On Monday, 27 October 2008 the Federal Magistrates Court at Melbourne ordered the CFMEU to pay penalties totalling $49,550 and CFMEU shop steward Mr Jason Deans to pay $12,000 ($6,000 suspended) for offences arising out of inductions of two labour hire workers at the CSL Morgan Facility Project at Parkville in Victoria.
Federal Magistrate Burchardt also ordered the CFMEU to pay a labour hire carpenter at the site $190.74 in compensation for wages lost while becoming a financial member of the union.
Previously, Federal Magistrate Burchardt had found that, during inductions on 12 September 2006, Mr Deans:
- intended to coerce an excavator operator to become a member of the CFMEU,
- made a false or misleading representation to the excavator operator that he had to be a member of the CFMEU before he would be permitted to work at the site, and
- delayed the labour hire carpenter in commencing work at the site by requiring him to settle outstanding membership fees.
Federal Magistrate Burchardt said:
“[I]t is difficult to imagine a commission of contravention of the freedom of association provisions by an individual delegate that could be more blatant or significant than those that occurred here. In a most naked way, Mr Deans sought to impose a no ticket, no start policy on Mr Gauci [the excavator operator]; and in the case of Mr Galea [the carpenter] a no financial status, no start policy.”
ABC Commissioner John Lloyd made the following statement:
“The penalties are significant and reinforce the fact that every building worker has the right to decide whether or not to join a union. The judgement further confirms that industrial associations and their officials will be held accountable for contraventions of the law.”