- Approving a $1.2 billion underground thermal coal mine at Ulan West, adjoining the existing Ulan complex near Mudgee - not the act of a business terrified of the government's proposed mining resource tax.
Ulan
July 27
Workers sacked from Ulan mine last year have had a win, with Fair Work Australia (FWA) telling Xstrata it should offer them jobs at other mines.
Last week, FWA’s Commissioner Raffaelli ruled that Ulan’s operator Xstrata should have offered alternative employment to six retrenched workers.
This is great news and not just for the six workers involved. It sets the important precedent that major mine operators like Xstrata need to look after their workers and offer them alternative opportunities if work slows down at one location
April 30
The industrial campaign out here at Xstrata’s Ulan Underground mine in the NSW Central West has started with a bang.
I’ve just finished a four-hour mass meeting with members of Ulan Lodge, who walked off the job at midnight last night and won’t go back until 7am tomorrow.
They’re disgusted at the way Xstrata is handling negotiations for a new EBA – and particularly angry about the wage offer we’ve just received, which is well below what the miners here are worth.
April 1
Miners at Ulan Underground mine are ready to walk off the job in their fight for better job security. 
Standing up: Ulan miners have had enough
We always knew there was strong support at Ulan for industrial action to support our EA claims – particularly for a clause protecting our job security. We found out just how strong that support is with a ballot last week.
Four questions, which asked members if they supported action ranging from stoppages of up to 12 hours through to unlimited stoppages, won support of between 93 and 96%.
March 11
Out here at Ulan Underground mine in the NSW Central West, we’re fighting hard for our job security.
We’ve been in EA negotiations for six months, but we’ve had no joy so far. So we’re stepping up our fight.
This week our application for a ballot for protected industrial action to support our claim was successful. The ballot will be held on site over four days, March 23 to 27.
January 29
Excellent news! In a decision this week Fair Work Australia agreed with our argument that workers sacked from Ulan mine in the NSW central west were not genuine redundancies.
There’s more work to do before we win their jobs back, but it’s a great start.
38 mine workers – 19 full time permanent and 19 fixed termers – lost their jobs at Ulan back in September last year.
10 of them took up the CFMEU’s offer to take part in a legal bid to get their jobs back.
November 16
We had the start of our Ulan unfair dismissal hearings last week.
Seven mineworkers gave evidence about their sackings.
They all did a great job during the hearing. It’s never easy remembering the exact details of events three months ago.
For some, it was the first time they had ever been to court. They should all be proud of the fact that they’re standing up for something they believe in. The Union is right behind them.
September 25
Sacked: Ulan miners Mark Butler, Daniel Dixon and Graham AtkinsonSacked workers from Ulan mine took the first steps in their fight for justice today.
Six of the miners travelled to Sydney for conciliation at Fair Work Australia.
The next step is a hearing scheduled for November 11 and 12.
Today’s conciliation allowed the sacked miners to tell their stories and was a good start to the process. It may or may not have been followed by a trip to the pub.
September 9
After forced redundancy notices were thrust into the hands of Ulan miners by Xstrata (one even at a service station in Mudgee - where’s the dignity in that?), the union’s legal team was ready to act.
We had a 14-day deadline to put together our legal challenge.
September 4
- Community support for sacked miners
- CFMEU prepares unfair dismissal claim
The people of Mudgee turned out last week to support miners sacked by Xstrata.
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We are concerned about Xstrata’s impact on our work rights, our mining communities and our environment.
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