Landmark Rulling for Outback Miners

Date: 19 September 2003

The NSW Industrial Relations Commission yesterday issued a landmark injunction stopping mining company Consolidated Broken Hill from recruiting staff under individual Australian Workplace Agreements at its operations in the NSW outback town of Cobar.

CBH recently purchased the lead and zinc Elura mine in Cobar from Pasminco which has been in administration for over two years. CBH had planned to operate the mine, which it has renamed Endeavour, through employees of contract companies whose conditions of employment would be inferior to the conditions of existing employees. Last week the AWU won a case before the Commission which prevented CBH and the contractors from radically changing employment conditions following the sale of the business.

The orders also stops any contractor or employment agency engaged to supply labour to the Endeavour mine from offering or taking any further steps to register any AWAs or other Enterprise Bargaining Agreements offered to prospective employees.

The orders now ensure that CBH and its contractors are not able to by-pass the NSW Industrial Relations Commission by transferring all prospective employees into the Federal Industrial Relations system. The orders are in place pending arbitration in the NSW Industrial Relations Commission between CBH and the AWU over the future employment conditions at the mine.

AWU National Secretary Bill Shorten said that the landmark decision now means that the miners at Cobar can hold out greater hope that their employment conditions won't be undermined by their employer shopping between different jurisdictions.

"Its now time for CBH to sit down with the AWU and negotiate a fair and equitable outcome to the impasse at Cobar. The AWU wants to see Endeavours operations expand and develop but we also want to ensure that it's workforce receives a fair days pay for a fair days work." Mr. Shorten said.

For further information

Contact:	Paul Howes
Union:	The Australian Workers' Union
Phone:	03 8327 0888
Contact Mobile:	0407 041 933
Fax:	03 8327 0899
Email:	paul.howes@awu.net.au
WWW:	http://www.awu.net.au

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