$55k fine for union ‘coercion’

CFMMEU fined for pressuring worker

THE Federal Circuit Court has fined the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union and one of its site delegates $55,000 after the delegate pressured a landscaper to join the union despite only being contracted to work on a Toowoomba building site for a couple of days.

The CFMMEU was penalised $48,600, which is 90 per cent of the maximum fine, and the CFMMEU’s site delegate Peter D’Arcy was penalised $6,480.

Mr D’Arcy admitted that he made a reckless misrepresentation to the worker that he had to join the union prior to a site induction at the Grand Central Shopping Centre site on March 27, 2017.

The court heard Mr D’Arcy entered the induction room on site and questioned workers on whether they were union members.

When the landscaper told Mr D’Arcy he was no longer in the union, Mr D’Arcy said he would “have to re-join the [Union]”.

When the worker asked what would happen if he didn’t join the union, Mr D’Arcy said: “That’s fine, but you can’t work here, you’ll have to go and work somewhere else.”

In response to a question from the worker about how much the CFMMEU membership would cost, Mr D’Arcy said it would be around $500.

When the worker explained that he was only working on the Grand Central site for a couple of days, and was “basically coming up here to work for nothing”, Mr D’Ary said: “Well, that’s just the way it is”.

In his judgment Judge Egan said Mr D’Arcy’s conduct had the effect of promoting a “closed union shop”.

He also said Mr D’Arcy’s behaviour had “effectively, and practically, an element of coercion”.

ABCC commissioner Stephen McBurney said the case was another example of why workers’ rights to freedom of association must be protected.

The CFMMEU was contacted for comment.