Snowy Hydro workers threaten walk-off over maggot meals

Maggots in a piece of meat (snowy hydro workers)
Maggots on a piece of steak allegedly served at the Lob's Hole worksite

The Australian Workers’ Union is warning workers on the Snowy Hydro 2.0 project may have to walk off the job to protect their safety and wellbeing due to unhygienic food being served on site.

Workers have taken photos of meat allegedly riddled with maggots as well as a plate with a grub beside vegetables and mince.

AWU NSW Secretary Tony Callinan said the food being served was indicative of a broader management problem onsite.

“Supermax prisoners are served better food than the workers building Snowy Hydro 2.0,” he said.

“You have workers living, literally locked up in a camp with limited recreational facilities in the middle of nowhere, being fed maggot-infested food.

“The site has an abysmal safety record—it’s an absolute pressure cooker right now. I know workers are considering downing tools if things don’t improve.

Related article: Snowy Hydro appoints new CEO and managing director


Grub allegedly served in vegetables at Tantangra Worksite last week (Image: AWU)

“I know many of our members are living off canned tuna and two-minute noodles, because they know it’s unsafe to eat what’s served up by the caterers.

“The problem is the joint venture who was awarded the contract is pinching every penny they can to try and improve their profit margin. So they’ve been cutting every corner they can on food, on safety, and on everything else.

“Every week we’re getting reports of serious safety issues on the site including a number of near-death incidents. Blokes getting run over by vehicles backing up because they’re relying on hand signals instead of radio. Equipment that’s been tagged as unsafe having that tag removed by supervisors to speed things up. Industrial drills almost impaling people because proper communication and supervision isn’t in place.

“The whole site’s a tragedy waiting happen, it’s a miracle that no one has been killed already.

“This project is unsustainable like this. The government needs to intervene and crack the whip to make sure people aren’t hurt or killed.”

Related article: Snowy Hydro expansion faces delay to 2028

Snowy Hydro issued a statement saying it was working with Snowy 2.0 principal contractor Future Generation Joint Venture to investigate workers’ concerns about food quality.

“We take such concerns very seriously and we’re pleased to see FGJV addressing the onsite catering issues,” a spokesperson said.

“As an engaged owner, Snowy Hydro conducts a range of health and safety assurance activities onsite, including having a full-time team of Snowy Hydro employees based at each worksite providing health and safety assurance on a day-to-day basis.

“General catering assurance activities conducted onsite include daily kitchen audits, fortnightly compliance meetings, and workers’ food feedback surveys at each dining facility. National Parks and Wildlife Service also conducts food standard audits onsite.

“Safety is always Snowy Hydro’s number one priority and the concerns raised will be fully investigated.” 

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