Irishman sparks outrage after calling Australian tradies soft: 'They're terrified'

By MATT JONES, SENIOR NEWS REPORTER, AUSTRALIA Published: 01:34, 7 May 2026 | Updated: 01:44, 7 May 2026 An Irishman has sparked backlash after claiming Australian construction workers are 'soft' for walking off the job when the weather turns bad.  Ian Dowling said he couldn't understand why work was halted as he walked around an empty construction site that appeared to have been shut down for the day. 'As an Irish lad working in the construction industry in Australia, I've learned one thing about Aussies,' he said. 'They're going very soft. Terrified of the rain, they are. As soon as there's a couple of spits out of the sky, that's it, they're out the door and into the pub. 'And they say they love the water. They're all about the surfing, but if the water's falling out of the sky, f****g terrified of it.' Given he’s from cold and wet Ireland, it’s understandable Mr Dowling was stunned by Aussies’ reluctance to work in the rain.  But he even took a shot at tradies for putting down the tools once it reached 38C, a common union agreement across many building sites around the country. 'If it gets too hot, they'll go home,' Mr Dowling said. Aussie Construction workers gone soft 🇦🇺👷‍♂️ #construction #irish #constructionlife #fyp #funny Ian Dowling said he couldn't understand why work was halted as he walked around an empty construction site that appeared to have been shut down for the day  'If this construction site was in Ireland with this amount of rain, this place would be packed. There would be fellas with their shirts off.' Mr Dowling even suggested that reluctance to work in the wet and heat was a reason for Australia’s housing crisis.  'Every time a drip falls out of the sky, they pack up the utes,' he said. Employers are required under WHS laws to manage the risks of heat stress, which may warrant stopping work before 38C depending on humidity and workload. In January 2025, the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) said its members were within their rights to stop working when the temperature reaches 35C. The union said that at temperatures below 35C, workers are to be relocated out of direct sunlight where the work environment creates a serious risk to their health and safety.  Mr Dowling was met with criticism after sharing his thoughts about Aussie workers on TikTok.  'Try concreting or rendering in the rain. It just doesn't work,' one said. Mr Dowling even took a shot at tradies for putting down the tools once it reached 38C, a common union agreement across many building sites around the country (stock image) 'Power tools are not waterproof,' another added. 'You're more than welcome to stay mate and keep working,' a third chimed in. Some even questioned if he was a real tradesman. 'As a bricklayer, why is your work gear so clean?' one asked. Mr Dowling doubled down on his comments in a follow-up video. 'What I'm going to do, to make it up to everyone especially the lads that are getting upset, is I'm going to Bunnings this afternoon and I'm going to get a pallet of cement bags,' he said. 'You can have a little spoon of that (cement) every morning…and harden the f*** up.' The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.