‘Blood on the Coal – the Queensland Miners’ Story’ is a documentary funded by the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy  Union that tells the bloody story of coal miners throughout the 1900s.

Testimonies of veteran miners, their children and old TV footage retrace years of strike actions to improve workers’ conditions in what they used to call “the killing fields of Australia”.

Explosions and accidents were numerous and deadly, including the Box Flat disaster in 1972 that killed 17 men in an underground gas explosion, and the Kianga explosion in 1975 that killed 13 men trying to fight an underground fire.

CFMEU Queensland district secretary Tim Whyte said the documentary ensured the story of the state’s coal miners was not lost, and would be screened throughout the east coast from August 12.

“We have quite a few survivors from these disasters who recount their side of the tale that they lived through at the time,” he said. 

“It’s very raw and powerful, it reminds people of why the union is in place in Australia and what we’ve done.

“We want to use this as an organising tool and a reminder to the general population that things like safety equipment, long-service leave, the 35-hour week and so forth, the miners actually got that for Australia.

“Also I’m sure there are people who don’t realise we fought to get meal breaks.”

Blood on the Coal was first screened in Ipswich, Queensland in April and has already won three international film awards.

It will screen again in select cinemas throughout the eastern states from next week and until September, and is hoped to be allowed in on a few mine sites and included in the national high school curriculum.

Timing for public screening is spot on, with the Queensland Resources Council (QCR) still warm from its Industry Leaders’ Safety Forum last week, and the state resources sector’s annual health and safety conference readying itself for an August 16 start in Townsville.

While QCR would not comment on the documentary, CEO Michael Roche’s main message at the forum was that the industry still was not doing enough to curb the number of fatalities.

“QRC members made it clear today (August 4) that there is no room for complacency when it comes to safety,” he said.

“The clear message from today’s meeting is that safety is first, daylight second – regardless of operating circumstances.”

The comments came after Queensland recorded four fatalities in 2014-15 – a 20-year record since the Moura coal mine disaster in 1994.

With this in mind, he said industry leaders agreed that a business as usual approach would not suffice. 

“Industry leaders identified a number of critical safety risks facing the sector that could benefit from a collaborative approach across the resources sector,” Roche added.

“When it comes to improving the industry’s safety culture and leadership, better management of vehicle and mobile equipment safety and addressing fitness for work challenges, such as impacts from drugs and alcohol, a collaborative rather than competitive approach is what is needed.”

The CFMEU agrees a collaborative approach is needed.

In fact it wants in, and will argue this point with BHP Billiton during negotiations around November.

“What we’re looking to do is just to sit down at their table, we’re not after more money, we just want to maintain the conditions we have today,” Whyte said.

“A burning issue at the moment is fly-in, fly-out, that is a major concern for mental health, particularly around rosters, hours of work, locations and mobile devices.”

He said workers were not allowed to use their mobile phones during breaks, adding to the toll of isolation from friends and family.

“To add insult to injury, the workers aren’t allowed to carry their phone, but they’ll see management walking around with their phones,” he added.

“Why create that for yourself? You want to negotiate and work with your workforce, then it’s a rule for one, rule for others.”

Other issues expected to be on the table include the resolve of industrial disputes, and a shift in drug testing to help prevent workers transitioning from recreational drugs to hard drugs, which are undetectable but more harmful and linked to mental health issues and the occurrence of suicides.

Whyte suggested the union would not back down.

“It’s their right, as companies put it, to manage and it shouldn’t be up to anyone else,” he said.

“As you saw in the documentary, if we allow that to occur, I’m going to buy shares in a body bag company, because we’re going to start killing people left, right and centre.

“This sounds very graphic and dramatic but it’s the truth.”

In March this year, a male worker was killed at BHP’s Blackwater coal mine in a vehicle crash.

While BHP did not comment on the documentary or the nature of upcoming negotiations with the CFMEU, a spokeswoman confirmed parties would discuss the BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance Enterprise Agreement 2012, which includes the Goonyella Riverside, Saraji, Peak Downs, Blackwater and Gregory Crinum mines, and is due to expire on October 26.

“Negotiations to replace this agreement will occur with all parties to the agreement,” the spokeswoman said.

“No specific date has been set regarding commencement of discussions.”

BHP has already done work to try and curb drug issues in some communities.

A recent example of this is at BMA’s Goonyella Riverside mine, with the site changing its drug testing regime for workers.

 As part of the mine’s ongoing review of its safety policies and procedures, and in response to the increased use of methamphetamines in the Central Queensland region, BMA has implemented urine testing as its primary drug testing method onsite. Beforehand, workers were allowed to choose between urine and oral swab drug testing.

The change was implemented after BMA consulted with mine employees and conducted a vote in April and May.