In a important decision on right of entry, an FWC full bench has permitted the CFMEU to hold discussions in a BHP Coal mine's dragline crib rooms, overruling a previous finding that that the areas were not fit for that purpose.
The FWC has confirmed the MUA's right to represent "waterside workers" employed by the construction contractor for the Darwin Harbour facilities being built as part of INPEX's major Ichthys LNG project.
The AMWU has failed in its bid to obtain an entry permit for an organiser involved in the notorious Westgate Bridge dispute because imposing additional permit conditions would amount to "no more than shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted", says the FWC.
The FWC has refused to issue an entry permit to a CFMEU official who disrupted major Queensland construction projects this year when he visited them without authorisation.
The Federal Court has ordered the CFMEU not to reimburse two of its officials for fines of $47,500 it imposed today, and it also separately fined the union $225,000.
One of the nation's largest abattoirs has failed to convince the FWC that unions should not distribute written materials when using right of entry permits for "discussions", after its HR manager tried to stop the AMIEU from giving workers a newsletter on a judgement regarding their agreement.
FWBC director Nigel Hadgkiss has confirmed that 21 of the 53 matters it currently has before the courts concern right of entry breaches, and the issue is at the centre of a further 19 investigations.
The FWBC has challenged on "general integrity" grounds the granting of an unconditional entry permit to the CFMEU construction and general division Queensland branch secretary Michael Ravbar, telling an FWC full bench he is vicariously liable for conduct by his officials that has attracted close to $1m in penalties.
A senior FWC member has considered whether the tribunal should take into account a union's "poor history of compliance" and its "large number of contraventions" when it determines whether an official is a "fit and proper person" to hold an entry permit.
A self-confessed "smart-arse" organiser, who claimed to be crocodile hunter Steve Irwin after he entered a NSW building site for a safety inspection while under a Queensland permit, might be personally liable for any penalties.
