Helensburgh miners secured significant pay increases and improved job security on Thursday following a prolonged clash with a local employer.
The Mining and Energy Union (MEU) attained a three-year enterprise agreement with Peabody Energy resolving three weeks of strikes at The Metropolitan Colliery.
The agreement guarantees workers a five-percent annual pay increase for three years, and requires the mine to be fully manned with direct employees before contractors are involved in primary operations.
MEU Spokesperson Ned Bukarica said the union prioritised the security of direct employment for existing and future employees.
“There was a big concern that Peabody was trying to remove the job security clause in their agreement,” he said.
“The new agreement will introduce roughly half a dozen directly employed workers and an additional couple of dozen on fixed-term contracts to ensure that the people who are performing the work are performing it under the Helensburgh coal enterprise agreement.
Mr Bukarica said upkeeping the employee conditions of the longwall mine is valuable for the entire town.
“Making sure workers are permanently and directly employed under good wages and conditions is not only beneficial for those workers directly, but for the whole Helensburgh community,” he said.
“[The Metropolitan] is such a huge employer and an economic linchpin of the region.”
The mine is approved to operate until 2032, outlined by Peabody Energy’s Forward Program.
Mining engineering lecturer Justine Calleja said the underground mining process used by The Metropolitan is more sustainable than alternatives.
“Underground mining has a much lower environment impact and footprint compared to surface mining sites,” she said.
“As you progressively go deeper, the actual impact that you see on the surface becomes smaller and smaller.”
Ms Calleja said the longwall mining method, utilised by the Helensburgh mine, has limited potential above-ground impact.
“[Longwall mining] can lead to a gentle movement of the rocks on the surface,” she said.
“Spread over a distance of 200-300 metres, you might end up with a maximum vertical displacement of one percent.”
