The Union of Workers of Australia (AWU) has condemned a “health disaster” on the site during the construction of the Sydney M6 tunnel, where 13 workers reported having the silicosis of mortal lung disease, according to documents presented in the Parliament of Nueva Wales del Sur.
Informed for the first time by nine newspapers, the revelation that workers of only 32 years had been diagnosed with silicosis and also worked at the site “to promote the immediate prosecutions of Safework NSW to take those responsible before justice,” said Awu’s national secretary, Chris Donovan, in a statement.
Silosis is a disease caused by fine silica dust breathing that damages the lungs, which makes it difficult to breathe. It can be fatal.
Donovan said that incurable disease is “completely preventable.”
“This is not just negligence, it is a complete betrayal of the workers,” he said.
“These are not just statistics: these are workers whose lives have been permanently damaged by building Sydney infrastructure.
“These men and women will spend the rest of their lives coughing, breathless playing with their children, and the disease progresses, they may require a lung transplant, there is no cure or treatment.”
An illustration of the future M6 tunnel that is being built in southern Sydney. The Australian workers union has condemned the fact that 13 workers contracted silicosis while dug the tunnel. Fountain: Supplied / NSW government
Donovan said it was a “condemnatory accusation” that tunnel companies and Safework NSW knew about the dangerous levels of silica dust since 2017, “but failed to take significant measures.”
“The fact that we have the workers diagnosed with a fatal lung disease while companies continue to operate with impunity is a condemnatory accusation of our regulatory system,” he said.
CPB, the contractor for which the tunnel workers work, told Sun Herald: “While these employees received a confirmed diagnosis, this does not mean that they hired him while working for CPB contractors.
Stage one of the M6 tunnel will connect to Kagarah, a suburb of the southeast, with the M8 tunnel network. Fountain: AAPA / And Himbrets
“Throughout a Tuneler’s career, workers work on many projects, for multiple industries and companies.”
Safework NSW said that the cases of silicosis that involve CPB workers are still under investigation.
The regulator said that any contractor who exposed employees to insecure silica was violating the law.
NSW’s Minister of Health and Safety, Sophie Cotsis, said the Government encouraged Safework NSW to “enforce” the law, saying that the government had “zero tolerance” for any employer who exposes workers to insecure silica levels.
“I would like to express my deep concern and empathy for workers who may have been diagnosed with silicosis in the tunnel and other places, and reaffirm my commitment to protect workers from this deadly disease,” Cotsis said.
Last year, Australia became the first country in the world to implement a prohibition of designed stone, folded with workers who often used silicosis.
Stage one of the M6 tunnel will connect to Kagarah, a suburb of the southeast, with the M8 tunnel network.
