THE CLAVERIA CASE

(AS TOLD TO THE 'MUG PUNTER')


G’day friends, it’s the mug punter at this end with a yarn to end all yarns when a union took up the fight for an honest hard working family man... and won.

It all started when I was sitting on the brasco1 studying the form for Saturday’s field (as you normally do) and I was idly skimming through the rest of paper when a news item caught my eye mentioning CFMEU organiser Frank Vari. Now I don’t mind Frank, he’s a man after my own heart, loves a punt on the gee- gees every now and then and always manages to pull in more winners than I do. That bloke is deadset blessed with a punting skill that makes bookies shiver and shudder!

Anyway, Frank and Leo Skourdoumbis had been scrumming down for a little Aussie battler who’d been wrongfully dismissed from Pilkington Glass over at Laverton when the stoush ended up in the Federal Court. It was a real David and Goliath battle so I decided to check it out. And that’s how I came into contact with Victor Claveria.

A Family man

Victor is a family man with strong traditional values. A gutsy little bloke who came out from the Phillipines nineteen years ago and worked at Pilkington for seventeen of them. He worked seven days a week and did overtime whenever they called on him so he could make a better life for his wife and two children. Nothing was too much for Victor. He loved his job. He loved his workmates. But that was his downfall. He was also an outspoken Workplace Health and Safety officer. When there was a safety issue, Victor wasn’t backward in coming forward to bring it to the attention of management. It was that genuine honesty that eventually got him off-side with management and they began sniping him by making his work environment unbearable.

Bosses threat: ‘don’t fight us you’ll never win’

'I was a very good worker in the plant. Very rarely used my sick leave. I never refused overtime. I really loved my job. That’s why I didn’t care how they treated me.' Victor told me. 'I was singled out. They always threaten me 'don’t fight us you’ll never win'.

The continued harassment and bullying finally got too much for Victor and he complained to the FFTS branch of the CFMEU on 23 January 2007. The following day he was sacked with the company denying Victor was bullied and harassed or he was sacked for complaining to the union. It was the beginning of a long drawn out battle that would eventually end in the Federal court but it was a process that nearly sent Victor and his family to the brink of bankruptcy.

Pilkington cruel

'Pilkington was very cruel. They ruined my life.' Victor explained. 'Being sacked and not having a regular income was very stressful for my family. I had a mortgage. I had debts I couldn’t pay.'

Union brings in lawyer

Leo Skourdoumbis and Frank Vari sought justice for the family by briefing a union lawyer to begin action for unfair dismissal against Pilkington Australia Ltd. As the case dragged on Victor and his family sank deeper into debt.

Victor’s wife, Marietta, described how the family survived during that period:

'We had a new house.' Marietta told me tearfully. 'Victor took a personal loan to buy the house but they kept threatening to sue him because we couldn’t keep up the repayments after he was sacked. I was scared they might get the police to pick him up and kick us out. I thought we’d lose our house.'

'I work hard and took all the overtime I could get. Victor was working casual in many different jobs trying to make ends meet too. We were desperate.

'I told Victor to concentrate on getting jobs because he may not win the court case. I think he’s not going to win because of the IR laws.' Marietta reflected proudly on her husband. 'But he kept on going even though people were putting him down and he’d been blacklisted because he hasn’t been able to pay our debts. It was unbelievable.'

Union never gave up hope

Victor and the two union officials never gave up hope. They were pitted against a giant multinational who would spare no expense to crush them in the courts. A multinational that had the money, legal acumen and power of Howard’s IR laws to back their play. But the trio never wavered. They stood their ground. Then, through the union lawyer, they took the fight up to Pilkington.

'The union was very good to me. They supported me a lot.' Victor told me. 'I am so very lucky.'

Pilkington Australia Ltd. relied on a defense stemming from Howard’s IR laws and claimed that the union was not a competent administrative authority and therefore Victor had no recourse to complain to the union prior to his termination. Based on that argument there would be no legal grounds for proceeding with an action against unfair dismissal.

Defense shot down in flames

That defense got shot down in flames by the ruling of Justice Kenny on 7 November, 2007:

'Although not constituted by Statute, trade unions continue to have a particular and distinct status as registered organisations under the Act. This status indicates that for some purposes at least, they are capable of constituting 'competent administrative authorities', although whether a union has such status in any particular case will depend on the nature of the allegation an employee makes against his or her employer, the relief sought, and whether the union is legally capable of managing, dealing with, or addressing the grievance appropriately.' (Claveria v Pilkington Australia Ltd (2007) FCA 1692).

The significance of Justice Kenny’s ruling reinforces the advocacy role that is a basic tenet of Australian unionism. It is a role seeped in the history of unions battling hard for their members against all odds. And it is a role that has been reinforced by the unrelenting perseverance of three men - two union officials and a man unfairly dismissed from his job.

Yes friends, it’s a yarn to end all yarns. A real David and Goliath battle on our own door step. Until next time, it’s the mug punter signing off for now. Cheers all for the festive season.

1 Brasco - punter’s jargon for toilet.
5 Mug Punters POV-Claveria Case (c) CFMEU 2007