PB - During the boom, specialist trades could command a fair...

PB - During the boom, specialist trades could command a fair chunk more than the 'award' rates (electricians, boilermakers etc). Even now, you'll see as most of the large projects enter commissioning phases, people involved with the electrical and instrumentation side are still sought after (relatively speaking...).

NRWs ground workforce consists of what fairwork describses as 'construction workers' - labourers and plant operators - not much else. They are covered by the FWA award 'Building and Construction General On-site Award 2010' which dictates hourly rates and this is used as a baseline for hourly rates on all construction projects across the country. If you google it and have a look though, the rates are pretty low (max level goes to around $23.55 an hour).

You are correct in saying that NRW has always paid well above this award rate, as has every other large infrastructure firm in WA- you can't get people out into the bush if you don't offer a decent rate. Even now you'll find many still do, as the minimums dictated are on par with say, a waiter/waitress or checkout operator.

The EBAs are far more liberal in employee benefits and more importantly, enforced on a contract-by-contract basis. In the case of Roy Hill, it was the WA chamber of commerce who oversaw contractor agreements and ensured all contractors were abiding by the relevant EBA. This EBA also contains provisions for pay increases across the life of the project.

To come back to your question though, I am fairly certain that the rates 3 years ago were on par with what was being paid on Roy Hill, but possibly higher as the EBAs evolve from contract to contract, with greater rights for employees.

Gina Rinehart's (broad) statement near the start of Roy Hill that Australian workers are being paid too much was ridiculed amongst the FIFO workforce, but in my view it is slowly becoming a reality. In mining/remote project work these rates are not sustainable at the tendered prices some of these firms are going in at. There will be a critical point where figures plainly do not add up and things start to go backwards, but at the moment firms are being forced to pay the higher end of hourly rates to their workers, while also trimming as much fat as possible from their tender prices. Margins are VERY slim and it is currently a case of winning work to survive rather than winning work to make a healthy profit.


In the case of NRW achieving R5, that will be entirely dependent on their performance of the Ravensthorpe road contract. To-date there has been no official word on progress, or completion.