Community members, relatives and union officials gathered outside Donaldson Abel Mine near Newcastle on Friday to protest against new Yancoal agreements that affect employee entitlements.
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Yancoal Mining Services (YMS) has been established as a fully-owned subsidiary of Yancoal, and affected employees must sign new agreements with YMS to maintain their employment.
The Collieries’ Staff and Officials Association claims that 180 workers across the Donaldson Abel, Ashton (near Singleton), and Austar (near Cessnock) coal mines were only given a short time to sign contracts that strip them of much of their existing redundancy entitlements and accrued future sick leave.
“They basically held a loaded gun to their head and said sign this or you won’t have a job,” Collieries’ Staff and Officials Association senior industry officer Kylie Rooke said.
However Yancoal spokesperson James Rickards said the company has engaged with staff openly and transparently about the proposed changes.
Yancoal employees are currently paid accrued sick leave upon resignation, but the new contracts will prevent future sick leave from being paid out.
Mr Rickards said these sick leave conditions were “excessive and outdated” and changing the conditions is necessary to establish a fair, modern and equitable workplace agreement for staff.
Employees also currently accrue three weeks' redundancy per year of service, but the Collieries' association claims that the new agreements will cap redundancy accrual after nine years of service if a proposed variation to the Black Coal Mining Industry Award is approved.
The variation was put forward by the Coal Mining Industry Employer Group, of which Yancoal is a participant.
Mr Rickards said Yancoal's redundancy entitlements reflect the Black Coal Mining Industry Award, and that the Collieries’ association is misrepresenting redundancy information to staff.
“The union has the available facts and appears committed to ignoring them publicly in the desperate hope of attempting to remain relevant in a modern workplace environment,” he said.
Ms Rooke said they are not fighting for anything additional for employees, just to maintain what they currently are entitled to.
“We’re calling on Yancoal to do the right thing,” Ms Rooke said.
“What we’re asking is for them to lock in what workers currently get.
“Don’t leave them hanging out to dry.”
Justin Smith’s wife has worked for Yancoal for four years and said she will be directly affected by the changes.
He said she was given an ultimatum to either sign the new contract with fewer entitlements or she will be terminated.
“I think it’s nothing short of bullying by the parent company,” he said, “and a backdoor approach to stripping away guaranteed entitlements.”
Mr Smith himself was retrenched from the mines meaning they are a sole income family, and he said these changes make them fear for the future.
Hunter Workers secretary Daniel Wallace said these changes put undue pressure on workers, and that it is "abusive" to treat workers like this.
“It’s just deceitful, un-Australian and disturbing,” he said.