The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union has welcomed a report which criticises the procedure for collecting statistics on mine safety. Review of Mining in NSW, released on April 9, makes a number of recommendations on how to improve mine safety, including more training in the industry and improvements at the departmental and Mines Inspectorate levels. The Minerals Council has criticised the report. The following article will appear in the May issue of Common Cause, the journal of the mining and energy division of the CFMEU.
For the employers, it was a classic case of not liking what they heard, so they decided to shoot the messenger, even if it was the state's mines minister [Bob Martin]. They were annoyed by the report's finding that official safety figures were being manipulated by some mine owners to portray a more flattering, but false, safety record — in other words, fiddling the figures.
"Unfortunately, this document confirms my gut feelings; the unease I had which caused me to commission the review in the first place — that a culture of ambivalence and complacency exists that actively operates against safety improvements being made", Martin said. He said the report showed:
- <~>"Inadequate indicators existed to reflect a mine's true safety performance;
- <~>"An attitude in some mines to 'manage' safety performance indicators. Allegations were made to the report's authors that injured workers either under-reported injuries or were driven to work to sign on for duty — only then to be allowed to sleep in a change room so company safety figures were not adversely affected;
- <~>"Production bonuses and incentives [to miners] may actually be contributing to short cuts being taken;
- <~>"Poor training of new staff on safety imperatives and inadequate ongoing training;
- <~>"The need for an urgent overhaul of the Department of Mineral Resources Inspectorate to give sharper focus and resource priority to key safety matters."
Tabling the independent report in parliament, Martin condemned practices that had come to light in the course of investigation. These included the withdrawal from all workers of a $200 bonus if any workers reported an injury resulting in lost time; and the offering of food hampers and other non-monetary payments to workers who did not report injuries.
The minister said the report painted a "grim picture" which "revealed the existence of a culture of complacency that actively worked against the greater protection of workers".
Martin said the report was a summary criticism of all players involved in mine safety and that he supported all recommendations for change. He has established a steering committee of industry representatives, union leaders and officers of the Department of Mineral Resources to drive the change process.
In welcoming the report, the CFMEU pledged its full support, and general president John Maitland said the union "is looking forward to working with the government to create a safer mining industry".
The employers' first reaction was to issue a media release which said: "The New South Wales Minerals Council has welcomed the Report of the Panel of Review into Mine Safety tabled in parliament today by the Minister for Natural Resources, the Hon Bob Martin". However, after the minister's stinging condemnation for "cooking the books" on safety figures, the employers changed their minds and attacked Martin, asserting that he had "sensationalised" the report.
The employers cried that their confidence in the minister had been shaken and called for a retraction. Martin stood by his comments, declaring: "Any Labor minister of the Crown is duty bound to put before the parliament these serious allegations concerning the safety of mining workers".
John Maitland said, "Just because the minister presents a report scathing in its criticism of the industry's attempts to manipulate safety figures, the employers cry foul. They should stop whingeing and fiddling the books and instead commit themselves to making mining safer."