Championing change for Indigenous workers in the minerals industry

More than 60 per cent of Australian mines are located near Indigenous communities and yet it is only in the last couple of decades that Industry has taken a more proactive approach to increasing Indigenous employment.

The Sustainable Minerals Institute’s (SMI) Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining (CSRM) has researched and documented this transition since 2005, and has developed resources and tools for industry to improve practice in Indigenous employment, and business participation in the Australian mining sector.

CSRM Research Project Manager Rodger Barnes and Research Fellow Joni Parmenter have been part of this drive since joining the Centre in the 2000s.

“When CSRM was established in 2001, industry was undergoing an important transition in its attitude and responses to Indigenous land rights,” Mr Barnes said.

“As someone who was working for many years at the community-industry interface, the material I saw coming out of CSRM were equipping mining companies with knowledge and tools to act more responsibly toward Indigenous landowners.”

CSRM’s research focuses on the impacts of mining employment on Indigenous peoples, and have developed frameworks and processes to assist industry to realise commitments made to Indigenous communities.

Ms Parmenter led a widening focus to include a gender lens by publishing on the experiences of Indigenous women working in the industry.

“While there has been a push to increase women’s participation in mining over the last couple of decades, the industry’s approach to gender inclusion is poor.

“Indigenous women represent the overlapping intersection of two industry agendas; one to increase participation of ‘Indigenous peoples’ and one to increase participation of ‘women’.

“As a result, the specific needs of Indigenous women are often not recognised. I don’t think I’ve seen a case where employment data on Indigenous women is publicly or internal reported,” Ms Parmenter said.

To date, CSRM’s publications and Indigenous research hub have provided valuable publicly available resources in an area where tools and information on best practice are scarce.

CSRM’ research effort has impacted the industry in multiple ways:

Development of tools, frameworks and good practice guides based on practical application of research findings in Indigenous employment and retention.
Supporting and maintaining a focus on a sector-wide Indigenous employment vision rather than project or company specific outcomes.
Advancing industry and Indigenous stakeholders understanding and practice in business development (local supply and procurement) through practical tools, frameworks, and guides.

_{Image supplied by Rodger Barnes, with permissions from Newmont.}

Worker standing in front of industrial equipment

Seeing opportunities, not barriers

“Often when companies talk about Indigenous employment or retention, they will focus on so-called ‘barriers’, such as levels of numeracy and literacy, fitness for work, lack of industry experience,” Mr Barnes said.

“The deficit approach has become quite tiring. Many of the hurdles are a result of companies’ own requirements and processes. Mining companies successfully operate in all parts of the world and adapt to local conditions and cultural norms. Corporate flexibility and adjusting to local contexts are far from the norm in the settler state.

“Where there are good outcomes, we see initiatives that recognise the local socio-economic and cultural context with targeted employment pathways and career progression tailored to Indigenous employees.

“Proponents of resource projects and expansions always make claims about jobs opportunities, but these opportunities are harder to reach if you don’t fit the mainstream,” Mr Barnes said.

“Indigenous people may have different values and approaches to work, and the industry needs to consider those differences and accommodate them within their existing corporate framework,” Ms Parmenter said.

“It’s not just about ensuring Aboriginal people are ‘work-ready’ to start at a mine site, it is equally important that the workplace is ready – is culturally safe for those workers”.

As Indigenous involvement in the mining industry has evolved over time, CSRM researchers believe lessons can be learnt from the past.

Aboriginal people in Australia, including women, have always been involved in mining, but were actively excluded when activities moved to large scale around the 1960s.

“The change in parts of industry that support Indigenous employment over the last couple of decades has resulted in mining becoming the largest private industry employer of Indigenous people in Australia,” Ms Parmenter said.

“But this success disguises key issues. Much of the Indigenous workforce do not live in communities nearby to the mine. More needs to be done to grow the local labour pool and ensure Traditional Owners are given priority.

“Another concern going forward is the impact of automation on jobs – research indicates that Indigenous mine employees are concentrated in semi-skilled positions (e.g., truck driving), and will be disproportionally negatively impacted by the industry's shift to automation”.

Image supplied by Rodger Barnes and Joni Parmenter, with permissions from Roche.

Indigenous female worker taking water samples

Image supplied by Rodger Barnes and Joni Parmenter, with permissions from OZ Minerals (formerly Zinifex).

Industry impact:
Working with mining industry companies

CSRM influences industry through more direct engagement, with research teams working on site to study and develop strategies to improve outcomes.

CSRM recently undertook a study with Rio Tinto to improve Indigenous employee retention at Rio Tinto iron ore operations. The provision of employment opportunities for local Indigenous people in the Pilbara are a major part of agreements with Indigenous landowners.

At the time of the report, Rio Tinto employed 990 Indigenous people, representing 8 per cent of the total workforce. The study identified several ways Rio Tinto can improve their systems to attract and retain Indigenous employee.

Impacts from the study include :

cultural safety in the workplace
supervisor cultural competency
career progression
access to training opportunities
specific Indigenous support roles at sites.

_{Image supplied by Rodger Barnes and Joni Parmenter, with permissions from Newmont.}

Indigenous worker wearing safety glass, making measurements

Research impact:
Industry-guiding publications

CSRM has a suite of resources publicly available. These include guides and tools aimed at improving Indigenous participation in the mining industry.

“One of the most influential guides for the industry has been CSRM’s 2007 Indigenous Employment in the Australian Minerals Industry,” Ms Parmenter said.

“Industry loves tools, and this was something that a lot of people in the industry could access and apply directly to their mine site. Prior to it there really wasn’t anything like it.

“It also resulted in the production of an associated evaluation tool which has been applied by a range of industry organisations.”

“One of the most important outcomes is normalising the discussion of Indigenous employment – it demonstrated what was possible if companies approached Indigenous employment differently."

Following on from the first guide’s success, CSRM has published several additional guides on a range of topics:

Other CSRM contributed guides

“Research has shown that the most effective inroads are made where champions or site managers with a personal commitment push the agenda. A big part of these publications is to try and capture that success in their systems.”
Research Fellow Joni Parmenter