CFMEU fined for threatening 'Armageddon' at Royal Adelaide Hospital site
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The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) has been fined $57,500 by the Federal Court after threatening "Armageddon" and national industrial action in a dispute at the Royal Adelaide Hospital (RAH) site in 2013.
The union's Aaron Cartledge and Michael McDermott were also penalised $3,750 each for threatening to organise industrial action at the construction site which breached a Fair Work Commission order.
The Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC) said the union officials made threats with the intention to deter the head contractor from enforcing an order requiring employees on the project not to take industrial action.
It said Mr McDermott threatened there would be "Armageddon" if the contractor took steps to enforce the order.
In handing down the penalties, Justice Anthony Besanko said the CFMEU had a significant record of non-compliance with workplace laws.
ABCC commissioner Nigel Hadgkiss said the decision meant more than $1 million in penalties had been imposed by the Federal Court against the union for unlawful conduct across Adelaide in a nine-month period.
Topics: unions, building-and-construction, law-crime-and-justice, adelaide-5000, sa
