AUSTRALIA — Australian unions called for changes to worker protection at waste-management company Cleanaway on 20 October 2026, arguing that its proposed acquisition by EQT Infrastructure should lead to stronger safety leadership and workforce involvement.
The Australian Council of Trade Unions statement brings together demands from transport, manufacturing, services and other unions. Their intervention is a new appeal for corporate safety reform, rather than a new regulator finding.
Worker participation and leadership under scrutiny
The unions want changes at chief executive and board level and a greater worker voice in decisions affecting safety. They say eight workers have died since 2021. That figure is attributed to the unions; this report does not treat their broader allegations about management motives as established findings.
ABC’s 20 October business coverage also reports the safety demands and explains that Cleanaway has entered a scheme implementation deed with EQT Infrastructure. The proposed transaction should not be described as a completed transfer of ownership.
Safety commitments need operational follow-through
The union statement asks the prospective owner to make returning home safely a central test of the business. Neither source reviewed for this report sets out a newly agreed, detailed reform programme or a fresh safety undertaking from the company in response to these demands.
HSE Blog analysis: For waste operators, a change in ownership is an opportunity to test how safety concerns reach decision-makers and whether actions are completed. Written commitments are more useful when linked to responsibilities, resources and worker consultation. Our guide to safety culture and methods for measuring safety culture explain how organisations can examine the gap between policy and workplace experience.
The immediate development is the unions’ reform demand. It does not establish a new legal breach or replace findings from courts and regulators.
Featured image: conceptual HSEBlog illustration; it does not depict a specific Cleanaway site or accident.
Source
Australian Council of Trade Unions; ABC Newsactu.org.au
