Revelations the Port Kembla Coal Terminal (PKCT) considered cutting a third of its workforce and replacing employees with contractors have emerged as negotiations over an ongoing pay dispute continue.
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The ABC’s 7.30 program revealed on Wednesday night it had seen leaked company documents suggesting a “contentious” restructure, which “could result in approximately a third of the workforce being made redundant”, was an option explored.
According to the ABC, the documents also showed management was considering a “regional hub” model that would use “employees from South32 to replace the Port Kembla Coal Terminal employees”.
PKCT, owned by coal mining companies South 32, Glencore, Peabody Energy, Centennial Coal and Wollongong Coal, has been negotiating a new agreement with the CFMEU since 2015.
The company wants to reduce generous superannuation and sick leave benefits as it moves from self-managed work teams to ones under management direction.
CFMEU southwest district secretary Lee Webb said the information contained in the leaked documents was “of great concern” to the union.
“This revolves around the concerns of the scope of the agreement, where the company’s indicating that they wish to have some of the employees not covered by the scope and the EA [enterprise agreement],” Mr Webb said.
The union met with the company on Thursday to discuss the scope of the EA.
The Mercury contacted the PKCT for comment on Thursday. Operations manager John Gorman told the ABC there was “no plan to sack anyone”.
“We have been working with our workforce for the last 12 months to see what is the appropriate size for the needs of the business,” Mr Gorman said.
“We are in discussions at the moment to see what that looks like and there is no plan to sack anyone.”
Coal terminal workers returned to work on January 11, four days after being locked out amid an ongoing pay dispute.
For the first time in its history, the PKCT shut out 60 staff for four days – to pressure the mining union to end a three-year battle to remove restrictions on management.
Mr Gorman told Fairfax Media earlier this month the long-term fate of the terminal was at stake as major coal companies increasingly opted to export coal through Newcastle due to its more competitive operating costs.
The PCKT, which at its peak was loading more than 14 million tonnes of coal a year, saw its forecast throughput for 2018 fall by almost half to just 5.1 million tonnes.
Andrew Pearson
Andrew grew up in the western Riverina town of Hay and has strong ties to the region. He is a former DA journo who has a passion for breaking news and has covered everything from council and politics to crime and court.
Andrew grew up in the western Riverina town of Hay and has strong ties to the region. He is a former DA journo who has a passion for breaking news and has covered everything from council and politics to crime and court.
