A recent study of women whose partners work in the mining industry has revealed many women have struggled with frequent relocation and acknowledged that a lack of stability had put a strain on their marriage.

 

Dr Julaine Allan from Charles Sturt University said her findings emphasised the need to support mining families.

 

“Mining has a relocation culture where employees and their families are expected to move sites, jobs and employers. It is an itinerant lifestyle,” she said.

 

“Some research participants had moved more than five times in as many years. It was not uncommon for families to move after three months, and two years in one place was considered a long time.

 

“This has serious implications for the stability of families who move with the mining industry.”

 

Allan said a more recent feature of the mining industry was the fly-in, fly-out phenomenon, where families continue to live in metropolitan areas or larger regional cities while partners fly into remote minesites to work for short periods before returning to their families for a week.

 

Allan said her findings demonstrated the FIFO phenomenon often increased social isolation rather than providing a better lifestyle for families.

 

“Some families moved to new areas, particularly large coastal cities and towns, leaving friends and extended family behind,” she said.

 

“Many found it difficult to settle, to meet people and experienced loneliness as their partner was away for extended periods. It wasn't the lifestyle they'd imagined.”

 

However, Allan said families living in mining towns were less socially isolated compared to those living in metropolitan areas.

 

“In part, this could be because places that experience a lot of population movement were more welcoming to newcomers,” she said.

 

“Women in this study had skills and professions that are in short supply in rural and remote areas, such as teaching and nursing, and were eagerly sought in these areas.

 

“Their children also add to school numbers, and both women and children participate in social, recreational and cultural activities in the towns.”

 

The report, Mining’s Relocation Culture – Implications for Family, Community and Industry, was produced using the detailed stories of 20 women with partners in the mining industry, as well as five women with partners in other industries.

 

“Respondents said that they were attracted to diversity where they lived. Towns with mining, that have a diverse population, were more attractive than mining towns,” Allan said.

 

“However, people involved in mining are more likely to live in rural and remote areas than those in other industries, and this diversity is not always evident. This is the challenge for local communities.”

 

New South Wales Association of Mining Related Councils chairman Tony Jones said the report captured the plight and daily realities of itinerant miner families.

 

“These families face major issues to do with relocation, social isolation and the fly-in, fly-out phenomenon. The association has long recognised the social implications arising from the length of shifts and the complexities of the transient workforce,” Jones said.

 

“This report provides a valuable insight into a relatively unexplored dimension of problems confronting the industry and will hopefully be the catalyst for the mining industry, local governments and other stakeholders to work together to address these issues.”

 

Hays recruitment senior manager of resources Jim Fearon said more than 75% of the jobs that his sector deals with are FIFO.

 

“Given the volumes the big companies need, it is getting harder to find enough people willing to go and live in those places," he said.

 

“There are still people who want to do residential, but they're usually people with young families who want to keep the family unit together. FIFO is a pretty unique way of life, and some people do struggle with it."

 

There are also a number of initiatives underway by the mining giants to entice workers to mining towns and retain them, including BHP Billiton Iron Ore’s Pilbara Childcare Strategy.

 

The strategy will see the company inject up to $A25 million into child care in the region in an effort to attract and retain workers in the towns of Newman and Port Hedland.

 

The company will invest $10 million in building two new childcare centres in Newman and Port Hedland, and contribute up to $30,000 in grants to each existing childcare centre in the region.

 

Yet the boom has dragged the life-balance scales in FIFO workers' favour, Fearon said. Many companies are unable to simply push wages and salaries higher and higher to retain workers, so are now dangling the carrot of better rosters.

 

Meanwhile, another recent study has uncovered a rather different perspective on the impact of FIFO on workers and their families.

 

According to a doctorate study by the University of Western Australia's Susan Clifford, FIFO rosters do not have a noticeable detrimental effect on families.

 

The study of more than 223 workers, including FIFO and daily commute (DC) employees and partners, over 3.5 years found that not only are many families better off financially, but many workers are actually getting more exercise, and those on night shift are getting more sleep, than their home-bound colleagues.

 

The report – The Impacts of Fly-in/Fly-out Commuting on Employees’ Stress, Lifestyle, Relationships and Health – found 78% of WA’s FIFO workers had taken the FIFO option for financial reasons.

 

And while 28% of WA mining employees surveyed showed characteristics of anxiety or depression above the clinical cut-off score, 62% of FIFO and 76% of DC employees felt their commute arrangements suited their lifestyles.

 

The results suggested FIFO employees had adequate coping skills to deal with the long roster stress and general job anxiety, including strong social support networks.

 

The study also revealed “there were no significant differences in how FIFO and DC were perceived to affect relationships with partner, children, friends or relatives”. It also found no evidence to support anecdotal claims of elevated divorce rates.

 

Those surveyed said FIFO arrangements did not hamper relationships with loved ones and even suggested FIFO employees had better relationship quality.

 

Of those surveyed FIFO employees were found to exercise more during work periods than DC employees.

 

Another take on the FIFO arrangement is the recent proposal by BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance to provide daily FIFO opportunities.

 

BMA plans to introduce daily FIFO operations from Mackay to service its Norwich Park, Goonyella, Riverside and Peak Downs mines in Queensland’s Bowen Basin.

 

Yet the proposal has met with harsh criticism from politicians and unions who believe it will create longer working hours and increase worker fatigue.

 

Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union executive vice-president Stuart Vaccaneo said BMA’s decision flies in the face of safe work practices and would deal a massive blow to regional communities such as Moranbah and Dysart.

 

“Companies like BMA need to invest in our communities like Moranbah and Dysart by providing adequate amounts of appropriate housing accommodation for mine workers and their families – locally,” Vaccaneo said.

 

“With BMA’s introduction of fly-in, fly-out in one day arrangements comes a risk that if the practice spreads through the industry, it is likely to reduce vibrant towns like Moranbah and Dysart to mere holes in the ground, impacting on thousands of families.”

 

He added local businesses relied heavily on income directly and indirectly from the mining industry and that revenue could be under threat.

 

BMA said it was working to tackle accommodation shortages and had spent $A210 million over the past three years under its accommodation strategy. BMA said it was spending a further $60 million on accommodation in Dysart and Moranbah during the 2009 financial year.

 

“In addition, every year BMA invests millions of dollars in the development and maintenance of the townships which are home to our workforce and their families. Last year we invested more than $22 million into our communities through our Community Investment Program,” BMA said in a statement.

 

So it seems the jury is still out on the long-term effect of the FIFO lifestyle and how to deal with the accommodation crisis in mining communities.

 

One thing for certain though is that whatever decision mining families take, FIFO or relocation, more services and support are needed to reduce stress and encourage family unity.