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| Issue No 120 |  |
23 November 2001 |
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NewsIgnored Warnings Bring Tragic ResultsBy HT Lee
A company director who ignored unions warnings about a dangerous inner city demolition site died when the wall identified as a safety risk collapsed on him three days later. Building unions say the tragedy, at Dulwich Hill on Wednesday, shows why all safety concerns should be taken seriously. Joseph Wehbe the boss of Regency Demolition was on his mobile phone. He had his back towards the wall when a sudden gush of wind smashed the scaffolding onto the wall. Joseph was 39 years old with four young children aged six years and under. He is the third boss to be killed at a site while talking on a mobile phone and the eight building worker killed in NSW so far this year. CFMEU organiser Steve Keenen was at the site a few days before the accident and raised his concerned with the safety standards there. The scaffold was brassed to the wall and was erected almost right onto the footpath without any hording to protect the public--making the site not only a danger to workers but also to the public. It appeared the sheets of ply attached to the mash on the scaffold--used as protection against the overhead electrical and Optus wires--acted as spinnakers under the wild and heavy wind giving it added weight as the scaffold smashed against the wall. The wall by that time had no other support except the brassed scaffold. Swift Action Arriving at the accident scene CFMEU safety coordinator Brian Miller noticed the scaffolding was swaying in the wind--there was a strong possibility the scaffold could topple onto the electrical wires and onto the road if the wind direction changed. The police and WorkCover inspectors were consulted and the busy New Canterbury Road was closed to all traffic. The fire brigade secured the scaffold with ropes and painstakingly and carefully removed the ply and the mash to ease the weight. A fire brigade officer remarked that builder workers faces more dangers then they do--they have been to many accidents at building sites. This latest accident also raises the issue of working in inclement weather--workers should not be forced to work in the open in high wind and rain. There are many similar small sites all around the suburbs of Sydney that are a danger not only to the workers but also to the public. Municipal councils must take a more pro-active role in making sure these sites are safe. Victorians Get Industrial Manslaughter Commenting on the tragedy, CFMEU state secretary Andrew Ferguson says it's time for a debate on whether NSW should replicate 'industrial manslaughter' laws tabled in the Victorian Parliament this week. The Victorian Trades Hall Council has welcomed the introduction of the Crimes (Workplace Deaths and Serious Injuries) Bill. Leigh Hubbard, Secretary of the Victorian Trades Hall Council, says the introduction of the Bill is long overdue. "The community has expectations of reasonable conduct by those in positions of authority within workplaces with respect to heath and safety issues and this Bill reflects those standards," Hubbard says. The VTHC has campaigned strongly for the industrial manslaughter laws and have linked it to the death of young apprentice Anthony Carrick
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   Interview: Civilising CapitalPeter Butler is a global investor with a difference. He believes that environment, shareholder democracy and workers rights make good business sense. Industrial: All In The Family In his opening submission to the landmark case, ACTU assistant secretary Richard Marles argues working hours are vital to life. Unions: Saving CinderellaIt is a modern day fairy tale - a Cinderella from the suburbs, worked like a slave from morning to night injured and then abandoned. International: Recognising ChinaGough Whitlam draws the links, past and present, between recognition of China and the continuing struggle to achieve a genuinely inclusive Australian democracy. History: The Speakers SquareA new book lifts the lid on Melbourne's radical past - including the soapboxes that dotted the city in the 1890s. Economics: Back to the PackThe big story in this year�s State of the States League Table is the end of the long reign of New South Wales at the top of the heap. Satire: Man Reneges On Promise To Leave The Country If Howard Re-ElectedA Sydney man has decided he won�t leave Australia despite the re-election of the Howard Government. Review: When Hippes Meet Unionists A new book investigates how links between politics and culture reached a high point in the 1970s
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