The Konekt Market Report – the largest of its kind in Australia – analysed over 113,000 cases of workers compensation and non-compensable cases over a six year period. It found that while lower back pain is the second-greatest contributor of disability in Australia generally, employees either take their time reporting injuries or ignore them until they become debilitating.
Results released late last month revealed that the average cost for an injured worker in the mining sector was $3659 – the highest of all industries in the report, while the average delay to referral (for treatment) was 33 weeks. The sector also has the longest average service duration of 25 weeks.
About 16% of workplace injuries in the mining sector are for back injuries, and Konekt also reported that the sector has an 88% return-to-work rate, slightly lower than the Australian average of 87%.
Yet the coal sector faces its own set of challenges in the back pain area.
Ward told International Coal News that the ability to complete suitable duties could be difficult depending on the policies of the mine.
“There may be limited above-ground options and there are usually strict guidelines for capacity before they can go underground,” Ward said.
“Fly-in, fly-out work can impact capacity for suitable duties. Rehab providers are often asked to try to find temporary employment/work trials with other employers local to the worker’s residence until they upgrade to duties they were undertaking before the injury occurred, with the result that the injured worker is unable to upgrade at their usual workplace.
“In NSW, coal mines are excluded from the 2012 legislation amendment in NSW, so there is limited ability to shift long term claimants out of the system even if injuries should have resolved.
“Strong competition for roles makes it difficult to win alternate roles if unable to return to pre-injury employment.
“Many employees are contractors; while psychological claims can be impacted by fly-in and fly-out scenarios, making it difficult for workers to have connected and reasonable relationships with family and friends, leading to mental health factors.”
Ward added that contractors, new employees and employees under 20 tend to have higher risk, claim and fatality profile, and the industry indicated that this was due to inexperience or tenuous employment as a contractor who has no certainty about ongoing employment and works, in some cases, much longer hours.
A report prepared by the NSW Department of Primary Industries and the NSW Mine Safety Advisory Council said that the metalliferous and extractives sectors had a smaller percentage of musculoskeletal claims than coal mining (40% compared with 52%), yet there was a higher proportion of vibration-related musculoskeletal claims on coal mining.
The metalliferous/extractives sector, meanwhile, has a much higher proportion of “repetitive movement” related claims.
The four-year claim costs for the metalliferous/extractives sectors are also much higher than for coal ($26 million compared with $17 million). However, metalliferous/extractives claim costs have reduced while coal costs have increased, while the average cost of claims is much lower in the metalliferous/extractives sectors.
Coal also has a lower average time lost per claim (2.3 weeks versus 3.5 weeks) but a higher proportion of claims extending beyond four weeks (18% compared with 15% in the non-coal sector).
