Revelations in today's The Sun Herald 13 tunnel workers in the still under construction M6 tunnel have been diagnosed with silicosis should prompt immediate prosecutions by SafeWork NSW to bring those responsible to justice, said the Australian Workers' Union.
The workers are constructing the tunnels that will become stage 1 of the M6, the four kilometres of tunnels linking the M8 at Arncliffe to President Avenue, Rockdale.
"The scale of this health disaster is staggering," said Chris Donovan, AWU Assistant National Secretary.
"Thirteen workers on a single project were diagnosed with silicosis - an entirely preventable disease.
"This isn't just negligence, it's a complete betrayal of workers.
"And we know workers on the WestConnex M4 East, new M5, and Rozelle Interchange were exposed to dangerous levels of silica dust.
"Not one prosecution has been launched by SafeWork NSW, zip, zilch, zero, that's a damning indictment.
"Tunneling companies and SafeWork NSW knew about dangerous silica dust levels since 2017, yet failed to take meaningful action.
"The fact that we have workers being diagnosed with a fatal lung disease while companies continue to operate with impunity is a damning indictment of our regulatory system.
"These aren't just statistics - these are workers whose lives have been permanently damaged while building Sydney's infrastructure.
"These men and women will spend the rest of their lives coughing, out of breath playing with their kids, and as the disease progresses they may require a lung transplant, there is no cure or treatment."
