CFMEU calls for Mark Bailey’s resignation after worker falls at Cross River Rail site

Queensland’s CFMEU has demanded the resignation of state Transport Minister Mark Bailey after a construction worker fell 12m at a Brisbane worksite.

CFMEU members protest about Cross River Rail work sites in Brisbane on Wednesday. Picture: Steve Pohlner

Queensland’s CFMEU has demanded the resignation of state Transport Minister Mark Bailey after a construction worker fell 12m at a worksite of Brisbane’s Cross River Rail project.

Nation “Nash” Kouka, 54, was fighting for life at Brisbane’s Princess Alexandra Hospital on Wednesday after he plunged from scaffolding at the Boggo Road site on Tuesday afternoon.

Mr Kouka, whose son was working on the site and witnessed the fall, suffered extensive internal injuries and was revived by colleagues before paramedics arrived.

The accident follows long-running concerns by the CFMEU about safety issues on Cross River Rail, the state’s biggest infrastructure project.

The union’s assistant state secretary, Jade Ingham, said Mr Bailey had been aware of safety issues on the project “for years”.

“I’ve personally raised them with him, as have many other union leaders about the safety culture on this job,” he said.

“Somebody has to be accountable for this man lying in the PA Hospital who may or may not live. If Mark Bailey has got any conscience, he’ll resign and this job can be taken over … by somebody who cares about workers.”

Jade Ingham, assistant state secretary of the Queensland CFMEU, leads a protest about Cross River Rail work sites on Wednesday. Picture: Steve Pohlner

Mr Ingham said the state safety regulator had issued more than 300 enforcement notices on the project to date.

Hundreds of workers downed tools on Wednesday morning and rallied in Brisbane’s CBD to protest a “toxic workplace safety culture”.

They do not plan to return to work until at least Monday.

Mr Bailey said he believed he had responded appropriately to safety concerns in the past and the injury rate on Cross River Rail was “a lot lower than the industry standard”.

Nation ‘Nash’ Kouka is in a critical condition.

A safety reset has been ordered at the project’s 15 sites and Mr Bailey said “we’ll be checking all scaffolding on every single part of every single site. We’ll be working with unions and the workforce to ensure that safety is lifted on this project.

“There is no doubt this is a wake-up call and it has certainly shaken my confidence in terms of the safety on this project,” he said.

Mr Bailey said safety regulators audited scaffolding at the Boggo Road site this month and it had been “given the tick”, although it was probably not the same scaffolding Mr Kouka was working on. Investigations into how Mr Kouka fell are under way; he was not believed to be wearing a harness.

Mr Bailey said he had not yet spoken to Mr Kouka’s family or the workers who witnessed the accident. “The son was on site, that adds another level of stress and trauma in this situation,” he said. “I don’t want to bother them while they (are at the hospital).

“I’m keen to talk to workers involved at an appropriate time.”