Desal plant faces rorting accusation

The Age

Wednesday March 30, 2011

BEN SCHNEIDERS

RORTING on the Wonthaggi desalination project is rife, a paper will claim, while wages on the construction job are a third higher than a previous big project, EastLink.HR Nicholls Society secretary Michael Moore, in a paper to be presented to its conference on Saturday, makes claims around union rorting on the project, the presence of bikies and of Mick Gatto's crane company Elite Cranes.Mr Moore details the role of strike-breaker Bruce Townsend on the project and airs a series of claims around rorting including that the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union was overcharging to run first-aid courses.The CFMEU's Noel Washington said they were proud of the courses and rejected criticism from the "habitually uninformed" HR Nicholls Society. Thiess Degremont, the joint venture building the plant, declined to comment on the other claims.Mr Moore also cited an industry analysis that showed labour costs were 34 per cent higher than EastLink. He also claimed there were four times as many cranes on the site as needed.

© 2011 The Age

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