Last Wednesday your CPSU team – including HSRs Ric Selim and Steve Leslie – met with the acting General Manager of Comcare.
In the meeting, we sought urgent industrial intervention on the following:
- The failure of the Department to provide marine specific COVID safety protocols, including testing regimes – despite requests made over almost two years and multiple PINs issued.
- Major shortcomings in their response to the current COVID cases across the fleet, including the inappropriateness of utilising transportee accommodation as quarantine facilities and overreliance on HSRs and ECs to manage locally in the absence of decisive action at senior levels.
- Concerns regarding the Department presenting Comcare with procedures and policies as final – that simply haven’t been consulted on with HSRs
The overarching theme – that the Department has in no way taken all practicable steps to mitigate against these risks to your health and safety, as they are legally obligated to do.
As usual, your union reps did a phenomenal job in outlining these WHS concerns, and Comcare representatives were particularly interested in their take as HSRs. The conversation was productive and we feel we were provided with a fair hearing on a range of matters.
In case you missed it…
This story went viral yesterday – shining a spotlight on yet another Morrison Government pandemic failure, this time its failure to keep its workers safe in roles that are critical to national security.
We made the front page of The Age and appeared prominently in the Sydney Morning Herald and its syndicates, the Canberra Times, and a handful of radio interviews.
Please ask friends and family to share widely through social media and other networks!
What next?
Comcare has launched its investigation into these major safety issues – most importantly, they are seeking to talk to workers. We need many CPSU members to put up their hands and speak to Comcare from next week about the COVID-19 related safety issues they’ve witnessed over the past two years.
If you are willing to talk to Comcare, please get in contact ASAP with Jordana Colvin, our CPSU organiser for the Marine Unit, via email using ths link and include your contact number, vessel, swing and job title.
We thank you in advance for your contributions to this Comcare investigation, and for your tenacity and grit as members in getting through what has been a challenging two years of COVID-19.
