The Chamber of Minerals and Energy has fired back at union claims that the resources sector does nothing to train the state’s workforce, but relies on migrants and poaching workers from other industries.
The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union WA launched a mass media campaign this week lambasting the resources sector for what it described as “bleeding” the construction industry dry.
The union’s WA state secretary, Mick Buchan, claimed resources companies were the biggest users of skilled workers but paid “absolutely nothing” to the WA Construction Training Fund.
Legislation stipulates construction projects worth more than $20,000 require a levy of 0.2 per cent be paid into the fund, which is then used to subsidise apprenticeship schemes and traineeships across the construction industry.
The only exceptions are government projects and mining and petroleum projects, where the work is exploration or extraction of minerals or petroleum, and agricultural work.
The union’s appeal to Premier Colin Barnett to introduce a mandatory levy contribution has added to long-running concerns from others in the construction industry, such as the Master Builders Association WA, which called the situation “inequitable”.
But the chamber has called the union’s claims “totally false” and an “insult”.
It said resources companies were still required to pay the levy on projects, which involved the construction of houses, accommodation and commercial buildings.
CME director Nicole Roocke said that translated to “significant” sums of money when investments in projects such as establishing accommodation villages in the Pilbara were considered.
The union claimed the resources sector was partly responsible for the current skills shortage, which would be less significant if it had helped fund training 10 years ago.
But the chamber said the union failed to recognise the investment resources companies themselves put into training workers.
It said that in the two years to the third quarter of 2011, there was a 72.5 per cent increase in apprentices and trainees in the mining industry; the figures from the National Centre for Vocational Education Research showed numbers were at 3,591 in July-September 2011.
“Ensuring these apprentices and trainees complete their training is a major focus, with the resources sector having the highest retention rate compared to any other industry,” the chamber said in a statement.
“In 2010, only 22 per cent of apprentices in the resources sector withdrew from their course, compared to 45 per cent of apprentices across all industries.”
The chamber conceded there was a migration of workers from the construction industry into resources but said that was to be expected at a time when activity was slow in the commercial and residential building area, as is currently the case, and was not as significant as the union made out.
It said Australian Bureau of Statistics data showed that in the two years to 2008, of the total 16,200 workers to join the mining sector, 4000 came from the construction industry. Meanwhile, 2,755 workers moved out of the mining sector into construction.
Ms Roocke told WA Business News the chamber felt data being provided by the unions was misleading and it was important for all the different stakeholders to conduct a thorough review.