Laing O’Rourke has denied claims from Unite that unqualified electricians are working unsupervised on the £555m Bramley-Moore Dock Stadium for Everton Football Club.
The union warned of a risk of “catastrophic damage” occurring after allegedly seeing electricians-mate contracts stating that the junior workers may not be supervised.
Electricians mates would usually require supervision as they are not fully qualified electricians. There are around 50 such workers on site at present.
Unite national officer for construction Jason Poulter said: “Having met our members working on the Everton stadium we believe that workers without the required qualifications are working unsupervised on the site.
“This could result in substandard electrical installation. Some issues may be picked up on inspection, however latent defects in these systems can result in catastrophic damage to property, intermittent emergency alarm/safety systems and a danger to life.”
Laing O’Rourke said nobody without proper qualifications is working – or would work – unsupervised on the job.
A spokesperson for the contractor said: “Our construction team at Everton Stadium continues to make excellent progress.
“We currently have more than 200 electrical operatives on site and, as on all our projects, we ensure work is supervised and complies with all relevant regulations. We look forward to handing over the stadium to the club at the end of the year as planned.”
Laing O’Rourke took possession of the stadium site in July 2021. It is set to complete the build of the 52,888-capacity ground by the end of this year, with test events to be carried out before a full opening in August 2025.
The ground will replace Everton’s current Goodison Park home, which has a capacity of 39,572.
For more information on construction of the dockside football stadium, read Construction News‘ project report here.
