Refusing to accept new conditions resulted in resources workers receiving a much better offer.
Coal mine employees recently received a 14 per cent pay rise from one of the largest labour hire companies. The more favourable deal came after rejecting what they called a poor enterprise agreement (EA).
“After workers resoundingly rejected their substandard EA in September [2023], Programmed Skilled Workforce has improved its position in several key areas. These include a 10 per cent raise this year followed by 4 per cent in 2024, as well as accident pay and long service leave paid as at work,” the Mining and Energy Union (MEU) said in a public statement.
“This is welcome because Programmed mineworkers are currently among the lowest paid in the district, earning about $35,000 less per year than their directly employed counterparts.”
MEU advised outsourced staff members to keep voting down the EA because they are also eligible for sick leave as at work, flat-rate payouts and northern district average bonuses.
“A second strong no vote will reiterate to the company just how serious workers are about getting a fair go. We believe more progress can be made,” the union said.
“Programmed has lucrative contracts at many of the northern district’s biggest coal mines, including Hunter Valley Operations and Mount Arthur … [and] BHP, Yancoal and Glencore can easily afford to meet these standards in their contracts with labour hire companies.”
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