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‘Disgrace’: Union’s legal team chastised for abandoning member
The legal team behind a workplace union was criticised by the Fair Work Commission for leaving one of its illiterate members “high and dry” just one business day before evidence was due to be filed.
Naomi Neilson
Fair Work Commission (FWC) deputy president Richard Clancy said the decision of the Australian Services Union (ASU) to abandon one of its members in the midst of an unfair dismissal proceeding was a “disgrace”.
“The ASU legal team should perhaps reflect upon the reasons for its existence given it did not see fit to represent a member of the character of [the member], who sought the assistance of the union with a case that was more than arguable and ultimately, in the commission’s view, meritorious,” Clancy said.
The union filed a “notice of representative ceasing to act” form on 30 August 2024. When the documents were not filed on time, Clancy listed a non-compliance hearing for 3 September.
At that hearing, the member said he “thought the union was gonna back me” and he “didn’t know what to do really”.
A representative of the union attended this hearing and told Clancy the union’s decision was made after a “review of the documentation by our legal team”. The representative still met with the employer’s general manager to discuss settlement but was unsuccessful.
The representative agreed with Clancy that the “hard” conversation of informing a member the union was not representing them should have occurred “relatively soon after an initial mention”.
“Yes, certainly, and very hard conversations were had but the decision was taken without my view taken into account,” he said.
Clancy clarified the representative should be commended for his efforts in the proceeding, including the “attentive and engaged” way he represented the member before the union pulled back.
However, he did not commend the ASU legal team for its role.
“As has been related to me, they made the decision not to pursue [the member’s] application through to hearing, and yet I have been persuaded in relation to the merits of [the member’s] application that his dismissal was unfair and it is appropriate to reinstate him.
“That the ASU legal team left one of its members ‘high and dry’ like this is a disgrace,” Clancy said.
The case is Australian Municipal, Administrative, Clerical and Services Union Vic/Tas Authorities & Services Brand (ASU).
Naomi Neilson
Naomi Neilson is a senior journalist with a focus on court reporting for Lawyers Weekly.
You can email Naomi at:
