By Jennifer Thompson
Workers in the CRA-owned Novacoal's Vickery mine have been on strike since August over the company's attempt to try to force the introduction of 12-hour shifts into an already dangerous industry. Novacoal has been pressing for arbitration since talks with the CFMEU broke down in December, hoping to impose the longer shifts along with a cut in pay.
The arbitration hearing finished on March 22, with the company threatening to bring in workers prepared to work the longer shifts. The seven-month strike is continuing while waiting for the Industrial Relations Commission's decision.
CRA was alone in the coal industry in trying to force workers to work long shifts, CFMEU lodge president Derek Lucas told Green Left Weekly. Under the award, any shifts over eight hours are by agreement with the workers. Mines with longer shifts were operating with this agreement, he said. Some of the workers live 50 kilometres from the mine, adding 2&189; hours driving time to their working day.
The company added insult to injury by expecting workers to also take a cut in pay, from an average of $69,000 per year, including overtime payments, to $64,000. One of their tactics was to cut overtime, from October 1994, reducing workers' average earnings to $48,000. Twenty-two families have been forced to leave the district as a result of financial difficulties.
CRA's stated intention to break the strike by bringing in compliant workers has revealed their real agenda. While CRA hasn't said blatantly that it would try to get rid of the union, said Lucas, if you read between the lines that is what is meant.
So far, CRA's anti-union push has been unsuccessful against the CFMEU, but a Coalition government move to outlaw preference clauses for unionists would strengthen CRA's hand.
Commenting on the CFMEU's expectations of the arbitration results, president of the Mining Division of the union John Maitland said the IRC was keen to wrap it up. "We're not saying we're going to reject [a negative] decision", he said, "but unless the commission is fairly careful they won't put up a proposition that will resolve the dispute."
Support for the workers can be sent through CFMEU organiser Tony Maher in the union's Sydney office, phone (02) 262 1011.