No one should die on their first day on the job

ACTU President Sharan Burrow is calling for the Federal Government’s Ceiling Insulation Stimulus Scheme to be halted after a number of deaths of young people working in the industry.

Since the scheme was introduced, three young workers have been tragically killed.

Last week a 19 year man, on his first day on the job, died from heat stress after working in a ceiling cavity in Sydney’s West. The week before a 16 year old boy died when he was electrocuted installing ceiling insulation in Rockhampton, and in October, a 25 year old man died after being electrocuted in southern Brisbane. A female co-worker was also seriously injured in the incident.

Unions have suggested that a number of businesses which have recently entered the industry to take advantage of the scheme are cutting corners in safety and training of its staff.

Sharan Burrow says that “shonky operators that are putting lives at risk should be driven out of the industry.”

What is needed she says, is an “immediate enquiry,” and “improved safety standards, better training to ensure workers are able to identify risks such as faulty wiring, and a bigger role for qualified tradespeople such as electricians to oversee the work needed to be urgently considered to prevent further deaths.”

“There needs to be an immediate inquiry and a significant lift in the standards required for businesses to receive funding under the government scheme.”

The scheme is due to run for two years, and it is essential, Mrs Burrow says, that “workers are not put at risk as a result of the tight deadlines.”

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