The Australian Constructors Association has addressed government, business, industry, and union leaders at today’s Jobs and Skills Summit in Canberra today.
Speaking about the opportunity for the construction industry to create safe, fair and productive workplaces, the Australian Constructors Association CEO Jon Davies said there is a lot the industry should be proud of and yet the industry could be so much better.
“As Australia’s third largest industry, employing 1 in 10 of the working population, construction offers some of the most exciting and rewarding careers that will see Australia transition to a more sustainable and connected future,” said Mr Davies.
“But this very industry runs on wafer thin margins and accounts for 25% of all insolvencies in Australia.
“It operates in deeply embedded ways and has been notoriously slow in adopting digital technologies – just hunting and fishing have a worse track record.”
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Mr Davies says that while in the last decade, great progress has been made to improve the physical safety of the industry’s workers, the same focus needs to be applied to addressing other issues that have, by comparison, been neglected.
“Of critical importance is the need to improve the culture of the industry,” said Mr Davies.
“Women make up only 12% of our workforce and that percentage dwindles to single digits for trades. Disputes are common, stress is an issue and workers are six times more likely to die from suicide than a workplace incident.”
Reflecting on the discussion at the Summit, Mr Davies said it was clear there is a tripartite view on the need for change.
“Change will only happen if government, industry and unions work collaboratively together as never seen before,” said Mr Davies.
“And we need a disciplined client, a responsible client, a model client who will help us to move in the right direction. That client is government.”
The Australian Constructors Association looks forward to continuing the discussions on day 2 of the Summit and the participating in future opportunities to collaborate.