Subcontractor on Sydney's Western Sydney Airport Metro Accused of Underpaying Chinese Workers and Demanding Cash Kickbacks; Company Denies Claims as Independent Audit Proceeds
SYDNEY — Australia's construction union, the CFMEU, has accused Buildup Interiors, a plasterboard subcontractor on the A$11 billion Sydney Metro – Western Sydney Airport project, of underpaying as many as 70 workers through cash payments and cash kickbacks. According to sources cited by the union, a person associated with Buildup who recruited workers from the Chinese community allegedly threatened one worker that if he cooperated with the union's investigation, he would never find work in the industry again.
Workers cited by the union say Buildup required them to switch from ordinary taxed wages to off-the-books cash payments at A$42 to A$50 an hour — a rate they say remains below the union enterprise agreement standard even after allowances, severance entitlements and insurance contributions are counted. Workers who stayed on the books say the company also collected a A$300 weekly cash kickback from them. Chris Pappas, the CFMEU's deputy executive director in New South Wales, said the allegations against Buildup "could be just the tip of the iceberg," and that the union's compliance checks point to suspected sham contracting, exploitation and intimidation of workers.
Buildup denies all of the allegations. A company spokesperson called them evidence-free "fake news" and an aggressive tactic by the union against the company. Buildup says it has handed over its site payroll records, that the union issued 69 site entry notices across its sites over the past three months to disrupt construction, and that two letters asking the union to substantiate the allegations went unanswered. The company also says an earlier audit found only minor pay discrepancies and no evidence of cash payments, sham contracting or intimidation. A routine audit by head contractor Webuild in April found that 11 employees had been underpaid because the wrong enterprise-agreement pay rate was applied; at Buildup's request, the Fair Work Ombudsman is now verifying the exact amounts owed.
Webuild has engaged external lawyers to deal with the union's allegations. Sydney Metro says Webuild has commissioned the independent law firm Kingston Reid to conduct a second, in-depth audit covering all Buildup employees on the project, and that it has zero tolerance for misconduct. New South Wales Transport Minister John Graham said the latest allegations concerned him greatly and that if the independent audit substantiated them, the government would demand immediate action. The matter remains at the allegation and audit stage; no finding has been made.
Buildup is the second subcontractor on the airport metro line to face such allegations in six months. Earlier this year, formwork subcontractor Future Form was removed from the same project at Sydney Metro's direction after an independent investigation pointed to suspected underpayment, tax fraud, cash payments and inadequate worker insurance. Future Form and Buildup are different companies and separate investigations.
Source: GSM · America
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：建设中的 Sydney Metro 西悉尼机场线 Airport Business Park 站。CC0，维基共享资源。 / The Airport Business Park station under construction on the Sydney Metro – Western Sydney Airport line. CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
