Workers on the troubled Nishi development have been locked out of the site and prevented from collecting their tools on Tuesday morning, according to union representatives.
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Ply ACT, the building contractor on the site, went into voluntary administration late yesterday afternoon, allegedly owing subcontractors millions of dollars.
CFMEU ACT secretary Dean Hall said administrators had initiated the lock out, which had seen about 100 workers unable to enter the Nishi site this morning.
He called on site developer the Molonglo Group to take on the building contractor role, describing it as the best way to protect local workers and prevent delays in finishing the project.
Speaking on ABC breakfast radio Mr Hall questioned whether the reason given for the lockout, a lack of safety personnel, was legitimate.
He said while he was not making accusations in this case, it was a tactic sometimes used to get subcontractors to return to a building site.
But Mr Hall later clarified, saying there may be safety concerns in the short term.
He urged all parties involved to get work back on track as quickly as possible.
Ply ACT issued a statement late on Monday night confirming it had entered into voluntary administration with sites affected including the $550 million Nishi Complex in New Acton, the Astin Apartments and the Rex Hotel.
Director David Murphy said the decision was not taken lightly and he would work with the administrator, Alan Hayes, of Hayes Advisory, to return to full capacity the affected construction sites around Canberra.
All Ply employees wages had been paid up to date.
''Our aim in this process is minimise the inconvenience to the owners of these properties and to assist our sub-contractors and other creditors, where possible,'' Mr Murphy said.
Ply had been building the mixed-use Nishi project for developer Molonglo Group.
Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union ACT secretary Dean Hall said it was the responsibility of the builder, administrator and developer to work together to "minimise the pain" of the administration process.
Mr Hall said some of the subcontractors were owed millions of dollars. He said the Molonglo Group was a local company which he believed would "do the right thing''.
''This is definitely not irretrievable," he said. ''There is a way out and it relies on the developer playing a positive role."
When The Canberra Times contacted the Molonglo Group, director Johnathon Efkarpidis declined to make any comment .
The collapse is the latest blow to the beleaguered project, which has been subject to numerous formal notices from WorkSafe ACT.
Construction was stopped last year as the site was subjected to full-scale blitz by work safety officers, and six improvement notices were issued in September alone. Ply, which split from PBS in May last year, also contacted WorkSafe regarding seven "notifiable incidents", which is necessary in the event of a worker requiring treatment at a hospital or in the case of certain "near misses".
