Walk Outs at Energy Works Site in Cleveland Street
Progress on a £200 million construction project in Hull has stalled due to workers fearing for their safety, with several walk outs over recent weeks.
The new Energy from Waste plant that is under construction in Hull has been heralded as a torch bearer in the new age of greener energy. When it opens, it will consume 250,000 tonnes of household “black bin” waste every year and use a process called fluidised bed gasification to convert it into a gas that will power a turbine and create electricity.
However, “when” is rapidly becoming “if,” as the construction itself lurches from one health and safety problem to the next. Workers have walked out at least four times over the past month, citing a whole range of concerns, from claims of inadequate safety and construction signs to inoperative fire alarms.
Alarms inoperative
The most recent walk out was prompted when a number of construction engineers continued working, unaware that the site had been evacuated due to a fire alarm. According to one worker, some alarms failed to sound, due to the batteries being drained by the recent snap of cold weather.
He said the men only became aware of the evacuation when co-workers re-entered the site to tell them what was happening. The following day, it was revealed that many of the alarms were still inoperative, and 280 workers downed tools and walked off the site.
The worker also told reporters that site facilities were are in a state of disrepair, with waste leaking from toilets and a number of other problems that have been reported to management but not addressed.
Management response
Energy Works (Hull) Ltd issued a statement denying any breaches of Health and Safety regulations. It said that an independent health and safety audit had been undertaken in reaction to employee concerns, and had found that the construction site is “being operated and controlled in a safe manner.”
It described the walk out as “an unofficial action,” and stated that the principal contractor is promising a swift resolution so that full works can continue.
It does not anticipate that the walk outs will delay completion of the project, and the plant is set to go live next April.
Largest waste exporter
Hull is the largest exporter of waste in the UK – it currently ships hundreds of thousands of tonnes every year to similar power plants in northern and central Europe. The new facility will intercept a large proportion of this waste and use it to produce green energy and biofuel at the ambitious plant, that covers a total area of some nine acres.
The project cannot afford any delays or adverse publicity. 20 contracts needed to be signed to get the go ahead, and there is a £20 million EU grant, plus 15 years worth of government subsidies behind it. If it succeeds, it could herald a new era in energy production. Yet nothing can be at the expense of the health and safety of the workers who are making it happen.