Union site occupation given lowest priority by WorkSafe

Résumé détaillé

A WorkSafe inspector has told a royal commission things could "go a little bit south" with CFMEU members if safety issues they raised were not supported.

A union-imposed stoppage of a major public construction project was given the lowest priority for resolution by an industry watchdog, a royal commission into Victoria's construction sector has been told.

The commission's initial hearing block is probing the circumstances of a two-day work stoppage on a major level-crossing removal project on Gap Road in Sunbury, northwest of Melbourne, in June 2022.

Work ground to a halt on the project on June 6 of that year after CFMEU delegates occupied the site, issuing dozens of safety notices, blocking machines and refusing to move even when police were called.

Operations only resumed after the union's demands were agreed to during a June 7 meeting, including installing their own union-aligned labour contractors and a health and safety representative, the inquiry heard earlier.

Despite WorkSafe being contacted during the stoppage, inspectors did not attend the site until June 8, after the dispute had been resolved.

WorkSafe inspector Quinton Drury told the commission on Wednesday, the situation at Gap Road was assigned the lowest possible level of priority.

Mr Drury explained issues were assigned a priority based on their risk to safety, rather than other impacts such as a work stoppage or delays to projects.

During the June 8 inspection only "minor" safety issues were identified, those being piling holes on site which were not sufficiently covered.

"Those issues were remedied at the time of our inspection," Mr Drury said.

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