Qld insulation victim’s mum speaks with CFMEU

“He was a special kid. It didn’t matter who met, everybody liked him,” Sweeney’s mother Wendy Sweeney said in the interview with the CFMEU. “Christmas will be hard this year.... It just shouldn’t have happened.”

“He was a special kid. It didn’t matter who met, everybody liked him,” Sweeney’s mother Wendy Sweeney said in the interview with the CFMEU. “Christmas will be hard this year.... It just shouldn’t have happened.”

The union released the video last week on Google’s video sharing service YouTube as part of its stay safe campaign - tips to keep you and your mates alive.

“On average we lose a construction worker every week,” Dave Noonan CFMEU’s national president said in the video.

“Working in the construction industry requires constant attention to occupational health and safety,” said Lindsay Fraser, CFMEU assistant secretary.

Tips include never starting a job before induction; workers have a right to refuse to take on work if they believe it is unsafe; never working on your own;

While the union said it has criticised the Federal Government for its HIP scheme, it said the sight of Tony Abbott accusing Peter Garrett of industrial manslaughter was disgusting.

We’ve been forthright in our criticism of the Commonwealth Government and of the failings of the scheme; but the sight of Tony Abbott accusing Peter Garrett of industrial manslaughter makes me sick.

“Mr Abbott is proud of the laws which he put in place as a Minister in the Howard government which have had the effect of making it harder for unions to make workplaces safe and seen a sharp increase of deaths and injuries in the construction industry,” the CFMEU said in a statement.

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