There were cheers, applause and even a lone piper playing as 50 Port Kembla Coal Terminal workers marched back to their jobs on Tuesday morning.
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The long-running dispute with their employer officially ended on Monday, and workers let back on site. The group had voted unanimously to accept a revised deal from PKCT which includes the job security clause the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) had been fighting for.
"The moment they lock out a work force they take on a community," South Coast Labor Council secretary Arthur Rorris said.
"We call it Uniontown for a reason, and it's because people stick together. An attack on one is an attack on all and you won't find a better example of that in here."
Tuesday marked a sigh of relief after four years of negotiation and intermittent industrial action, but union officials still have unfinished business with the coal terminal.
Truck driver Mark Roberts died last month after a serious accident at the terminal. Subsequent safety inquiries have been conducted by the CFMEU and SafeWork NSW with a number of safety issues found and management notified.
"We've given an undertaking to his family that we will do everything we can and everything in our power to get to the bottom of exactly what happened with Mark, and make sure it didn't happen again," CFMEU Southern District Vice President Bob Timbs said.
"If there was any culpability with regards to that accident we will pursue those people to the letter of the law."
Investigations into the death of Mr Roberts remain ongoing.