By Paul Robinson Updated Wed Mar 27, 2013 7:42am AEDT
A Queensland mayor says fly-in, fly-out (FIFO) work practices are 'ludicrous', forcing workers to move to capital cities to get a job at a new coal mine in their hometown.
A federal parliamentary inquiry into work practices has recommended a FIFO review.
Rockhampton is hosting a two-day national conference on FIFO work practices.
Isaac Mayor Anne Baker says the new Caval Ridge mine near Moranbah, north-west of Rockhampton, will have a 100 per cent fly-in, fly-out (FIFO) workforce.
She says Moranbah residents will have to move to Brisbane to work so they can fly-in to work.
"It's ludicrous, it's illogical, it just does not make sense," she said.
"What I'm hearing is that we have skilled labour on the doorstep of large projects and they're having to relocate to capital cities."
Councillor Baker says there are plenty of skilled workers available locally.
"It negates the opportunity for the council or the community to grow - it's demoralising to those people," she said.
"These people have lived in the region and the wider region for 20 to 25 years and some, and they're quite disillusioned by the process."
Councillor Baker says some FIFO workers may be needed, but at least some locals should be eligible for a job.
"We certainly not for one believe that we have the percentage or the numbers that the industry is looking for - what we're saying is there is a portion, there is a percentage, of skilled labour in our region and the wider region," she said.
'Devastating effect'
Federal independent MP Tony Windsor spoke at the FIFO conference yesterday, saying mining towns often miss out on the economic benefits.
Mr Windsor headed a parliamentary committee into mining work practices and says a 100 per cent FIFO workforce could have a devastating effect on coal towns.
"That's why a lot of communities are saying - mining's come to town, that's great, but where are our kids in this?" he said.
"It's nearly as if they've got to go away and fly-in and fly-out to work to get a job and that shouldn't be the case.
"Some companies have woken up to that, others think it's the cheapest way of doing business.
"They're here to mine, they're not here to play communities and mothers and farmers, so let's get on with the business of mining and making money.
"One thing that came through from the committee's perspective is that if it becomes the norm as a work practice, it could actually hollow out a lot of existing regional communities."
The Rockhampton conference was also told yesterday several coastal cities are vying to become mining hubs or bases for FIFO workers.
But Mr Windsor says mining companies could potentially bypass regional Queensland workers all together.
"It's not difficult to extend the logic to say 'well, why not fly everybody out of Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane," he said.
"Just put in a bigger plane, the marginal cost for the passenger goes down - that's a cheaper way of getting your skills, from a larger skill base than say getting a few from Cairns, a few from Rockhampton, a few from Mackay, a few from all the other towns that want to be mining hubs."
DIDO workers
Meanwhile, Professor Lee Di Milia from CQ University says drive-in, drive-out (DIDO) mine workers are putting their lives at risk when they travel hundreds of kilometres to work.
Professor Di Milia will outline his findings at the conference in Rockhampton later today.
He says research shows about a quarter of motorists driving through central Queensland do not live in the region.
"The average was over 230 kilometres - that's a one-way direction," he said.
"We had drivers doing up to 900 kilometres - planned to be done in a single trip - but sadly people still trust their judgement to undertake those sorts of drives without considering the risks involved."
A new report has found that a majority of Fly In Fly Out (FIFO) tenants rate their 'mining camp' or 'donga' accommodation fairly highly, with very few looking to move into private rentals.
The report, created by the University of Queensland, the Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining and the Minerals Industry Safety & Health Centre, found 63% of respondents rating their current accommodation as 'good' or 'very good' with just 7% looking to move from camp accommodation to a town rental.
The majority of those surveyed, 91%, were located on-site in employer-provided accommodation. Another 6% were in employer-provided accommodation in other nearby towns, with a final 3% in 'other' accommodation.
Two-thirds of survey participants did argue that they would like a change in their accommodation, despite being largely happy with it. This saw 30% wanting to move to accommodation with better services and facilities and 25% wanting a room upgrade.
Standard facilities provided in the accommodation included air-conditioning, ensuite bathrooms, room cleaning, laundry facilities and a mess.
Private rooms with TV/video connections were highly valued, as well as sleeping quarters distanced from communal areas, as well as black-out curtains provided to minimise sleep disturbance. Hot-bedding was seen as the most adverse situation.
These results were used to note that there were a range of other reasons contributing to 44% of miners suggesting they intend to change jobs over the next 12 months. This included a desire for better pay, greater work-life balance and career advancement.
"While the characteristics of FIFO facilities vary considerably from camp to camp, depending on such factors as the nature and location of the operation, the age of the camp, and the requirements of the company or operator involved, thereis evidence of a move to more sophisticated design elements in modern FIFO accommodation," the report notes.
"Earlier temporary accommodation was basic, with the facility typically located on the mine lease or construction site. These camps were sometimes ‘closed’ facilities that were both physically and socially isolated from the nearest residential community. While such camps still operate, more recently, there have been significant changes in the design and location of FIFO worker accommodation, with a greater range of facilities on offer and, in some cases, efforts to incorporate modern FIFO villages into existing residential communities."
This changing face of the accommodation was put down to three factors: An interest in facilitating retention of workers, a better understanding of attitudes towards the FIFO lifestyle and a growing need for companies operating in the resources sector to address criticisms by local residents that traditional worker villages were detrimental to the area.
Within the survey, 286 FIFO workers currently employed in Australia's resource sector were questioned. The report also included a literature review. Of survey participants, 70% had a university degree, 58% were male, with the average age being 35, and three quarters having partners.
Almost three quarters of respondents earned over $100,000 per annum, with 53% located in Western Australia.
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