Information and resources for AMWU boilermakers or members working in construction:
- Download our WELDING CHECKLIST or POSTER to put up at your workplace.
- Download the WorkSafe Safety Alert for Structural Welding
- Report dodgy welding for investigation by AMWU welding inspectors
- Expressions of interest for weld testing certification are now closed, with all tests currently booked up due to overwhelming demand.
Welding Campaign Update:
Weld Australia and AMWU to Address Growing Concerns Around Welding Safety
March 2019
Weld Australia and the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU) will work together to address growing concerns around welding safety.
Weld Australia CEO, Geoff Crittenden, and AMWU Victorian State Secretary, Tony Mavromatis, met in February to discuss safety and compliance in welding. Their discussions focused on Australia’s relaxed welding regulatory and compliance frameworks, which have resulted in a growing lack of adherence to Australian Welding Standards, and a substantial increase in the risk of welding related injury for both workers and members of the public.
According to Crittenden, “The lack of regulation covering steel manufacturing, fabrication, and erection is a national disgrace.”
“There is absolutely no question, lives are at risk. The only way to guarantee public safety is to implement and enforce regulations that mandate compliance to Australian Standards for the manufacture, fabrication, and erection of steel within Australia, and the inspection of imported structural and fabricated steel. Weld Australia looks forward to collaborating with the AMWU on this important issue,” said Crittenden.
Mavromatis is equally as concerned. “We have a range of concerns. Do builders, surveyors, fabricators and engineers understand what is required when it comes to meeting Australian Standards? Does WorkSafe understand Australian Standards? Do welding workers understand what they need to do to meet Australian Standards? Most concerning of all, there are no welding regulations mandated by legislation.”
“The AMWU has a lot of members who are welders and boilermakers. They are watching as their trade is degraded. The big concern is that if non-qualified people are welding—whether it’s a multi-storey building or a road sign—someone is going to die. Until someone is seriously hurt, the authorities won’t pay attention,” said Mavromatis.
“The AMWU and Weld Australia share a common interest here—we will continue to work together to improve welding-related safety, not only for the guys working on-site, but for the wider community.”
Together, Weld Australia and the AMWU will work towards eliminating loss of life or injury attributable to welding. They will investigate activities such as establishing and maintaining the framework and infrastructure required to identify and analyse welding risk, and formulate and execute related mitigation strategies.
AMWU Welding Campaign: Welding School Delivering for Members
September 2018
The AMWU welding campaign has hit new heights in recent months thanks to the union’s welding test centre certifying more members than ever and improving standards in the industry leading to more work for our qualified metalworker members.
The AMWU launched the welding campaign in 2016 after a survey carried out by the union revealed that the industry was not meeting the Australian Standards – leaving qualified members without work and putting community and worker safety at risk.
We set about lifting standards by investing in a welding school to assist our members maintain and improve their skills and qualifications, setting up a certification system to allow organisers to identify qualified welders on site, bringing in inspectors to inspect and halt suspected dodgy welding jobs, and petitioning the government to improve regulation and fund new inspectors in the industry.
“Already, we’ve helped over 100 AMWU members get their welding skills tested and certified.
“We’ve given our members the chance to refresh their skills and get certified, which will assist them in getting jobs including the major projects happening all over the state,” said AMWU Acting State Secretary Tony Mavromatis.
If you want to get involved, call your organiser or the union today on 9230 5700.
Welders to receive skills & jobs boost from new AMWU initiative
The union’s welding campaign has entered an exciting and critical new phase, providing welding tests to help unemployed metalworkers receive welding accreditation to help boost their job prospects.
The union has run a welding testing regime for members to help them prove that they are fulfilling the increased skills and standards expectations of the industry.
The union has been campaigning to dramatically improve welding standards on Victorian construction sites, to improve safety on large construction projects and to ensure structural integrity by making sure welding work is done properly by ticketed, qualified AMWU members.
After months of investigations and inspections by the AMWU and at the insistence of the union, WorkSafe finally issued a Safety Alert for structural welding to pressure employers to ensure all structural welding is performed by qualified welders and adheres to Australian Standards.
Already, through the work of our welding inspectors, organisers and delegates, we have seen qualified AMWU members brought onto sites to fix shoddy welding work. If you have seen dodgy welding, report it here for AMWU welding inspectors to investigate.
