The ABCC has filed Federal Court proceedings against the CFMMEU and two of its officials who twice threatened an employee engaged to undertake construction work at Perth’s His Majesty’s Theatre.
In a statement of claim filed on 8 November 2022, the ABCC alleges that on 19 July 2022, Stephen Parker threatened the supervisor of a sub-contractor by allegedly saying that he would “f*ck you up” and “f*ck up the job” if he and the other employees of the sub-contractor did not join the CFMMEU.
When the supervisor responded to the threat by saying “You can’t do this, you can’t threaten people,” fellow official Peter Joshua allegedly replied, “it is what it is”.
The ABCC also alleges that on 2 August 2022, Mr Parker, in the presence of Mr Joshua, further threatened the supervisor, allegedly saying “[name], you are not very smart…… We know you spoke to the ABCC. You know they will be abolished very soon. You have just made yourself a target”.
The ABCC alleges that Mr Parker, Mr Joshua and the CFMMEU contravened sections 340 and 346 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth). Personal payment orders have been sought against both Mr Parker and Mr Joshua.
The maximum penalty for each contravention of the Fair Work Act is $66,600 for a body corporate and $13,320 for an individual.
