West Gate Tunnel workers ‘hollow’ after being laid off as delays mount
West Gate Tunnel workers are “hollow and empty” after being laid off from the $6.7 billion project, with dozens left jobless and more axings to come. But politicians have washed their hands of responsibility and blamed Transurban instead.
VIC News
Don't miss out on the headlines from VIC News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Dozens of workers have lost their jobs on the West Gate Tunnel project, with more redundancies to be confirmed tomorrow.
Disappointed employees expressed their frustration after receiving the news at a 6am meeting.
Security guards attempted to shield staff from talking to media as they left the worksite on Whitehall St, Yarraville this morning.
About 140 people will be laid off in total, Australian Workers’ Union health and safety representative and shop steward Johnny Keys said.
He said one-third of affected staff learned their fate this morning, while others would find out once they start their shift at 4pm today and 6am tomorrow.
The mood among workers was “hollow and empty”, he said.
“There’s anger, there’s sadness. I’m more worried about the guys’ mental health,” he said.
Tunnelling on the $6.7 billion West Gate Tunnel is more than six months behind schedule due to a stoush over soil contamination issues in Melbourne’s inner west.
Among those to lose their job was tunneller and father of six Garry Vereb, who relocated from Queensland to work on the project. Tomorrow will be his last day.
Mr Vereb said there was a lot of shifting of blame for who was responsible for the job losses but he believed the State Government and the EPA should have done more to avoid the “mess”.
“The whole thing has been so poorly handled,” he said.
“We came here on good faith that we would be employed and we would have a job to do.”
The 62-year-old has been working on the project for seven months and said during that time staff had largely been kept in the dark about soil contamination issues and associated health risks.
He said he did not believe the $6.7 billion tunnel could be completed by the planned timeline of late 2022.
“When I listen to the Andrews Government saying it’s going to be completed on time, I believe pigs can fly.”
He said he was headed home to “face the music” from his wife and start looking for new jobs.
Premier Daniel Andrews washed his hands of the job losses this morning, saying: “This is a matter for the contractor, they employ the staff.”
“We are very disappointed and minister Allan has made the point that we are disappointed that the joint venture couldn’t keep these staff on,” he said.
“However, there is a safety issue, a soil issue. We are advised that the issue will be resolved soon and that drilling will begin as soon as possible so presumably those staff and many more will need to be re-engaged to do that work and we are advised again that the terms of that contract will be completed in 2022.
“I hope they all can be rehired back, very soon after we deal with that issue.”
Mr Andrews said he was certain the staff would get two years of work, but admitted “there will be a couple of difficult months”, for those impacted.
When asked about PFAS rumours at the Melbourne Metro Rail Tunnel, Mr Andrews said “every site is different” and safety was paramount.
Transport Infrastructure Minister Jacinta Allan said the state government would work to find the sacked workers new jobs on other state infrastructure projects.
“I’m disappointed and, can I say, angry at the decision that has been taken today,” she said.
Ms Allan said soil contamination was known about early into the planning process for the project but would not comment on why the issue had stalled tunnelling.
“This is a matter that has been identified in the contract and needs to be dealt with in the contract,” she said.
“It is the responsibility of Transurban and the builders to manage this issue that has been identified.”
Despite the delays, the Herald Sun has been told a resolution is expected soon and the workers being laid off by the construction consortium could be brought back to start digging.
A technical report prepared for the project’s environmental approvals in 2017 said industrial chemical PFAS would be an issue that could be treated by containing it in specific areas on site or mixing it with other products.
MORE NEWS
COMPO FOR COMMUTERS AFTER CANCELLED TRAMS
FEARS OF BLEAK FUTURE FOR BOOM REGION
AUS OPEN: DOWNLOAD YOUR TENNIS DRAW POSTER
The discovery last year of PFAS, which shut down the CFA’s Fiskville’s training college, sparked a campaign by the CFMEU to protect its members on the tunnel job.
Project bosses have since been examining whether affected soil could instead be “bulk excavated” and moved to landfill, with a search for dump sites underway.
A giant tunnel boring machine was ready to start digging the longer 4km outbound tunnel last July, but has been sitting idle, with the work expected to take 18 months.
The entire project is due to be finished by late 2022 but sources close to the project have questioned whether that deadline can be met.