CONSTRUCTION

Cross River Rail has started to finally ramp up with intake of electricians across the whole project after months of delays UGL has the electrical fit out of the tunnel and we are starting to slowly see some intakes of electricians for their scope of works.

Woolloongaba Station is the furthest progressed with Stowe delivering the main electrical package on that section of the job.

Roma Street Station is finally starting to take shape RSGX is the electrical contractor on that station along with doing some finishing works at Bowen Hills holding yards

The Mater upgrade at Springfield has been awarded to John Hollands and is projected to turn the sod end of May this year Stowe has won the main electrical package and should start site establishment at the end of May or early June After years of delays, it’s finally going to deliver a long-term project for our construction members that live in the Ipswich region There is another small hospital to be built next to the satellite hospital that has just been completed out at Ripley, which should commence at the end of this year, as well as stage 3 of Ripley State School More good news for our members in the Ipswich region.

ADCO Construction is famous for using bottom-barrel electrical subcontractors to deliver government-funded school projects. ADCO is currently building new school projects in Redland Bay, Yarrabilba, and Bellbird Park, along with some smaller school packages around South East QLD. The majority of their projects are using a contractor called Right Price Electrical The name says it all

Richard Crookes Constructions has finished its disaster project, the Coles Distribution Center out at Redbank, and has clearly not learned from any of its mistakes They have been awarded building Frucor’s $400 million drink production plant at Greenbank over reputable builders, and once again will deliver the build with no EBA companies CV services were awarded the electrical package - once again by offering workers sub-standard rates and conditions.

Future Fuels Project out at Ampol refinery will commence at the end of this year The construction project is valued at over $300 million which is the right step in the renewable direction we are heading in, giving job security to the members that currently work out at Ampol moving forward

We are in discussions with Ampol’s project director, over which agreement and subcontractors will deliver the project I’m hopeful for a good outcome for our members for that project.

Currently, both JP Richardson and Equans members are negotiating new agreements with employers offering pay rises well below inflation, so there is still some work to be done there

RSGX have picked up the Roma Street Station for Cross River Rail, with great membership density on site

Albert Street Station still has not been officially let at time of writing

Contracting Sub Branch

Our sub branch committee of Joe Fiteni, Aaron Self and Simon Coxen have stood down from their positions to make way for new position holders to step up I’d like to thank Joe, Aaron and Simon for all their work they’ve done in that space Sub branch endorsed the new committee of Enrico “Big Red” Tagliaro, Luke Palmer and David Herst. We’re all looking forward to watching you in your roles and working with you to continue to grow membership and activism

When Ongy took over as state secretary, one of his initiatives was to reactivate the sub branch with a goal to use it as a platform not only to increase the democratic processes of the union, but also to increase activism Your contracting organisers, led by Lynchy, came up with a plan to make sure the sub branch was run, not only within the rules of the union, but to energise it by being a forum run by elected rank & file members This has worked fantastically, with activism from the sub branch increasing dramatically. Whether it’s a community action, industrial rally, an election campaign or anything your union calls for, our Contracting Sub Branch is always front and centre

2023 Contracting Sub Branch meetings are as follows:

May 10th 3pm

August 9th 3pm

November 8th 3pm

First Nations, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Workers Committee

Commercial construction in my patch has started to pick up, with a few decent sized jobs on the horizon, though most of them are at the early stages of construction.

The Dexus Waterfront Brisbane project has finally cleared its legal challenges and John Holland has awarded the main electrical package to Klenner Murphy There is a heap of work to be done with the marine component, redirecting the Riverwalk, along with demo and excavation, with full construction expected to begin in early 2025.

Queen’s Wharf subbies have just renewed their agreements without any industrial dramas, though doing 23 agreements all at once had its challenges, which couldn’t have been done without the work of Lisa and Kathryn in our industrial office.

One of the initiatives from last Divisional Branch Conference was to engage with our members who are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, and part of that process was to form a working committee to ensure First Nations members are consulted and represented in the ETU The committee is made up of First Nations members who represent the ETU in internal and external groups They’ve been doing great work and will continue to work to ensure that First Nations members have a voice in our union