Finally, the three-week battle between Grocon and the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) that brought parts of Melbourne to a standstill has ended. Union members have suspended industrial action and returned to work after Grocon agreed to commence negotiations.
The battle marks a further deterioration in the decade long feud between Grocon and the union. Played out in public the dispute's latest chapter has been exacerbated by an unedifying and bitter personal exchange between the involved parties.
At the centre of the dispute is the CFMEU's claim that Grocon is denying workers the opportunity to elect their own safety stewards and display union regalia. The Fair Work Act explicitly gives workers the right to elect health and safety representatives.
Union elected safety representatives are well versed in occupational health and safety laws and have the ability to flag safety hazards and organise an immediate walk off.
Many argue that the union's blockade of Grocon sites has nothing to do with safety. A number of conservative pundits have condemned what they perceive to be the insidious tactics of the CFMEU. Opposition leader Tony Abbott and industrial relations spokesman Eric Abetz have blamed the dispute on so-called union 'thuggery'. Apparently, the dark days of 'militants' and 'goons' have returned.
However, the safety concerns of construction workers are not trivial, and to suggest otherwise is vacuous. A detailed assessment of data compiled by Safe Work Australia clearly demonstrates that Australian construction sites are unnecessarily dangerous.
Statistically, one construction worker is killed on the job every week in Australia. Vagaries in the collection method often exclude fatalities caused by exposure to silicas, dusts and solvents. Thousands more are left permanently injured or disabled as a result of workplace incidents.
Australia's safety record compared with other developed nations is embarrassing. In Britain the fatality rate in the construction industry is half of Australia's. Moreover, in most developed nations the fatality rate is trending down. In Australia the trend is up.
Some in the industry are calling attention to this grim reality. Stephen Sasse, a former right hand man at construction giant Leighton Holdings, wonders 'Does it have to be this way? Should we just get used to the idea that it's a tough industry? Does the needle of our collective moral compass stay steady