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On 21 December 2017, the Court ordered penalties totalling $242,000 against the CFMEU and CFMEU officials Drew Macdonald and Joseph Myles following the penalty hearing held on 22 November 2016: Australian Building and Construction Commissioner v Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (The Footscray Station Case) [2017] FCA 1555.
The ABCC* filed proceedings in the Federal Court against the CFMEU, Mr MacDonald, and Mr Myles for disrupting a concrete pour and flouting safety laws on the Regional Rail Link – Package C Project in Footscray, Victoria on 27 February 2014.
Justice Tracey found that the Respondents had contravened the Fair Work Act 2009 as follows:
Mr MacDonald and Mr Myles had acted in an improper manner, and Mr Myles had also failed to comply with an occupational health and safety requirement, by walking through an area delineated as being out of bounds for safety reasons and failing to exit the area when being requested to do so by the site occupier;
Mr Myles had acted in an improper manner by summoning and addressing a group of workers which caused them to cease working;
Mr MacDonald and Mr Myles had hindered and obstructed the pouring of concrete by standing near a concrete truck and failing to move out of the way when requested;
Mr Myles had also hindered and obstructed the pouring of concrete from a second concrete truck; and
The CFMEU was liable for the contraventions of Myles and MacDonald as an accessory.
*This matter was originally filed by Fair Work Building and Construction (FWBC). On 2 December 2016, FWBC became the ABCC.
|
Penalties awarded against |
Penalties awarded |
|
CFMEU |
$200,000 |
|
Joseph Myles |
$32,000 |
|
Drew MacDonald |
$10,000 |
|
Total |
$242,000 |
$242,000
Media release – Court penalises CFMEU $242,000 for abusing entry rights at Footscray site