A cap on redundancy pay for coal miners is being pushed for by the mine owners’ association, who say there are other measures in place to help sacked workers.
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But CFMEU district vice-president Bob Timbs told the Fair Work Commission a cap would be discriminatory amid a “race to the bottom” for conditions under labour hire companies.
The FWC is considering submissions to its review of the Black Coal Mining Industry Award, including one proposal to place a nine-year cap on redundancy pay.
Mine owners joined in the Coal Mining Industry Employers Group (CMIEG) have asked the FWC to insert the nine-year cap, after an age-based cap (60 years) was removed by the FWC in 2015.
The mine owners argue that the uncapped redundancy rates were “far in excess” of the minimum safety net that awards should act as, and are more generous “than every other modern award”.
CMIEG also submits that redundancy payments do not take into account other benefits that reduce hardship when a worker is made redundant – such as portable long service leave, superannuation, and social security provided by the government.
About 500 coal mining jobs have been lost in the Illawarra since 2013, and coal industry uncertainty indicates more will come.
Some have found jobs with the contract labour hire companies that are increasingly handling mine operations, such as Delta re-opening Wollongong Coal’s Wongawilli mine.
Most miners accrue three weeks’ redundancy pay for each year of service.
The mine owners say even with a nine-year cap the redundancy scheme would be among the most generous of any modern award.
CFMEU district vice-president Bob Timbs made a statement to the FWC review saying the cap was simply mine owners’ attempt to get back what they lost when the age cap was dropped.
He said the proposed cap was “discriminatory”.
The move to contract labour had been growing since the 1990s, and while the wages were comparable at first, this is no longer the case.
“I have noticed that since the boom conditions ended in about 2011, there has been a growing tendency for contractors – particularly labour hire – to push down on wages and conditions in a race to the bottom,” Mr Timbs said.
“The main mine operators in the district are using the cut-throat nature of labour hire to drive down wages and conditions across the district.”
He cited one contractor whose workers received a coal bonus (payment tied to productivity) of $50/week – as opposed to the district industry average of $520.
The review of the black coal award will continue to be considered by the FWC.
