Latest news with #AWU
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Yahoo
'Brutal' conditions sees a thousand tradies strike at remote camp in Aussie national park
Tradies at a camp inside a remote national park have downed tools on Wednesday, forcing a $12 billion project to a standstill. The NSW-based crew building Snowy 2.0, Australia's biggest renewable energy project, say their employer, Italian-owned Webuild, needs to pay them the same as workers at Melbourne projects and improve conditions. The Australian Workers Union (AWU) has raised concerns about conditions at the camp, with the Snowy Mountains wilderness scorching in summer and freezing during winter. FIFO workers complete 12-hour underground shifts and 14-day stints at the camp in Snowy Mountains wilderness, before travelling home for seven days. NSW AWU secretary Tony Callinan has been scathing of conditions at the camp, comparing the isolated Kosciuszko National Park worksite as 'like being in jail'. 'Employees leave home, they get on a plane, when they get off at Cooma, they get put on a company-supplied bus, and then they're stuck there for 14 days,' he said. 'There are no private vehicles allowed on site. It's not like you can just go up the road to the shops. You're stuck there. Even if you wanted to leave, there's no real ability to unless the company agrees to provide you with a bus to take you into Cooma.' Yesterday, the AWU was further angered after workers reported receiving a warning from the project's manager, Future Generation (FGJV), a joint venture between Webuild, Clough and Lane Construction. The email, seen by Yahoo News, detailed new rules from 5PM on Wednesday until 6AM on Thursday, covering the strike period. It included new restrictions on entering and leaving the site and warned of increased vehicle inspections. 'Breaches may result in disciplinary action,' the company warned. Workers are due to return to work on Thursday, and they are being surveyed by the union about how they'd like to proceed next week. 🦆 Photograph of 31 rare birds sparks ripples in midst of hunting season 🐟 Aussie man 'remorseful' after illegal find in fish tank leads to $2,400 fine 😳 Incredible breakthrough in bid to protect 'near-mythical' species The AWU is calling for a pay increase of up to 12 per cent, in line with what workers are paid at the government's North East Link Tunnel in Melbourne. Also on its list of demands are a $140 daily camp allowance for FIFOs, a doubling of night shift rates, and increased mental health days. Food is also reportedly an issue for workers at the camp. In 2023, they claimed maggots were found in meals, forcing a SafeWork NSW investigation. 'I've got no negative comments to make about the chefs, they can only work with the limited resources and ingredients provided,' Callinan said. 'There's not much variance to the menu. And our members buy two-minute noodles and things like that to try and break up the cycle a bit. It's not a great environment to be living in.' Yahoo News has contacted Snowy 2.0, Webuild and FGJV for comment. On Tuesday, Snowy 2.0 told the ABC that negotiations between the FGJV and the union were ongoing. 'As the employer of most of Snowy 2.0's workforce, Snowy 2.0's delivery partner, Future Generation Joint Venture, is engaged in ongoing negotiations for the enterprise agreements of surface and underground workers," it said. The Snowy 2.0 project expands on the original Snowy Mountains power scheme by connecting two existing dams through a 27km tunnel and building an underground pumped-hydro power station. It is the largest renewable energy project in Australia, and was developed as the centrepiece of the Turnbull Government's green energy transition. Once completed, it will be able to supply three million homes with power over the course of a week. It will have roughly 2.2 gigawatts of capacity and create around 350,000 megawatt-hours of large-scale storage. But the project has been plagued by cost blowouts, delays, and environmental concerns. Work has previously stopped at the site twice this year due to equipment safety concerns and malfunctions. The project is not expected to be completed until at least 2027. Love Australia's weird and wonderful environment? 🐊🦘😳 Get our new newsletter showcasing the week's best stories.
West Australian
13-05-2025
- General
- West Australian
Prescribed burns to continue in South West after firefighting industrial action concludes with new offer
The State's bush firefighters have accepted a new pay offer with members to return to work on prescribed burns and load management in regional areas. Australian Workers' Union and Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions delegates met in Bunbury last week to endorse the agreement to allow more inclusive time off and better pay. It comes after shadow minister for forestry and Warren-Blackwood MLA Bevan Eatts raised concerns about 150 preventative burns would be impacted by industrial action, and he is also pushing for better fire management strategies in the regions. 'I understand why these workers are taking a stand. They're on the frontline of our fire seasons and deserve both respect and resources,' he said. 'I'm committed to working with government, local brigades, forest managers and environmental groups to get this right. 'We need a regional fire strategy that values local input and takes account of environmental as well as community risk.' The bush firefighters undertake controlled prescribed burns and are responsible for frontline bushfire management outside of the metropolitan area. Industrial action was paused on May 8 once the negotiations were nearing conclusion, with workers to return to work for good now the agreement has been accepted. AWU WA branch president Andy Hacking said the crews worked 'work long hours in dangerous conditions' with the landmark pay offer constituting a 'substantial and meaningful increase to their base rate of pay'. 'This new offer means that our members are able to return to undertaking their vital work of prescribed burns and load management to keep our regional communities safe,' he said. 'The AWU's members and delegates from across WA including Manjimup, Margaret River, Busselton, Kirup, Nannup, Collie, Walpole and surrounding areas have strongly endorsed this new enterprise bargaining agreement.' A DBCA spokesperson said with negotiations now settled, prescribed burning would take place when it was safe to do so. 'DBCA values the work of its 344 AWU-represented frontline bush firefighting staff,' they said.
Sydney Morning Herald
02-05-2025
- Health
- Sydney Morning Herald
The law changes demanded as Sydney tunnel workers face death
Companies responsible for exposing tunnel workers to dangerous levels of deadly silica dust would face an extended window to be prosecuted under reforms demanded by unions, as a parliamentary inquiry hears concerns Australia is facing a 'full-blown occupational disease crisis'. The NSW upper house inquiry into silica heard a failure of leadership on multibillion-dollar Sydney infrastructure projects was undermining worker safety, and one occupational safety expert said contracting companies had been prioritising cost over staff wellbeing. Thousands of tunnelling workers on Sydney's mega-transport and motorway projects have been frequently exposed to deadly levels of silica dust, including 208 times the legal level. Fears of a latent public health crisis were compounded after previously confidential documents detailed how 13 staff on the M6 Stage 1 roadway had been diagnosed with silicosis, an incurable lung disease. The revelations have intensified anger with the regulator, SafeWork NSW, for failing to hold contractors to account despite companies repeatedly breaching the legal limit for deadly dust on tunnelling sites. A 2023 investigation by the Herald, The Age and 60 Minutes exposed serious health risks for tradespeople working with engineered stone, prompting bans on manufactured stone benchtops, panels and slabs containing at least 1 per cent silica. Loading The Dust Disease inquiry hearing on Friday called representatives of the nation's largest contractors, John Holland and CPB, senior bureaucrats from SafeWork and Transport for NSW, the Australian Workers Union (AWU), and occupational hygienist Kate Cole. While John Holland and CPB acknowledged errors had occurred in the past, both argued occupational protections for workers were sufficient, saying times when silica dust exceeded legal limits were caused by 'failures' or the 'absence' of safety controls. But AWU assistant national secretary Chris Donovan said tens of thousands of documents to the parliament demonstrated these companies had repeatedly failed to protect workers from silica dust, including knowing protective face masks were an insufficient protection given they needed to be removed to communicate.
The Age
02-05-2025
- Health
- The Age
The law changes demanded as Sydney tunnel workers face death
Companies responsible for exposing tunnel workers to dangerous levels of deadly silica dust would face an extended window to be prosecuted under reforms demanded by unions, as a parliamentary inquiry hears concerns Australia is facing a 'full-blown occupational disease crisis'. The NSW upper house inquiry into silica heard a failure of leadership on multibillion-dollar Sydney infrastructure projects was undermining worker safety, and one occupational safety expert said contracting companies had been prioritising cost over staff wellbeing. Thousands of tunnelling workers on Sydney's mega-transport and motorway projects have been frequently exposed to deadly levels of silica dust, including 208 times the legal level. Fears of a latent public health crisis were compounded after previously confidential documents detailed how 13 staff on the M6 Stage 1 roadway had been diagnosed with silicosis, an incurable lung disease. The revelations have intensified anger with the regulator, SafeWork NSW, for failing to hold contractors to account despite companies repeatedly breaching the legal limit for deadly dust on tunnelling sites. A 2023 investigation by the Herald, The Age and 60 Minutes exposed serious health risks for tradespeople working with engineered stone, prompting bans on manufactured stone benchtops, panels and slabs containing at least 1 per cent silica. Loading The Dust Disease inquiry hearing on Friday called representatives of the nation's largest contractors, John Holland and CPB, senior bureaucrats from SafeWork and Transport for NSW, the Australian Workers Union (AWU), and occupational hygienist Kate Cole. While John Holland and CPB acknowledged errors had occurred in the past, both argued occupational protections for workers were sufficient, saying times when silica dust exceeded legal limits were caused by 'failures' or the 'absence' of safety controls. But AWU assistant national secretary Chris Donovan said tens of thousands of documents to the parliament demonstrated these companies had repeatedly failed to protect workers from silica dust, including knowing protective face masks were an insufficient protection given they needed to be removed to communicate.
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Something Bad Is Brewing Inside Google
Google might be one of the wealthiest corporations in the world, but that doesn't mean the multi-trillion-dollar company won't resort to downsizing. Over the last year or so, employees in the once-ironclad tech sector have watched in horror as waves of layoffs ravaged their offices and sent wages tumbling. Bracing for cuts after annual performance reviews on Tuesday, over 1,300 Google employees signed a petition organized by the Alphabet Workers Union (AWU)— the labor union covering Google's parent corporation, Alphabet — requesting changes to the company's policy. Those include guaranteed severance for every laid-off employee, an offer of voluntary layoffs backed by those severance packages, and an end to Google's performance review system which has pulled double-duty as a mass layoff machine. "Ongoing rounds of layoffs make us feel insecure about our jobs," read the petition. "The company is clearly in a strong financial position, making the loss of so many valuable colleagues without explanation hurt even more." Google's response was to turn around and give the petitioners what they asked for. Yesterday, the tech conglomerate announced a "voluntary exit program" for US employees in its Platforms and Devices group — the workers responsible for products like Pixel, Android, Chrome, Fitbit, and Nest. But the AWU notes a one-time offer does not change the long-term employee outlook. "We are happy to see material progress in response to our concerns," Google software engineer and AWU union organizing chair Alan McAvinney told Futurism, "but we continue to demand that Google commit to practices like offers of voluntary buyouts and fair terms of severance by codifying them in its actual written policies." The offer allegedly spins in a severance package, according to 9to5Google, which viewed the memo. Though layoffs have reportedly slowed as AI-hyped investments in tech skyrocket, correlation does not equal causation. In January of last year, Google switched the organizational models used in its hardware teams, in a shuffle that resulted in a few hundred layoffs. A few months later, Google merged its Android team with its newly sorted hardware teams, revealing the company's quest to reorganize around — you guessed it — AI. "By combining teams," Google SVP Rick Osterloh told The Verge last year, "Google can now move much faster to integrate AI across all of its products." And Google certainly has moved faster, posting a 15 percent revenue gain in the third quarter of 2023 with a profit of $26.3 billion. Despite this, the company has increasingly turned to outsourcing to fine-tune its AI products — dumping off its labor costs while pumping cash into speculative AI projects. Ultimately, it's Google's employees who bear the brunt of friction from that strategy: full-time employees see their responsibilities increase as job security drops, while contract workers who clean up Google's AI products earn a fraction of their peers, often without benefits or the privilege of union representation. As Google ups the ante on shady labor practices despite sky-high profit, employees are demanding lasting and substantive change — not just one-off "voluntary exit" offers. More on labor: Top AI Investor Says Goal Is to Crash Human Wages
