Published: 15 Dec 2023
The government workplace safety regulator has failed to properly investigate the death of a worker on a BMD construction site in Ipswich.
The worker, in his mid-40s, was reportedly showing signs of heat stress on a BMD site in Flinders View before he collapsed and tragically passed away on Tuesday 5 December.
Shockingly, Workplace Health and Safety Queensland (WHSQ) did not show up to the site until Friday 15 December, claiming it had no record of the fatality.
Under the Workplace Health and Safety Act, it is mandatory for the business – in this case, BMD – to report all workplace deaths, injuries or illnesses to WHSQ.
The fatality demonstrates BMD’s poor treatment of its workers and raises serious questions about the efficacy of the regulator.
Quotes attributable to CFMEU State Secretary Michael Ravbar:
“The fact that it took Workplace Health and Safety Queensland 10 days to arrive on site after the death of a worker is simply outrageous.
"The only reason WHSQ showed up at all was because the CFMEU found out about the tragic fatality and conducted our own investigation.
“It appears the worker died of heat stress, which is a terrible indictment on this rogue company which is notorious for cutting corners on safety.
"Our organisers found a terribly unsafe BMD site with no heat policy, no airconditioning in the crib room and no cool drinking water for workers.
“Queensland companies should be aware of the dangers of working on hot days, especially during the summer months where the heat and humidity poses a danger to workers.
"But BMD doesn’t give a stuff about Queensland workers; they only care about the profits they can extract from their labour.
“It is no surprise that BMD has become shorthand for Bad, Mad, Dangerous. What we want to know is, was this a cover-up by BMD and WHSQ, or are they simply incompetent?”