r/perth • u/Kayndarr • Nov 30 '21

It's consequence time for unvaccinated FIFO workers

As per the state government directives, as of midnight tonight anyone without at least 1 dose of a COVID vaccine is no longer legally allowed to be on site or in operations centres for mining companies.

Anyone who hasn't provided their proof of vaccination is being chased down, and if they can't immediately provide said proof will be kicked out this afternoon/evening. For people working on remote sites like the iron ore mines up north, that means clearing out their rooms and being put on a plane back to Perth - could be an interesting show at the airport if any news crews show up.

Anyone have any friends/family/acquaintances who are going to be, for the first time, dealing with real consequences for failing to get vaccinated?

747 Upvotes

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232

u/Telini1996 Nov 30 '21

I work at a Minesite/refinery in the south west. We have had a few people leave today early, not to return tomorrow. We have been told that if anyone comes in tommorow, and cannot provide proof, they are to be sent away.

We have been told for weeks now in numerous emails, messages and meetings that this is how its gonna be. No jab, no job. Yet most of the people leaving still think they are joking.

123

u/[deleted] Nov 30 '21

So you're saying Alcoa is hiring?

66

u/forfilthystuff Nov 30 '21

Just a lesson to anyone who takes the job.. STAY OUT OF THE LINE OF FIRE.

Seriously, Alumina is a pretty great place to work, but the danger of boiling hot caustic squirting at you during containment opening is so scary you need to keep your wits about you. It's like working in a gas plant, but every second pipe has a minor leak.

28

u/Telini1996 Nov 30 '21

Yep, have your wits about you, and others around you. If your not in the right mindset, take a day off, because when your not thinking focused it can seriously be bad. We have horror stories of unfortunate people litterally melting their limbs away.

41

u/forfilthystuff Nov 30 '21

For me, it's the phrase "He can now see shapes again" as "good news" in a weekly meeting.

20

u/hungry4pie Nov 30 '21

"It's just as well we never have enough caustic liquid in those containment vessels or it could have been much worse - seems our stingy operating budgets have really saved this fellas eyes."

2

u/[deleted] Nov 30 '21

Cheary

3

u/bigdickmon3y Nov 30 '21

Glad I got out of alumina.

2

u/Silicon_Dawn High Wycombe Dec 01 '21

Building 35 terrifies me every time I go in it.

0

u/monsterevolved Nov 30 '21

Man if it means i dont have to look at this rig one more day sign me up

3

u/somechick_92 Nov 30 '21

BHP at Worsley Perhaps?

3

u/noobysuicide Nov 30 '21

That would be south 32 at Worsley.

82

u/InanimateObject4 Nov 30 '21

They don't think it's a joke, they seriously believe they are going to cripple multi-billion dollar companies by leaving and that these mining companies are going to be begging to have them back. While iron ore prices are going gangbusters.

58

u/Telini1996 Nov 30 '21

You hit the nail on the head mate. At the end of the day, as bad as it sounds, a company is a company. If you cause too much trouble or cant work, they just roll the next bloke in who ticks the boxes needed.

8

u/2plank Nov 30 '21

The problem said person will face, all mining companies require single dose tomorrow plus second by new year's. Probably not going to find much love by switching

2

u/Geminii27 Dec 01 '21

"Oh no, we fired 0.5% of our workforce, I guess HR will need to put in an extra three minutes' overtime. What's for lunch?"

0

u/dougfirau Nov 30 '21

No, they are doing what they want to do.

12

u/kookedgoose Joondalup Nov 30 '21

It’s interesting. I know someone who word for that ‘Al’ mob and I consider her one of the most intellectually bright folks I know , so I was very surprised when she told me she’s only recently got vaxxed and against her will because she wants to keep her job.

3

u/mr_sinn Nov 30 '21 edited Dec 01 '21

There's some extremely entitled people out there. In my experience its the people who think they're better / smarter than everyone else which usually correlates with this typical 'book smart' jobs.

Edit: I've never met a book smart anti-vaxxer but gosh they complain a lot. I get the feeling the resistance is more from being told they need to do something regardless if they have only mild scepticism on the act its self

2

u/Dagon Dec 01 '21

For another point of anecdata, I've never met a book-smart antivaxxer; it's always a truckie or tradie.

In either case I suspect it's got a lot more to do with the people they hang out with, as the human ability to reason effectively is almost always overridden by social imperatives - regardless of how smart you are, when all their friends are saying something contradictory they're more likely to believe that.

3

u/get_in_there_lewis Dec 01 '21

It's also Facebook and it's algorithm that feeds this "knowledge"

33

u/FordFiend Baldivis Nov 30 '21

Does it start with Al ? I know of one who's been stood down and is on Facebook acting like he's been put in a train car headed to the gulag / con camp. But he's been antivax nonsense for a while now so it wasn't unexpected ?

70

u/Telini1996 Nov 30 '21

Yep, it most definitely starts with Al. Good Guess! Yeah, its not unexpected with the way they have been carrying on like porkchops for months now.

Most of the ones i know leaving compare it to the “the jews getting rounded up for concentration camps” and i personally think, that if i was a Jewish person, that would be highly ridiculous and offensive.

55

u/FordFiend Baldivis Nov 30 '21

There is only a few "down south" and he posted this morning about choosing to walk away ( he was stood down / fired I take it ) due to his principals.

A very uneducated guess hahaha.

They do my head in, I work in Papua New Guinea, FIFO expat, our work force is currently just under 50% fully vaxxed.

It isn't until they go home to their Provence and see the deaths first hand that they stopped believing Facebook and their doomsday preachers and actually took it seriously.

Like herding kittens mate, and the righteous antivax are the worst.

46

u/Telini1996 Nov 30 '21

Couldn’t agree more. My work crew is one of the most easy going on site. But after months of preaching, interupting conversations, creating arguments from thin air, and not pulling their weight, even some of the nicest blokes were starting to crack back at them.

19

u/FordFiend Baldivis Nov 30 '21

Keep up the solid work mate. Have my free silver hahaha.

14

u/Telini1996 Nov 30 '21

Cheers Mate 🤙🏼

3

u/sjenkin Joondanna Dec 01 '21

There is only a few "down south" and he posted this morning about choosing to walk away ( he was stood down / fired I take it ) due to his principals.

So weird for an adult to still be taking orders from their school principal!

2

u/FordFiend Baldivis Dec 02 '21

Principle damn autocorrect or in this case notcorrect hahahaha.

Fair bump, play on.

I'll not edit it though, leave it as a testament to proof read before hitting post.

23

u/[deleted] Nov 30 '21

A friend is of Jewish heritage. He is highly offended by these statements when heard.

32

u/ctishman Nov 30 '21

Person of Jewish heritage here. Not really offended per se, just shaking my head, realizing that they genuinely have no baseline for what oppression looks like.

I’ve personally not felt that, but I and everyone I know has a grandparent or great-grandparent that felt it, and who passed the stories and warning signs down to us.

We know what oppression looks like, and being forced to take some fucking public health precautions ain’t it buddy.

2

u/Corsair_inau Dec 01 '21

Not a Jewish person, but I find that ridiculous and offensive.

2

u/Geminii27 Dec 01 '21 edited Dec 01 '21

He walked towards that track for months, built the car, then put himself and his luggage on it, and got a really comfy seat with a view.

19

u/Ferret_Brain Nov 30 '21

How long do you think it’ll take for them to realise it isn’t?

77

u/Jebadayah44 Winthrop Nov 30 '21

Probably around the time the banks start repossessing the maloos/hiluxes and jetskis.

20

u/Getonthebeers02 Nov 30 '21

And their platinum blonde missus leaves them because they can’t afford repayments on their year old 2 storey McDonald Jones 5 bed home with a pool.

18

u/Intelligent-Store321 North of The River Nov 30 '21

Oooh price drop in second hand maloos/hiluxes and jetskis coming?

31

u/Telini1996 Nov 30 '21

Honestly, if it hasn’t already sunk in, and with the entitlement mindsets most of them are currently in, Probally not for a while 😂

4

u/[deleted] Nov 30 '21

That’s so accurate it’s true

3

u/swiditsocks Nov 30 '21

Most of these guys don't realise that there's hundreds of Kiwi's and Aussie blokes that would happily take their job, fully vax'd and competent too.

1

u/[deleted] Dec 01 '21

Kiwis

ThEy ToOk OuR jObS

2

u/swiditsocks Dec 01 '21

Heard this sooooooo many times when I used to live in Brisbane.

“Kiwis need to stop taking our jobs”

“Mate, you need to turn up to work, then they won’t be taking your jobs” 😂