Tyler Whitton: Family of 17-year-old tradie killed on building site attend work safety rally in Brisbane
The family of a teenage tradie who died at work earlier this year has condemned the government for failing to protect young workers.
Tyler Whitton, who had just turned 17, was working as an apprentice builder in Brisbane when he fell about three meters on a West End construction site in September.
He was rushed to the Royal Brisbane Hospital and placed in an induced coma but could not be revived.
His devastated family attended a protest on Wednesday organized by the Construction Forestry Mining Energy Union, where they called for stricter safety regulations.
Just days after Tyler’s death, the union revealed they had visited the workplace where he died in June and found a “massive fall from height” posed a major safety risk.
Tyler Whitton, 17, was killed while working as an apprentice on a construction site in Brisbane
Tyler’s family (from left: brother Lucas, father Jack Whitton, mother Joanne Crisp and sister Chelsea) attended a union-organized meeting in Brisbane on Wednesday
His grandparents Liz and Jack Whitton said there were “obvious” and “horrific” dangers at the site when they visited after Tyler’s fall.
“Something needs to be done about industrial manslaughter,” Ms Whitton told the newspaper Courier mail.
“Tyler was 17; he didn’t know that would happen that day. “If there had been a barrier there, he would still be enjoying Christmas with his family,” she said.
His other grandmother, Joanne Crisp, described the effect of Tyler’s death on the family as “crushing.”
“I’m here for Tyler. We want to get his blood out of the concrete,” she said.
‘(His mother) still crying for her son to come home.”
Workers at the rally shouted: ‘Annastacia (Palaszczuk) you can stop it, workers’ lives are not for profit’ and demanded ‘safe locations now’
Tyler’s family attended the meeting “to get his blood out of the concrete” and demand more security
Hundreds of frustrated workers attended the meeting in Brisbane on Wednesday calling on the government to review Queensland’s workplace health and safety inspection policy.
CFMEU Secretary of State Michael Ravbar accused the state government of “failing to modernize” its safety regulations, exposing workers to the “greed” of employers.
“They have ignored repeated warnings about deteriorating safety standards and refused to eradicate the cancer at WHSQ,” Ravbar said.
“Our members are tired of seeing Labor politicians cry crocodile tears over dead workers and then do nothing to help prevent the next tragedy.”
CFMEU deputy secretary Jade Ingham added: “We will no longer be treated like numbers on a spreadsheet, like a cost of doing business.”
CFMEU State Secretary Michael Ravbar (centre) accused the state government of ‘failing to modernize’ its safety regulations during a meeting in Brisbane on Wednesday
During the meeting, attendees shouted: ‘Annastacia (Palaszczuk) you can stop it, workers’ lives are not for profit’ and demanded ‘safe locations now’.
In an earlier statement in Parliament, Industrial Relations Minister Grace Grace described Queensland’s workplace safety laws as “among the best in the country”.
“We will never stop our efforts to protect Queensland workers,” she said.