Master Builders Australia has launched a national advertising campaign to promote hygiene and social distancing on Australian building sites.

CEO of Master Builders Australia, Denita Wawn, said that the campaign was being run in conjunction with the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) and Australian Workers Union (AWU).

“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,” she 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.”

Ms. Wawn said that the construction sector provided the most full time jobs and contained the most SMEs of any in the Australian economy, and that work practices must change in response to Covid-19.

“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.

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