Glencore has enforced working from home arrangements for staff whose roles can be moved off-site.
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While production continues across North Queensland operations, Glencore has enforced change as a key priority to protect the health and well-being of its workforce and communities in which it operates.
Glencore's North Queensland Metals General Manager for Health, Safety, Environment and Community, Maryann Wipaki, said fewer people on site significantly strengthened social distancing measures and supported Federal and State Government measures to slow the spread of COVID-19 from person to person.
"We're assisting employees to transition to remote working and rolling this measure out more broadly across our North Queensland operations this week," Ms Wipaki said.
"Where we rely on and have a range of site critical roles, we have put in place additional measures to protect those employees. These include temperature testing across all sites, enforcing onsite social distancing requirements where reasonably practical, ensuring appropriate Personal Protective Equipment is used, strict health screening of all essential fly-in, fly-out employees.
"We are also restricting visitors to our operations, stepping up the cleaning and sanitising of our work places, restricting business travel, increasing the use of video conferencing facilities in place of face to face meetings, developing and implementing a Communicable Diseases Plan with quarantine and isolation procedures for our operations, and implementing a communication campaign to ensure everyone is doing their part in ensuring a safe and hygienic work environment."
Ms Wipaki said Glencore had implemented a number of changes to routine work practices.
"These including staggered shift start and crib times to limit exposure at change rooms, control rooms or other common areas or high volume areas. We also have smaller groups travelling in confined space areas such as buses, light vehicles and cages," she said.
"The Australian and Queensland Governments have recognised the resources sector is essential in maintaining a strong Australian economy. In line with this, we will continue to focus on operating safely and responsibly, while maintaining production."
Glencore will continue to engage with our workforce and the community as we implement appropriate controls to assist with the prevention and further transmission of COVID-19.
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