Sydney Metro to probe safety, exploitation claims against contractors

The NSW government will launch an independent inquiry following allegations of worker exploitation, mafia-style threats and a corporate cover-up involving major firms working on the Western Sydney Airport metro project.

The inquiry will be commissioned by Sydney Metro in response to allegations uncovered by this masthead that key metro subcontractor Future Form had engaged in systemic worker exploitation and was linked to a series of terrifying attacks and threats aimed at an organiser from the CFMEU administration who was investigating the firm.

The metro project’s primary contractor, Italian mega-firm Webuild, faces separate allegations that it sought to conceal Future Form’s alleged workplace breaches from the Minns government.

This masthead also reported claims it forced a Webuild manager from his job after he, too, sought to probe Future Form over allegations of underpayment and unlawfully denying dozens of workers superannuation and income insurance protection.

Future Form, which is a prominent sponsor of the Canterbury Bulldogs NRL team, has denied all wrongdoing in a statement and said it would work with authorities to clear its name.

The independent inquiry will bring fresh scrutiny on Future Form, which is building major projects down Australia’s east coast, including the Australian War Memorial, after the CFMEU administration accused the company of links to violent intimidation tactics, including a firebombing attack outside a union organiser’s family home.

The independent probe will also concern Webuild, which is a major contractor on state and federal government projects in NSW and Victoria and this year assured the NSW government there were no major issues or improper behaviour on the Metro project.

In a statement, a Sydney Metro spokesperson told this masthead late on Tuesday that it had advised the Webuild-led Parklife Metro consortium “delivering the … contract on the Western Sydney Airport metro project, that an independent investigation into the serious allegations raised about compliance will be undertaken”.

“Sydney Metro has zero tolerance for unethical or illegal practices on our construction sites, and all our delivery partners are expected to strictly comply with all laws, including the Fair Work Act and the NSW Industrial Relations Guidelines,” the statement said.

In Victoria, a major state government project also involving Webuild, the North East Link, has separately been plunged into a scandal involving claims of bribes for contracts.

The founder of a labour hire company set up for veterans, former New Zealand soldier and East Timor veteran Daniel Salter, has alleged he was forced to make payments to a gangland-linked figure to obtain work on the North East link.

While there have been multiple previous allegations aired by this masthead of corruption, kickbacks and gangland activity on the Victorian government’s road and rail mega-scheme the Big Build, Salter is the first subcontractor to publicly disclose allegations of suspect payments and improper dealings on a major project.

He accused gangland-linked figure Billy Mitris of demanding the payments to facilitate access to the $26 billion federal and state-funded road project.

Mitris denied the claims. Meanwhile, this masthead has confirmed Victorian authorities have moved to strip Mitris of his labour-hire licences.

The intervention of the NSW government in the Future Form-Webuild scandal and the North East Link allegations come amid building pressure on the Albanese government to do more to combat allegations of unlawful behaviour, extortion and gangland activity within the construction industry across the nation.

On Monday, Workplace Relations Minister Amanda Rishworth referred the matter to the Fair Work Ombudsman for “urgent” investigation.

She said she also referred the criminal allegations to the Australian Federal Police, “requesting that they work closely with the FWO on these issues”.

The call for further government and law enforcement intervention has been made by both the Labor backed CFMEU administrator Mark Irving, KC – who was appointed to take over and reform the scandal-plagued construction union after this masthead’s Building Bad series – as well as with the newly appointed NSW CFMEU chief, Michael Crosby, and the administration’s chief investigator, Geoffrey Watson, SC.

A Webuild spokeswoman on Tuesday night said the builder had initiated its own “external review by an independent third-party auditor which will build on prior audits conducted to ensure compliance with our contracts”.

“We remain steadfast in our commitment to upholding the highest standards of workplace integrity and meeting all our obligations,” she said.

It said its earlier audit of Future Form, finalised on June 23, had found “no evidence of misconduct”.

On July 8, the firm advised Sydney Metro that allegations of workplace breaches were not substantiated.

However, this masthead has reported that two weeks earlier, on June 25 and June 26, senior Webuild managers were in possession of documents that suggested Future Form was underinsuring its workers and not paying them full enterprise agreement rates.

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