The Fair Work Commission has revoked the federal entry permit of Queensland CFMMEU official Andrew Blakeley and banned him from holding a permit for 12 months. This decision follows a previous decision of the Commission to suspend Mr Blakeley’s permit for 3 months.
The latest decision of the Fair Work Commission was triggered by a decision of the Federal Circuit and Family Court on 11 March 2022 penalising the CFMMEU, Mr Blakeley and another official $102,000 after they delayed a concrete pour at the $6 million Marine Parade project site in Labrador in April 2020.
Less than six weeks before the Marine Parade decision, the Federal Circuit and Family Court on 3 February 2022 found Mr Blakeley had contravened right of entry laws in November 2020 during construction of the Queensland Performing Arts Complex (QPAC).
At the time, the Federal Circuit and Family Court imposed a near maximum penalty of $119,880 against the CFMMEU for its two contraventions of the Fair Work Act. Mr Blakeley was penalised $7,992.
When considering Mr Blakeley’s initial three-month suspension, Fair Work Commission Deputy President Gostencnik said:
“There is no evidence of any remorse or regret on the part of Mr Blakeley for engaging in the contravening conduct nor is there any evidence of any action taken by the CFMMEU to discipline or counsel Mr Blakeley in relation to his contravening conduct.”
In his latest determination to ban Mr Blakeley from holding an entry permit for 12 months, Deputy President Gostencnik described Mr Blakeley’s conduct at the Marine Parade project site as:
“… serious and involved Mr Blakeley entering exclusion zones without authorisation, standing behind concrete trucks, blocking the delivery of concrete to the concrete pumps and was a flagrant abuse of the power to enter the Project site. I do not accept that the conduct was in direct response to concerns about serious safety matters nor do I accept that the contravening conduct was not gratuitous behaviour or unprovoked but rather reactive… The Court noted that it is very difficult “to find that the actions of [Messrs Blakeley and Gibson] were, in any way, the result of their concern for safety at the worksite”, that Mr Blakeley blatantly flouted safety rules by entering the exclusion zones and that nothing justified his actions after speaking to the Work Health and Safety Queensland inspector.”
ABCC Commissioner Stephen McBurney intervened in the Fair Work Commission’s proceedings and submitted that Mr Blakeley’s federal right of entry permit should be revoked, and a ban placed on him from holding an entry permit.
Mr Blakeley’s 12-month ban commenced on 7 July 2022.
A list of union officials who do not hold a valid federal entry permit, or have conditions imposed on their federal entry permit, can be found on the ABCC’s website.
Note:
The Federal Circuit and Family Court decision in the QPAC matter is currently under appeal.
