A second strike took place yesterday as a part of industrial action regarding worker dissatisfaction surrounding pay and conditions at the Snowy Hydro 2.0 project. A number of unions met at Cooma Airport with workers downing tools for 24 hours, demanding pay parity with their Melbourne counterparts. The dispute, involving major unions such as the Electrical Trade Union (ETU), the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU), the Australian Workers Union (AWU), and the Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union (CFMEU), follows an initial strike last week. With their demands unmet, further industrial action is scheduled for next Wednesday, June 4, 2025.
PHOTO: Members of several unions met at the Cooma Airport on Wednesday CREDITS: Supplied – AWU
The workers’ grievances are deeply rooted in pay disparities between employees working on the Snowy Hydro project and those on similar projects in Melbourne. Communication by Snowy Hydro’s delivery company Future Generation Joint Venture, reportedly included at first, restrictions on workers’ movements and use of facilities during the strike, which upset workers further.
Such restrictions, however, were retracted quickly according to the AWU, allowing workers access to amenities such as the gym and the freedom to engage in leisure activities during downtime.
PHOTO: Further industrial action is planned next Wednesday June 4, 2025
AWU NSW Secretary, Tony Callinan, discussed the issue: “When we first put the notice in for industrial action, a site wide communication was sent out saying that no one would be permitted to leave the site during the period. They said that anyone that attempted to leave would be subject to disciplinary action, but they walked back from that very quickly…We said it’s not a jail for people.”
Mr Callinan further expressed some concern over the fact they were unable to meet with workers at the workers camp saying, “Projects often take the position, that when people strike, they’re not performing work, therefore the unions don’t have any rights to enter the project to hold discussions. So we couldn’t get into the camp area where the striking workers were during the industrial action.”
The harsh working conditions, including 14-day consecutive shifts and fly-in-fly-out (FIFO) arrangements, compound the workers’ discontent. Workers face obvious isolation from family, but also reportedly suffer through subpar camp facilities, including reported issues with food quality.
PHOTO: With demands un-met, it’s not known how long the dispute will go
Mr Callinan shared the crux of the issue for the Snowy Hydro 2.0 workers saying, “Why should someone that works on a project in the Melbourne CBD, digging a tunnel, who has access to some of the best food that they can buy, and is able to go and see their family and sleep in their own bed every night getting paid more than snowy workers living up there in a FIFO camp.”
Snowy Hydro and Future Generation Joint Venture were contacted for comment.