Australian Workers' Union (AWU) members at Australia's largest renewable energy project will down tools for 24 hours after their employer, Italian company Webuild, refused to offer them pay parity with their tunnelling colleagues in Melbourne.
Webuild is undertaking tunnelling work on the North East Link project in Melbourne and pays their workers on that site significantly more than workers employed on Snowy 2.0.
This is despite Melbourne based workers being able to return home each night to their families.
In contrast, Snowy 2.0 workers work 12 hour shifts underground and then return to an isolated camp in the wilderness of the Snowy Mountains where there is little more than a mess hall and rooms for sleeping.
Snowy 2.0 workers have had enough said AWU NSW Secretary, Tony Callinan.
"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," said Mr Callinan.
"Our members have had enough of the games, that's why they're taking 24 hours of protected industrial action on Wednesday the 20th.
"All our members want is to be paid the same money for the same work as those working for the same company in Melbourne on the North East Link project.
"And those members get to go home each night to their families.
"Those working on Snowy 2.0 live and work in the wilderness of the Snowy Mountains in the middle of winter and when they're not underground tunnelling they've confined to spartan work camps.
"They work 14 day shifts of 12 hours then have 7 days off, then they fly back for 14 night shifts of 12 hours, and in between they live in work camps where it's just a mess hall and a room to sleep in.
"Even the food is terrible - it's so bad it was the subject of an industrial stoppage when members' found maggots in the chicken.
"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 who go home to their families each night."
