PERTH, Australia, March 4 (UPI) -- As many as 15 workers at a gold mine in Australia have been fired for filming a "Harlem Shake" video while on the job.
The workers -- most of whom were employed by Barminco, the company that owns mine -- were told they had breached safety and undermined Barminco's reputation by either performing or watching the dance, which is an international YouTube craze, The (Perth) West Australian reported.
A letter the workers received from Barminco informed them they were banned for life from working at any of the company's sites.
However, those who were fired because of the video said they took safety precautions and followed mine requirements by wearing helmets and portable oxygen, and other measures.
"It was 2:30 in the morning and we thought we just had to do something to get us going again," an unnamed worker said. "Sometimes you lose a bit of momentum at that time of the morning."
