So, fair play by the NSW Labor Govt to pick up the slack and pay for the M7 - M12 interchange when the Feds (Labor) pulled the allocated funding. I thought that was good stuff by Minns and Co at the time. Serious credit where credit is due.
It's now sad that stories are now appearing like the following, where the ETU are holding the State Labor Govt to ransom over the same project.
They did the same to the Libs over the Sydenham - Bankstown metro conversion during 2022 in the "Year of the Strikes". Refused to shut down power for works to proceed on weekends that had scheduled work planned months in advance. That is why that project is now 12 months overdue and late.
All over obscene and unrealistic pay rise claims. Holding the State to ransom. The Fire Fighters Union are now doing the same and threatening to delay the opening of the Chatswood - Sydney metro.
These unions dgaf about the delays to infrastructure, inconvenience to commuters and the cost to the taxpayer.
Don't even get me started on the CMFEU.
https://www.afr.com/work-and-career...ink-to-western-sydney-airport-20240626-p5jovs
Union bans delay $1.7b transport link to Western Sydney Airport
Power workers’ industrial action has delayed the NSW government’s critical western Sydney interchange for the city’s second airport by months and is sending subcontractors close to the wall.
The Electrical Trade Union’s
work bans at Sydney poles and wire company Endeavour Energy, including refusing to switch off powerlines, has set back key work on the $1.7 billion project to link the M7 with the new toll-free M12 motorway by up to four months. The integration is needed to feed into Western Sydney Airport when it opens in 2026.
The union bans – which began on February 1 and are part of a push for a 24 per cent pay rise – have also delayed the construction of
1600 homesand $1.2 billion in industrial projects in the state.
Developers and subcontractors fear the industrial action could go on until September, given that both parties are far apart and there is no intervention planned.
A Transport for NSW spokesman confirmed “the ongoing industrial dispute is having substantial financial and timeline impacts on several road projects, including the M7-M12 integration”.
“Transport for NSW and its contract partners have been working to mitigate those impacts wherever possible,” he said.
“The agency will continue to monitor the situation and looks forward to it being resolved by the parties as soon as possible.”
An Endeavour Energy spokesman said some consumers in western Sydney have had to rely on a street generator to power their homes for four months as the bans meant workers could not do repairs.
The ETU, which wants 8 per cent a year increases to make up for real wage cuts over the past three years, has so far refused offers of Fair Work Commission-assisted mediation to resolve the dispute.
Under the Fair Work Act, third parties can apply to suspend protected industrial action if there is significant harm to a third party or part of the economy. However, it is a high bar to clear.
Asked if it would intervene, a spokesman for the NSW government – which owns 49.6 per cent of Endeavour Energy – said it “encourages the privately owned Endeavour Energy and the ETU to work through their dispute. It is important that projects be delivered.”
Last month John Holland, the principal contractor for the M7-M12 integration and $105 million Mulgoa Road/Castlereagh Road corridor upgrade, paused work on removing electricity poles and installing new power lines.
Tony de Vos, an electrical infrastructure subcontractor for John Holland, said that since March, Endeavour Energy workers had not shown up to 14 outage appointments on the projects to allow new lines to be installed. Endeavour Energy has confirmed eight of these no-shows were due to the bans.
The bans meant Mr de Vos could not progress $973,000 worth of contracted work for the M7-M12 integration and about $100,000 of work for the Mulgoa Road upgrade.
Mr de Vos said his business had been “driven to its knees” as a result of the standoff, and he had been forced to work temporarily as an electrician to earn income for his family of six.
“Endeavour Energy have said on the phone ‘we’ve stopped rebooking’ and Endeavour won’t take the bookings so [John Holland] have just given up giving out outages,” Mr de Vos said.
Delays were also having knock-on effects for the rest of the project.
“What Endeavour Energy has done has delayed the relocation of the sewer, waste and gas. It will also hold up the bridge building later down the track too as there are poles that need to be removed that are smack bang in the way of the roads,” he said.
“The unions know this grief, hence why they’re targeting it.”
Opposition spokesman for industrial relations Damien Tudehope claimed the Minns Labor government had given an implicit go-ahead for unions to go hard for massive pay claims, saying that “$9 billion unfunded public sector wage rises are feeding union demands for inflationary wage rises”.
“The ETU’s actions are impacting other workers, as scheduled jobs get cancelled as well as delaying needed housing developments.
“There will inevitably be a negative impact on electricity prices. Having fanned the flames of union activism for higher wages the government is in no position to mediate.”
ETU NSW secretary Allen Hicks has said: “Endeavour Energy topped up key management pay by more than 12 per cent in 2023 alone, but is crying poor when it comes to paying workers what they’re worth.”
A spokeswoman for Endeavour Energy, which is offering staff 11.5 per cent over three years, said, “the cost of meeting these wage claims would ultimately be paid by 1.2 million electricity customers, already under pressure from rising cost of living, and result in industry job losses”.
She said executive fixed remuneration increased by a total 10.4 per cent from 2021 to 2023 compared to 9.8 per cent for workers over the same period.
www.smh.com.au
