ACT Greens Industrial Relations spokesperson Amanda Bresnan has today repeated calls for the Government to take responsibility for contractors in light of revelations of the failure of the liquidated construction contractor Akron to hold insurance at a number of its sites.

“Yesterday in the Assembly the Greens again called for the Government stop abdicating responsibility for contractors, and today we’ve seen the impact of this,” Ms Bresnan said.

“The Government needs to seriously rethink its approach to procurement solution, so we can stop Government money ending up in the hands of operators who aren’t doing what they should be.

“These companies are delivering services and projects for the community on the Government’s behalf, and the Government needs to step up and take responsibility.

“Government procurement is failing at basic monitoring functions that should the standard for any commercial contract, let alone the standard for a Government that should be leading by example.

“The lack of auditing and monitoring of contractors is now going to lead directly to a significant waste of money having to hire a new company to complete Crace and Bonner and slow down delivery of the much-needed new housing developments.

“Even a small community organisation has to demonstrate it has insurance and is meeting contract obligations. You have to question why this isn’t being done with large commercial contracts,” Ms Bresnan said.

The collapse of the civil construction company Akron has demonstrated that the ACT Government needs to take a more active role in regulating companies contracted to perform Government work, Greens IR spokesperson Amanda Bresnan said today.

“We’ve seen questionable occupational health and safety and dodgy industrial relations practices on Government sites before, and the regrettable collapse of Akron leaves workers on Government sites out in the cold,” Ms Bresnan said today.

“We would expect that work carried out in the name of the Government, be it by Government employees or contractors, be conducted in the highest standards of integrity and diligence.

“Relying on the say-so of the contractors involved, as currently happens with the requirement for a statutory declaration saying a company has paid its contractors, can bankrupt small businesses and send workers home without jobs if it turns out the contractor hasn’t been paying its bills.

“Even where the Government contracts out, we would expect the Government to take an active role in enforcing standards, be it enforcing prompt payment of the subcontractors on site, or making sure OHS standards are met.

“We hope to see the Government take steps to ensure that subcontractors and workers affected by the collapse of Akron are promptly paid. It would be unfortunate if a subcontractor working hard to deliver Government contracts goes bust due to this unfortunate situation,” Ms Bresnan said

Shane Rattenbury, ACT Greens Attorney General spokesperson, today urged the Government to develop a better model for informing security industry workers of their workplace rights.

“The Greens fully support all workers being made aware of their work place rights and responsibilities, but the Government’s model needs further work, in consultation with relevant groups, to develop a more balanced proposal.

“The Government’s Bill would have set up the union as the sole definitive source of information on workplace rights and responsibilities for a worker prior to their employment and required the union to certify all potential workers as being informed of their workplace rights.

“Unions have a positive and significant role to play in protecting workplace rights for security workers, but security industry employers also have a stake in the workplace rights and protections of their employees. 

“A better model might be to make use of the existing mandatory training programs to distribute information on workplace rights.  Unions and industry representatives should be able to work together in good faith to develop agreed frameworks for educating security workers about their rights and responsibilities.

“We expect the Government to talk further with unions and employers, and bring back to the Assembly a solution that is acceptable to all stakeholders in the new year” Mr Rattenbury said.

The ACT Greens Industrial Relations spokesperson, Amanda Bresnan, has called for a shake-up of the ACT’s workplace health and safety watchdog, WorkCover.

“We are concerned that WorkCover is unable to provide effective and regular enforcement of the health and safety standards that are required in the workplace,” Ms Bresnan said today.

A review of WorkCover is soon to be undertaken, and the Greens have asked the ACT Government to provide the ACT Legislative Assembly with the terms of reference for the review.

“The ACT Government claims it has some of the nation’s most progressive health and safety laws for the workplace. My point would be; if we don’t see enforcement of those laws, what good are they?”

“Recent safety concerns raised at the Mitchell Resource Centre and Gungahlin Drive Extension worksites highlights the need for a more vigilant and effective safety watchdog.

“The Government has sought until now to hand over all responsibility for workplace health and safety to its contractors. The Greens believe the Government has a responsibility to make sure that work it commissions is performed in accordance with the law.”

“The review of WorkCover must be thorough and ensure that the organisation has the capacity to enforce workplace health and safety standards,” Ms Bresnan said.

ACT Greens Industrial Relations spokesperson, Amanda Bresnan MLA, has today called for a guarantee that all waste management staff and contractors are trained in the handling of hazardous materials, including asbestos, at all ACT Government waste facilities.

Ms Bresnan has today written to the Minister for Territory and Municipal Services to raise concerns about employees of Aussie Junk being required to indentify asbestos at the Mitchell Resource Centre, despite not having the necessary training.

“I was contacted by a former employee of the Mitchell facility who told us that despite the Theiss contract including asbestos identification, he received no training in the handling of hazardous materials,” Ms Bresnan said today.

“The ACT Government has an obligation to ensure that all Government contractors fulfil basic health and safety requirements, especially when it comes to hazardous materials such as asbestos.”

“The Government failed to ensure that workers at the Mitchell Resource Centre employed by defunct subcontractor Aussie Junk received any training in the identification and safe handling of asbestos.”

“In light of the recent asbestos incident at Pickles Auction Centre, the Government should take an active role in ensuring that only the highest standards of health and safety are maintained at ACT Government facilities where asbestos may be handled.”

“We call upon the Government to guarantee that all future contractors and sub-contractors at ACT Government waste facilities provide training in asbestos identification and handling,” Ms Bresnan said.