to be performed, including work that required the entry of a truck.
• On 2 March 2009 Mr Christopher, Mr Hudson, Mr Washington and other CFMEU officials and individuals joined the picket line and parked CFMEU-owned vehicles to block the entrance to the RCH site.
• Between 18 February and 2 March 2009 the CFMEU and its officials engaged in unlawful industrial action and took action with intent to coerce Caelli to allocate particular responsibilities to Mr Angelino, namely that he work on the RCH site in his capacity as OHS representative and CFMEU delegate.
• On 4 March 2009 the Federal Court found the CFMEU guilty of contempt of court on one charge of not complying with the orders made by Marshall J on 19 February 2009 [(P)VID114/2009].
• On 19 June 2009, Tracey J ordered the CFMEU to pay a $75,000 penalty for its contempt plus half of the company's costs of the contempt hearing and the full costs of the penalty hearing [Bovis Lend Lease Pty Ltd v CFMEU].

Table of Alleged Contraventions

• The above respondents were acting in their capacity as officers or agents of the CFMEU. The conduct of Mr Christopher, Mr Hudson, Mr Reardon, Mr Setka, Mr Spernovasilis and Mr Washington is taken to be the conduct of the CFMEU. ABCC Prosecution
• The ABCC filed a statement of claim in the Federal Court in Melbourne on 29 April 2010.
• A directions hearing is scheduled for 15 June 2010.

Penalties

• The maximum penalties for a contravention of the BCII Act are $22,000 for an individual and $110,000 for an organisation.