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6 June, 2011
Australian coal miners of three unions, led by the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU), gave leadership a strong mandate for industrial action against the BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA) on 2 June. Some 4,000 miners and coal-processing workers in central Queensland voted by 92% to authorize union leaders to embark on varying industrial actions.
Better than 90% of the 4,000 miners and export facility workers voted in the on-site, two-week ballot. The three unions – CFMEU, the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU) and the Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union (CEPU) – are jointly bargaining with the world’s number one exporter of metallurgical coal and have been stymied since January by BMA’s radical proposals for work rule changes.
The strike ballot was preceded by BMA’s breach of Australia’s privacy act when it sent text messages to wives and partners of workers telling them that voting was not compulsory. The company used emergency contact numbers of the workers. In order for the ballot to be legal, better than 50% of workers needed to vote, and the strike ballot had to be passed by a simple majority to be valid.
BMA is seeking a seven-day roster, instead of a five-day one, flexibility on operators’ jobs, and retention of bygone WorkChoices-era employment practices. The pay package is also expected to be an issue.
“There is a massive concern amongst the workforce about BMA’s desire for increasingly family-unfriendly working conditions,” said CFMEU Queensland Region Vice President Steve Pierce, referring to the seven-day roster. Pierce expressed concern that many experienced miners would quit their jobs if forced onto non-family-friendly shift schedules.
The unions are seeking job security and enhanced training opportunities. The two sides will resume negotiations on 10 June.
BMA is a 10-year-old joint venture that mines some 58 million tones yearly of coking coal from the Bowen Basin. It consists of seven mines – Blackwater, Broadmeadow, Goonyella Riverside, Peak Downs, Saraji, Norwich Park, and Gregory Crinum – as well as the Hay Point coal export terminal near Mackay on Australia’s east coast. The CFMEU represents about 80% of the unionized employees.