Indigenous workers on Inpex project given falsified certificates, say trainees – The Guardian

Exclusive: construction company allegedly also falsely claimed enrolment of Indigenous trainees and did not pay them

14 February 2014

Indigenous workers were given falsified skills certificates to operate dangerous machinery on the construction of the $34bn Inpex Ichthys gas project in Darwin and were never paid during a training course that received funding under a $3.4m contract from the federal government, employees allege.

It is also alleged that log books revealing the lack of experience hours were mysteriously lost, and that other Indigenous employees were claimed by the construction company Macmahon Holdings as trainees or apprentices to attract government funding, though the employees were not part of any program.

Three current or former trainees working on the construction of the Blaydin Point liquid natural gas processing facility have told Guardian Australia they enrolled in an Indigenous training program and were asked to sign off on practical experience they had not had, so they could be quickly granted qualifications for working onsite.

Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/14/indigenous-workers-on-inpex-project-given-falsified-certificates-say-trainees