Work banned on pipeline after workers exposed to asbestos

The AWU has banned work on the laying of a pipeline in Victoria after more than one dozen construction workers were exposed to asbestos in recent weeks.

AWU Victoria Secretary, Cesar Melhem, said AJ Lucas, a Queensland company with the contract to lay the pipeline from Lara to Brooklyn, had been extremely careless with their workers' safety.

"Following the intervention of the AWU, WorkSafe has today issued two prohibition notices against the project and requested that a proper safety management plan be put in place before work can restart," Mr Melhem said.

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Mr Melhem said AJ Lucas had shown no concern whatsoever for the health of its workers.

"We got a tip-off that the workers might be working on an asbestos dumping ground where asbestos sheeting had been broken up and buried," he said.

"When we visited the site, we were horrified to see that they had been working amongst asbestos for a few weeks.

"It is unbelievable that employers are still willing to take risks with their workers' health that they wouldn't take with their own health or their family's."

Mr Melhem said the AWU would be compelling AJ Lucas to sign Asbestos Materials Exposure Letters for all affected employees, to acknowledge their responsibility for any future impact on the workers.