Media release: Answers demanded from Chevron and Worksafe after worker crushed on the job at Gorgon project

The Maritime Union of Australia is calling for Chevron to immediately review its operations after the serious injury of a dockworker in Dampier over the weekend. A Karratha man has been transferred by air ambulance to Perth after his arm was crushed between the dock and a barge at the Mermaid Marine Supply base, which works exclusively for Chevron.

MEDIA RELEASE

Answers demanded from Chevron and Worksafe after worker crushed on the job at Gorgon project

The Maritime Union of Australia is calling for Chevron to immediately review its operations after the serious injury of a dockworker in Dampier over the weekend.

A Karratha man has been transferred by air ambulance to Perth after his arm was crushed between the dock and a barge at the Mermaid Marine Supply base, which works exclusively for Chevron.

“It’s becoming clearer and clearer that Chevron and their contractors like Mermaid are cutting corners to make up time and money on the Gorgon project,” MUA WA Secretary Chris Cain said.

“They haven’t even finished cleaning up the environmental damage from their barge at Cervantes, and they’ve got a worker being crushed at Dampier.

"The people and environment can’t afford to let these cowboys go on as if it's business as usual."

Poor safety standards have been an issue at the Mermaid Marine Supply base for months. Safety and Union representatives have been advising the company andWorksafeWA that poor training and management have made an incident inevitable. Safety Representatives arranged Worksafe inspectors to visit the site on Friday, only to have their recommendations overturned.

“We’ve got a serious issues when the day after Worksafe says there’s no problem, ambulances are called to an accident of the type exactly predicted by health and safety representatives," Mr Cain said.

"Worksafe is supposed to be the cop on the beat. We need a proper independent enquiryinto this, to make sure it never, ever happens again."

Workers on site are highly distressed and intimidated said local MUA Organiser Mark Brien.

“These cowboys need to be held to account - life-changing injuries are happening because of negligent management," Mr Brien said.

"They don’t provide the training, they pretend safety hazards aren't real and then when an injury occurs, they try to cover their tracks."

The MUA calls for the investigation to address the following issues:

-  Was the decision to overturn the safety representative’s recommendation (PIN notice) made during a lunch provided by Mermaid Marine management?

-  Were safety representatives illegally refused the right to investigate the incident?

-  Why wasn’t Worksafe called to investigate until hours after the injury? What was done to change the site after the incident occurred?