Australian Building and Construction Commissioner v Molina
Citation: [2017] FCA 1501
What happened
The Australian Building and Construction Commissioner filed proceedings against Walter Molina and the CFMEU regarding alleged conduct at the Perth Stadium Project on 5 August 2016. The allegations involve a worker fatality at another site, a meeting of approximately 500-550 workers at the Perth site, and claims that Molina made statements encouraging workers to walk off and later threatened a picket line if the contractor did not send employees home.
What was decided
This was an interlocutory decision on an application by the respondents to strike out parts of the statement of claim. The court found that while paragraphs describing the workers' meeting contained contextual facts rather than material facts, striking them out was not appropriate. The court dismissed the respondents' application to strike out, allowing the proceeding to continue. Time for filing the defence was extended.
What it means for employers
Proceedings alleging improper industrial conduct will include contextual facts about meetings and circumstances surrounding alleged unlawful action. These contextual facts may be necessary to establish the complete cause of action even if they do not directly prove each element.
What it means for employees
Disputes about work stoppages and directions given by union officials involve complex factual scenarios. The full context of meetings and communications may be relevant to determining whether conduct was lawful.
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https://www.judgments.fedcourt.gov.au/judgments/Judgments/fca/single/2017/2017fca1501Want more cases like this?
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This summary was drafted from the published decision and reviewed before publishing. It is general information, not legal advice. For your specific situation, speak to the Fair Work Ombudsman (13 13 94) or a qualified lawyer. About these summaries & corrections