Two companies that claimed they acted on legal advice from the Australian Industry Group have been fined almost $25,000 for refusing to allow a CFMEU official entry to a building site.
The CFMEU has told the Federal Court that significant penalties are required against ABC Commissioner Nigel Hadgkiss for causing incorrect information to be published on union right of entry, and has urged it to consider his unlawful conduct as spanning the full period it remained online.
The FWC has reaffirmed its jurisdictional ambit to determine right-of-entry disputes after an employer questioned whether it was seeking to exercise judicial powers it does not possess.
The Federal Court has rejected CFMEU argument that the Fair Work Act's explanatory memorandum compels a finding that union officials are entitled to exercise their entry rights to hold discussions with members and potential members before their shifts begin.
Twenty-year jail terms for industrial manslaughter and the newly-created role of WHS Prosecutor are among legislative changes contained in a bill introduced to Queensland Parliament yesterday.
The High Court has refused to grant BHP Coal special leave to appeal a finding that allowed the CFMEU to hold discussions in the crib room of a dragline at its Caval Ridge coal mine.
An AMWU organiser penalised this year for his role in a strike over alleged safety issues looks set to win a new entry permit, on the condition that he undergo training on the interaction of IR and OHS statutes and when it is lawful to stop work.
The ABCC says it is "carefully reviewing" a Federal Court finding that two CFMEU officials who flagrantly disregarded requests to show their entry permits did not breach the Fair Work Act's restrictions on entry to worksites because they were not seeking to exercise their lawful rights.
The ABCC is likely to routinely pursue unions for "knowing involvement" when entry breaches are established against their officials, after a court ruling this week.
