WA coal miner Griffin Coal has told the “Corporate Avoidance of the Fair Work Act” Senate Inquiry committee the Fair Work Commission’s termination of the company’s 2012 EBA was crucial to its viability.

Chief operating officer Terry Gray told the inquiry hearing, held in Collie, WA, the company had to ‘reset’ after incurring a $300-million loss since 2011.

He said the old agreement would have brought the company down and labour costs had to be reduced to bring it sustainability.

“The company was concerned that they would not be able to continue going forward if they were not able to get an outcome with the commission,” Mr Gray told the committee.

“Not getting some consideration on the salaries would mean that Griffin Coal would have to continue operating at a significant loss.”

Griffin Coal made an application to terminate the 2012 agreement last year after 47 bargaining meetings between April and December failed to reach an agreement.

As a result of the FWC decision terminating the agreement on 9 June, 70 maintenance workers at the Griffin coal mine in Collie, took a 40 per cent pay cut along with reduced working conditions.

This was subsequently appealed by the AMWU and ratified by the Full Bench when the decision was upheld on 21 July.

Inquiry told Griffin Coal sets precedent for others

The inquiry heard union arguments that employers were seizing the Griffin Coal decision and using it to alter the bargaining foundation in agreement negotiations.

“Through the progressive lowering of the bar in terms of what it means to be in the ‘public interest’ and ‘appropriate’, section 225 in its current form threatens collective bargaining and democratic participation by workers in the industrial instrument that covers their terms and conditions,” the AMWU stated in its submission.

The union described the section as a ’loophole in the Act that needs to be closed’.

EBA talks ongoing

Under the Fair Work Commission’s New Approaches program Griffin Coal and the CFMEU continue to seek a new deal.

Deputy President Anna Booth’s progress report noted confidential financial briefings occurred before the negotiations continued on 6 February.

The parties discussed Blue Waters Power Station’s reduced demand for coal and in addressing the issues of salaries and working hours, considered how these could be changed to save jobs and assist in the mine’s sustainability.

DP Booth noted a series of shared and competing issues were under discussion to address the key question of how to ‘change salaries and working hours to save jobs and assist in the sustainability of the mine’.

In order to reach an agreement for production employees, Griffin Coal and the CFMEU are considering the following roster options:

• introducing a new three-panel roster with 10.5-hour shifts (capped at 49 hours per week) over various possible shift patterns with annualised salaries of about $105k (Level 2) and $115k (Level 1); or
• retaining the existing four-panel roster with 12 hour shifts (average 42 hours per week) and an annualised salary of about $79k or an annual salary of about $116k.

They also discussed ways to address concerns about ‘fatigue, consequences for families and increased travel requirements under a three-panel roster system which included the introduction of time-off-in-lieu for overtime and implementation of part-time employment on the basis that part time employees work a full shift.

Other key bargaining issues include annual and long service leave provisions, training, preference of residential employees and redundancy entitlements.

AREEA supports resource employers through enterprise bargaining campaigns. Our expertise in both negotiating new enterprise agreements and the review, re-negotiation or restructuring of existing agreements delivers sustainable outcomes for the resource industry. To contact one of our specialist workplace relations consultants click here.