Members of the Tasmanian Electricity Union have rejected claims that it will suspend ongoing industrial action after state-owned power utility TasNetworks announced a temporary suspension of its strike.
TasNetworks chief executive Sean McGoldrick issued a statement on Sunday afternoon saying he had invoked his powers to suspend industrial action due to the poor weather forecast for the coming days.
“This declaration automatically overrides any industrial action taken by the relevant unions and returns TasNetworks employees to their normal schedules and emergency duties,” he said.
Over the weekend, TasNetworks offered to provide generators to affected farmers. (ABC News: Luke Bowden)
The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a strong wind and gale warning for most of the state for Monday.
Since Monday morning, TasNetworks has reported more than 20 outages, with around 600 customers in the north-west without power due to damage to overhead lines and fallen trees.
Dr McGoldrick said the decision will allow storm preparations to begin and repair post-storm damage using all available means.
“I have not declared this emergency lightly. We respect our people’s right to lawful and protected industrial action,” he said.
“But the upcoming weather is considered severe enough to take preventive measures and get our people back to their normal duties as soon as possible.”
“With all hands on deck and no disruption or delays to industry, we will be in a much better position in the coming days to restore power to Tasmanians affected by both existing power outages and impending storm damage.”
Dr McGoldrick said once the weather event is over, unions will have the opportunity to review and challenge the emergency order.
“Until then, our full focus is on preparing for and responding to the upcoming weather event,” he said.
Union describes claims as “misleading”
Chris Clark, organiser for the Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union (CEPU), said Mr McGoldrick’s claims were misleading.
“For him to now come out and say, ‘OK, we’ve made this statement and therefore all industrial action is suspended,’ is just another misleading statement,” Clark said.
“The CEO says there’s nothing to see here, everything is fine, we have the situation well under control and everyone will go back to work as normal. That’s not the case.”
Chris Clark said workers in Tasmania were earning 30 per cent less than their mainland counterparts and it was time to change that. (ABC News: Jake Grant)
Since last week, CEPU members have been taking industrial action and demanding equal pay with their colleagues in other states.
Last week, workers were unable to restart electrical equipment or carry out repairs in the event of a power outage.
Mr Clark said members would continue to take action but would ensure that in the event of a major incident they would be mobilised to restore power to facilities such as hospitals and care homes.
He said the work will also include removing downed power lines and damaged infrastructure deemed unsafe.
“And we will continue to do so throughout the dispute,” he said.
TasNetworks had previously stated that it would stick to its offer for a corporate agreement that would protect Tasmanians from higher electricity prices.
However, as industrial action continues, the company will present a revised wage offer to electrical workers later this week in an attempt to resolve the ongoing dispute.
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