Case law page 21 of 33

323 articles are classified in All Articles > Industrial action/disputes > Case law


Commissioner wrong in assuming tribunal "predisposition": Bench

An order requiring the NTEU to give a university more than the statutory three days' notice of protected industrial action has been quashed by an FWC full bench that found a tribunal member wrongly presupposed that any such action would be suspended by the Commission if it interfered with student exams or graduation.

Court orders first personal fine against a union official

A full Federal Court has today ushered in a new age in which union officials are held personally liable for breaching IR laws, ordering a CFMMEU organiser to pay almost $20,000 from his own pocket for his role in disrupting work at a construction site in 2013.

FWO seeks record $3.55m fine, wins $38,000

A judge has today comprehensively rejected an FWO attempt to rewrite the way courts assess fines for unlawful strikes, ordering the CFMMEU's MUA division to pay $38,000 for a solitary contravention after the watchdog sought $3.6 million in penalties for more than 500 breaches.

Double punishment rule thwarts regulators' hopes

In a significant ruling that might reduce penalties regulators can win for Fair Work Act breaches, the Federal Court has found that the legislation's double jeopardy provision prevents the imposition of separate fines for related contraventions arising from the same conduct.

Watchdog seeks record fine to punish MUA

The FWO is seeking to fine the CFMMEU's MUA division more than $3.5 million for unlawful industrial action against Hutchison Ports, using a novel argument that historic contraventions of the same Fair Work Act provision denies the union the benefit of the legislation's single course of conduct mechanism.

Tribunal ejects case arising from "extraordinary and bizarre scenario"

The FWC has tossed out for want of jurisdiction an "unprecedented" pay dispute lodged by sacked FAAA national division secretary Andrew Staniforth against Qantas to correct overpayments, with a senior deputy president stating he has never encountered a "stranger industrial proposition".

No delay for damages case "shadowed" by union merger appeal

The Victorian Supreme Court has rejected an application by the CFMMEU to delay civil damages proceedings brought by the operator of Port of Melbourne's new "robo" terminal until its merger with the MUA and TCFU is bedded down.

Notification glitch stymies industrial action

The FWC has ordered the ANMF and United Voice to call off planned industrial action at a patient transport provider, finding their failure to provide greater clarity when notifying the action than they did when applying for the ballot left the employer unable to respond or prepare.

Esso seeks to halt Bass Strait workplace determination

Esso Australia is seeking to prevent the Fair Work Commission from making a workplace determination for its Bass Strait oil and gas operations, arguing its legal basis has been "fatally undermined" by a recent High Court ruling.

CFMEU official fined, but spared personal payment order

A court has elected not to impose a personal payment order against a CFMEU official fined $7500 for organising action that severely disrupted a major construction project, despite finding his actions "nothing short of unconscionable".