A FWC full bench has overturned the suspension of 12 CFMEU officials' entry permits, finding that the original sanctions were not linked to the resolution of an ongoing right of entry dispute but appeared to be punishment for past bad behaviour.
The Fair Work Commission adjourned its inquiry into HSU Victorian No 1 branch entry permit applications this morning after branch general manager Kimberley Kitching indicated she would seek an urgent Federal Court order to compel the tribunal to rule on her argument that it has no jurisdiction to conduct the review.
The Federal Court has fined the CFMEU's construction and general division and five of its officials more than $150,000 for contravening right of entry laws, prompting FWBC director Nigel Hadgkiss to state that entry permits are a "privilege", and not a licence to act unlawfully.
A Fair Work Commission full bench has upheld a decision to refuse a Queensland building union official an entry permit, while a senior member has stayed the suspension of permits for 12 other officers.
In a wide-ranging judgment on federal right of entry laws, a senior FWC member has ruled that parties need to pay more than "lip service" to the requirement to agree on meeting rooms for union discussions with workers, and has warned a CFMEU employee that he needs to take "stock of his conduct".
The Fair Work Commission has granted an entry permit to a CFMEU construction and general division organiser, rejecting the FWBC's argument that it was obliged to give weight to the union's poor record of compliance with industrial laws.
FWBC has launched Federal Court proceedings against CFMEU construction division national president David Hanna over an alleged breach of right of entry laws.
FWBC head Nigel Hadgkiss has called for agreement clauses allowing industry-wide RDOs, weekend shutdowns and restrictions on subcontractors and labour hire to be "consigned to the past where they belong".
The CFMEU has lost the first of three appeals stemming from the Fair Work Commission's decision last year to review its right of entry practices at Lend Lease's Adelaide projects.
United Voice has asked the Fair Work Commission to order Glad Cleaning Services Pty Ltd to produce employment records for cleaners at several Melbourne CBD offices, after allegedly overhearing the company's HR manager on a mobile phone during a tram ride admitting Glad removed documents before a union inspection.
