Mental Awareness, Respect and Safety (MARS) Centre

Wednesday, 01 November 2023

Western Australia’s mining industry has long been recognised as a cornerstone of economic prosperity, driving significant growth and the employment of more than 157,700 workers.

However, the booming sector’s success has not come without its challenges.

In June last year, a landmark WA parliamentary inquiry revealed dozens of shocking cases of sexual harassment and assault of women workers at mining companies, with the inquiry’s chair Libby Mettam saying it represented “a failure of industry to protect its workers”.

The inquiry — ordered after a string of allegations from women in the fly-in, fly-out mining industry — served as a stark reminder that the sector cannot afford to overlook the deeply embedded cultural issues that compromise the wellbeing of its workers.

It also marked an urgent call-to-action for the leaders of WA’s mining companies to take a whole system approach to driving genuine cultural change.

While it was evident at the State Government’s Mining Industry Summit: Driving Respect conference this week that leaders of industry have taken addressing issues such as workplace sexual harassment and assault seriously, it also remains clear conversations must turn into action at the coalface and we must promote preventative approaches to managing psychosocial risk, rather than just reacting.

As UnionsWA secretary Owen Whittle pointed out during the summit’s panel discussion on how to create meaningful change within the sector: “prevention needs more of a focus rather than just the response”.

That is not to say there is no place for reactive action, but as the proverbial saying goes, prevention is better than cure.

Of course, the question then becomes how do we prevent these issues from occurring?

The answer is it starts from the top.

We know the industry has a world-class safety culture, but it is also important there is a strong psychosocial safety culture, and the sector applies the same risk-based approach to identifying psychosocial hazards — factors in the design or management of work that increases the risk of psychological or physical harm — as it does to ensuring operational safety.

Secondly, we cannot underestimate the transformative power of inclusive and relational leadership in supporting the wellbeing of staff.

As mining companies look to introduce initiatives promoting cultural change, it is more important than ever leaders within the sector recognise and relate to their employees’ diverse needs and perspectives, along with being open and flexible in their leadership of workers to enhance worker growth and wellbeing.

When you’re dealing with structural gender inequality within a male-dominated industry, there’s all the more need to ensure leaders have strong relational leadership competencies, prioritising support, inclusion, growth and wellbeing, so the industry can ensure workforce sustainability and continue to attract and retain top talent.

The goals of building a psychosocial safety culture and enhancing the relational and inclusive leadership capabilities of the sector will be key areas of focus for Edith Cowan University’s Mental Awareness, Respect and Safety Centre — an industry collaboration centre for the mining sector that will help improve safety and wellbeing through research and education.

The MARS Centre will also have a focus on future mining workplace health and safety risks and how best to understand and address these risks through a risk-based approach.

Finally, we must consider what’s working and what isn’t.

While mining companies have already taken a number of steps towards tackling these issues, research is necessary to evaluate the effectiveness of these initiatives, and to gain a better sense of what those on the ground believe is working.

Change is undoubtedly challenging, but leaders cannot be afraid to continually adapt and refine their approaches.

Let’s not put enhanced psychosocial safety, relational leadership capabilities and other preventative measures in the too hard basket; the cost of inaction is too great.

If we do not proactively tackle these issues, the problems will persist.

So will the harm.