December 7, 2018
Tradesmen at Hitachi in the NSW Hunter Valley have voted down a substandard agreement proposed by the company as they stand firm in their fight to be recognised as mineworkers.
Hitachi put forward an agreement that did not meet workers’ claims for industry standard conditions including long service leave, accident pay and annual leave.
Hitachi tradesmen spend at least 90% of their days working in coal mines, with some permanently rostered at mine sites for the full 12-hour shift – yet their conditions are not in line with the Black Coal Award.
CFMEU NSW Mining and Northern Energy Vice President Jeff Drayton said the company had put forward an agreement that did not meet workers’ expectations.
“Our members are not prepared to back down in their fight for industry-standard conditions,” said Mr Drayton.
“The coal mining industry is profitable but dangerous and workers in the industry deserve conditions that reflect that reality. This is the principle our members at Hitachi are fighting for.” Workers have been taking on-going industrial action for over four months, receiving strong support from the community and Hunter Valley mineworkers.