Workers involved in the Snowy Hydro 2.0 project plan to stop work for 24 hours today, Wednesday May 21, following a dispute over pay parity with their counterparts in Melbourne. The action, undertaken by members of the Australian Workers’ Union (AWU), includes 1,000 workers who are protesting against Italian company Webuild, the contractor responsible for the tunnelling work.
PHOTO: Snowy Hydro 2.0 workers plan to put the tools down for 24 hours CREDITS: Snowy Hydro
The core of the grievance lies in the significant pay disparity between workers on the Snowy 2.0 project and those working on the North East Link project in Melbourne, also managed by Webuild. Despite their more challenging conditions, the Snowy 2.0 workers, who endure harsh and remote working environments, receive less pay than the Melbourne workers, who can return home to their families each night.
PHOTO: Concerns over fair pay when compared to colleagues on other major infrastructure projects has led to discontent.
AWU NSW Secretary Tony Callinan highlighted the frustrations of the workers, stating, “Webuild wasted the first 10 weeks of negotiations by refusing to engage, they didn’t respond at all to the log of claims the AWU put to them on behalf of our 1000 odd members in mid-January.” He emphasised that the action was a result of workers reaching the end of their patience with the ongoing pay disparity.
Mr Callinan further elaborated on the difficult conditions faced by the workers in Snowy 2.0, mentioning, “It’s tough hard work and it’s incredibly dangerous underground. It should be obvious to anyone that our members working in the wilderness for two weeks straight would expect to be paid the same as workers in Melbourne.”