Kidston Hydro back on course after stop work
By Industry Queensland
It’s a happier camp on the Kidston Pumped Storage Hydro Project in North Queensland after a stop-work was called late last week.
Staff and contractors protesting camp conditions returned to work after having won communications, meal quality and camp hygiene concessions.
Related: Workers down tools at hydro construction site
The project which started in 2021 and had a reputation for providing under-serviced conditions said Electrical Trades Union assistant state secretary Chris Lynch.
The size of the workforce has varied over the construction phase. The project was expected to reach a peak 430 workers in mid-2023.
The simmering issues had come to a head as more workers were brought in to get the project across the finish line Mr Lynch said.
“It’s basically general living conditions. I mean, no one needs to put up with flies in your food. No one needs to put up with sleeping in someone else’s bed.
“Some of the things that I’ve been told that had been found just in this hot bedding situation; we had a bloke that flew in and went into his new donga. He didn’t even sit on the bed because the bed was full of pubic hair.
“Then you’ve got the mould situation that’s in there and you understand it’s pretty humid. You get a bit of rain out there, but you have still got to maintain general hygiene.”
Representatives of the principal joint venture (JV) contractor McConnell Dowell and John Holland had been in the workers’ corner fighting for better conditions from owner Genex, Mr Lynch said.
“You’re in the middle of nowhere. You actually have to fly in or it’s a six-hour drive back to Cairns and boys just want some decent living conditions. There’s just nothing there. So they’re basically like prisoners in the camp.
“The Building Trades Group of Unions were all locked in on that. And as I said, it was basically driven by the members that enough’s enough.”
The McConnell Dowell and John Holland JV was contacted for comment.
The facility lies roughly equidistant 200 kms north west from Townsville and south west from Cairns as the crow flies.
