More than 150 workers on the $16.8 billion WestConnex motorway project have downed tools and called in the safety regulator after emergency sirens in the tunnels failed to sound during an evacuation drill.
The failure of the audio alarms, which notify workers of the need to evacuate during an emergency, came just days after an inspection of emergency response points in the eastbound tunnel found at least two were not operational.
SafeWork NSW inspectors were called to the site to investigate the breaches and concerns from workers over management’s “band aid solution” of cutting lights in the tunnels to indicate an evacuation.
Electrical Trades Union NSW secretary Dave McKinley said more than 150 electricians and plumbers involved in the fit-out of the tunnels remained at safety muster points outside the tunnel while they awaited a resolution.
“Workers are deeply concerned that despite being a multi-billion-dollar infrastructure project, the basic emergency safety systems simply aren’t working,” McKinley said.
“For workers who are operating in tunnels, far underground, the importance of a working audio alarm to warn them of an emergency and the need to evacuate is absolutely essential.
“The fact that this follows the discovery last week that at least two emergency response points – where workers report incidents and seek assistance if there is an accident or injury – were not working makes it clear that there is a systemic problem with how safety is being managed on this project.
“The NSW government is spending billions of taxpayer dollars on this project and they have a responsibility to ensure the construction is taking place in a safe and lawful manner, but instead it appears safety is coming second as the project is rushed.
“Our members are demanding that the NSW government take responsibility for their infrastructure project, with an independent review of safety systems across the board, ensuring the WestConnex project can continue in a way that doesn’t risk the lives and well-being of the workers constructing it.”