Workers on a mammoth $2.3bn energy project are going without toilets, using unsafe harnesses and are at risk of being hit by falling objects, according to furious union safety inspectors.
The Electrical Trades Union has flagged multiple apparent safety breaches across Project EnergyConnect, a massive transmission line build connecting power grids in South Australia and NSW.
Photographs from worksites on the NSW side of the build show sites without “exclusion zones”, designed to protect workers from falling material, a high voltage transmission line tower that is open and easily accessible to the public and safety harnesses without any tags or labels showing inspection dates.
ETU delegates claim some of the worksites don’t have any toilets and where there are toilets, there is not enough toilet paper to go around and the facilities lack soap and sanitiser.
“Apart from being provided some high-vis clothing and a vehicle, workers have largely been left to fend for themselves on the lines,” ETU national secretary Michael Wright said.
“Workers have been dodging falling objects and wearing fraying and non-compliant harnesses.
“When something goes wrong, they’ve waited an eternity for help.
“Our members have been denied basic rights, crammed in crib sheds and are lucky to score a toilet on site.”
EnergyConnect is expected to feed more renewable energy into the National Energy Market and the Australian Energy Market Operator has deemed the interconnector a “required project” to fortify Australia’s eastern energy market.
The line runs from Robertstown in South Australia to Wagga Wagga in NSW, with ElectraNet building out the South Australian leg of the project and Transgrid building the NSW portion with contractor Elecnor.
The union’s allegations concern worksites within NSW.
A Transgrid spokeswoman refused to respond to any of the allegations directed against the project’s alleged safety failures.
“Transgrid strives for best practice in all aspects of safety and, as such, we drive continual improvement regarding safety standards,” the spokeswoman said.
“They are above and beyond the required compliance levels.”
Elecnor was contacted for comment but did not respond by the time this article was published.
The apparent safety breakdown comes as the federal government moves to underwrite 32GW of new renewable energy generation to hit an ambitious 82 per cent reduction in carbon emissions by 2030.
Mr Wright said EnergyConnect’s “horror” record on worker safety could put Australia’s net zero ambitions at risk.
“Safety has been back of mind, wages have been suppressed and corners have been cut,” he said.
“Exploitation and unsafe working conditions are making it that much harder to attract the workforce we need to transition the nation to net zero.
“This cannot be what the energy transition looks like.”