Stanmore Coal and Golding join forces on ‘live local’ workforce initiative
Published by Claire Cuddihy,
Assistant Editor
World Coal,
As part of a workforce mental health and welfare initiative, Stanmore Coal has partnered with our principal contractor Golding to develop a local housing allowance policy, aimed at encouraging a ‘live local’ option for employees of its Isaac Plains complex.
The goal of the policy is to reduce the number of employees who currently drive-in/drive-out (DIDO) to our mines — although many already live in the Moranbah area, some currently travel long distances to and from work in line with their roster blocks. While DIDO is relatively common practice across Queensland’s mining community, we believe supporting more of our people to live locally will bring some great benefits for them and their families, for the company, and for the community.
“Stanmore Coal’s Isaac Plains complex is a significant employer in Central Queensland, and we always have safety and employee wellbeing as a key priority,” Bernie O’Neill, General Manager said.
“From our perspective, it makes sense to have capable people living nearby — we believe there will be a positive impact on fatigue management from reduced travel times, which in turn improves people’s general and mental wellbeing, and it’s great for our operational flexibility,” he said.
“This is also a chance to strengthen the community ties that Stanmore Coal and Golding already have, with more of our employees and their families becoming part of and contributing to regional life.”
The ‘live local’ housing allowance is a back-to-back financial commitment to employees from Golding and Stanmore Coal. It is now available to permanent Golding employees who have a ‘usual place of residence’ in the area, with the financial incentive recognising there are associated costs for people choosing to live away from major regional or metropolitan centres.
Since launching the new policy recently, just over 10% of the workforce have already taken it up, including Golding Site Administration Officer Danielle Luhrs.
“The live local initiative has certainly helped me with the cost of living in Moranbah. I enjoy living here — it’s a nice little town with a good community vibe,” Danielle said.
Read the article online at: https://www.worldcoal.com/mining/08042019/stanmore-coal-and-golding-join-forces-on-live-local-workforce-initiative/
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