‘Thuggish’ behaviour from CFMEU officials leads to $247k in fines

The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) has secured a total of $247,540 in penalties in court against the Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union (CFMEU) and three of its officials.

CFMEU officials were found guilty of committing unlawful conduct at an Adelaide construction site by the Federal Court, which imposed heavy fines: a penalty of $213,840 was imposed against the CFMEU, $18,900 against Wyatt Raymount, $7,200 against Travis Brook, and $7,600 against Desmond Savage.

Raymount, Brook, and Savage, and, through them, the CFMEU, admitted breaching the Fair Work Act at the Yatala labour prison upgrade project at Northfield, in Adelaide, right back in 2021. Two of the three no longer remain as CFMEU officials, and only Brook resides in his position.

The unlawful conduct included Brook and Raymount entering an exclusion zone on 31 August 2021, with Raymount making abusive statements and swearing at representatives of the site operator, thus breaching section 500 of the Fair Work Act.

Savage breached section 340 of the Fair Work Act at the construction site on 2 September 2021 when he took adverse action against a site safety manager by positioning himself in a threatening manner and saying words to the effect of, “The more you call your [ABCC] mates, the more I’ll come down on you.”

Justice Patrick O’Sullivan described the statements made by Raymount as “direct, forceful and personal verbal abuse” and found their entry into the area as “at best irresponsible and at worst demonstrates and complete disregard for not only the safety [of themselves] but also the safety of others who, I infer, are likely to have been distracted from their work because of the unauthorised and unexpected entry into the exclusion zone of others”.

Savage, on the other hand, was found engaging in “physically threatening behaviour” that was “intended to intimidate” and could “only be described as thuggish.

Fair Work Ombudsman Anna Booth said the court penalties affirmed the seriousness of breaching laws requiring permit holders to comply with the law.

“There is no place for threatening behaviour, adverse action or improper conduct by permit holders on any worksite,” Booth said.

“Improving compliance across the building and construction industry is a priority for the Fair Work Ombudsman, and we will investigate reports of non-compliance and hold to account those who act outside the law.”

This is not the first run-in CFMEU officials have had with the FWO, as just as of last month, a total of $108,980 in penalties were secured against it and another group of three of its officials for yet again unlawful conduct.

In a similar act, three of its key officials, Paul Tzimas, Gerald McCrudden, and James Harris, admitted to breaching section 500 of the Fair Work Act by acting in an improper manner at the Mordialloc Freeway extension in Melbourne’s south-east.

On this occasion, the conduct involved Tzimas saying to a health and safety manager at the site: “You’re pathetic” and “You’re a disgrace,” with McCrudden chiming in, saying to two health and safety managers at the site: “You’re f---ed this time.”

Under federal legislation, responsibility for the case was transferred from the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC) to the Fair Work Ombudsman in December 2022. The FWO has now secured total penalties of more than $3 million in court cases transferred from the ABCC.

Kace O'Neill

Kace O'Neill is a Graduate Journalist for HR Leader. Kace studied Media Communications and Maori studies at the University of Otago, he has a passion for sports and storytelling.