 |
| The RAAF Base at Williamtown is receiving millions worth of upgrades. Image: news.com.au |
Close to 20 workers based in Tomago are owed more than five weeks pay after conflicts between infrastructure company Lend Lease and sub-contractor Copal Engineering.
The workers have been fabricating a new hangar to house F-35 Joint Strike Fighters, which is due to be delivered in late 2018 as part of the Williamtown RAAF Base upgrade. Lend Lease won the multi-million dollar contract in 2014 and has used Copal Engineering to sub-contract the fabrication.
The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU) has strongly condemned this payroll debacle saying that workers are struggling to make ends meet and support their families.
Both Lend Lease and Copal are playing the "blame game" and the AMWU says even they are unsure as to who has full responsibility.
State Organiser of the AMWU, Cory Wright says that the Department of Defence should have stepped in by now as this project is being leased out by the federal department.
"Realistically the Department of Defence needs to involve themselves in this as it's a major infrastructure project for Australia which has national significance.
[They] need to play a role in ensuring all workers are fairly paid, so we're asking them to intervene as soon as possible to make sure these workers can put food on their tables and pay their bills," Mr Wright said.
Workers and Mr Wright are today picketing the work-site until this fiasco is sorted.
"We'll be picketing the site until we are able to get an outcome and get these workers paid," said Mr Wright.
"Some of these workers are owed up to five weeks pay plus a significant amount of superannuation [from] the last 12 months.
"It's not these workers fault that there's a contractor dispute, they're just caught in the middle and someone needs to act."
