AMWU Western Australia Secretary, Steve McCartney, has cautiously welcomed the WA Government’s announcement on mine worker safety.

Mr McCartney said that while it has taken twelve months and ten deaths for the Liberal Government to act to stop workers losing their lives on WA mines, he is pleased that they are finally starting to treat this issue seriously.

“But money to employ more inspectors and new regulations alone won’t change the culture on WA mine sites, said Mr McCartney.

The State Government needs to talk to workers directly about how we make mines safer.

The AMWU calls on the State Government to urgently hold a “Safety Summit” with all stakeholders to fix this problem once and for all.

“It’s time for the State Government to start working cooperatively with Unions and industry so that we can put a plan in place to stop any further deaths on WA mine sites, said Mr McCartney.