New Welsh Water boss was sacked from his last job and hated by a union

Martin Shipton

The new Australian chief executive of Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water was sacked from his last job as head of Sydney Water and has been accused by a trade union of being responsible for a “toxic” workplace culture.

Yet Dŵr Cymru has given Roch Cheroux a ringing endorsement, insisting he is the right person for the job.

After Mr Cheroux’s departure from Sydney Water was announced in March 2025, a journalist asked his acting successor Paul Plowman if he had resigned.

Mr Plowman replied: “No. It was a decision by the board.”

Asked what that meant, Mr Plowman said: “The board made a decision to change leadership.”

Asked whether that meant he had been sacked, Mr Plowman replied: “The board made a decision to change the leadership, which is absolutely its prerogative to do.”

‘Toxic leadership’

Responding to Mr Cheroux’s removal, the Australian Services Union (ASU) issued a statement headlined ‘Sydney Water workers celebrate end of toxic leadership’ that hailed his departure as a victory for workers, calling it a long-overdue opportunity to reset the workplace, end wasteful spending, and restore fair treatment for workers.
The union said Cheroux took charge of the publicly owned utility in 2019, having been appointed by the former [right wing Liberal / National] New South Wales coalition government with a clear agenda to privatise Sydney Water.

ASU Secretary for New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory Angus McFarland said: “Cheroux’s tenure saw an explosion of outsourcing, relentless attacks on workers’ rights, and a workplace culture that reached breaking point.

“Sydney Water is a vital public asset, yet under Cheroux’s watch, it has been hollowed out. Worker morale has plummeted, wages and conditions have been under siege, and taxpayer money has been squandered on private consultants. Instead of investing in a skilled internal workforce, Sydney Water has increasingly relied on an expensive and secretive panel of preferred contractors, some linked to Cheroux’s previous employers,”

Slash wages

The union statement continued: “During Cheroux’s tenure, Sydney Water workers faced relentless efforts to slash wages and conditions, despite already struggling with cost-of-living pressures. The ASU led the fightback, with workers turning out in record numbers to reject what would have been the worst enterprise agreement in the water industry.

Mr McFarland said: “Cheroux’s departure must be the first step toward genuine reform at Sydney Water, The ASU as the union for Sydney Water workers, is calling on the Board of Sydney Water and NSW Government to ensure:

A workplace culture reset – a commitment from the Board that the next Managing Director will be instructed to be more respectful and collaborative with Sydney Water’s unionised workforce.

An end to excessive executive pay – slashing the $800,000 salary for the next Managing Director.

A crackdown on outsourcing – cutting wasteful consultant spending and rebuilding Sydney Water’s internal workforce.

“The Labour government led by Chris Minns that took over in 2023 has enshrined Sydney Water’s public ownership into the constitution, but the backdoor privatisation of jobs and expertise must stop. Workers are ready to rebuild a stable, constructive and positive relationship with a new managing director at Sydney Water, and we expect the new managing director to do the same with its workforce.”

Embarrassing

Mr Cheroux’s arrival at Dŵr Cymru follows an embarrassing period when the not-for-profit company faced a number of prosecutions for pollution and monitoring transgressions, as well as criticism over the high level of executive pay.

In May 2025 Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water was fined £1.35m and ordered to pay £70,237.70 costs after pleading guilty to over 800 breaches of its environmental permits to discharge sewage.

The charges related to Dŵr Cymru’’s self-monitoring data submitted to Natural Resources Wales (NRW) as part of its 2020 and 2021 annual reports. Due to the volume of non-compliances, the charges were summarised into 18 offences for the court’s benefit.

In October 2024 at Llandudno Magistrates Court, Dŵr Cymru pleaded guilty to 15 out of the 18 charges. In December 2024 the company accepted the remainder of the Taken into Consideration (TIC) charges.

Missing samples and data from the 2020 reporting year means that NRW was unable to fully assess or respond to any environmental impacts. While it’s possible that individually, these non-compliances may have been minor, NRW considers the cumulative impact of all the breaches significant in terms of environmental impact.

Siân Williams, head of operations at Natural Resources Wales (NRW), said: “This case highlights inadequacies in the processes at Dŵr Cymru which led to widespread permit breaches across Wales and over the border during a period of two years.

“While we appreciate the disruption all businesses faced during 2020 with the Covid-19 pandemic, we believe the failings shown by Dŵr Cymru were avoidable should better contingency planning have been in place.

“Dŵr Cymru’s performance has continued to decline for a number of years now, and this is a stark warning to the company that we will not hesitate to use our enforcement powers to secure the improvements we expect to see.

Downgraded

NRW downgraded Dŵr Cymru from a four-star (industry leading) company in 2020 to two-star (requires improvement) company in 2022 and 2023 as part of its annual Environmental Performance Assessment.

Taking on one of the highest paid jobs in Wales, Mr Cheroux succeeds Peter Perry, the outgoing chief executive of Dŵr Cymru, who received £892,000 in 2021 despite significant regulatory penalties and public criticism of the company.

The Welsh Conservatives’ Shadow Cabinet Secretary for the Environment, Janet Finch-Saunders said: “While Welsh Water customers face the highest water bills in England in Wales, sewage discharges into our waterways remain unacceptably high – this remains unacceptable.

“The previous chief executive was paid nearly £900,000 in just one year, despite sewage discharge and environmental permit breaches dating back to the same year.

“The Welsh Conservatives are clear; the new Welsh Water boss shouldn’t be paid obscene amounts to simply pump out sewage into our waterways. Additionally, Labour-run NRW, which is not carrying out its duties effectively, must be shut down and replaced with a new, fit for purpose regulator.”

Merit

Asked by Nation.Cymru whether the company had been aware that Mr Cheroux had been sacked and had a negative reputation, a spokesperson for the company said: “Welsh Water undertook a comprehensive and competitive recruitment process that included both internal and external candidates, supported by an independent executive recruitment agency. The selection was based on merit, experience, and alignment with the company’s long-term strategic goals.

“Roch’s departure from Sydney Water followed the appropriate notice and transition processes. His tenure there spanned six years during which he led the organisation through significant operational and environmental challenges, including drought conditions, bushfires and the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Roch improved employee engagement and satisfaction during his period at Sydney Water and last year the company was named the most trusted utility water company in Australia.

“At Welsh Water, we have an excellent workplace culture built on respect, collaboration, and openness. We enjoy strong working relationships with our colleagues and constructive, long-standing engagement with our recognised trade unions. Maintaining and strengthening these relationships will remain a priority for the Board and Executive as we embark on one of the most ambitious periods in our history — delivering record levels of investment and transforming the way we work to serve our customers, communities, and the environment.”