The Marshall Government has questions to answer over revelations that workers on the Gawler rail line who enter South Australia from NSW and over covid-affected states will not be required to complete 14 days of quarantine.
Under extraordinary arrangements reported today, specialist workers employed by ACCIONA on the Marshall Government's Gawler rail line electrification project will only be required to quarantine for 36 hours.
South Australian construction workers would be justified to feel concerned they will be working alongside people who have come from covid-19 hotspots.
The union has confirmed that the contractors will be unlikely to be able maintain social distancing onsite due to the requirements of the work on the project.
It renders meaningless the government's supposed requirements for interstate workers to use separate amenities, equipment and work separately from SA workers when onsite.
Stephen Marshall may be desperate to see the Gawler rail electrification on track before the state election, but he cannot start cutting corners on safety to get it done.
The Marshall Government is creating one set of rules for itself and one for everyone else, just as they did in July when their own construction projects were allowed to re-open whilst the rest of the state, including all other construction, stayed in lock down.
The people of South Australia are rightly asking why their government is prioritising its own re-election strategy above the safety of workers and the community.
Andrew Sutherland CFMEU SA Construction Secretary
