FIFO roster dispute spreads

Life as a fly-in fly-out (FIFO) worker isn’t easy. Living on the job – four weeks on, one week off – takes a toll. When more time is spent at work than at home, it’s hard to maintain relationships. Life becomes a waiting game, measured in blocks of time crossed off on a calendar.

First steps, school concerts, weekend footy with mates: these are moments that shape and furnish a life, but instead are marked by absence.

It’s no secret that FIFO work practices contribute to mental health problems, fatigue and suicide. In fact, it’s well documented. In June 2015, in response to a spate of suicides (nine on record), a Western Australian parliamentary committee investigated the mental health impacts of FIFO work. The committee recommended the establishment of a code of practice to address risks to workers.

Pressure from unions representing workers on major projects in WA has recently forced the introduction of shorter rosters and new industry standards that limit on-shifts to 23 days. The changes have been made despite significant resistance from employers.

Currently, fly-in fly-out workers on the project work a roster of 28 days on, 7 days off.

Workers on other projects are organising to spread the gains made in WA. David (“Strawbs”) Hayes, ETU organiser at the INPEX Ichthys LNG project in the Northern Territory, explains the dynamic there: “Many members that are now here in Darwin have worked on the projects that have had the roster improvements; they are bloody keen to see that happen here” .

At an estimated cost of US $34billion, the project is ranked among the world’s largest of its type. After discovering the Ichthys gas field in the Browse Basin off the coast of WA in 2000, Japanese gas company INPEX and its French partner Total arranged with the Northern Territory government to build an onshore processing facility at Bladin Point, near Darwin.

Once the plant is operational, compressed gas, extracted from the Browse Basin, will be piped 890km to Bladin Point, where it will be processed into LNG and LPG. Those products will be shipped to Japanese and Taiwanese utility companies. Ichthys production is expected to account for 10 percent of Japan’s gas imports.

At its peak, expected in September, 8,000 workers will be employed in the construction of the processing facility. Currently, fly-in fly-out workers on the project work a roster of 28 days on, 7 days off. They want this swing shortened. “We have already started the foundation of our better roster campaign with the ‘4 and 1 brings families undone’ message being printed on our shirts and stickers”, Hayes told Red Flag.

Since the project started in 2012, seven FIFO workers have committed suicide. There are more, according to Luke (not his real name), who has worked on the project for more than a year. He said workers who had been sacked before they died won’t be recorded in the official tally.

When a worker was found dead at the Howard Springs accommodation camp in July 2015, the company issued a statement: “INPEX is committed to the wellbeing of the Ichthys Project workforce and will continue to look for ways to ensure a healthy and safe work environment”. Nearly 12 months later, the FIFO workforce continues to work one of the most punishing rosters in the industry. INPEX’s construction contractor JKC refuses to talk to union representatives about changes.

Safety standards on the job are also under union scrutiny. Twelve serious safety incidents have been recorded in the last year. “It’s a combination of [JKC] not caring and incompetence”, said Luke. “We’re proud of what we do and are good at it, but these neoliberal bastards want to use rubbish components that don’t meet industry standards, which then means we have to re-check them all and rewire them.

“If we mess it up, then there’ll potentially be live wires exposed … just last week a bloke got an electric shock. You know what? The only difference between an electric shock and electrocution is luck. If he had been an older fella, or had a bad heart, he’d be dead.” Workers have requested the establishment of an electrical safety committee. JKC has not responded.

But, inspired by gains made by workers on other projects, and determined to prevent further deaths, INPEX workers are getting organised. In the last six months, they have organised three mass meetings with more than 1,000 in attendance at each.

“We encourage members to be active and provide opportunities for them to get involved, whether it be as simple as being proud to wear a union T-shirt, or knowing that an opinion put forward at a meeting will be heard at the right level due to the structures we have built”, said Hayes about the union culture on the job. “Everyone’s contribution builds the union’s strength on the project.”

Hundreds of angry workers have also taken their message to the centre of Darwin. The most recent rally, on 17 April, was the second in a month. More than 500 unionists marched through Darwin chanting, “What do we do when we’re under attack? Stand up, fight back!”

And it’s not just the FIFO workers who are fighting back. Local workers, many of whom work six days a week, have joined them. They say the company is knocking back local workers for jobs and has broken a promise to provide employment and training opportunities to Aboriginal workers.