Australian Building Construction Employees & Builders Labourers Federation v Employment Advocate [2001] FCA 1443

Australian Building Construction Employees & Builders Labourers Federation v Employment Advocate [2001] FCA 1443

The trial judge's finding that Hanna and the BLF contravened s 298S(2)(c) by threatening industrial action against independent contractors with intent to coerce them to join the union was correct, as the conduct constituted industrial action as defined, was taken against the eligible persons, and was sufficient to infer coercive intent; orders dismissing other claims were correctly made as the relevant conduct did not constitute actionable contraventions, given statutory differentiation between employer and person capacities in the operation of respective provisions.

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
18 October 2001
Procedural Posture
Appeals / On Appeal From a Single Judge of the Federal Court; Appellate Judgment
Outcome
Leave to appeal granted; appeals dismissed
Legal Topics
['freedom of Association' 'definition of Industrial Action' 'contravention of Workplace Relations Act Provisions' 'interlocutory Vs Final Orders' 'appeals Procedure']
['industrial Relations' 'practice and Procedure'] ['freedom of Association' 'definition of Industrial Action' 'contravention of Workplace Relations Act Provisions' 'interlocutory Vs Final Orders' 'appeals Procedure']

Case Brief

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Procedural Posture

Appeals / On Appeal From a Single Judge of the Federal Court; Appellate Judgment

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Whether orders declaring contraventions are interlocutory or final for appeal purposes' "Whether conduct constituted 'industrial action' under s 298B of the Workplace Relations Act 1996" "Whether industrial action was 'against' persons for the purposes of s 298S" 'Whether action against an employer must be against the employer in that capacity' 'Whether intent to coerce was established under s 298S(2)(c)']

Ratio Decidendi

The trial judge's finding that Hanna and the BLF contravened s 298S(2)(c) by threatening industrial action against independent contractors with intent to coerce them to join the union was correct, as the conduct constituted industrial action as defined, was taken against the eligible persons, and was sufficient to infer coercive intent; orders dismissing other claims were correctly made as the relevant conduct did not constitute actionable contraventions, given statutory differentiation between employer and person capacities in the operation of respective provisions.

Court Disposition

Leave to appeal granted; appeals dismissed

Orders

  • ['Leave to appeal be granted' 'The appeal in Q5 of 2001 be dismissed' 'The appeal in Q28 of 2001 be dismissed']