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30 November, 2009
On 21 November, over 900 New Zealand miners, members of the Engineering, Printing, and Manufacturing Union (EPMU) at four Solid Energy mines, dropped their strikes and returned to work following stoppages that lasted as long as 26 days. They quit the strikes in order to start good faith bargaining efforts toward a new labour accord with the state-owned company and its mining contractors.
Talks between EPMU and management parties began later that day. But those talks aimed at ending an eight-month impasse failed and over the past week, one by one, collieries staffed by EPMU miners have taken votes to resume the strikes.
At issue are changes in shift rotations without adequate compensation, as well as an across-the-board national pay proposal by Solid Energy and its contractors amounting to 2% for 2010 and 3% in 2011. The offer also includes a one-off NZ$2,000 bonus, based on the company’s record 2008 profits.
The proposed pay package is inadequate, but EPMU members are particularly dissatisfied with the terms attached to the roster changes and increased work hours. At some mines, production workers are being asked to work ten hours per day, while maintenance workers are being asked to work 12-hour shifts.
As was the case in late October, industry actions last week began on the North Island. The 120 miners at the Huntly East colliery near Rotowaro went on strike first. And despite staff of mining contractor HWE Mining Ltd. at the Rotowaro open pit mine accepting the proposal, a strike there continued in sympathy with the Huntly East miners.
On 26 November, 500 EPMU miners at the Stockton mine on the South Island voted to strike. That work stoppage was expected to start over the weekend. Workers at the Spring Creek mine at the South Island will vote this week on whether or not to strike.
The labour dispute has become deeply pitched, partly due to management’s public posturing and statements denigrating the EPMU, but mostly due to coal deposits at Rotowaro nearing exhaustion and Solid Energy and RWE Mining seeking heightened production with longer work hours. That has caused the sympathy strikes at the other mines, a credit to the solidarity of EPMU miners. But as well, all unionized miners of Solid Energy have been without current labour agreements since 30 March 2009.