WorkSafe asbestos 'failure' slammed

BEN SCHNEIDERS

October 28, 2009

WORKSAFE failed to properly investigate an incident in which workers were exposed to asbestos at the Mercy Hospital site in East Melbourne, an independent body has claimed.

On May 18, two men at the site had been using a heavy saw to cut through concrete that contained asbestos, spraying dust widely.

Work stopped for 3½ days after the incident and shortly after, a secret tape recording has implicated a prominent developer in offering a $57,000 ''bribe'' to a safety representative on the project.

The Victorian Building Industry Disputes Panel, in a July decision, said it was ''of some concern'' that the WorkSafe inspector ''did not personally examine the affected areas'' and had consulted only the employer - although this has been disputed.

The panel also said the inspector had failed to note that the asbestos audit and register of developer Salta had not been updated since 2006 - which it had described as ''not in accordance with the fundamental requirement'' of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

The panel was involved in the issue after the stop work and it ruled the workers should be paid as the action was not industrially motivated and the finding of asbestos was ''an immediate threat'' to the workers' health.

WorkSafe spokesman Michael Birt denied the inspector had spoken only to the employer and said it had not been called to the panel hearing.

He said that when the inspector arrived, the ''matter was already being acted on'' so there was no need to inspect where the incident had occurred and that the inspector met ''workers and management while on site''.

He said ''no further investigation'' was anticipated of Salta for not keeping its asbestos register up to date.

Consultant Noel Arnold found the risk of exposure to the two men doing the heavy cutting was ''low'' as the asbestos was a risk only if heavily disturbed, while Salta has said it did not put its staff at risk.

Days after the workers were exposed, a secret tape recording named Salta developer Sam Tarascio snr as being behind a ''bribe'' offer to safety representative Jack Andrews. On the tape, an industrial fixer, George Wason, confirmed that Mr Tarascio snr was behind the $57,000 offer to Mr Andrews. Salta has denied the offer was a bribe, although senior industry sources said the offer was far in excess of what Mr Andrews was entitled to and was a ''bribe''.

The Australian Building and Construction Commission has referred the allegations to Victoria Police to investigate.

The dispute over the asbestos comes as thousands of workers will today rally in Melbourne and Sydney to push for stronger health and safety laws.

The ACTU said it was concerned that governments were set to cave in to pressure from big business to cut costs at the expense of health and safety.