More than 120 Downer jobs at risk after Queensland Rail rejects tilt train proposal
As the fate of more than 120 manufacturing workers hangs in the balance, Queensland Rail says it is "re-scoping" its search for who will carry out significant works on its diesel tilt trains.
Manufacturing powerhouse Downer, which is building trains for the 2032 Brisbane Olympic Games, announced earlier this month that a reduced workload had prompted "potential" redundancy talks with staff.
The company has more than 250 employees in the city of Maryborough, three hours north of Brisbane, and 122 of those are at risk.
On Tuesday Manufacturing Minister Dale Last said workers facing redundancies would be offered jobs at Downer's new Torbanlea facility, where 65 trains for the Olympics are to be built.
He said that project would create about 800 jobs, some of which would become available this year.
"Certainly the employees that are engaged here in the construction of [the Torbanlea] facility and the employees at the facility in Maryborough, they will be offered those jobs first and foremost," Mr Last said.
Queensland Rail's (QR) rejection of a direct proposal from Downer to overhaul the diesel tilt train fleet is believed to be a reason behind the regional company's reduced workload.
"Downer's original proposal under a partnership alliance to undertake a major overhaul of the diesel tilt train fleet was unable to be approved by Queensland Rail as it did not represent value for money," a QR spokesperson said.
"This was verified by an independent estimator."
QR said it was working with Downer on other major manufacturing projects, including the South East Queensland fleet.
The spokesperson said there would be another opportunity for the Maryborough facility to win the contract.
"Queensland Rail is now re-scoping the diesel tilt train overhaul project," they said.
The company made its announcement on May 1 and a week later Opposition Leader Steven Miles blamed the LNP for the "terrible implications" of job losses in Maryborough.
But Transport Minister Brett Mickelberg rejected that accusation.
"I've had no role in this decision … operational decisions for Queensland Rail are a matter for the board," he said.
University of Queensland transport engineering professor Mark Hickman said state legislation gave free rein to the QR board to make decisions in the best interests of Queenslanders.
"I think the interpretation that the minister bears responsibility for this kind of a decision is not true in light of the way that the Queensland Rail board functions," he said.
State legislation requires the board to comply with a direction from the minister, but Dr Hickman said it would be unusual for Mr Mickelberg to use this power to force the rejection of the Downer proposal to be overturned.
"They are required statutorily to follow the directions of the minister," Dr Hickman said.
"But that is a fairly rare occurrence that only happens in very rare cases."
Mr Mickelberg said the government would "fight every single day" to protect the at-risk jobs.
"We will do whatever it takes and work with whoever we need to work with to ensure that jobs remain here in Maryborough," he said.
On Tuesday Mr Last announced that a full-scale replica of an Olympic train was on display in Brisbane for public feedback.
He said the government was seeking feedback, in particular, from people living with disabilities or limited mobility.
"We want to ensure that that replica is assessed rigorously by the disabled community, because we're absolutely committed to getting this right," Mr Last said.
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