The Swiss mining major slashed 122 jobs at Ulan and 158 from its Tahmoor operation in New South Wales last year. With enterprise agreements overdue for both mines the Construction Forestry Mining Energy Union has been bargaining for conditions relating to security of employment for many months.

CFMEU mining and energy division general president Wayne McAndrew was not directly involved with the Ulan EA negotiations but told ILN the local union lodge gained protected industrial action status for the mine.

He said the first action will be a 24 hour stoppage, and while the Easter weekend has impacted the planning he expects the strike to take place within a couple of weeks.

“They haven’t set the date at this stage,” he said.

“Our delegates at the mine site are talking to our legal people regarding notification.”

McAndrew said the 24 hour stoppage would start the protected industrial action at the mine and also give lodge officials an opportunity to muster their people and talk to them about the agreement negotiations.

Tahmoor and Bulga

With the first hearing at Fair Work Australia in Sydney last week, more dates with the national workplace commission have been set.

However, CFMEU district vice-president Graham White said Xstrata asked the union to negotiate and meetings are planned for Thursday and Friday this week.

Meanwhile, Xstrata Coal made its first EA since the new national industrial relations regime came into effect, with the agreement for the Bulga open cut mine struck about three weeks ago.

Industrial action started at the mine and the coal handling and preparation plant in January. Up to 250 workers from the Beltana longwall mine joined in as that operation is part of the Bulga mining complex.

McAndrew said the Bulga EA was a reasonable agreement.

The new deal includes a 12% pay increase to the base hourly rate of pay, increased accident pay, up to 10 weeks paid maternity leave and two days paid paternity leave along with higher public holiday pay for roster workers.

However, the Bulga open cut has scope for further expansion while the Beltana operation is expected to be replaced by the $A375 million, 4 million tonnes per annum Blakefield South longwall mine in late 2010.

“Security of employment is a burning issue at the Tahmoor and Ulan mines while it may not be so at the Bulga open cut,” McAndrew said.

Xstrata pointed to market conditions when cutting the workforce numbers at both mines in August last year, and said Tahmoor’s costs of production remained too high.

In February, Fair Work Australia ruled that 10 of the Ulan mine workers axed were not genuine redundancies under the Fair Work Act.

ILN is seeking comment from Xstrata on the industrial relations developments.