To our valued subcontractors, suppliers and consultants,

On Sunday evening our Prime Minister Scott Morrison said – “2020 will be the toughest year of our lives!” I hate to say it, but I think he’s right.

Like most of us, the past few weeks have all been about COVID-19. I’ve been keeping our team up to date, and I’d like to communicate with you all too, hence the reason for this email.

Our group of companies – Wamarra, Symal Infrastructure, Symal Structures, Grampians Excavations and Incore – are still open and we will remain open for as long as we possibly can.

We are relieved that construction has been classified as essential work. With both Federal and Victorian Governments implementing their Stages 1 & 2 shutdown – mandatory closure of non-essential services, we are fortunate that this excludes the construction industry and we continue operating.

Having said this, we are far from complacent when it comes to COVID-19. To give you an insight, below is an overview of the measures and actions we have put into place at our workplaces to protect the safety of our staff and extended community:

• Our Executive and Leadership team meet every day to discuss strategy, safety, policies and procedures.
• We provide daily staff updates ensuring they are aware of the changes occurring.
• With over 500 staff (120 office-based and the remaining site-based staff), we have divided our office-based staff into small teams spreading them throughout Melbourne and greater Victoria. They work in separate offices to ensure we have business and operational continuity if we were to have a confirmed COVID-19 case. We also have remote teams working from home.
• We have stopped all external visitors from entering our place of work (exempting staff).
• We have wash stations, hand sanitisers that have been made available everywhere in our premises.
• We are implementing handsfree wash stations on our projects.
• We are in the process of implementing greater social distancing with our staff on sites.
• We have split breaks for all office and site staff.
• We have plans in place for every shutdown scenario. We are prepared for the worst but hoping for the best.
• We are in constant communication with medical professionals, industry bodies, government and other experts we can learn from.
• We practice more than required going above and beyond strict social distancing, sanitation and self-isolation. We aim to stay one step ahead always.
• We are focused on maintaining the health and wellness of our staff. We genuinely always care and clearly communicate as much as possible to all staff members.
• We encourage staff to take leave even if they feel slightly unwell.
• We are working hard. We are focused and will continue to deliver exceptional outcomes for our stakeholders.
• Our pre-contracts team is full steam, ahead – pricing work to win projects and build as efficiently and effectively as ever.

There is so much uncertainty in our community right now. However, I want to assure you that people are at the forefront of our minds when we make decisions. Our staff, our subcontractors, our suppliers and the industry as a whole – we are focused on keeping people safe and employed.

Together let’s dig deep through the next days and coming weeks – this is certainly a period in history which none of us has ever had to live through and will never forget.

Keep safe, look after your loved ones and work hard so we can stand together and get through this time.

Regards,

Joe Bartolo