The head of the Queensland branch of Australia’s largest construction union has criticised a federal court decision that ordered more than half a million dollars in fines for unlawful industrial action and intimidation.
On Friday judge John Logan ordered Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) officials Paul Cradden, Joseph Myles, Mark O’Brien, Mike Davis and Jack Cummins to pay fines of between $20,000 and $40,000 each, and for the union to pay $400,000.
Logan found the individuals had engaged in acts of intimidation and coercion at a Brisbane government housing project construction site, known as the Common Ground project, after negotiations between the union and construction firm Grocon Constructors Queensland descended into industrial action.
Michael Ravbar, Queensland and Northern Territory secretary for the CFMEU, told Guardian Australia he did not tolerate or support some of the acts detailed in the finding – which included homophobic slurs and threats – but did not believe they changed the view of any workers.
“The vast majority of workers could have gone to work but didn’t want to; they were supporting their mates,” he said.
“In the end I think there wasn’t enough discipline and some of the comments weren’t needed. They didn’t change the dispute. They were just stupid comments made in the heat of the moment.”
Ravbar said the Common Ground project was the smallest of three Grocon construction sites being picketed, and by leaving the other two sites out of the court action, the Fair Work Building Construction agency (FWBC) kept alleged intimidation tactics by Grocon out of the picture.
“The judge only heard issues related to Common Ground, not realising the dispute was a much broader dispute about enterprise bargaining for the next four years,” he said.
“We couldn’t present any evidence to show [Logan was] making judgment in isolation to the whole dispute.”
Ravbar referred to media articles at the time which showed Grocon employees speaking to members of the Hells Angels bikie club, who were alleged to have been brought in as strike-breakers. At the time Grocon denied the bikies were used to intimidate workers.
Grocon declined to comment.
The director of the FWBC, Nigel Hadgkiss, told Guardian Australia the agency relied heavily on information from the public, and Ravbar should “feel free” to talk to him if he had any information that should be investigated.
“I will give him an iron-clad guarantee that I will act on any information he provides,” Hadgkiss said.
“Since my appointment in October 2013, my agency is yet to receive a single piece of information from the CFMEU.”
Ravbar had accused the FWBC of being “extremely one-sided” and of not taking employers to court while targeting unions, but Hadgkiss dismissed the accusations and said the FWBC had five cases against employers in the courts.
He said 250 of the 277 complaints FWBC had received from the public alleging “coercion, unlawful industrial action, discrimination, freedom of association [or] right of entry” were against unions or union officials.
