‘F---ing scab': Union boss wins back entry permit

General vice-president of the Mining and Energy Union (MEU), Stephen Smyth, has regained his Fair Work entry permit after the Fair Work Commission (FWC) deemed he “learned from his error.”

Smyth was one of five union officials smacked with court penalties after breaching the Fair Work Act numerous times during an industrial dispute back in 2017.

As previously reported by HR Leader, the Federal Court imposed penalties of $535,500 against the MEU, while imposing an individual penalty of $85,680 against Smyth.

Other MEU officials, Chris Brodsky, Jade Ingham, Blake Hynes, and Brodie Brunker, received fines of $10,710, $12,930, $6,930, and $5,355, respectively.

The conduct, which included verbal abuse, the publishing of derogatory material on Facebook, and the display of “scab” signs, was undertaken by union members against active workers during the negotiations for a new enterprise agreement.

Union members who were involved in the industrial action at the Oaky Creek underground coal mine filmed workers who continued with their role, verbally abusing them and publishing a list of “Oaky North scabs” on Facebook.

Justice Darryl Rangiah – who oversaw the case in the Federal Court – found the MEU representatives’ behaviour during the protests was to “intimidate” workers.

Smyth hurled slurs such as “f---ing scab”, “maggot”, and “dirty rat” during the protests.

According to Rangiah, behaviour to this effect continued for three months, although broader abuse spanned over a five-month period, with workers often being verbally chastised daily.

“The repeated, sustained and violent nature of the abuse would have had a detrimental effect on the mental wellbeing of the workers,” said Rangiah.

“The intent in engaging in such intimidating and threatening conduct was to bring about what they perceived to be a favourable industrial outcome. They did so in circumstances where they at least ought to have known that such conduct was unlawful.”

Fast-forward to April 2025, the FWC has now granted Smyth an entry permit, pointing towards his approved right of entry training course and lack of prior convictions against an industrial law as key reasons behind the decision.

“The evidence establishes to my satisfaction that Smyth has learned from the error of his ways in 2017 in connection with the Oaky North case,” said the commission.

The commission warned Smyth that if he were to engage in similar conduct to his behaviour back in 2017, it would be less forgiving.

“However, if Smyth were in the future to engage in conduct in breach of any relevant industrial law, he would find it very difficult to satisfy me that he remained a fit and proper person to hold an entry permit,” said the commission.

Smyth was not imposed with any conditions pertaining to his entry permit by the commission.

At the time of the 2017 incident, Smyth was district president of the Queensland district branch of the mining and energy division – which formerly was the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (CFMMEU, prior to the eventual demerger of the union).