MEDIA RELEASE
Wednesday 6 February 2019
Overflowing sewerage halts work on WestConnex
Work on the electrical fitout of the WestConnex motorway tunnels in Sydney’s inner west has been hit by further delays after raw sewerage overflowed from portable toilets at Haberfield, forcing hundreds of workers to down tools.
More than 200 electricians were forced to halt work following the sewerage leak.
Electrical Trade Union officials this morning met with electricians on the project to investigate their reports of unsafe and inadequate amenities on the $16.8 billion motorway project.
Workers at the meeting also raised a range of other health and safety concerns regarding conditions inside the tunnel, including: poorly maintained access and egress, limited lighting and signage, inconsistent and ad hoc evacuation instructions, and a lack of effective communication.
ETU Secretary Justin Page said union officials this morning carried out inspections of a number of areas of the tunnel, in particular examining the health and safety implications of inadequate and unhygienic amenities.
“Our members are doing their best to get this massive infrastructure project finished, but it’s impossible to do their job when they are being exposed to raw sewerage because management can’t even ensure they have access to functional amenities,” Mr Page said.
“More than 200 electricians were left with no option but to down tools, with their employer sending them home due to the unhygienic and unsafe presence of raw sewerage in their workplace.
“It is absolutely incomprehensible that the state’s biggest infrastructure project, which is costing taxpayers $16.8 billion, can’t even manage to have working toilets.
“It’s time for the Berejiklian Government to put an end to their hands-off management of these massive infrastructure projects and take charge to ensure the health and safety or workers is protected.
“The reason so many of these major infrastructure projects have seen delays, cost blowouts, and serious safety issues is because the NSW Government refuses to actually take responsibility, instead leaving it to private contractors who have proven they are unable or unwilling to manage these projects safely.”
Media contacts: George Houssos 0418 655 682 or Tim Vollmer 0404 273 313
ETU Media Releases
ETU Media Releases
For media enquiries please contact George Houssos on 0418 655 682 or Tim Vollmer on 0404 273 313
Overflowing raw sewerage halts work on WestConnex
Peter Moss - Wednesday, February 06, 2019
Recent Posts
- WestConnex workers evacuated again from tunnel following generator failure, burst water pipe
- Overflowing raw sewerage halts work on WestConnex
- Sydney Change The Rules Rally. 12 noon, Tuesday 23 October, Belmore Park
- National Door-knock by Union NSW
- The launch of ETU Active
- ETU to call on Coroner and Keelty to examine role of energy regulator funding cuts in Tathra fires
- Tathra fires: Government and power regulator may have questions to answer on network funding cuts
- Dubbo: Troy Grant must intervene to save jobs and services following revelation of Essential Energy closure plan
- Ombudsman reveals leap in complaints from NSW consumers as power prices surge and service levels drop
- Industrial action postponed at nation’s largest electricity distributor after conditional in-principle agreement reached
Tags
- ActewAGL (3)
- AMPControl (1)
- Ausgrid (51)
- Electrical Contracting (10)
- Electrical Servicing (5)
- Endeavour Energy (37)
- Essential Energy (67)
- Federal Election 2013 (2)
- Federal Government (2)
- General Notices (3)
- General Trade (5)
- Generation (9)
- Manufacturing (2)
- Networks NSW (45)
- NSW Government (85)
- OH&S (15)
- Rail (2)
- Snowy Hydro (1)
- Stop the Sell Off (29)
- TransGrid (11)
