In a meeting between workers and company representatives this morning, workers were told the company intends to keep a ‘‘light crew’’ on the longwall mines and asked all other workers to take unpaid or long service leave for the next month.

But the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union has advised members who wanted to attend work to do so with the expectation they will be paid.

CFMEU southwestern district vice-president Bob Timbs said the company had no legal right to not pay employees who showed up for work.