Peak union’s Pilbara heat plan risks constraining WA’s iron ore mining activity for six months a year

Unions want Pilbara mine workers to down tools during hot weather, a demand that the mining industry said “ignores” the region’s “operational reality”. The Australian Council of Trade Unions is set to launch a campaign on Tuesday aimed at forcing the mining giants who run WA’s iron ore engine room to implement stringent work stoppage rules when temperatures are presumably above 36C. Such a move could hamstring Pilbara mining activity for more than 180 days a year. More than 50 per cent of mine workers in the region surveyed by the ACTU “have been pressured to work outside in extreme heat” and 85 per cent “have experienced fatigue, headaches, or other symptoms caused by working in extreme heat”. “Around half of the workers surveyed (47 per cent) reported having spent more than two months over the last year working outside in temperatures exceeding 36C, while 82 per cent had spent more than a month working outside above a threshold often considered hazardous for prolonged outdoor work,” the ACTU stated. “Unions are campaigning for new national safety regulations that would require employers to take specific safety measures — including rest breaks and work stoppages — when temperatures reach hazardous levels.” The ACTU is understood to have surveyed about 280 people but specific mine sites were not revealed. The Pilbara is home to the vast majority of Australia’s iron ore mines, which generate the bulk of the nation’s resources wealth. The region is well-known for its extreme heat, even during non-summer months. A blanket ban on mining activity when temperatures are barely above the mid-30s could impact operations for six months a year. For example, Rio Tinto’s Paraburdoo iron ore mine near Tom Price records an average daily maximum temperature of more than 36C from October to April and the average maximum rises above 40C during December and January. “Mandating work stoppages at designated temperature thresholds ignores the operational reality of the Pilbara,” Chamber of Minerals and Energy WA chief executive officer Aaron Morey said. “Member companies have decades of experience operating in extreme heat and have developed a comprehensive range of polices and measures to protect the health and safety of their workforces. “Some of those methods include scheduling work outside the hottest parts of the day, the provision of additional shade structures, mobile cool rooms fitted with air-conditioning, and electrolyte-based cooling measures designed to support hydration and reduce the risk of heat-related illness.” Minerals Council of Australia chief executive Tania Constable labelled the ACTU’s survey and logic as “highly questionable”. “The Australian minerals industry is committed to ensuring the health and safety of all workers as our highest priority, and companies including those in the Pilbara already operate under safety systems that identify and control workplace risks including heat stress,” she said. “Heat exposure is already managed through site-specific risk assessments and practical safety controls including monitoring of workers for signs of heat stress, hydration and electrolyte programs, scheduled rest breaks and rescheduling of physically demanding tasks to cooler periods.”