West Gate Tunnel job cuts force major piling work to a halt

Major work on the troubled West Gate Tunnel project is set to grind to a halt after as an ugly financial stoush continues. And Premier Daniel Andrews has issued a stern warning.

Work on the West Gate Tunnel is set to slow even further. Picture: Jason Edwards

Major piling works on the West Gate Tunnel will stop or slow to a crawl as job cuts hit more sections of the troubled project.

According to sources working on site, the number of staff has plummeted from about 1200 earlier in the year to about 500 now, with more jobs scaled back every day.

Contractors installing piling foundations near CityLink have been told to stop their work within a week and stand down until further notice.

It’s understood some staff have been told to focus their efforts on key parts of the ­project used by Transurban to measure the builders’ contract performance.

The Herald Sun yesterday revealed up to 100 workers could lose their jobs each week as the project’s builders dig in on their financial stoush with the toll company.

Issues moving contaminated soil have created major cost blowouts, and the consortium claims it has no choice but to lay off staff until a dumping site is found and the contract is renegotiated.

The number of staff working onsite has been slashed to just a fraction of what it was. Picture: Jason Edwards

But Premier Daniel ­Andrews yesterday warned the project’s construction partners, CPB Contractors and John Holland, they could miss out on future government contracts as a result of the current stalemate.

He both sides needed to sort out the dispute that had ­led to widespread sackings.

“My message to the builders is we have a lot of different contracts to award, a lot of different projects to get built,” he said. “When we make judgments about who should win tenders, we of course look to the conduct of those bidders.

“These tactics will not work. These tactics are not right and they potentially have a significant impact on the assessments we will have to make about who we want to build projects for all Victorians in the future.

“That is a clear message, one that should be heard and understood by the builders in question.”

Mr Andrews also said there would be no bailout for Transurban.

“Transurban are committed to sitting down with the builder and working through these issues,” he said.

“This stalemate is in no one’s interest and particularly for the builders.”

Opposition transport infrastructure spokesman David Davis said the dispute could end with some big firms not wanting to work with the Victorian government.

“One of the risks in this situation is that the contractors may come forward with a bid but load it so much that we’re paying a truckload,” he said.

“Very often now, it is going to be the difficulty of getting solid bids, competitive bids and bids that are not overpriced.”

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