CFMEU, officials fined more than $131,000 for unlawful conduct

The Federal Court has imposed significant penalties on the Construction, Forestry, and Maritime Employees Union (CFMEU) and two of its officials for unlawful conduct during a construction project in Brisbane.

The court, responding to actions that violated the Building and Construction Industry (Improving Productivity) Act 2016 (BCI Act), awarded a total of $131,100 in penalties. This includes $105,000 against the CFMEU, $15,000 against official Andrew Blakeley, and $11,100 against Dean Mattas.

The unlawful conduct took place at the Inner City South State Secondary College construction site in Dutton Park in 2020.

Justice Darryl Rangiah found that in July 2020, Blakeley threatened to cause employees of subcontractors to refuse work, intending to coerce the head contractor into removing its project manager.

Rangiah characterised Blakeley's actions as "illegitimate," noting the threat was "grossly disproportionate" to any concerns about the project manager's performance.

Organising unlawful industrial action

Meanwhile, the court also found that Mattas organised unlawful industrial action at the site during July and August 2020.

He directed employees of seven subcontractors to stop work, an action the court deemed unlawful as Mattas was not a validly appointed Health and Safety Representative and lacked the authority to issue such directions.

Rangiah highlighted that some of the industrial actions orchestrated by Mattas were also aimed at coercing the head contractor, stressing that there were "alternative lawful and legitimate forms of action that Mr. Mattas and the Union could have taken" to express their grievances.

The Fair Work Ombudsman, which took over the case from the Australian Building and Construction Commissioner (ABCC) in December 2022, emphasised the importance of upholding lawful conduct in the construction industry.

"There is no place for unlawful conduct aimed at coercing contractors on any worksite," said Acting Fair Work Ombudsman Michael Campbell in a statement.

The legal action was initiated by the ABCC in 2020, with the case evolving under the jurisdiction of the FWO, which has since secured over $3.6 million in penalties in finalised court cases.