Editorial: Do FIFO operations aggravate mental health problems?

Worldwide, Western Australia could be considered ground zero for fly-in, fly-out (FIFO) mining operations, with thousands of mining personnel daily making the air commute from home in pleasant cities like Perth to work for long stretches at...

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Worldwide, Western Australia could be considered ground zero for fly-in, fly-out (FIFO) mining operations, with thousands of mining personnel daily making the air commute from home in pleasant cities like Perth to work for long stretches at mine sites in the state’s remote, inhospitable interior, with typical rotations as such as eight days on-site working 12-hour days, followed by six days off, with paid travel time.

In fact, an astounding 60,000 people in WA work FIFO jobs out of a population of only 2.6 million people. If each FIFO worker has three direct family members, that would mean almost a tenth of the WA population is directly affected by the FIFO lifestyle.

Although Australian mining jobs are well-paying, the FIFO schedule – which can reach as high as four weeks on (i.e., twenty-eight 12-hour work days in a row), one week off – puts considerable strain on a worker’s personal life and physical health.

… The apparent cost on WA mine workers took on a much darker tone, with media reports in mid-2014 that up to nine suicides in the previous 12 months in the state might have been linked to the victims’ having been working at FIFO jobs.

Read the complete article at NorthernMiner.com/news/editorial-fifo-operations

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