Fly-in, fly-out workers would get bigger beds and have control of their own air-conditioning, protection from random room searches and access to drinking water cooled “at or below 24C” under a draft code of new standards at mine-site villages.
The WA Work Health and Safety Commission has replaced the broad wording of existing guidance with specific standards that Australia’s estimated 80,000 FIFO workers should expect when on a swing.
Beds should be king single or bigger, with a “good-quality mattress”.
Rooms should have a desk and chair, a lamp, adequate power and USB points, blackout blinds and insulation suited to the local climate. Doors should have a deadlock and peephole.
The planned code stipulates that workers on similar rosters should be housed in the same zone, so night-shift workers are not sleeping beside people on the tools during the day.
Sleeping quarters should be well away from “roads, laundries, mess halls and recreation areas”.
Bosses should not enter a worker’s room without consent unless carrying out a welfare check, and random room searches — especially without the worker’s knowledge or presence — are “strongly discouraged”.
The WA Department of Local Government, Industry Regulation and Safety is considering feedback to the proposed framework, which encompasses all worker accommodation, not just FIFO camps. The final code, which will not be binding, is expected next year.
Architectural sociologist Jack Tooley said the new code was an opportunity for “generational change” for the wellbeing of the country’s FIFO workforce.
With 10 new camps built and another 33 either fully or partially refurbished each year, the stakes were high, Dr Tooley said.
“We cannot keep dressing up fundamentally flawed accommodation with superficial wellbeing initiatives,” he said.
“For too long, the mining industry has attempted to address psychosocial wellbeing in FIFO accommodation through supplementary services and reactive interventions, without adequately addressing the physical environments in which workers spend much of their lives.”
Research by Dr Tooley’s modelling company, InSite Analytics, found about 60 per cent of the variation in a FIFO worker’s psychosocial wellbeing was down to the design layout of, and buildings in, the camps.
“The built environment establishes the conditions within which management practices, support services and wellbeing initiatives must operate,” he said.
“No amount of supplementary programming can fully compensate for an environment that systematically contributes to the problems those programs are intended to resolve.
“People will appreciate a better night’s sleep more than a golf simulator.”
Dr Tooley’s simulations about improved psychosocial wellbeing suggest Australian miners can generate an extra $1.6 billion in revenue, principally through improved productivity, staff retention and absenteeism, by making their camps psychosocially neutral — neither good nor bad. Close to $10b in extra earnings could be expected if workers found their swing on site a more positive experience.
“This is why getting WA’s draft code of practice for workers’ accommodation right is so important,” Dr Tooley said.
“The objective should not be to mandate expensive facilities or particular design solutions, but to ensure that accommodation decisions are informed, justified and demonstrably responsive to psychosocial risk — and a record of this consideration is kept and assessed.
“InSite Analytics has developed technology that enables precisely this. By evaluating design decisions against four evidence-based psychosocial domains — monotony and boredom, health and comfort, social and identity connection, and safety and privacy — mining companies can identify which interventions will deliver the greatest measurable improvements to both a psychosocial and dollar value within their existing budgets.
“Better accommodation does not necessarily mean more expensive accommodation; it means making better-informed decisions about where money is spent.”
The draft code places heavy emphasis on safety in light of revelations in 2021 about the number of on-site sexual assaults.
The rules call for women-dominant zones and separate showers, toilets and change rooms for men and women wherever possible, with access cards limiting entry.
Walkways connecting buildings should be well lit by motion-sensor and backup lights. Paths should be covered and slip-free.
Even informal complaints by workers should trigger a review of risks and employers should regularly consult workers, especially women, who are more likely to experience sexual harassment.
Villages would be expected to provide an on-site mental health support officer where possible and ensure accommodation areas have defibrillators.
Mobile coverage and high-speed Wi-Fi should reach anywhere in camp so workers can contact family.
Workers should be able to enjoy landscaped green spaces and alcohol-free social spaces alongside the wet mess.
The code addresses the quality of food, with messes expected to cater for all allergies and offer meal options for coeliac, vegetarian, vegan, halal and kosher diets.
Workers on fly-out day should have access to showers and be able to store luggage securely as they wait for their plane.