Unions protest keynote speech at Safety In Action Conference

An estimated 200 protestors clad in helmets and safety vests mobbed the entrance of the Safety In Action Conference in Melbourne, yesterday, to condemn the appearance of John Holland Chairman, Janet Holmes à Court.

Led by the CFMEU and AMWU, the rally was protesting that Holmes à Court’s keynote Safety In Action Conference address, 'Leading Workplace Safety', was inappropriate since the construction giant has had two workplace fatalities on its premises in as many years.

The company has faced court action over a workplace death last year; and a second incident, involving the death of Wayne Moore at the BHP Mt Whaleback Hub project, happened just two weeks ago.

"It is an outrage that a company with a dismal safety record is the keynote speaker at a major safety conference,” said CFMEU Construction Division National Secretary Dave Noonan.

“John Holland needs to stop talking about safety and start working with the unions to make their worksites safe."

Safety Institute of Australia National President Barry Silburn defended Holmes à Court’s inclusion in the conference program.

“We share the same goal as the unions — to bring safety failures into the public arena and work towards preventing more deaths — so we wholeheartedly support their efforts and were pleased to see them at the conference today,” Silburn said.

“We certainly don’t condone the systems failures at John Holland. Janet Holmes à Court’s presentation was an opportunity to hear what went wrong and of her plans to improve those systems. She acknowledged that John Holland had made mistakes and gave delegates the opportunity to learn from them.”

The Safety In Action Conference runs from March 31 to April 2 in 2009 at the Melbourne Convention Centre.