PERTH (miningweekly.com) – A Western Australian parliamentary committee would launch an investigation into mental health in the fly-in, fly-out (FIFO) community, following a string of suicides.

Over the past year, nine Pilbara FIFO workers took their own lives.

The Education and Health Parliamentary Standing Committee would now examine the issue.

The Western Australian Chamber of Minerals and Energy (CME) said on Thursday that the resources sector would make a detailed submission to the Parliamentary inquiry into mental health and FIFO employees.

“Every suicide is a tragic loss with far-reaching impacts. As a community we must all work together to reduce the prevalence of suicide across Western Australian society,” said CME CEO Reg Howard-Smith.

“Despite some recent assertions that there may be a higher occurrence of mental health issues associated with FIFO employment, research is yet to find any substantial evidence in support of such claims.”

Howard-Smith pointed out that an extensive commonwealth parliamentary inquiry into FIFO practices received no evidence that supported a claim that mental health issues were any higher in the FIFO worker population than in the wider workforce. 

The inquiry ran for 18 months, received hundreds of submissions, visited numerous sites and held dozens of public hearings.

“In recent years, we’ve seen a greater variety in FIFO rosters available, dramatic improvements in accommodation quality and facilities available. Additionally, companies recognise employee wellbeing is important, with most companies providing support groups and employee assistance programmes to help new employees adjust to FIFO lifestyle.”

Howard-Smith said that these could include family visits to site, buddy systems, free counselling, group activities and in-room Internet to communicate with partners and family.

“The majority of mining companies also provide counselling services and promote awareness of wellbeing issues via their fit for work and health promotion programmes,” said Howard-Smith.

A recent online survey of FIFO workers undertaken by Western Australia-based organisations Creating Communities and FIFO Families, has pointed to the importance of supporting the health and wellbeing of both the workers and their families.

More than 800 individuals commuting long distances for work participated in the ‘FIFO Life Survey’, and answered a series of questions around the themes of induction and productivity, employment attraction and retention strategies, life circumstances and experiences in the workplace.

Around half of the participants came from the mining sector, with one-quarter from oil and gas, and one-quarter from construction. The majority had been working FIFO, bus-in, bus-out or drive-in, drive-out for between two and nine years and 70% lived in a household with children at home.

Some 62% of participants were satisfied with their life working FIFO and said they had a strong sense of loyalty to their company. However, more than one-third did not believe their companies understood the needs of workers or the needs of workers’ families.

Andrew Watt, senior associate at Creating Communities, said that several people chose to work FIFO and the majority reported being satisfied with their working life.

“However, it is very clear that there is an opportunity for companies to create even greater worker satisfaction, wellbeing and safety through prioritising personal and family support. Such an approach will enable workers to be better prepared and have the strategies to effectively manage the numerous lifestyle changes that are present in moving to FIFO work.”

The survey included an analysis of worker satisfaction, which found that people without children were more satisfied with life working FIFO than those with children.

The most satisfied workers had been working FIFO for a longer period of time and originally intended to work FIFO long term. They had attended a formal induction into the FIFO lifestyle, felt their companies understood their needs and those of their families and felt they belonged with their company. Mining workers were found to be more satisfied than workers in the construction or oil and gas sectors.