Trade unionist John Setka, Victorian state secretary of the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union, has penned an open letter to the Premier and Chief Health Officer of Victoria, urging them to allow the 300,000 plus Victorian construction workers back onto building sites.
The letter is republished below.
“The commercial construction industry has continued to lead workers safely through the COVID-19 pandemic. Our priority has always been to protect the safety and livelihoods of our members.
“We implemented extreme safety measures well beyond those we were required to do in the early stages of the pandemic to ensure the protection of all construction workers.
“These procedures meant we were better placed than any other industry to continue working and we must be allowed to do just that – not only to protect the livelihoods of the 300,000 plus Victorian construction workers but to lead the recovery of the Victorian economy.
Some of the measures we have in place are.
- On site infectious disease awareness training
- On site temperature checking
- Site mapping
- COVID-19 safe jobsite fogging
- On-going mobile testing by Incolink having tested over 18,000 construction workers to date with only seven positive confirmed cases of COVID-19.
- Continuous medical grade sanitation cleaning
- Rostered breaks and split start times
- Social distancing also put in place for hoists, lunchrooms, and toolbox meetings
- Digital mapping trials are ongoing
“The success of these safety measures is evident with the onsite COVID-19 confirmed commercial construction cases continuing to be at a minimum with only three cases in the past six weeks and zero cases in the past three weeks.
“As the backbone of this country, the 300,000 plus Victorian construction workers across all sectors must go back to work now.
“The onsite COVID-19 safety measures will continue to be an absolute priority, in the provision of protection for the construction industry and the community at large.”
