The Fair Work Commission (FWC) recently dealt with an unfair dismissal application brought by an electrician who was summarily dismissed after shutting down power generators despite being directed not to do so by management.
The worker argued he had legitimate safety concerns about electrical testing and was acting within his rights as a health and safety representative when he isolated the generators.
Meanwhile, the employer argued the worker had deliberately defied lawful instructions and acted without sufficient justification.
The worker was employed as an electrician grade 6 on a large construction project involving two gas turbines at Loxford in the Hunter Valley of New South Wales.
The project employed around 500 workers from the engineering company, with approximately 850 workers in total across all contractors. The worker also served as an elected health and safety representative for the electrical and instrumentation team on day shift.
The incident began when a union organiser from the Electrical Trades Union exercised his right of entry to the site on 27 June 2024. The organiser had previously attended the site requesting earth testing results and had been involved in addressing over 40 improvement notices issued by SafeWork NSW to the employer between June 2023 and July 2024.
During the morning inspection, the organiser requested earth testing results and installation test results for works that needed to comply...
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