Canberra light rail workers lives were potentially put at risk through a lack of adequate breaks, the construction union claims.
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The union last week filed a wage theft lawsuit alleging 55 breaches of workplace laws by John Holland and its sub-contractors on the billion-dollar ACT government project.
The case seeks a Federal Court order to force the engineering giant and six of its sub-contractors to repay 84 workers $700,000 in unpaid wages and entitlements.
The allegations include breaches of awards and enterprise agreements throughout 2017, including non-payment of overtime and allowances, payment of below award wages, failure to provide proper breaks, as well as breaches around payment of superannuation.
The CFMEU said a number of the workers claims exceeded $20,000, while the average individual underpayment to the 84 affected workers had been about $7400.
The defendants have no yet had time to file a defence in court to the allegations.
John Holland was contacted in relation to the lawsuit, but instead referred Fairfax Media to Canberra Metro for comment.
A statement from Canberra Metro said: "We are aware that the CFMEU have had concerns about a sub-contractor working on the light rail project.
"They are following a process to investigate and resolve those concerns."
CFMEU National Construction Secretary Dave Noonan said the alleged contraventions included failure to pay overtime rates for work outside the spread of hours, failure to provide crib breaks of any kind, failure to observe the 10 hour break between shift requirements in the award and corresponding failure to pay double time, and payment of wages lower than in the award and general failure to pay award allowances.
"The alleged failure to provide proper crib breaks, meal breaks and insufficient time between shifts is of particular concern," Dave Noonan said.
"Construction work is among the most dangerous work in the country. When construction workers aren't allowed the appropriate breaks during work, and in between shifts, it puts their lives at risk."
