Homes sit empty across Sydney as union refuses to turn on power
Thousands of families won’t be able to move into their new homes before Christmas because developers cannot get the power connected as a nine-month electrical union pay dispute drags on.
NSW
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Thousands of families won’t be able to move into their new homes before Christmas because developers are unable to get the power connected amid a crippling electrical union pay dispute.
The nine-month-long Electrical Trade Unions (ETU) dispute – which involves Endeavour, Ausgrid and Essential Energy – is also being blamed for sending some residential developers to the wall due to contracts being unable to be finalised.
While Endeavour is headed to the Fair Work Commission next week, the others are unlikely to be heard until some time next year, prompting one industry leader to question why state or federal leaders have not “done a Bob Hawke” and forced the parties to negotiate until the dispute was sorted.
The Sunday Telegraph has spoken to scores of developers – all of whom declined to speak publicly amid fear of union retribution – who identified completed residential projects sitting unoccupied as a result of having no power.
The projects include a residential tower comprising 108 apartments – and six affordable housing dwellings – which has been sitting empty despite being completed almost two months ago as there is now connected power.
Over in Crows Nest, homeowners who have bought one of 38 units off the plan for between $2.5 and 3.5 million are now unlikely to be able to move in before Christmas despite the apartments being finished.
The developer said appointments made with the energy provider to get the power connected were being repeatedly cancelled.
“I know of cases where it has taken six months to get the power connected as the booking gets cancelled on the day and then you go to the back of the queue,” he said.
“What do you say to the buyers? They can see the building’s finished.
“With all the discussion about how to create housing supply, it’s difficult when we can’t get the power on.”
Electrical workers have twice rejected a pay offer by Ausgrid – including 12.4 per cent over three years — while a 15.7 per cent offer from Endeavour Energy over four years was also recently voted down, with that matter expected to be resolved in the Commission on Tuesday.
Property Council of Australia NSW executive director Katie Stevenson said the delays were adding to the cost of delivering vital projects.
“Having the delivery of new homes delayed due to protracted industrial action is exacerbating the pressures on our housing market,” she said.
Urban Taskforce’s Tom Forrest said it was estimated up to 10,000 homes had been impacted by the dispute.
“This should have been the number one item on the political agenda. The best and brightest should have been brought together in the spirit of Bob Hawke and unable to leave until the matter was resolved,” he said.
A spokesman for Chris Minns accused the Liberal Party for creating the problem by selling off energy companies.
“We want the ETU and energy companies to work together to resolve this dispute so that these families who have done nothing wrong are able to access their homes as soon as possible,” he said.
Union secretary Allen Hicks said workers had watched their wages effectively fall by 10 per cent since 2016.
“Claims about development connection delays should be directed to the energy companies responsible for these services, not the workers fighting to maintain their standard of living,” he said.
ANALYSIS: WHY IT’S TME FOR MINNS TO STEP IN
The ETU’s fight to get its members a better pay deal has brought the construction industry to its knees.
But the consequences are even more far-reaching.
In a state crippled by a housing crisis, the dispute is making matters worse.
Mums and dads, first-homebuyers, downsizers and students alike are unable to move into their homes as they can’t get the power connected.
Developers are too fearful to speak on the record, out of concern that the union will target their projects and make life even harder.
Housing is a top order priority for Premier Chris Minns and his government.
It’s not surprising, then, that industry leaders are calling on him to step in and bring the union into line.
The Opposition said the Minns government could make a Section 424 application if a protected action was likely to cause “significant damage to the Australian economy or an important part of it”.
It has been calling on the Minns Labor government to make such an application.
Dealing with the matter through the Fair Work Commission could stretch into next year – precious time for a state desperate to make a dent in the housing crisis and even more precious for families waiting for a roof over their heads.
As Urban Taskforce chief executive Tom Forrest says, it is time the issue was put on the top of the political agenda.
The “best and brightest” should come together and, “in the spirit of Bob Hawke”, no one should leave until there was a resolution.
Minns has proven himself to be a leader not constrained by ideology – an approach that should serve well here. NSW residents and small businesses deserve a fast solution.
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