On October 15, 1970, a steel and concrete slab of the near completed Westgate Bridge in Melbourne, Australia, collapsed – killing 35 workers and injuring many more. This was Australia’s worst industrial disaster and highlighted to workers the fight for health and safety and the need for strong and independent unions. A number of unions will gather this coming Saturday to commemorate this disaster. As a tragic reminder of the dangers of construction work, two workers were killed in Brisbane earlier in the week even though workers had raised health and safety concerns just days earlier.
On October 15, 1970, a steel and concrete slab of the near completed Westgate Bridge in Melbourne, Australia, collapsed – killing 35 workers and injuring many more. This was Australia’s worst industrial disaster and highlighted to workers the fight for health and safety and the need for strong and independent unions. A number of unions will gather this coming Saturday to commemorate this disaster. As a tragic reminder of the dangers of construction work, two workers were killed in Brisbane earlier in the week even though workers had raised health and safety concerns just days earlier.
