Recruitment agency apologises over ‘get more Tinder dates’ FIFO ad

A recruitment agency has apologised for its FIFO job ad that stated “drillers are hotter and get more Tinder dates”, admitting it was an error of judgment.

Itch Recruitment posted online ads for apprentice drillers, promising $6720 after just one swing.

“It is proven that drillers are hotter and get more tinder dates,” the ad read.

“Know when you are flying home, get those beers on ice.

“What will you buy with up to $6720 after your first swing?”

But the agency now admits they got it wrong and have removed the ad.

It comes just weeks after a damning West Australian parliamentary inquiry into sexual assault and harassment in the mining sector found there was a culture of cover-ups, with chair Libby Mettam saying sexual harassment was “generally accepted or overlooked”.

Itch Mining and Drilling director Jodie Perram issued a statement, saying the ad “was an error of judgment”.

“As a female business owner, my team and I fully support the findings and recommendations of the parliamentary inquiry and would never condone violence or harassment in any setting,” she said.

“We pride ourselves on our stringent screening processes when recommending candidates to our clients which include national police checks and references.”

Among the horror stories shared with the inquiry were:

• A woman who had a near-miss incident with a haul truck was informed by the site supervisor that he would make the safety investigation “go away” if she had sex with him;
• Another woman was knocked unconscious in her donga and woke to find her jeans and underpants around her ankles. “I felt sick, ashamed, violated, dirty and very confused,” she said; and
• A third woman said a man repeatedly forced his hand down her top in front of other workers and no one did anything.

“There were stories of sex dolls put in front of women’s dongas, and sex toys hung on their doors,” Ms Mettam said in the report.

“Stories of unsolicited and unwelcome sexual attention, stalking, texting of explicit and lewd material, and horrifying stories of sexual assault.

“We heard details of unwanted touching, sexual comments, provocative photo requests and grooming.

“We heard of powerplay behaviour known as ‘shovelling’ where iron ore would be dumped on the cab of trucks operated by women if they didn’t comply with sexual requests.”

In total, the committee made 79 findings and 24 recommendations.