UPDATE: Peabody Energy has responded to these allegations. Click here to read the company’s full response.
A mining giant withdrew its proposed wage increase after multiple coal employees asked for a better deal.
Peabody Energy recently asked the Fair Work Commission for permission to terminate an enterprise agreement (EA) that would have delivered every worker a pay rise at the Metropolitan Coal Mine, 38km north of Wollongong.
The Mining and Energy Union (MEU) accused the proponent of tearing up the EA before official negotiations ended.
“Peabody is trying to substantially reduce our conditions while only offering a 2 per cent pay rise. Workers have unanimously rejected previous offers so, rather than working with us, Peabody wants to tear up our agreement,” Peabody worker and MEU delegate Ryan Kelly said in a public statement.
MEU claims several employees complained about Peabody “aggressively” locking them out from the mine site in July and August 2022, for spending 90 minutes on “protected” industrial action.
Their only request was for the same job security provisions afforded to pit workers to be extended to handling and preparation plant colleagues too. This includes preventing permanent positions from being outsourced to labour hire providers.
“We are not asking for anything new, we just want to maintain our job security protections which production workers in the pit also have in their agreement,” Kelly said.
“Everyone in the industry has seen mining companies’ enthusiasm for cutting permanent jobs and replacing them with contractors. It is entirely appropriate for mineworkers to seek to bolster their job security through bargaining,” MEU southwest district vice president Bob Timbs added.
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