Workers Win After Dunny Spit

Workers at a Queensland aluminium refinery are getting new toilets after overflowing sewage forced more than 100 workers to walk out.

AMWU Delegate at Queensland Alumina's Gladstone site, Bob Davies, said workers' complaints about raw sewage leaking onto floors fell on deaf ears, forcing the workers to take action.

"When one of the toilets got blocked, the sewage would come up through a vent leaving a puddle of sludge in the middle of the room," Davies said.

"We'd been recommending for it to be fixed, so when it happened again the boys got pretty cheesed off."

He said smells would waft through the building because there was no ventilation and in the shower block the roof was leaking.

"When you got out of the shower you were more wetter than what you were in the shower."

After two 24 hour strikes, QAL took the matter to the Australian Industrial Relations Commission in a bid to force workers back.

The commission dismissed the order and recommended a health and safety audit of the workplace.

QAL has since been repairing the toilets and renovating the shower facilities.

Davies said it was the first time he had seen any major work done on the toilets in his 14 years working full-time at the refinery.

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Last modified: Thursday, 24-Nov-2005 10:25:35 EST