Young workers at risk
It’s 40 degrees and I’m balancing on the roof of a two storey house with a six metre drop in front of me. I’m trying to hold a nail gun in one hand and holding on for dear life with the other. There is no barrier or harness to catch me if I let go.
This was a day at work for me as an apprentice carpenter working for a small company. I was luckier than others. I never went home with anything more than cuts and bruises.
A few years ago, Kane Ammerlaan, a 16 year old tiling apprentice working in Melbourne fell off a roof while carrying a 50-kg bucket of cement. The cement from the bucket shot into his eye, dried, and left him blind in that eye. Kane’s boss didn’t call an ambulance. Instead, he laughed and took a photo with his phone.
Kane’s story is not uncommon for young apprentices. According to WorkSafe Victoria’s figures workers under the age of 24 are more likely to be seriously injured at work than any other age group.
But WorkSafe has done nothing to change this. It was left up to the construction union (the CFMEU) to take on Kane’s boss.
When you’re an apprentice, the boss knows that you will generally keep your mouth shut to keep your job. You’re pushed to ignore safety risks to get the job done quickly.
There is constant bullying, which also makes it tough to speak up. My boss would take any chance to have a laugh at my expense, telling me I was too slow and making a point of every little thing I fucked up.
You’re forced to do jobs that you just aren’t qualified to do. You’re made to feel like you have to prove yourself. But it can be deadly.
In 2010, Wade Braeckman, a 15 year-old apprentice had his arm ripped off by a lathe and later died in hospital. He wasn’t qualified to be using the equipment; he shouldn’t have been anywhere near the machine without supervision.
Kevin Hadfield, who owned the factory where Wade worked, later pleaded guilty in the NSW Industrial Relations Commission to the offence of failing to provide a safe work place. He was fined $30,000. That’s what a young worker’s life is worth.
