As the voting takes place, CFMEU district supervisor Steve Pierce is asking workers to remember the Miners Memorial Day in Blackwater on September 19 and the Collinsville Miner memorial Day on October 13 which commemorates the tragic outburst accident in 1954 when seven miners lost their lives.

Pierce said mining employees take the care of their communities seriously, and this had been a stumbling block in negotiations with Thiess and other companies in the industry. Safety and health standards in the industry are now also being challenged, he said.

“There are people out there trying to take shortcuts on safety,” Pierce told ILN.

“It’s unfortunate that a lot of companies – and they will undoubtedly have representatives at the Miners Memorial Day at Blackwater – pay lip service to safety and they are trying to wind back the clock on safety legislation.

“They see the health and safety site reps as impediments to their business instead of assets to their companies. The work of the health and safety site reps as well as some people in the government mines inspectorate is keeping safety in Queensland at a reasonable level.”

Queensland associate director-general of the Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation Dan Hunt said September 19 marks the 89th anniversary when 75 miners were killed in a coal dust explosion at Mount Mulligan in Far North Queensland.

“This 1921 incident remains our worst mining disaster and is indelibly written into Queensland’s mining history,” he said.

Hunt said the Blackwater gathering, which will be the third Miners Memorial Day, will also remember the other near 1400 miners who also lost their lives in pursuit of the state’s coal and metals resources.

“This special day offers an important opportunity to not only remember the loss of all these miners but offers some comfort to their families and friends,” he said.

“Blackwater has not been immune to tragedy.

“There has been loss in the region with Mr John Barker the last worker to lose his life at the Blackwater mine in 2009.

“And unfortunately other Queensland regional centres and mines also have their names on our tragic roll of loss.

“On September 19 we will also remember those miners that died at Collinsville, Box Flat, Kianga and Moura No 4 and Moura No 2.”

Hunt said mine safety remained at the forefront of all involved in the industry including the mining companies, unions, the government and the workers.