Western Power workers’ union says members locked out of Geraldton depot after two-hour strike

The union for Western Power workers has claimed the network would have survived ex-tropical cyclone Seroja if poor working conditions and understaffing in the Mid West hadn’t stopped the infrastructure from being properly maintained. Cyclone-affected communities have become caught in a dispute between Western Power and its workers, with the Electrical Trades Union saying the utility had left it with no choice but to continue striking next week after workers were locked out of depots. The Government-owned utility’s workers in the Mid West and across WA put their tools down for two hours on Wednesday over poor working conditions, lack of staff, and the need for weather and regional allowances — amid claims they had been made to work more than 13-hour days on 12-day swings and without lunch breaks. Western Power said the planned two-day strike on Thursday would mean works across metropolitan and regional communities normally undertaken by employees covered under the Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union enterprise agreement would be delayed. However, the ETU hit back, saying it was Western Power delaying the recovery effort, with workers trying to return to major depots — including in Geraldton — locked out on Wednesday and yesterday. There are more than 700 homes in the region still without power and 500 poles in need of repair — almost five weeks after cyclone Seroja, with the work expected to conclude within the next month before strike action started. ETU assistant State secretary Brendan Reeve said workers only stopped for two hours on Wednesday to meet the union before trying to return to work, but were locked out. “We held a meeting in Geraldton and it was decided we would isolate the cyclone-affected areas in goodwill so work there would not be interrupted by industrial action,” he said. “But considering Western Power has retaliated by continuing to lock out workers, they will be going home whether they are local or from the metro area because they are fatigued and tired enough, and we will be reviewing that goodwill. Protests by Western Power workers could delay Cyclone Seroja restoration works City of Greater Geraldton councillors call for urgent review and upgrade to Mid West power network Mid West power grid under spotlight after cyclone Serjoa Wooroloo bushfire victims to get electricity back thanks to multi-million dollar Western Power project “Western Power does not care about the cyclone-affected communities and they are skewing information to make it look like its members are in the wrong.” He said neglect of Mid West infrastructure due to understaffing, especially supervisors, left it “in a such bad state it was always going to blow down easily”. “The assessment line-workers have got from working up in the cyclone-affected area is the network would have survived better had it been maintained properly and looked after over the last decade,” Mr Reeve said. “Our people have been working in incredibly poor conditions, and these issues have been brought up with Western Power of the past five years ... understaffed regional depots, working through unpaid breaks, workers doing work unsupervised ... we have constantly raised it as a safety issue.” Mr Reeve said workers were “furious,” claiming Western Power had gagged its employees from speaking out by threatening them with disciplinary action. “If we are going to be locked out we may as well strike and go home,” he said. The union formally advised Western Power that more than 800 employees covered by the CEPU enterprise agreement will cease work for 48 hours commencing from 5am on May 20. The industrial action was originally planned when the Wooroloo fire occurred, but the union said workers had decided not to proceed in “good faith.” A Western Power spokesperson confirmed after the two-hour strike staff were stood down in accordance with Fair Work laws. “Similar work bans continued today and we responded by again standing workers down ... where workers refuse to work as directed, they will be stood down and sent home for the day without pay,” it said. “We assure the community, in particular those homes and businesses affected by the cyclone, that we’re taking what-ever steps we can to ensure that the significant recovery work being done continues. “However, as the union will not provide an undertaking that this work will not be affected, we can’t guarantee there won’t be delays to restoration.” Western Power refuted the union’s claims its infrastructure had not been maintained well enough to survive the impact of ex-Tropical Cyclone Seroja. “Cyclones are extremely rare occurrences even for the northern most part of our network and while infrastructure has been replaced and maintained over the years, 170km/h winds as experienced during TC Seroja are an extremely damaging force,” it said. “We have extensive experience operating assets in a range of weather conditions and have well developed emergency plans to ensure effective response to these. “But there was significant damage to the electricity network in the Midwest and Wheatbelt and this is the biggest recovery effort we have ever undertaken.” It said employees weren’t allowed to speak to media in line with the company’s code of conduct and social media guidelines in order to “minimise any impact to Western Power’s reputation.”