MELBOURNE, July 21 (Reuters) - Rio Tinto (RIO.AX) is asking train drivers working in mineral-rich Western Australia to work more hours, following a move by rival BHP Group, as miners rush to ship millions of tonnes of iron ore amid soaring prices for the steel making material.
The push comes among a worsening skills shortage in Australia's west that has been exacerbated by strict coronavirus restrictions, which unions say have raised mental health risks for workers and their families.
Train driver Paul Bloxsom, who will leave Rio next month, said Western Australian border constraints to keep out COVID-19 that include a 14-day quarantine meant he had only seen his family in Queensland four times in 15 months.
"That's a challenge in itself, the isolation and the loneliness and so on. There was a combination of things, and I just had enough. And there's a lot more jobs going back at home on the east coast," he told Reuters.
Mine workers in Australia often live in cities and fly in and fly out (FIFO) to remote mine sites, a commute that can take anywhere from several hours to a day, including connections.
