An exhausted technical workforce is demanding action after serious safety concerns have emerged on the Snowy 2.0 project, with engineering, supervisory and safety officers working on the site warning that fatigue, underreporting of incidents and a culture of silence are creating a high-risk environment on one of Australia’s largest infrastructure projects.
The concerns follow fresh revelations reported in the Sydney Morning Herald this week about flooding inside the Snowy 2.0 tunnels, placing renewed scrutiny on safety practices across the project.
Professionals Australia, which represents engineers, supervisors, surveyors, superintendents, safety officers and other technical specialists on the project, says the issues go far beyond isolated incidents and point to systemic failures in fatigue management and safety culture.
A recent survey of the technical workforce found fatigue is widespread and unmanaged, with 99 per cent of respondents reporting fatigue at work and 72 per cent saying it has already impaired their ability to work safely.
Workers report being contracted and paid for 7.6-hour days but are routinely rostered to work 12-hour shifts, with many working 14 hours or more, in some cases for up to 14 consecutive days. These additional hours are unpaid, unrecognised and treated as standard practice.
Professionals Australia NSW Director Justine McCarthy said the combination of excessive hours and a broken reporting culture is creating unacceptable safety risks.
“These are skilled supervisory, technical and professional workers responsible for oversight, approvals and safety-critical decisions on a major infrastructure project.
“They are doing that work while fatigued, under pressure and in an environment where many do not feel safe speaking up, all this while carrying the responsibility of supervising their team members.
“That is a dangerous combination on any worksite. On a project of this scale, it is a serious warning sign.”
The Union says workers are being actively discouraged from reporting safety concerns, with many told ‘not to put issues in writing’ and others reporting pressure from management to downplay or misclassify incidents.
Survey data shows 69 per cent of workers do not feel safe raising fatigue concerns, while 63 per cent have withheld reporting due to fear of consequences.
A number of serious incidents have also been reported by workers, including an excavator striking a staff member, a truck jackknifing, and multiple environmental incidents that were either underreported or not disclosed to regulators.
Professionals Australia says there are also serious concerns that workers who raise issues face adverse treatment, citing the recent terminations of three Union delegates for raising workplace and safety concerns.
Ms McCarthy said this has created a culture in which workers believe that speaking up carries major personal risk.
“When workers think raising a safety issue could cost them their job, that shows the system has failed.
“You cannot run a safe project if the workforce is too afraid to report what is going wrong.”
The Union says the conditions are taking a significant toll on the mental health of the workforce, with workers reporting high levels of stress, anxiety and disengagement driven by excessive hours, lack of recognition and an inability to safely raise concerns.
While the technical workforce plays a critical role in planning, safety, engineering, and supervisory work, many are working long hours without overtime, RDOs, or basic site allowances and are simply expected to ‘get the job done.’
“To add insult to injury, the technical workforce on the Snowy 2.0 project is paid 2 to 3 times less than the blue-collar colleagues they manage. Our members are not earning anywhere near the salaries quoted in the media recently. Along with these extremely poor workplace conditions, that has been devastating to technical workforce morale.”
Ms McCarthy said the issues reflect a deeper failure in the way the supervisory and professional workforce is managed on the project.
“This is a project of national significance, backed by public investment.
“The technical workers delivering it are not sitting in warm offices sipping coffee. They are on-site, working long hours in tunnels, warehouses and yards, often in freezing temperatures.
“It’s cold, difficult and sometimes very dangerous work. They deserve the same benefits and working conditions as their colleagues who have an enterprise bargaining agreement.
“The community expects Snowy 2.0 to be delivered safely, transparently and with proper protections for the people responsible for making it happen.
“At the moment, our members are telling us that is not what is happening on the ground.”
Professionals Australia is calling for immediate action to address fatigue risks, improve safety reporting culture and ensure workers can raise concerns without fear of reprisal.
“We urgently need an enterprise bargaining agreement, which will provide a formal, structured and codified process for resolving the issues with safety, working conditions and pay at the project.”
Contact details:
Darren Rodrigo 0414 783 405