April 29, 2020
Every mine in Australia is covered by strong health and safety laws, including protections against any adverse action being taken against workers who raise a safety concern.
We encourage any worker with a concern that their health and safety is not being protected in relation to COVID-19 to raise this in the first instance through existing issue resolution procedures in place at their mine site.
Usually, the first port of call for a mineworker is their supervisor. The best outcome is for issues to be raised directly with supervisors so they can be logged and addressed or escalated to a more senior level as quickly as possible.
If the issue is not addressed to the worker’s satisfaction, or they would like additional support, it should be raised with the site safety and health representative.
If concerns cannot be resolved at the site level, they can be escalated through Union site or district representatives, including industry check inspectors.
If a worker thinks their mine site is dangerous or has broken the law, they can also contact state-based regulators like the NSW Resources Regulator or Queensland Mines Inspectorate directly.
However, we encourage all mineworkers to raise issues and seek resolution at the site level in the first instance. Workers should be reassured that they are protected by law when it comes to raising safety concerns.
Watch our National Legal Director Alex Bukarica explain: