THE Western Australian Government has released for public comment its Draft code of practice for mentally healthy workplaces for fly-in fly-out (FIFO) workers in the resources and construction sectors.
The draft Code, which was developed with input from the resources sector, builds on recommendations from a 2015 Western Australian Legislative Assembly Inquiry into the mental health impacts of FIFO work arrangements.
AREEA’s view is that the Code is not overly prescriptive and takes an educative and risk-based approach to dealing with the impacts on employees’ mental health from FIFO work patterns.
What is not immediately apparent is why the Code only considers the impact of FIFO operations in the resources and construction sectors on the mental health of employees, when other industry sectors have similar work patterns involving employees working away from their homes for days or weeks at a time.
AREEA will be working with our members and the Western Australian Government to ensure any feedback from the resources and energy industry is represented and considered in the final iteration of the Code.
Public comments and feedback are invited until 19 April, 2018.
For more information, contact [email protected].
