In 2016, the Coalition introduced new laws targeting the CFMMEU, introducing $210,000 fines for unlawful pickets in the building industry. But the union has turned the tables — it is now using the law to target bosses who unlawfully block union access to building sites. In one lawsuit, the union is seeking penalties against a site manager who allegedly abused safety inspectors and tore up their entry permits [$]. In another, the union is seeking $4 million [$] in a case accusing a project manager of illegally blocking them 67 times, and Victoria Police of unlawfully picketing them thirteen times; in one incident, concrete slabs were suspended over operating train lines, but safety inspectors were banned from the site. (Police routinely illegally side with dodgy bosses.)
2 July 2019