Industry loses bid to delay ‘critical’ coal safety rules

Employers failed to convince authorities to postpone changes to recruiting essential employees.

Queensland mining companies will have to directly employ safety-critical statutory workers, starting from 25 November 2022.

The resources industry recently lost its bid to postpone relevant amendments to the Coal Mining Safety and Health Act by one year. The sector was offered 18 months to prepare for the changes but instead chose to keep asking for more time.

State parliament debated the changes many times since May 2020. Politicians agreed mine employee safety should not be “fragmented across multiple companies”.

After holding talks with different mineral operations, the Mining and Energy Union and Queensland Resources Council, Resources Minister Scott Stewart made three exceptions to the direct employment rule:

• mines operating as joint ventures can appoint senior executives, underground mine managers and ventilation officers from different operations
• operations are exempt from the rule for up to 12 weeks during unplanned short-term vacancies affecting senior site executives, underground mining managers, open cut examiners, explosion risk zone controllers, electrical engineering managers, mechanical engineering managers and VOs
• major contractors may appoint statutory role holders if they employ up to 80 per cent of a coal mine’s workforce. This applies to 11 open-cut mines and one underground operation.

“This is not about making a distinction between contractor and labour hire companies and it is certainly not about saying certain type of companies are better when it comes to safety,” Stewart said according to News Limited.

“This is about creating a central point of responsibility … critical to protecting the safety and health of coal mine workers, regardless of who their employer is.”

Natural Resources, Mines and Energy shadow minister Pat Weir believes the government should have debated these changes more to give employers enough time to train staff.

“The intention was to ensure that holders of statutory roles at coal mines can make safety complaints, raise safety issues, or provide assistance to an (official) about a safety issue without fear of reprisal … to their employment. I cannot emphasise [enough] how short we are of these critical roles,” he said according to the media outlet.

“[The bill will] reinforce serious skills shortages currently faced by the industry.”

However, utilities, science and innovation committee chair Shane King claims mining companies already had 2.5 years to prepare for the changes.

“It appears to me the industry has dragged its feet,” he said.

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