‘Workers are being exploited’: ETU reports breaches on the Mount Fox powerline
The Electrical Trades Union is alleging worker exploitation, unlicensed electrical work and safety breaches have all occurred on the Kidston-Mount Fox transmission line project, near Ingham.
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Workers have been underpaid and unlicensed electrical work and safety breaches have all occurred on a North Queensland transmission line project, according to the Electrical Trades Union.
ETU assistant secretary Stuart Traill said international workers have been “exploited and grossly underpaid” while constructing the 186km long Kidston-Mount Fox transmission line for Powerlink, near Ingham.
“They are also being strongarmed into completing electrical work that they are not licenced to carry out in Queensland,” Mr Traill said.
“We’ve had countless reports of safety breaches on the Genex project from our members working on sites … Powerlink is managing this project, and needs to be held accountable.”
The transmission line has been under construction since 2022, when Genex engaged Powerlink to install a line connecting their 250MW Kidston Clean Energy Hub outside Greenvale to the national energy grid.
Powerlink – which is a government-owned corporation in charge of Queensland’s high voltage transmission network – contracted out the construction to UGL.
Mr Traill said exploitation has been witnessed by nearly all workers on the line.
“These guys are riggers, they are out there building the transmission towers, but you need a transmission line electrical licence to run the lines and a licence to ground the lines,” he said.
“These workers were promised they’d be trained in that. They were promised the world but it hasn’t happened and they had UGL bosses standing over them telling them to do the work.”
ETU state organiser Lenny Lane said instead of supporting the skilled international workers to gain their local licences, the contractor, UGL, was “grossly underpaying them and has been for months”.
“These workers should be trained and supported to gain Queensland electrical licences, but instead, the company is taking advantage of them,” Mr Lane said.
“We’re demanding that Powerlink address these breaches immediately. Powerlink is the lead company overseeing the project and the buck stops with them.”
Mr Lane said the Kidston-Mount Fox transmission line was very close to completion, with only two months of work left.
“From what people are telling us, unlicensed work is pretty common, it’s just been hidden until now,” he said.
“We’ve had members working on this job, but it’s only now that there is a strong membership density that they feel safe speaking up about this.”
When questioned about the reports of worker exploitation, Powerlink said the company was aware of the allegations.
“Powerlink is aware of the allegations made by the ETU and are working with our primary contractor, UGL,” a spokesperson said.
“Powerlink considers providing a safe working environment for its employees, contractors and the public as essential.”
UGL’s parent company CIMIC declined to comment.
Mr Traill said the ETU was now doubting Powerlink’s ability to manage CopperString, which the government-owned company is in charge of delivering.
“CopperString is a huge project and it’s vital it is completed safely. It’s a high stakes project providing important infrastructure,” Mr Traill said.
The Kidston-Mount Fox line consists of over 340 steel transmission towers and one new switching station – some of these towers were 85m tall, some of the largest in Australia.
Stringing work was completed by helicopter and drones in 2024, earning Powerlink an innovation award for their use of drones to string the longest section of high voltage transmission line in the Asia-Pacific region.
The Kidston Clean Energy Hub is the third largest electrical storage ‘device’ in Australia, and is wholly owned by Genex.
The hub is located 90km northwest of Greenvale at an old gold mine that’s been repurposed into a solar farm, pumped hydro scheme, wind turbines, and more.
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Originally published as ‘Workers are being exploited’: ETU reports breaches on the Mount Fox powerline
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