05/09/2022

More than 100 South Australian workplaces will ‘Fly the Flag’ this week to raise awareness about the work of industry towards improving mental health and preventing suicide.MATES In Construction is part of the national MATES’ Flying the Flag in 2022 campaign that will involve more than 86,000 workers from 775 sites this Thursday.

The 8 September event will coincide with World Suicide Prevention Day and R U OK? Day.

In South Australia, the event will involve 110 registered workplaces across the construction, mining and energy industries.

Participating sites have been given a Fly the Flag kit including a flag. On the day, flags will be raised across Australia with sites sharing their events on social media using the hashtag #flytheflag2022.

The day celebrates the work the industries and volunteers do every day on sites, as they look out for their mates who may be doing it tough.

The Australian construction industry experiences a higher-than-average suicide rate, losing a worker to suicide every two days.

Construction workers are six times more likely to die from suicide than an accident at work and young construction workers are three times more likely to die from suicide than other young Australians.

MATES in Construction has been supporting construction and allied industries in South Australia since 2012.

MATES SA Operations Manager Bob Clifford said the industry-backed program had trained more than 32,000 people in South Australia and more than 285,000 people Australia-wide.

‘That’s a lot of people who are actively looking out for their mates every single day,” he said.

‘In 2022, MATES is again Flying the Flag to celebrate our volunteers and the great work they do every day for mental health and suicide prevention at work.”

Mates in Construction team

In May, Premier Peter Malinauskas announced State Government funding of $60,000 over four years to Mates in Construction.

The funding, delivered by SafeWork SA will support MATES in Construction’s suicide prevention work and provide vital case management support for workers in need in the construction and mining industries.

SafeWork SA is encouraging everyone to check in with people around them on RU OK Day? On Thursday 8 October.

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