A multinational mining company will directly hire hundreds of workers as part of its revised employment model.
Anglo American recently completed a labour hire review at the Grosvenor Coal Mine near Moranbah, 198km southwest of Mackay. The business decided to directly create 200 new permanent positions in the aftermath of an underground blast, which hospitalised five workers with severe burns, kidney failure and lung blood-clots back on 6 May 2020.
The Mining and Energy Union (MEU) applauded the move, and urged Anglo to help all long-term labour hire workers move to direct employment. One proposed solution involves giving written guarantees for better work environments.
“200 direct permanent jobs with Anglo is a big step up from zero,” MEU Queensland district president Stephen Smyth said in a public statement.
“MEU has been in discussions with Anglo about a draft enterprise agreement with industry-leading conditions for these new jobs. However, Anglo is making it too hard for its long-term, loyal labour hire workforce to access these new permanent jobs.”
The union estimates 37.5 per cent of the 320 total mine site roles will continue to be filled by labour hire employees. Current workers still have to compete against external applicants for the new permanent positions.
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