Alarming footage showing purported lax safety measures at a Cross River Rail construction site has emerged, as a man continues to fight for his life after a fall.
Meanwhile, Queensland’s transport minister has promised a “safety reset” for the Brisbane rail project, but is rejecting union calls to resign after a fall that left a scaffolder fighting for life.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Footage shows Cross River Rail worker in precarious position.
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Mark Bailey, the minister in charge of the $6.3 billion project, insisted the Palaszczuk government had responded to safety concerns after construction union leaders said they had received thousands of complaints from members about building sites on the project.
Workers with the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) marched in Brisbane city on Wednesday morning and will not return to work until Monday after Nation Kouka, 54, fell up to 10m at the Boggo Rd station site on Tuesday.
He was taken to the nearby Princess Alexandra Hospital, where he remains in a critical condition.
All work was suspended at the building site and a police and workplace health and safety investigation is under way.
The CFMEU said the incident would not have happened if safety protocols had been enforced properly.
The union has released the footage from last year of a man working at height with no apparent tether or safety barrier.
It called for a full reset, a voice and representation across all sites when representatives gathered on Wednesday.
“They want a complete change in the culture of fear and intimidation and they want to see things turn around where workers aren’t being sacked off the job for raising safety concerns,” CFMEU state secretary Michael Ravbar told reporters.
Ravbar said more than 300 enforcement notices were written by the safety regulator.
“What we know about is bad enough. (It’s) one of the worst track records for safety that any of us can recall in the construction industry in Queensland, and I don’t think we know about half of the incidents.”
The union called for Bailey to stand down after the incident.
“Our position is the minister should resign,” CFMEU national president Jade Ingham said.
When asked about safety complaints, Bailey said the figures cited by the CFMEU were accurate but rejected calls to stand aside.
“I don’t think that’s particularly helpful in the situation,” he said.
“We need to all work together to improve — this is about the safety of the workers and us working together to ensure that occurs — I’m committed to do that.”
The government was acting now to increase safety on the large project, Bailey added.
“We’ve got a safety reset, a pause of work and we’ll be checking all scaffolding on every single part of every single site.”
The cross-river rail project is a 10km rail line from the inner north to inner south that includes tunnels under the Brisbane River and the city.
Construction began in 2017 and is scheduled to finish in 2025.
– With Warren Barnsley