CFMEU hits out at CQ mine Covid policies as vax mandates loom

A Central Queensland miner has raised serious concerns about Covid precautions at a Bowen Basin site as the union takes aim at policies it says fall short of protecting workers.

Covid is crashing over Central Queensland’s mining sector and tensions are escalating.

Across the Bowen Basin, workers are falling sick to the Omicron variant and companies predict production disruptions.

CFMEU Queensland District president Stephen Smyth has come out swinging.

“We have a highly contagious variant spreading through our industry and regions and yet Covid safety measures have declined, not improved,” he said.

Mr Smyth singled out behemoths Anglo American and BHP for what he claimed were failures to put in place adequate safety measures.

“We opened the borders on December 19, and it’s like no-one did a risk review of what was going to happen,” he said.

“The attitude to us appears like the government and the industry said just let it rip, and see what happens.

Mining and Energy Union Queensland District president Stephen Smyth says Covid protection policies are inadequate across Central Queensland’s mine sites.

“Certainly not one we support, because they should have attempted to manage and control the situation in the workplace.

“To have people turn up to work, and the measures in place not be effective is just totally unacceptable.”

Anglo and BHP are ramping up their protective measures but the situation is fluid as Omicron spreads.

On the ground at Peak Downs

A worker at BHP’s Peak Downs mine has raised concerns about the company’s handling of the virus.

A worker at BHP’s Peak Downs mine, who wishes to remain anonymous, said they were “disgusted” by the company’s handling of the virus following a positive result at the site last Monday.

The worker claims a close contact colleague tested positive for Covid on that day and the colleague told BHP management about the result.

But when the crew showed up for work on Tuesday morning, the worker claims BHP had not informed the crew of the positive result, and it was only from another worker that they learned of the infection.

“The crew feels like the withholding of the information regarding Covid is due to the fact that they (BHP) don’t want the utilisation to suffer anymore than what it is,” the worker said.

“Had they (the company) told us at the end of the shift on Monday afternoon, I guarantee you every crew member would have got themselves tested at camp.

“We all would have got ourselves tested that evening, and then the following morning, to ensure that we weren’t positive, and it sort of would have been business as usual.

“I think it’s disgusting that your employer is not providing that information. It’s our health and safety and wellbeing, and not only ours, but our families’ as well.”

‘We are increasing our controls’: BHP

BHP, which operates the Goonyella Riverside, Broadmeadow, Daunia, Peak Downs, Saraji, Blackwater and Caval Ridge mines through BMA, rejects both the general criticisms of the CFMEU and the specific claim from the worker that it is putting production targets ahead of worker safety.

“As positive Covid-19 cases become more common in Queensland we are increasing our controls to protect our workplaces, workers and communities while we continue to operate safely,” a BMA spokesman said.

The controls in place across BHP’s operations are extensive.

For one thing, the company has introduced a vaccine mandate for its workforce. From January 31, all workers and contractors will need to show proof of full vaccination before entering the workplace.

The company is also ramping up rapid antigen testing – with a negative result required prior to entry to any BHP workplace – across all of its Queensland operations.

Fly in, fly out workers travelling through Brisbane Airport require RATs and testing hubs have been established in Mackay for the company’s regional team members travelling into the Bowen Basin.

The company also provides masks, sanitiser and promotes social distancing.

Anglo’s special leave arrangements

Anglo American's Aquila project in Central Queensland. Anglo and BHP are implementing mandatory vaccination requirements to protect their workers from the virus. Picture: Nat Dixon

An Anglo American spokesman said the company had enhanced its “already extensive controls” in a range of ways ahead of the recent spike in cases.

The company, which has two open cut and three underground metallurgical mines in Central Queensland, has introduced additional special leave arrangements for workers and embedded contractors who contract Covid-19 or need to isolate.

It has also deployed rapid antigen testing at Brisbane Airport prior to site travel, and has made RATs available to its workers and their families.

Covid-19 health screening surveys are taken prior to entry to a site, camp or office, and the company has introduced increased social distancing, mask wearing and enhanced cleaning at all sites.

Like BHP, Anglo is implementing a mandatory vaccination requirement for its workforce, set to be a condition of entry to its sites from March 1.

“The significantly increased number of Covid-19 cases in Queensland over the last few weeks has only emphasised the critical role vaccination plays in protecting people against serious illness if they contract Covid-19,” the spokesman said.

“Our Incident Management Team continues to monitor the situation to ensure we support the safety and wellbeing of our people, their families and the communities where we operate.

“We continue to get expert medical advice on the suitability and application of our controls and adjust them as necessary, as the situation evolves.”

Miners doing what they can: QRC

Queensland Resources Council chief executive officer Ian Macfarlane has defended the state’s resources companies, noting the Omicron’s swift spread presented a difficult and fast-moving challenge.

“Feedback from the Department of Resources and regional Public Health Units servicing resources communities has been extremely positive about the great job being done by resources companies to follow health protocols and limit the spread of Covid,” he said.

“Companies are continuing to comply with the directives and protocols laid out by the chief health officer as they evolve and providing rapid antigen testing kits where possible.

Queensland Resources Council chief executive Ian Macfarlane speaks at their annual State of the Sector luncheon in Brisbane. Mr Macfarlane said resources companies have struggled to access RATs. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dan Peled

“Just like everyone else, resources companies have experienced problems accessing RATs, but this is expected to ease over the next month as more supplies become available.

“At this stage, companies are managing the workforce impacts of Covid infections, but the situation is fluid.

“The resources sector supports the jobs of 420,000-plus people in Queensland, and we are doing everything in our power to keep people safe and employed and our sector operating during this pandemic.”

The numbers

Even as protective measures expand, the sector is stumbling through a fog. The Queensland government stopped listing exposure sites on December 31 and exact infection numbers at mine sites are difficult to assess.

But across the region, Covid cases have exploded.

Mackay HHS recorded a total of 2298 active cases throughout the Mackay, Isaac and Whitsunday local government areas as of Thursday.

Isaac, the beating heart of the coal industry, also lags in vaccination coverage rates.

As of January 17, just 69.8 per cent of eligible residents are fully vaccinated.

State-wide, close to 90 per cent of Queenslanders are fully vaccinated.

The rising number of Covid-sick and isolating workers is expected to hobble production across 2022.

“Workforce absenteeism arising from the Covid-19 Omicron variant is anticipated to continue into the early part of the second half of the 2022 financial year,” BHP’s most recent Operational Review states.