Attempts by a Queensland coal mining company to import foreign labour has been condemned by the Mining & Energy Union.
Sojitz Blue has applied to import coal mineworkers from overseas whilst simultaneously offering current workers substandard work contracts and delaying negotiations for an enterprise agreement.
The company operates the Gregory Crinum and Meteor Down South (MDS) coal mines near Emerald in Queensland and employs 350 workers.
The company has informed the union it is seeking a Company Specific Labour Agreement from the Department of Home Affairs to recruit foreign production operators for its Gregory Crinum mine.
The company wants to recruit production operators for excavators, trucks, loaders, graders, water carts and diggers.
"If this outfit sat down and negotiated a fair enterprise agreement at market rate with Australian workers they wouldn't be in this pickle," says Steve Smyth, MEU Queensland District President.
"Sojitz Blue put its workers on individual contracts which duds them out of a range of industry-standard pay and conditions including retention payments, sick leave provisions and redundancy entitlements.
"That's all money Sojitz Blue is trousering instead of their workers, and they wonder why people take their skills elsewhere.
"If Sojitz Blue think they can import cheap labour from overseas to undercut Australian workers, they need to know our members will fight them every step of the way.
"Most decent Australians would be appalled that a company, during a coal boom where prices have gone from $90 to $400 a tonne, could undercut good regional jobs by choppering in foreign workers.
"The coal industry in Australia will turn over $100 billion in revenue this year, that's $50 billion more than last year, and still we have jokers who want to dud Australian workers out of market rate pay and conditions.
"Instead of looking overseas for answers they need to walk down the hall to their HR department and tell them to respect their current workforce and start negotiating instead of flip flopping around.
"Our members at Sojitz Blue complain all the time they have no career development so if they want to increase their skills and move from driving trucks to operating loaders, graders or diggers they are just blocked by the company, that's incredibly bad for individual morale.
"We only know Sojitz Blue is trying to fly in cheap labour because they are required to tell us by law, otherwise they would already have them on site undercutting Australian jobs," he added.
Most mining companies employ staff on an Enterprise Agreement rather than individual contracts. Enterprise Agreements are approved by the FWC to ensure workers are no worse off than on the Black Coal Industry Award and negotiated to industry standards. Many workers at Sojitz Blue have lesser conditions than the rest of the industry as they are on individual contracts.
