Research adds weight to unionised work model

A landmark research paper has put contracting at the centre of occupational fatalities on mine sites. It follows on from the Brady Review of fatal accidents in Queensland mines and quarries from 2000 to 2019 which highlighted both the increase in labour on coalfields in line with growing production demands and the disproportional increase in the use of contract labour. There have been eight deaths on Queensland coal mines since the report was released. Seven were contractors. The paper titled ‘Contract labour in mining and occupational health and safety: A critical review’ was written by Emeritus Professor Michal Quinlan from the University of New South Wales and Dr Heather Jackson from the University of Newcastle. Related: How safe are Australia’s mines? New analysis shows reform has been stalled for a decade Contracting ills Contracting increased financial, production and reward pressure on workers, the report said. UNSW Emeritus Professor Michael Quinlan. Analysis provided ‘persuasive evidence that contracting is associated with poorer OHS outcomes in mines, and the trend to greater contracting is very likely making things worse,’ it said. Related: Mine accidents concentrated in contract labour “Knowledge of the connections between contracting and poor OHS outcomes stretches back decades and is consistent with a large body of evidence from other industries. “This review indicates contracting exacerbates risk because it increases financial, production (and) reward pressures on workers and operations, contributes to more disorganised workplaces and weakens regulatory oversight.” Union adds rigour Unionised workplaces had better OHS outcomes than those that relied more on contract labour, the report said. “Critical to the last point, contracting weakens union presence (often deliberate) and worker representation mechanisms and as evidence suggests … unionised mines are safer.” “The combination of contracting with reductions in trade union presence and worker representation is a double whammy, which no amount of ‘systems’ gloss or misinformed safety reforms … will offset.” The evidence on the OHS effects of contract labour in mining was consistent with that pertaining to other industries the report authors said. Economic considerations would undermine a voluntary approach to enforcing Occupational Health and Safety standards, the report said. “While not without value, the limitation of a voluntary approach is that those doing this, like some contract mining companies, run the risk of being undercut by operators more concerned with cost considerations. “Overall, more effective remedies lie in realms of legislation, especially strengthened industrial relations laws to further extend important reforms in closing the loopholes as well as more rigorous OHS regulation and enforcement by mine inspectorates. “… Importantly, the Ten Pathways model (and PDR) includes explicit reference to economic/production pressures compromising safety. This failure point needs to be recognised and addressed to reduce serious injury and health risks in mining.” Four deaths so far in 2024 Fifty-one-year-old Frank Thomas’s death at Oaky Creek, 90km north-west of Emerald, on October 2, brought the number of people killed on Queensland mine sites this year to four. Another man was seriously injured in the same accident. August saw two coalfields deaths, including Chris Schloss, 48, who was fatally injured when a pick and carry crane rolled at the QCoal Byerwen mine’s campsite. This was followed three weeks later by the death of 56-year-old John Linwood in a vehicle collision at Byerwen mine. Those deaths followed a fatal accident at BMA’s Saraji mine in January, when 27-year-old Luke O’Brien suffered significant crush injuries.

Research adds weight to unionised work model

Industry Queensland

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