News

Article by Karma Barndon courtesy of Australia’s Mining Monthly.

ROY Hill has slammed claims by the Mining and Energy Union that it was locking up miners at its Gateway Village near Port Hedland and barring them from visiting town, declaring the temporary measures were there to minimise movement of fly-in, fly-off workers to reduce the risk of COVID-19 spread in the community, in the face of a local outbreak.

Mining and Energy Union Western Australia district secretary Greg Busson said he had received calls from people in deep distress after Roy Hill issued a fresh edict to restrict workers to camp.

Busson said miners locked up at Roy Hill’s mining camp were calling to be released after management flagged the draconian measures implemented last year would continue indefinitely.

“WA has no public health orders enforcing mask wearing and no other mining company has imposed such restriction of movement on their workers, including BHP’s nearby mining camp where workers can travel freely to Port Hedland,” he said.

“These workers have bent over backwards to keep the iron ore industry going through COVID and the current boom, yet they are just treated appallingly by Gina Rinehart.”

Busson said many workers had been stuck on the western side of the hard border away from kids and partners for months.

“They’ve borne a massive personal and mental cost from COVID, and Roy Hill is just tone deaf to that,” he said.

However, Roy Hill rejected the union’s version of events.

Australia’s Mining Monthly understands the recent lockdown was linked to two recent COVID-19 outbreaks in the Pilbara.

Indigenous vaccination rates are low across the Pilbara, with just 55% receiving a double dose, leaving communities in the region extremely vulnerable.

A Roy Hill spokeswoman told AMM the company had an important role to play in protecting the vulnerable local communities in which it operates.

“In consultation with community groups, Roy Hill and our industry peers in the region have put in place temporary measures to minimise movement of FIFO workers in the Port Hedland community [and] these restrictions are intended to reduce the risk of COVID-19 spread in the community,” she said.

“All FIFO employees have full access to all facilities in the village as well as additional services to support them, including support over the election weekend to attend a polling place for those not registered for postal vote.”

While Roy Hill has cancelled its bus service to Hedland, it has set up an in-house grocery service so workers can order items from Coles or Woolworths in town.

Workers can shop for personal items such as tampons and medication and attend appointments with the local doctor.

Most workers are on a two weeks on, two weeks off swing, meaning they only spend a fortnight on site before flying home.