Gina Rinehart’s Roy Hill iron-ore project in Western Australia’s Pilbara region does not need to be built by foreign workers because construction labour is freeing up in the state, the sector’s union says.
Ms Rinehart wrote in Australian Resources and Investment magazine on Thursday that more than 8000 construction workers were needed for the Hancock Prospecting project.
Most would be Australian but some foreign workers would also be required, she said.
Ms Rinehart also said many training places would be offered to Australians as an “offset” to the use of overseas workers during the construction phase.
Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union WA mining division secretary Gary Wood said he didn’t believe Ms Rinehart’s promise of training locals would be met.
“It’s just cheap foreign labour, exploiting people from other countries who are vulnerable,” Mr Wood told AAP.
“There’s major construction projects in WA which are in decline.
“It’s her way of avoiding the unionisation of the sites.”
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