By Anthony Benbow
PERTH — On the afternoon of September 6 Mark Allen, an organiser with the WA Builders Labourers, Painters and Plasterers' Union (WABLPPU), fell to his death on a demolition site in East Perth. Mark was 23 years old. The grief and sadness felt by his family, friends and union comrades are matched only by our outrage at the way he died, protecting fellow workers on a job made so unsafe nobody should have been near it.
Mark and fellow organiser John Lennox (from the CFMEU) had spent the day visiting metropolitan construction jobs and thanking apprentices who had turned out in force for the previous day's rally against TAFE and education cuts. They called in at the demolition site of the old Metrobus terminal for a routine inspection and found a scene "like something out of Beirut".
Debris from the demolished building was everywhere. Asbestos sheets were being removed, and scrap timber was being burnt in piles on the concrete floor. Smoke filled the air, and the concrete was exploding due to the heat from the fires, sending pieces flying. The employer greeted the two unionists: "Get off this site or I'll call the police".
Mark and John immediately called a stop-work meeting. "Thank Christ you guys are here", was the comment from a few of the workers as the organisers made phone calls to WorkSafe WA and other union officials, telling them, "Get down here now before somebody gets killed".
All the workers were moving away from the exploding concrete to the front of the site when the employer ordered several back to the roof to continue work. Mark went to the roof to remove them to a safe area, and the brittle asbestos gave way beneath his feet. In a direct violation of safe work practices, the under-roof safety mesh had been ripped away. Mark fell 10 metres to the concrete below. It is believed he died almost instantly.
The response of those in charge of occupational health and safety to Mark's death has been outrageous. There have been 23 deaths on the job in WA so far this year.
WorkSafe WA seems to be going out of its way to blame the victims — workers and their representatives. On September 7, WorkSafe officials were quoted in the establishment media saying that Mark's death was partly the result of his own negligence — he wasn't wearing a safety harness. Questions have been raised as to whether Mark's employer, the WABLPPU, had shown sufficient "duty of care" in allowing him on to the roof.
Both these allegations are ridiculous. Officials from the WABLPPU inspected the site on September 6 and reported there were no proper tie-points on the roof to connect to a harness, nor was there a safe access way onto the roof. The workers on the roof that afternoon had no proper safety harnesses either. Mark had a sound knowledge of safety procedures at heights, having been trained by the union as well as completing scaffolder's and dogger's courses.
"What is more outrageous", said WABLPPU secretary Kevin Reynolds, "is how a site like that was able to operate for nearly two months with no departmental safety inspections. In 1992, WA had over 20 DOHSWA [Department of Occupational Health and Safety, now called WorkSafe] field inspectors. Now we're down to about two. We also hear that WorkSafe have a 'fatal squad', which seems to focus on investigating work deaths after the event, rather than working to prevent them happening in the first place."
A meeting of the WA Trades and Labour Council on September 10 paid tribute to Mark and condemned the events that led to his death. Mark was described as "an absolute hero who lost his life protecting other unionists". The meeting resolved to set up a trust fund to further one of Mark's main visions — encouraging young people to take an active part in the union movement.
"These tragedies will continue unless we as the union movement get out on the job and enforce safety issues. We can't trust the employers or the government to do it for us", said CFMEU secretary Bill Ethell.
The TLC also voted to commission its own inquiry while putting pressure on the Court Liberal government to carry through official investigations, as well as implementing proper licensing of demolition contractors and mandatory safe work practices.
In the words of one speaker at the meeting, "We have to fight. We must not let this tragedy be swept under the carpet".
On September 13, more than 600 people attended a memorial meeting at the site where Mark was killed. Speakers included Kevin Reynolds, secretary of the WABLPPU; Mary Stewart, coordinator of Organising Works; and Stan Sharkey, national secretary of the CFMEU.