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Glencore pays more next door

July 30, 2025

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MEU members at Ulan Underground have had enough of second-class wages. Last week, off the back of industrial action starting the week before, they walked off the job and hit the streets, demanding the same pay as their workmates just two kilometres away at Ulan West.

Ulan Underground miners are paid 11.5 per cent less than those at Ulan West, despite cutting the same coal seam for the same company – Glencore.

“We’re just asking for fairness” said Craig Carberry, Southwest District Vice President.

The pay gap has been a flashpoint throughout more than 16 months of stalled bargaining. 

Members say it is about respect and fairness for their work and for the community where both mines site side by side.

Adding to the anger is Glencore’s increasing reliance on higher paid, non-local contractors at Ulan Underground. It’s a sensitive balance to be struck in in a town that relies on local mining jobs, but Mudgee locals think Glencore has tipped the balance too far.

Over 100 members marched through the main street of Mudgee in a powerful show of strength, cheered on by local businesses and residents.

The Ulan Underground Lodge has vowed to keep rolling stoppages and other actions going until Swiss multinational Glencore puts a fair deal on the table.

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