Latest news with #Snowy2.0
ABC News
23-05-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Union considering legal action over claims staff locked down during Snowy 2.0 strike
The Australian Workers Union is threatening legal action over the alleged treatment by Snowy 2.0 contractors of striking tunnel workers. More than 1,000 workers walked off the job on the multi-billion dollar pumped hydro energy project on Wednesday in a bid to push for pay similar to their employer WeBuild's workers on the North East Link Tunnels in Melbourne. The union's organiser Darren Cameron met with workers at Snowy Mountains Airport, outside Cooma, on Thursday where he alleged the union had been unable to meet with some members during the strike. "To add insult to injury, the project put out a directive that nobody could leave the project or enter the project," Mr Cameron said. WeBuild and Snowy Hydro have been contacted for comment. Mr Cameron said workers, like their emplyer, want the $12 billion project finished after it was plagued by tunnelling delays in recent years due to what Snowy Hydro called a challenging geological fault zone. Last year, the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure approved an application by Snowy Hydro to use a fourth tunnel boring machine which is set to begin excavating by the end of the year. Mr Cameron said further strike action will go ahead next week if the workers' demands are not met. "The same company is doing exactly the same kind of tunnelling work in Melbourne for 12 per cent more pay," he said. "The conditions on this project are arduous. "These people should be the highest paid tunnellers in Australia, not the lowest, which is the current situation. "We are aiming to change that." He said the pay issue will go before the Fair Work Commission on Tuesday and he hopes it will be resolved before further industrial action next week. The CFMEU's state organiser for the union's Construction and General Branch, Mark Cross, was also in Cooma on Thursday and said the unions have come together to make sure workers are being taken care of following the implosion of a ventilation fan in February. He said safety concerns were impacting the mental health of workers and their families. "The isolation factor of living in a remote camp means communications are not the greatest in terms of being able to reach out to their friends and families," he said. "It is impacting these guys." Electrical Trades Union organiser Jarred Pearce said he had hope the issue of pay parity would be dealt with by the employer. "We are trying to get the right outcome for both wages and safety."
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.
7NEWS
21-05-2025
- Business
- 7NEWS
More than 1000 workers at Snowy Hydro 2.0 project strike for 24 hours
More than 1000 workers will today walk off the job for 24 hours over pay disputes with employer Future Generation Joint Venture (FGJV), which is spearheaded by Italian company Webuild. Pay negotiations between the Australian Workers' Union (AWU) and the Snowy 2.0 employer continue to be unsuccessful as workers push for pay parity with workers on Webuild's North East Link project in Melbourne. According to Tony Callinan, secretary of AWU NSW, this comes as a result of Webuild refusing to address its concerns and requests. 'Webuild wasted the first 10 weeks of negotiations by refusing to engage, they didn't respond at all to the log of claims the AWU put to them on behalf of our 1000 odd members in mid-January'. It claims workers at Snowy 2.0 are paid less, but expected to operate on a fly-in, fly-out (FIFO) basis, rostered on two weeks at 12 hours a day, and then the following week off, which can be taken up by the long commute home. 'Working in the wilderness' Callinan said 'those working Snowy 2.0 live and work in the wilderness in the middle of winter, and when they're not underground tunnelling, they're confined to Spartan work camps'. According to Callinan, workers are seeking a 10 per cent to 12 per cent upfront pay increase in order to be on par with the pay of those working on the North East Link project. With those on the Melbourne project often able to commute home each day, Callinan said 'it should be obvious to anyone that our members working in the wilderness for two weeks straight would expect to be paid the same as workers in Melbourne who go home to their families each night'. Cynthia Calderon — vice president of communications, community and stakeholder engagement at FGJV — told 7NEWS: 'The employer has and will continue to negotiate in good faith for a replacement agreement with the relevant bargaining representatives.' 'Prisoner of war camp' However, in a notice received on Tuesday afternoon, the workers on strike were told they were not allowed to leave site, with access temporarily restricted, and any attempt to leave would result in disciplinary action. FGJV deputy project director Kevin Dunning noted that it would be 'increasing vehicle inspections', participants in the strike 'must remain in designated camp areas only', and 'crib areas', or the space used for meal and break time, will be only for 'those actively working'. Callinan described it as an extreme reaction. 'It's not a prisoner of war camp, it's not a jail.'. 'If workers want to leave the project while not being paid and go out for the day, they should be able to, It's obscene.' History of tension Safety concerns This isn't the first time where workers at Snowy 2.0 have taken industrial action. 7NEWS has previously reported on the alleged live maggots in the food at the mess hall, and given the remote location, there aren't exactly other restaurants to go to instead. The general safety of the site was questioned after an incident involving the malfunction of an industrial-sized fan in February led to a halt in drilling activity. Subsequent inspections found other fans were in similar states, some with missing bolts — an accident waiting to happen. This was a month after work was stopped due to safety refuge chambers found to be inoperable due to lack of maintenance.
ABC News
20-05-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Snowy 2.0 tunnelling workers to walk off job over pay and conditions
More than 1,000 workers on the multi-billion-dollar Snowy 2.0 pumped hydro project plan to strike on Wednesday over demands for improved pay and working conditions. The industrial action comes after the union entered negotiations with the companies employer SC Hydro, demanding an up to 12 per cent pay increase for the project's tunnel workers. Australian Workers' Union NSW branch secretary Tony Callinan said he wants rates to be brought in line with those working on North East Link Tunnels in Melbourne. Clough, a subsidiary of Italian-owned company WeBuild, is involved with both Snowy Hydro and the Melbourne based-project. "People doing the same work in the same industry, even for the same employer, should get the same rate of pay," he said. "They make a choice to work on that project, that's correct, and they're also choosing to exercise their right now to fight for better wages and conditions." Mr Callinan said the employer countered with an offer for a 7.5 per cent up-front pay rise which was declined. Among the demands is a $140 daily camp allowance for fly-in fly-out (FIFO) workers, doubling night shift rates, and two mental health days per year for employees. The union has also demanded that workers are flown in and out of Canberra instead of Cooma airport, improvements to food served to workers, and an approximately 15 per cent increase to the $23 meal allowance provided when workers work overtime unexpectedly. In 2023, SafeWork NSW investigated food hygiene on site after maggots were allegedly found in meals served to workers. Mr Callinan said Australian Workers Union delegates notified of their intention to commence a stop work action last Thursday, after engaging in more than a dozen regular meetings since January. "They're getting frustrated either by no response or by responses that don't meet their expectations," he said. "Then they have to go back to their crews and and explain what happened at the meeting. "Our union delegates are the meat in the sandwich." The Snowy 2.0 project is expected to provide up to 2.2 gigawatts of electricity to the national grid once completed. The controversial project is anticipated to start delivering power in late 2027 following a string of setbacks. Work on the $12 billion project stopped in January when concerns were raised about the status of "last resort" chambers, designed to be used in an emergency when workers were unable to evacuate. Underground work was also halted again for three weeks in late February after a ventilation fan imploded on site and sent metal shrapnel flying through the air. Union representatives will meet with involved parties for their routine meeting on Wednesday. Mr Callinan said the union workers would consider further strike action if demands were not met. "Our members and delegates are currently planning and discussing strategies to put more pressure on the company to come to the table and accept the offer," he said. The ABC has contacted Clough, WeBuild and Snowy Hydro for comment.
