Launch of national campaign to promote social distancing on building sites

A NATIONAL advertising campaign has been launched to promote social distancing and strict hygiene on the nation’s building sites.

Denita Wawn, CEO of Master Builders Australia said the campaign would run for the next four weeks and was targeted to everyone working in the building and construction sector because everyone has a responsibility to ensure that social distancing and good hygiene are being practiced.

“Business owners, employers, construction workers, subcontractors, site managers – everyone must be accountable for social distancing and strict hygiene not only on building sites but also off site when on breaks and before and after shifts,” Ms Wawn said.

“As an essential industry it’s vital to the community and the economy that in this extraordinarily difficult time we can continue building and construction work to provide the livelihoods of 1 in 10 Australians and to support the viability of nearly 400,000 small businesses.

“It’s important that the health and wellbeing of everyone in our industry and community remains our top priority which is why the industry is continuing to embed social distancing and strict hygiene practices on site. It’s also why we have joined forces with the CFMEU and the AWU to promote an even stronger safety culture as our industry and our community faces the Covid-19 crisis,” Ms Wawn said.

“However, we do recognise the substantial cultural change that we are asking everyone in our industry to make. Everyone including workers, subcontractors and management are used to completing building projects as efficiently as possible.

"Social distancing is slowing work down, but slower work is better than no work and that is why we are asking everyone in our industry to step up and be accountable for doing the right thing to keep each other and the community safe,” she said.

“There are 1.2 million people and nearly 400,000 small businesses in communities around Australia that go to work every day in our industry which provides the most full time jobs and is made up of the most SMEs than any other sector in the economy. That is why we have launched this campaign,” Ms Wawn said.

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