THE AWU and politicians are calling for BHP’s Western Australian operations to be shut down, after a scaffolding contractor died on 18 March 2009 at its Mt Whaleback mine.
The John Holland scaffolding contractor died after he fell 12m from machinery at BHP Billiton’s Mt Whaleback mine. This fatality pushes BHP Billiton’s record to five deaths in eight months, and nine deaths in five years.
According to Mines and Petroleum Minister Norman Moore, by contrast, Rio Tinto’s mine sites have had zero deaths in the past five years. Minister Moore says BHP Billiton’s safety record is unacceptable.
Minister Moore is meeting with BHP executives this week to hear about the safety measures the company is putting in place, while Shadow Mines Minister Jon Ford is calling for BHP Billiton’s operations to be shut down until an independent inquiry is held.
The Australian Workers’ Union (AWU) has echoed the calls, and claims the politicians are hedging the issue.
The AWU is angered because the West Australian Mining Advisory Committee (MIAC) will not meet until May. While the MIAC is supposed to meet six times a year, the AWU claims it has not met since June 2008, and is being tied up by bureaucratic red tape.
The AWU wants the MIAC to study its recommendation to shut down BHP until an independent safety audit is completed.
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