BY BILL MASON
BRISBANE — Three hundred construction workers on October 23 released black balloons in a moving tribute to workers killed on the job. Between 1990 and 2000, 161 workers were killed by electrocution on the job.
Members of the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union and the Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union (CEPU), walked off city building sites to attend a stop-work rally. It was part of a campaign to demand changes to the state Workplace Health and Safety Act.
Construction unions are demanding improvements to the Workplace Health and Safety Act, including giving government workplace inspectors the power to issue on-the-spot fines against employers, provisions to prevent the victimisation of workers who report safety breaches, comprehensive training for health and safety representatives, and a compulsory half-day induction session for new construction industry workers.
As in other states, the main responsibility for ensuring a safe workplace lies with employers. In practice, the government has sided with the bosses. Penalties for workplace deaths and injuries are token and enforcement of the act is weak.
Dick Williams from the electrical division of the CEPU told the rally that "any attempt by the government to walk away from these recommendations will be met with the strongest opposition".