Canberra's Empire Building Group had received no complaints from workers about toilet facilities on its ''Panorama at Wright'' development site and had never been told employees were having to jump the fence and defecate in a nearby gully, group director Tom Simunic said on Wednesday.
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Worksafe ACT placed a prohibition notice on the 180-unit development on Tuesday, citing defective sanitary facilities and what Commissioner Mark McCabe said were ''major safety breaches''.
''The most serious concern is that nobody is accepting responsibility for being in control of the site,'' Mr McCabe said.
''When we went there we were told by Empire that D-Group [the earthmoving contractor] was in control. When we asked D-Group they said, 'no', that Empire was in control.''
Mr McCabe said it was Empire's job to take responsibility for the site and to ensure that all mandated health and safety regulations were met.
Mr Simunic declined comment on who was in control, saying the matter was being addressed.
He acknowledged the company was advertising for a foreman/site manager on the Empire Global website. ''If you know of anybody let me know,'' he said.
Mr Simunic said the company was strongly committed to the health and safety of its workforce and was working closely with Worksafe ACT to ensure all appropriate standards and conditions were met.
The company's website makes similar claims, stating: ''Empire Global strives to create and maintain a safe and healthy workplace.''
Construction, Forestry, Energy and Mining Union secretary Dean Hall is not convinced, arguing the proof of the pudding is in the eating.
He said he was refused access to the site on Monday and that the union will be taking action over that.
Mr Hall said workers at the Panorama site had complained to the union about not having a working toilet, a lunch room or a first aid facility.
''There was a porta dunny on the site and it had never been cleaned for three months,'' he said. ''Several of our members, some of who had gastro, have had to jump the fence and cross a road and go in the creek.''
He said there were close to 1000 apartments and units under construction in Wright and the CFEMU would be conducting a blitz on worksites.
Mr McCabe said that while he could not confirm the union's claims that workers had to go to the toilet in the creek, it was ''not implausible''.
''My advice from our inspector is that the amenities were not connected and weren't in a state to be used,'' he said. ''There were no working toilet facilities on the site.''
Mr Simunic maintained there were and said he had evidence of this.
Empire Global is a major player in the ACT unit and apartment market with about 400 properties under development, according to its website.
