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July 30
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Posted by Wayne McAndrew

Tahmoor dispute deadlocked: let the Umpire decide

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Negotiations for a new enterprise agreement at Tahmoor Colliery have dragged on too long and will only be resolved with the help of an independent umpire.

We've been trying to negotiate a new agreement with Xstrata for 21 months. It’s time to resolve this dispute once and for all.

Xstrata spokesman James Rickards was on the radio telling ABC Illawarra listeners this week that the dispute was costing the business millions of dollars and should be resolved for the sake of workers and the community.

Well I agree with Rickards that this dispute must be resolved. I don’t know about their costs – but if it is costing them millions, that is a further good reason for Xstrata to agree to arbitration on the outstanding matters left over from the agreement in principle reached between local mine management and the local workforce representatives in May.

Where I don’t agree with Rickards is that Xstrata is putting in its best efforts to reach a resolution. In particular, that the company’s application to deregister our current 2006 Enterprise Agreement will deliver an outcome.

Xstrata’s application to deregister the current modern 2006 Agreement – which was signed off with the previous mine owner Centennial with no industrial action taken by either side – is not relevant to the current dispute over a new agreement for the mine.

Xstrata’s claim that a decision by FWA will help resolve the current dispute is disingenuous. It’s simply not relevant.

Regardless of the status of the 2006 Agreement, our members at Tahmoor will continue trying to protect job security and safe working conditions in their next agreement. A termination of the current Agreement will not stop the bargaining/protected action process from continuing until a new agreement is reached

There is one way to resolve this dispute, which is to have the outstanding matters arbitrated by an independent umpire.

CFMEU members will abide by the outcome of arbitration. We call on Xstrata to agree to arbitration and to abide by the outcome.

Let’s settle this the Australian way, heed the umpire’s decision, and get back to business.

3 comments on "Tahmoor dispute deadlocked: let the Umpire decide "

Guess Who said on Sun, 01/08/2010 - 20:41:
Its a shame this is taking so long... Xstrata are losing all their "good" employees who have found greener pastures with other local mines that are offering "fair and modern flexible agreements". 21 months to secure a deal in 2010 with the coal prices soaring and the Aussie dollar falling is quite amusing to see they are still too proud to admit fault and just move on to capitalize on the mining boom. Eventually they will be left with the so called scum they are targeting to pull in line with their pitiful agreement. At this rate they wouldn't even be able to top up the numbers of all the people who have left and are leaving, even with contract labour. There are just not that many experienced contractors around. Tahmoor Colliery is a sinking ship... and only the die hard miners will stand tall and proud when this ship makes its last gasp before it has been swallowed by the Xstrata sea of incompetence and arrogance. *Bubbles*
jst_curious said on Sat, 31/07/2010 - 21:31:
For christ sake i wish, and many others wish, for this to simply go to arbitration and get sorted once and for all. The company's position is just simply stoopid and will not budge. The only way is to make them budge with arbitration. But they wont do that cause they know they will lose.
Haz. said on Fri, 30/07/2010 - 16:44:
The dispute was costing the business millions of dollars and should be resolved for the sake of workers and the community. Yeh right. Xstrata is truly conserned about the workers and the community, not the fact that it was costing them millions of dollars? No wonder sometimes workers feel as though they are trying to come to agreement with an enigma! Yes, Xstrata, a riddle, wrapped in a mystery?