Aboriginals and the Mining Industry

Case studies of the Australian experience

David Cousins, John Nieuwenhuysen

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN:
  9780868612713
• eBook ISBN:
  9781000248326
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Labour & Employment Law
• Index: Social Sciences

In 1973, Peter Rogers concluded that 'Australia has not done itself justice in the handling of modern industry versus Aborigines conflict. the lack of preparation. is a disgrace to government, private organisations and unions alike'.

What has happened since then? Aboriginals and the mining industry reviews three main questions - to what extent have Aboriginals shared in the fruits of the mining boom? Have new land rights helped Aboriginals protect their interests as affected by mining? And what has been the contribution of mining to the economic development of remote Aboriginal communities? These are vital questions for all concerned with the impact of mining expansion on Aboriginal communities.

This book reviews the participation of Aborigines in the mining company employment. It examines the contribution of the recent land rights legislation to protecting Aboriginal interests. And it asks how far the growth of mining in remote parts of Australia has aided the economic development of Aboriginal groups living there. Detailed case studies of mining projects included.

1
Aboriginal employment in mining: an overview

Map 1.1 Location of case-study mining projects

The only major previous study of Aboriginal involvement in the mining industry was by Peter Rogers.¹ Covering the late 1960s, a time of rapid growth, it concluded that the very few Aboriginals employed were mainly in unskilled jobs with relatively unfavourable conditions. Rogers also noted considerable prejudice against Aboriginals, and little encouragement for them to use the facilities of the new mining company towns.² He highlighted as contributing to this position inadequate government, company and union policies. Governments were viewed as lacking a co-ordinated plan and commitment to an improved socio-economic status for Aboriginals, and industrialists were seen as only mildly concerned about Aboriginal employment and unwilling to accept enough responsibility for economic development of nearby communities. Positive union influence on Aboriginal employment conditions was considered minimal.

Since the Rogers review, substantial new mineral discoveries have been made and other major projects have begun in regions previously dominated by Aboriginals. Government policy has also changed, affecting relationships between Aboriginals and the mining industry, notably through land rights. Public awareness of the harmful effects of mining on Aboriginal life has grown. There is now a greater desire to ensure that the social and other costs of mining are minimised for Aboriginals, and that the benefits are shared by them.

Our study has tried to ascertain how far the position has changed since the late 1960s, when Rogers wrote his book. In this chapter we review our findings of Aboriginal employment in mining.

Employment and training

The case studies show that Aboriginals play only a small part in the operations of major mining companies. Table 1.1 gives details. Aboriginals were only 2.6 per cent of the total workforce of the companies examined, even though they were previously the dominant group in all areas where mining now occurs except Mount Isa, Port Hedland and (to a lesser extent) the Argyle region. In all the case studies, Aboriginals were underrepresented in the mining workforces compared with their share in the current total area population.

Table 1.1 Employment of Aboriginals by major mining companies, June–July 1982

Company	Place	Aboriginals	Total	% Aboriginals
COMALCO	Weipa	81^a	1065	7.6
MIM	Mount Isa	129	5084	2.5
NABALCO	Gove Peninsula	35^b	892	3.9
GEMCO	Groote Eylandt	21	477	4.4
RUM	Jabiru	10	390	2.6
QML	Nabarlek	14^C	180	7.8
MNM	Port Hedland ) Newman J	15	4007	0.4
AJV	Argyle	10^d	190	5.2
Totals		315	12 285	2.6

Notes:

a Includes 5 females employed on a cleaning contract

b Employed by YBE

c Excludes two female trainees on short-term work experience

d Figures include contract employees as well as those of CRAE

Low Aboriginal employment participation is a general characteristic but there are substantial variations between companies. QML (Queensland Mines Ltd) has a small workforce and its Aboriginal component is a large share of the total compared with other companies surveyed, but the much larger COMALCO bauxite mine also employs a relatively high proportion of Aboriginals. AJV (Ashton Joint Venture) has above-average Aboriginal employment and MIM (Mount Isa Mines Ltd), NABALCO (North Australian Bauxite and Alumina Company Pty Ltd), GEMCO (Groote Eylandt Mining Co. Pty Ltd) and RUM (Ranger Uranium Mines Pty Ltd) are around the average with 2.4 per cent of their workforces being Aboriginal. Numbers ascribed to NABALCO are indirect (contract) employees only, as this company has no direct Aboriginal employees. MNM (Mount Newman Mining Co. Pty Ltd) is substantially below other companies in its employment of Aboriginals, who were only 0.4 per cent of its workforce.

As in the late 1960s, Aboriginals continue to occupy mainly unskilled or semi-skilled blue-collar jobs. Where skilled positions are filled, they almost always involve tasks requiring ability to operate or repair mechanical equipment. Staff positions are seldom filled by Aboriginals. Apart from MIM, Aboriginal employment is concentrated in what the companies generally regard as ancillary activities, that is where continuous production or process operations are not affected.

Mining companies provide limited training opportunities for Aboriginal workers. Apart from the usual on-the-job training given by foremen and supervisors, there were few Aboriginals in special training positions (see Table 1.2). Three organisations (MIM, MNM and AJV) did not have specific Aboriginal training schemes at all. Both MIM and MNM claim to make no distinctions as to race in their employment and training policies and do not therefore consider that special Aboriginal training schemes are warranted. The questionable assumption behind this view is that the urban Aboriginals of Mt Isa and Port Hedland no longer maintain distinctively Aboriginal cultural traditions and have fully assimilated into Western society. It is possibly too early in the development of the Argyle project to expect AJV to have organised training programmes for its Aboriginal employees. This will need to be done quickly if Aboriginals are to be involved in this project at levels of responsibility.

Table 1.2 Aboriginal trainees with major mining companies, June–July 1982

Company	Special training scheme	Trainees ,	Apprentices	Work experience
COMALCO	heavy equipment operation	6	2	–
MIM	–	–	37	3^a
NABALCO	heavy equipment operation	12^b	1^b	–
GEMCO	trainee-link scheme heavy equipment operation	3	2	27
RUM	uranium horticulture	1	–	–
QML	road maintenance	5		2
MNM	–	–	6	–
AJV	–	–	–	–
Totals		27	48	32

Notes:

a Trainees under the Youth Employment Scheme

b Heavy equipment trainees employed by YBE (Yirrkala Business Enterprises Pty Ltd) but funded by NABALCO; YBE apprentice using NABALCO training centre

With the exception of GEMCO, training schemes have been restricted to narrow job classifications. RUM has a horticultural scheme (initially this had six Aboriginal trainees) but other schemes concentrated on heavy equipment operation. COMALCO’s scheme stands out as being carefully planned and implemented. Others seem to lack attention to detail and are ad hoc. There was a general reluctance among the companies to commit the high level of resources required for effective training programmes.

Apart from MIM and MNM it was rare for the mining companies to have Aboriginal apprentices. Companies were not prepared to relax apprenticeship entry standards to enable more Aboriginals to become qualified skilled tradesmen. Often, Aboriginal workers could perform the tradesman’s skills adequately, but it was felt that they could not pass the written theoretical parts of the training. The greater number of Aboriginal apprentices at Mt Isa and Port Hedland reflected the higher Western educational attainments of Aboriginals at these centres. Few attempts were made to provide additional coaching for Aboriginals to meet apprenticeship entrance requirements and cope with the theoretical examinations. GEMCO, however, through its close association with the Angurugu school, gave direct encouragement to education authorities to raise standards in required areas.

Training costs for apprentices in the mining industry are very high. There are much larger government subsidies to encourage companies to take on Aboriginal rather than other apprentices—but all companies suggested that their intake was not influenced by this. The key criterion was the likely success of the applicant.

Finally, a form of training given by mining companies was the work experience visits or schemes for Aboriginal school leavers. Most companies participated in these, but sometimes only through the predominately non-Aboriginal schools in the area, excluding the nearby Aboriginal community schools.

How has the employment and training of Aboriginals in the companies investigated by Rogers changed over the past decade? Three of our case studies, COMALCO, NABALCO and GEMCO, were also examined by Rogers. Aboriginals now comprise approximately the same proportion of COMALCO’s workforce as they did ten years ago, but numbers have grown as the operation has expanded. There has been some increase in the variety of positions held by Aboriginals, although these are still predominately blue-collar jobs. There have been a number of Aboriginal and TSI (Torres Strait Islander) apprentices, but no Aboriginals from Weipa South have been accepted for apprenticeship training. An important advance was made, however, with the introduction of the Aboriginal Training Scheme in 1977.

In contrast to Weipa, NABALCO has no regularly employed Aboriginals, but the indirect employment of Aboriginals has expanded considerably with the growth of YBE, especially since the mid-1970s. Furthermore, the prospects for training have been enhanced with NABALCO agreeing to fund twelve trainee positions with YBE and allowing a YBE apprentice to use the facilities of the company’s training centre. Aboriginals employed by YBE again primarily occupy labouring or heavy equipment operator jobs; staff and supervisory positions are filled by non-Aboriginal employees.

Some important changes have occurred at Groote Eylandt. Aboriginal employment has declined in absolute and relative terms, especially since the onset of the current recession; increased mechanisation has reduced job opportunities in wharf and drilling but elsewhere (especially security) opportunities have expanded. Greater efforts have been made to involve and train Aboriginals through vocational training and the trainee-link scheme introduced in 1980. There have been only five Aboriginal apprentices at GEMCO, but none has so far completed the training.

There has generally been little change in the number of jobs and the quality of employment held by Aboriginals in these mining ventures, but companies have recently increased efforts to train Aboriginal workers, even if in a limited way. It seems likely that the granting of land rights and heightened public awareness of the possible adverse effects of mining on Aboriginal lifestyles have influenced companies to increase efforts to train and involve Aboriginals in operations. At the newer established mines of RUM and QML, the likelihood of employment and training opportunities for Aboriginals has probably been increased since companies were required to negotiate formal agreements before mining. The desire to maintain a favourable public image seems to have influenced the AJV in a similar way.

The case studies have considered the reasons why Aboriginals only account for a small proportion of mining company employment. This helps explain the observed differences between companies. Each situation is different. Important variations emerged in the Aboriginal communities, the mining companies, and the relationships established between them. The Aboriginal communities vary in size, sex and age composition and in the extent of uniformity in clan affiliations. There were also differences in availability of alternative employment opportunities, the attitudes of the people to industrial employment, and their acquired skills. The companies differed in size, in the nature of their activities, and the facilities established, the impact of recession on companies has also been uneven. The case studies also show marked variation in company policy to the employment and training of Aboriginals. Finally, Aboriginal-mining company relationships are affected by the history of cross-cultural contacts, the extent to...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Tables
• Maps
• Abbreviations
• Acknowledgements
• Foreword
• Preface
• 1 Aboriginal employment in mining: an overview
• 2 Bauxite mining at Weipa
• 3 Mount Isa Mines Limited
• 4 Bauxite mining and processing at Gove Peninsula
• 5 Manganese mining on Groote Eylandt
• 6 Uranium mining in the Alligator Rivers region
• 7 Iron ore mining in the Pilbara
• 8 Mineral exploration in the Kimberley and the Argyle diamond project
• 9 Conclusions and government policy implications
• Select bibliography
• Index