Critical Times

Source: Rights on Site website

Ark Tribe is a construction worker from South Australia.

Like any other Australian worker, Ark just wants to rock up for work in the morning in as safe an environment as possible, do his job, and make it home at the end of the day.

Unlike other Australian workers, Ark is facing six months in jail – charged with not attending an interview with the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC).

To watch what happened to Ark after he went to work one day click on the source link at the top of this article.

Ark was working on the Flinders University site in Adelaide. Conditions were so bad that workers drew up a petition calling for safety improvements, on a handtowel.

It took an intervention by the union and the state government safety regulator to get the most pressing problems fixed and finally, after several days, things began to get back on track.

But Ark’s story doesn’t end there. One by one workers from the site were called before the ABCC.

The penalties for those who don’t cooperate with ABCC investigations are frightening – fines of up to $22,000 for things like stopping work to make sure workers are safe and jail for up to 6 months if you don’t answer their questions. Even the police don’t have the powers the ABCC have.

In Ark’s words, “If I’ve done something wrong, I’m prepared to cop it, but I won’t be treated unfairly.”

We’ll be following Ark’s case as he fights these laws in court.

Show your support for Ark by making a stand for rights on site, put yourself on the map and stand shoulder to shoulder with construction workers.

We need to get the Rudd Labor Government to get rid of these laws, before another construction worker faces jail.