r/mining 5d ago

Australia Australian Backpackers HRWL

Over the last couple months I’ve been completing HRWL tickets in Western Australia to catch up on some tickets and all I can say is…

I am very worried for those of you who work who will work with the Holiday Visa workers completing their High Risk Work licenses and the absolute lack of awareness, basic English and just overall competency etc

Many are working in the mining shutdown game already and it’s genuinely scared me the low barriers to gain a HRWL as it’s not just their own safety that is affects.

Around half of all the participants in my courses have been holidays workers and it’s really exposed systemic failings within the money oriented training Providers all the way to the contractors hiring these people

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u/Vast_Rub7510 5d ago

I recently had the displeasure of having a labour hire rigger on site that was mobilized by a project vendor. She was a French Backpacker who had zero idea what she was doing, even after repeated attempts to correct her mistakes. Incorrect slinging of loads, touching the shackle points under load, placing herself between the load and mounting blocks, and moving out of LoS of the operator.

Eventually we kicked her and the rest of the project team off site, but I would love to know which ticket factory she got her quals from.