Cold on hot weather call
BETTER!
A NEW “hot weather policy” being pushed by the CFMMEU would mean Brisbane tradies would down tools when the mercury hit 28C and humidity reached 75 per cent – or, as Marcello Aversa knows, any typical work day in the North.
More than 100 commercial contractors and subcontractors have agreed to apply the new policy across southeast Queensland, including at the major $3.6 billion Queens Wharf project in Brisbane.
“It’s not a good idea and would be very disruptive to the industry,” Mr Aversa said.
“I can understand if the limit was set for 40 degrees, but a lot of the tradies that come from the south can’t handle the heat in Queensland, it’s a lot different.”
Master Builders Queensland chief executive Grant Galvin said the hot weather policy was “ripe for exploitation” by the CFMMEU.
“This will create an occupational health and safety nightmare,’’ Mr Galvin said.
“If you applied this provision outside of southeast Queensland it’s likely that no construction work would get done in a year as Queensland is, by nature, hot and humid.
“If you applied this provision to Darwin in the NT, you wouldn’t work one day in a year.”
And there will be plenty of hot, sticky conditions in Townsville for the week ahead, with temperatures slightly above average.
Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Jess Gardner said the mercury was expected to top 31C.
“Your average maximum temperature in October is 29.5C,” she said.
Ms Gardner said northeasterly sea breezes were pushing in moist air and created a medium chance of light showers yesterday, but any chance of rain would dwindle at the weekend.
A few millimetres were forecast for early yesterday morning but did not eventuate.
“It will mostly be sunny for the rest of the week,” Ms Gardner said.
She said there would be north-easterly sea breezes reaching speeds of up to 15 knots at the weekend.
Humidity will reach about 50 per cent tomorrow afternoon. The UV index is predicted to reach 11 and sun protection is recommended from 8.10am to 3.40pm.
Temperatures next week will drop slightly, averaging around 30C with mostly sunny conditions forecast.
The chance of early rainfall for the 2019-20 season is low over large parts of northern Australia.
There is a less than 30 per cent chance of early rainfall for much of eastern Australia.
But Townsville and its surrounds buck that trend. According to the weather bureau’s Northern Rainfall Onset outlook, there is a 35-40 per cent chance of early rain.