FIFO rosters and workers’ health and safety: a case study of the impacts of extended shift rosters on electrical workers in construction in the resources sector

ABSTRACT

Fly-in Fly-out (FIFO) employment has become a fundamental feature of construction activity in the resources sector in Australia. Much of the existing FIFO research has focused on the production phase of resource projects, as opposed to the construction phase. The rosters in the construction phase are less sociable than those in the production phase. Production phase-focused FIFO studies have documented negative impacts on communities, work-life balance and on the mental and occupational health of workers. This paper presents findings from a qualitative study among electrical trades workers working a challenging FIFO roster while employed during the construction phase of the INPEX LNG Project in Darwin in Australia’s Northern Territory. Results from 18 semi-structured interviews are used to examine these rosters from the perspective of workplace health and safety. Findings are linked to obligations placed on the Person Conducting the Business or Undertaking (PCBU) by work health and safety legislation. The paper concludes that it is doubtful that these workers’ rosters complied with the obligations placed on the PCBU by the legislation.

KEYWORDS:

• FIFO
• rosters
• construction industry
• workplace health and safety

Expression of Interest

Geographical labour mobility in the construction sector:

Contexts, Patterns, Processes, and Consequences.

Dr Nadine Brayley Lecturer, Faculty of Health, School of Psychology and Counselling,

Queensland University of Technology

Dr John Martin, Research and Policy Officer, Queensland Council of Unions

FIFO Rosters and workers’ health and safety: a case study of the impacts of extended shift rosters on electrical workers in construction in the resource sector.

Fly-in Fly-out (FIFO) employment has become a fundamental feature of construction activity in the resource sector in Australia (Brown et al. 2014; Cameron et al. 2014; Carrington et al. 2011; Ellem 2015; Langdon et al. 2016; Perry and Rowe 2015). FIFO has become a primary means of labour mobility in the resource sector, particularly for skilled workers (Barclay et al. 2016; Henry et al. 2013).

Some literature has focused on the deleterious impact of FIFO, particularly in the mining production phase, has on local communities (Blackman et al. 2014; Carrington et al. 2011; Ellem 2015; Langdon et al. 2016; Peetz et al 2016; Perry and Rowe 2015; Robinson et al. 2017; Rolfe and Kinnear 2013). There has also been considerable dialogue within the literature concerning the impact of FIFO employment on workers and their families (Blackman et al. 2014; Carrington et al. 2011; Peetz et al. 2012; Robinson et al. 2017; Vojnovic et al. 2014). FIFO has also been the central feature of at least three parliamentary inquiries (Commonwealth House of Representatives 2013; Queensland Parliament 2015; Western Australian Legislative Assembly 2015).

Much of the existing research has been undertaken with respect to operation of FIFO in production phase of the resources sector, as opposed to the construction phase. It is arguable that the rosters in the construction phase are less sociable than those in the production phase (Brown et al. 2014; Henry et al. 2013). By focusing on the construction phase, this research will fill a gap in the current knowledge.

Recently the rosters associated with FIFO in the construction sector have become controversial. Rostering is a cause of major conflict between employers and workers engaged in construction in the resource sector. Despite substantial remuneration, workers are so concerned with their rosters that they are willing to take industrial action to attempt to change this roster.

This research focuses on the INPEX LNG Project in Darwin in Australia’s Northern Territory. It will consider workers engaged in electrical trades working a FIFO roster. Aside from taking a broader industrial relations perspective of this case study, it will consider the contentious rosters operating in the construction phase from the workplace health and safety perspective. Obligations placed on the person conducting the business or undertaking (PCBU) by work health and safety legislation includes the provision of a safe system of work⁵. Is working a roster with extensive periods away from home consistent with that obligation which is held by the PCBU?

It is proposed that a series of semi-structured interviews will be conducted with a sample of electrical workers (N = 20-30) who are, or have been, employed on the INPEX LNG Project. These interviews will test the depth and breadth of feeling amongst workers at the site about the roster. It will also explore the psychosocial impact on workers of the prevailing rosters, examining factors such as psychological wellbeing, work/life balance, adjustment strategies, and family/partner relationships. In doing so, the research will examine the extent to which the roster is compliant with the various obligations placed on the PCBU by work health and safety legislation.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. Registered name is Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia (CEPU) Electrical, Energy and Services Division – Queensland and Northern Territory Divisional Branch

2. Thanks are extended to Dr Nadine Brayley of Queensland University of Technology for advice and assistance in the formulation of the questions for the interviews.

3. For example in the extensive research undertaken by Parker and Fruhen (2018, 406) in the sample of former FIFO workers 12% were single viz 2 out of 18 (11.1%).

4. To put this into perspective, the annual operating expense for the Northern Territory non-financial public sector is estimated to be $7.2 billion AUD in the 2019–20 budget (Northern Territory Government 2019, 2). With the current exchange rate ($1US = 0.68 AUD) this equates to $4.9 billion US, meaning the project cost seven- and one-half times the annual budget of the Government of the jurisdiction in which it was built

5. RUOK details can be found at www.ruok.org.au

Additional information

Notes on contributors

John Martin

John Martin is the Research and Policy Officer for the Queensland Council of Unions (QCU).  In this role John is responsible, inter alia, for undertaking research for the QCU Executive and affiliated unions. John has an undergraduate degree in business majoring in industrial relations and first class honours in commerce. In 2016 John was awarded a PhD from the Griffith Business School at Griffith University in Queensland. John has worked in the field of industrial relations for most of his career having represented both workers and management in a range of industries. He has also worked as a sessional course coordinator, lecturer and tutor at the University of Queensland, Queensland University of Technology and Charles Darwin University. John’s research interests include trade unions, wage theft, labour hire, fly-in/fly-out working arrangements, workplace health and safety and broader developments in industrial relations legislation and case law. John has researched and delivered research papers to a range of national and international conferences.