Look who’s working flat out on the Gold Coast for Commonwealth Games success

WORKERS at a key Commonwealth Games construction site are working half days for full pay and feasting on seafood while a dispute involving the contractor and their union drags on.

‘Yeah guys, can you believe we get paid for this?’ Union-approved two-hour stopwork meetings have been held at the Carrara Sports Precinct redevelopment twice a day every day since May 9.

WORKERS at a key Commonwealth Games construction site are putting in half days for a full day’s pay and feasting on seafood while a bitter dispute rages between the contractor and their union.

Despite assurances from Games organisers, workers say the project is already behind schedule and the situation can only get worse.

The union-approved two-hour stopwork meetings have been held at the Carrara Sports Precinct redevelopment twice a day every day since May 9.

Lunch gets underway for the union members. Picture by Scott Fletcher

The Carrara site is arguably the most important for the Games, with the opening and closing ceremonies and a number of sports to be held there.

Workers are paid for the meetings which consist mainly of them lying in the shade and eating food cooked by Construction Forestry, Mining and Energy Union officials.

The union has vowed the meetings will continue until managing contractor Hansen Yuncken signs a new four-year Enterprise Bargaining Agreement. But the company is refusing to sign the document, which outlines a hefty 5 per cent pay increase for workers each year of the agreement.

Gold Coast union enforcer Scott Vink is organising the meetings but would not comment on the dispute.

“Nah still got two years until the Comm Games, she’ll be right’. Picture by Scott Fletcher

Minister for the Commonwealth Games, Stirling Hinchliffe, Industrial Relations Minister Grace Grace and Gold Coast Commonwealth Games Corporation chairman Peter Beattie all insist the project will still be delivered on time and on budget. But workers laughed off the assurances, saying there was no way it would be finished on schedule.

Speaking earlier this week Mr Beattie said he did not know if the Commonwealth Games Federation was aware of the stoppages when they gave a glowing report on construction progress.

“I don’t know that they necessarily would be,” he said.

Mr Beattie said GOLDOC had legal advice to stay out of the dispute so it would not be seen to be taking sides.

Union members said it was believed Hansen Yuncken was resisting pressure to sign the EBA in the hopes Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull would be re-elected.

The CFMEU have not commented officially with assistant secretary Andrew Sutherland not returning calls.

Originally published as Look who’s working flat out on the Gold Coast for Commonwealth Games success