CFMEU district vice-president Graham White previously told ILN “there was pending industrial action” after Xstrata subsidiary Tahmoor Coal applied to the national workplace tribunal to terminate the existing mine and washery enterprise agreements two weeks ago.

But he told ILN this week that a decision to apply to Fair Work Australia for protected status on further industrial action would depend on the outcome of the hearing.

He said in the meantime the union was attempting to negotiate with company management.

An Xstrata spokesperson confirmed that discussions with the union were continuing.

The workplace agreements for the colliery and the wash plant expired in April 2009, and industrial action at Tahmoor first started on October 23.

In a letter made public by the CFMEU, Tahmoor operations manager Darren Nicholls stated the five areas that Tahmoor Coal would not agree to in a new enterprise agreement:

• Minimum manning requirements,
• Conditions on the use of contractors,
• Seniority of shift allocation and retrenchment and rehiring,
• Restrictions on hours of work, and
• Requirements to maintain the status quo when matters are in dispute.

Commissioner Michael Roberts will handle the hearing.

Last month Roberts ruled that Tahmoor’s management had met the good faith bargaining requirements in a case brought forward by the CFMEU.