This article is a sponsored feature from Mining.com.au partner Acting Consulting Training Australia. It is not financial advice. Talk to a registered financial expert before making investment decisions.
Mining heavyweights are getting behind a new theatre performance that tackles the unnecessarily high psychosocial risks occurring in the industry.
Acting Consulting Training (ACT) Australia’s latest production ‘Hindsight’ is touring Western Australia’s regional towns as well as Perth to help miners better tackle psychosocial safety during National Safe Work Month.
It is funded by the Western Australian Government’s Mental Awareness, Respect and Safety (MARS) Program, and addresses 2022 legislation.
The production has been attended by workers from BHP (ASX:BHP), Northern Star Resources (ASX:NST), Liontown Resources (ASX:LTR), Genesis Minerals (ASX:GMD) Glencore’s (LSE:GLEN) Murrin Murrin operations and Gold Fields (NYSE:GFI), among others.
ACT Australia has added an extra show due to the strong attendance numbers, with the final sessions returning to Perth’s State Library Theatrette on 29 and 30 October.
“The WA mining industry is turning up across the state to applaud the latest theatre for safety production, Hindsight,” Managing Director Susan Fleming says. “It offers insight, tools and demystifies psychosocial safety.”
Psychosocial refers to the combined effect that psychological factors and the social environment have on a person’s physical and mental health.
There are several psychosocial hazards that the MARS Program and WorkSafe WA are focusing on.
From fatigue to unfair treatment, issues exposed
Fleming says this includes the obvious ones like fatigue, but the focus is specifically on the more important ones like loss of control, inappropriate language and behaviours, and unfair treatment.
“These are all ones that add up to a very toxic culture, and they’re causing a problem the mining industry cannot afford to have,” she tells Mining.com.au.
“Bullying and sexual harassment are among the main offenders, but also the treatment of contractors as second-class citizens compared to those with the operator logo on their shirts.
“Research is showing us that the people who are being promoted are often the bullies, because they’re the ones that are getting the job done no matter what.”
Safework Australia says on average, work-related psychological injuries have longer recovery times, higher costs, and require more time away from work.
Legislation targeting psychosocial risks was introduced in 2022 after a parliamentary report, titled ‘Enough is Enough’ Sexual harassment against women in the FIFO mining industry, unearthed the full extent of the problem on Australia’s mine sites.
“You can now be prosecuted if psychosocial hazards are not addressed,” Fleming notes.
Libby Mettam, Deputy Leader of the Western Australian Liberal Party, who was Chair of the Community Development and Justice Standing Committee said at the time the report was released in June 2022 that she was “shocked and appalled well beyond expectation by the size and depth of the problem”.
“We were told how sexual harassment is generally accepted or overlooked, of the abuse of positions of power, of serious breaches of codes of conduct and the culture of cover-up,” she said.
“To hear the lived reality of the taunts, attacks and targeted violence, the devastation and despair the victims experienced, the threats to or loss of their livelihood that resulted was shattering and completely inexcusable.
“And simply shocking that this could be taking place in the 21st century in one of the state’s most lucrative industry sectors.”
Experts and psychologists shape authentic performance
ACT Australia delivers storytelling through theatre and film performances to inspire the creation of safer working environments. The company brings actual incidents and imagined scenarios to the stage, with actors portraying workers facing high-risk situations.
Hindsight is an interactive experience that explores work, health and safety fundamentals including safety culture, psychosocial and physical hazards.
The latest production was a collaborative effort with psychologists, the Western Australian Mental Health Commission and experts from the MARS Program.
ACT Australia also consulted with inspectors from WorkSafe WA and graduates from the London School of Economics who had been investigating why diversity, equity, and inclusion programs were not working.
“The co-design group, including representation from Lifeline and Mates in Mining, that we set up was generous to a point where we felt so sure that this project was one developed with integrity, which is incredibly important when you’re dealing with these sensitive topics,” Fleming explains.
Ivy Chen, founder of GeoReg Mining and Compliance, says Hindsight is more than a play.
“It is the best training in starting to understand how psychosocial safety is equally as important as physical safety, in making sure we all go home safely at the end of a shift,” she says.
Celia Antonovsky, Deputy Chair Australian Institute of Health and Safety, says Hindsight is a reminder that the industry has a long way to go in educating people at all levels of the workforce about psychosocial hazards.
Mental health costs the sector millions annually
Beyond the people aspect, the economics of these issues can also be costly for mining companies.
Research by the Breakthrough Mental Health Research Foundation, shows that the mining sector loses an estimated $460 million in productivity each year due to mental health issues.
About 30% of mining workers report high or very high levels of psychological distress, making them roughly two and a half times more likely to experience depression or anxiety.
This can lead to a high turnover of staff, according to Fleming.
“We’re trying to address this incredible pool of talented individuals that want to go to an exciting, very well-paid workplace – the mining industry, but they’re not staying,” she explains.
“The younger generation has a much more sure sense of boundaries and if they’re crossed a number of times, they leave.
“We don’t have many chances to get this right because here comes defence. They want those people, too. Defence industries are cashed up and investing, and they’re big companies, and they can offer international opportunities.”
Fleming says registrations for Hindsight have been strong thanks to the success of ‘The Slip: What Good Looks Like’, which was also commissioned by the MARS Program for National Safe Work Month last year.
“MARS broke new ground in innovation in training in mining with THE SLIP: WHAT Good Looks Like. This time, audiences are willing to come along and see what’s next,” she says.
“We’ve had safety managers, we’ve had operations managers who have attended in Port Hedland, who’ve attended in Kalgoorlie, and they were in the middle of a shut. Because they valued safety, they brought their team to show them that they valued safety.”
To register for the free event, click here.
Write to Angela East at Mining.com.au
Images: Acting Consulting Training Australia
