Having only recently been given the all-clear over a heavily-scrutinised $75,000 payment while at the CEPU, former Unions Tasmania secretary and political aspirant Kevin Harkins will face a Federal Court judge next month as the ABCC pursues him over "abusive" entry breaches.
Coles deal gets up; Injunction against entry under state laws; IR barrister appointed to gallery board; and After full house, ROC wants to know if you want more.
A Federal Court judge has upended the recently-adopted precept that unions are vicariously responsible for entry breaches by officials under the Fair Work Act's 'liabilities of bodies corporate' clause, declaring that a close examination of related cases reveals no support for the contention.
A union's liability for entry breaches by its officials has been underlined by a court hitting the CFMEU with a $200,000 fine for disrupting a concrete pour on a major rail project over alleged safety concerns.
The High Court has refused to grant special leave to appeal a full Federal Court finding that a CFMEU official needed a federal entry permit to assist a health and safety representative when he was invited onto a construction site under Victorian OHS laws.
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 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.
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.
An employer who refused requests by police and an OHS inspector to allow two CFMEU officials onto her building site to investigate a Facebook-notified safety issue has avoided an $18,500 penalty because the union's notice of entry did not include the officials' middle names.
