IR Omnibus Bill entrenches ‘permanent casual’ rort in mining
Submission by the Mining & Energy Union – February 2021
The Miners Union will today give evidence at a Senate Inquiry about how the Federal Government’s IR Omnibus Bill exacerbates rampant casualisation in the mining industry.
The Mining & Energy Union’s Mining Division’s submission to the IR Omnibus Bill Senate Inquiry beginning today in Townsville says the Bill gives big mining and labour hire companies a free pass to continue exploiting casuals in roles that are in practice full-time.
Wage-cutting strategies in the mining industry: the cost to workers and communities – 2020
A report by the McKell Institute has found that hundreds of millions of dollars is being lost from key mining region economies every year as a result of the widespread replacement of permanent mining jobs with outsourced labour hire.
It examines three coal regions in Australia with the highest proportion of mining jobs, finding the direct and indirect economic impacts of the lower wages paid to labour hire workers is up to $825 million a year.
Automation in Queensland Coal
Discussion paper – December 2019
BHP has announced it will introduce autonomous trucks at its Goonyella Riverside coal mine in Queensland’s Bowen Basin.
This is the first major deployment of automated trucks in the Queensland coal industry and other mines and operators are likely to follow suit.
This Queensland District discussion paper looks at the issues, lessons from the Pilbara and the Union’s asks of state and federal and government.
Energy, Mining and Climate: Fact and Fiction
Speech to Sydney Institute by Tony Maher – 27 November 2019
National President Tony Maher said in a speech delivered to the Sydney Institute: ‘As leader of the union representing Australian coal miners and power workers, the climate challenge has been on my radar for a very long time. There is so much at stake for members, their families and communities in getting climate policy right. So it is beyond disheartening to witness the destruction of good policy and the degradation of the debate over the past decade.
Submission to Productivity Inquiry
Productivity Commission Inquiry published October 2019
Submission to the Productivity Commission Inquiry into Resources Sector Regulation – October 2019.
Download the submission here.
Download Terms of Reference here.
Queensland Safety Survey
Safety Survey published July 2019
Declining job security in coal mining has been identified as a major mine safety risk factor in a new survey of over 1,000 Queensland coal miners.
Download the survey here.
The impact of labour hire on regional communities
Submission by the Mining & Energy Union – November 2018
The House of Representatives Standing Committee for Industry, Innovation, Science and Resources – Inquiry into how the Mining Sector can support business in regional communities.
Download the report here.
Black Lung Disease (Pneumoconiosis)
What is Mine Dust Lung Disease?
- Black lung (coal workers’ pneumoconiosis): dust causes scarring of the lung and inflammation that is visible as masses on an x-ray
- Silicosis: is a type of pneumoconiosis caused by the inhalation of silica rich dust
- Emphysema: Dust damages the lung air sacs, making it difficult to breathe
- Chronic obstructive airways disease: comprises chronic bronchitis and emphysema
Black Lung was never eradicated. It was here all along. But why did it appear to be eradicated? In the 1960s, a system was set up to monitor health issues affecting coalmine workers, but that system has broken down as governments and businesses fail to limit dust levels or carry out health checks for workers. As a result, dust levels in some coal mines are way above the legal limit.
Download the inquiry into re-identification of Black Lung Disease.
Download the QLD Government’s response into the inquiry.
Visit the Dust-To-Dust Black Lung Disease website.