Coal miners across Aotearoa strike after negotiations break down
800 coal miners with the EPMU have been engaged in industrial action since Monday June 25th after negotiations in their multi-employer pay agreement (meca) broke down earlier this month. The miners are seeking a 5 - 5.5% pay increase, while Solid Energy (which directly employs 1/3 of the miners, the rest indirectly via contractors) has refused to go higher than 4%.
The action started with an overtime ban, enacted on Monday, and "spontaneous rolling stoppages" at sites around the country since Wedneday. Additional informal action has also taken place, with miners turning up late to shifts, leaving early and refusing to load trucks.
On Wednesday night, Solid Energy's largest mine, Stockton, was shut down after Doug Hood Mining workers, who remove overburden and mine coal, all walked off the site in solidarity with 3 workers who refused to accept final warning notices, as they had not recieved verbal or first written notices as per their agreement.
Friday saw further escalation after Solid Energy refused to transport miners at the Spring Creek mine to the mine entrance after the miners struck for the first two hours of the morning shift. In response, rather than walk the dangerous 2km road in hazardous weather conditions wearing full mining gear, the 45 miners decided to go home. Friday afternoon saw the Spring Creek miners along with those at the Terrace mine vote to not return to work until Tuesday at the earliest. Both Huntly and Stockton mines are also expected to have stoppages during the weekend.
Ged O'Connell, EPMU Acting National Secretary said "This strike action is a message to Solid Energy that our members will not be bullied, they will not put their safety at risk, and they will continue to fight for a decent pay rise."
Links: EPMU | Coal Miners' Strike Escalates — EPMU | Save Happy Valley Coalition supports striking miners
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Re: Coal miners across Aotearoa strike after negotiations break
great news - victory to the workers!!!
solidarity from an anarchist
Re: Coal miners across Aotearoa strike after negotiations break
Indeed. Fucking cool stuff from the Doug Hood crew and the Spring Creek & Terrace miners especially.
Re: Coal miners across Aotearoa strike after negotiations break
hopefully the Save happy valley crew will be getting in behind these miners
Re: Coal miners across Aotearoa strike after negotiations break
More solidarity from another anarchist who is also a member of the save happy valley coalition.
Fuck solid energy!
It's time that workers movements and green movements work together. To end capitalist exploitation.
Re: Coal miners across Aotearoa strike after negotiations break
Save Happy Valley Coalition supports striking miners
The Save Happy Valley Coalition is expressing its solidarity with over 800 miners currently engaged in industrial action after negotiations for their MECA (multi-employer contract agreement) have thus far failed to achieve their demands of a 5 - 5.5% pay rise.
“These miners have a difficult job, and the refusal of a decent pay increase by Solid Energy and mining contractors is nothing short of a disgrace” stated Frances Mountier, Save Happy Valley Coalition spokesperson. “Solid Energy are even refusing to negotiate alongside the contractors, in what appears to be an attempt to thwart the collective agreement.”
“The childish behaviour of Solid Energy in refusing to transport workers to the Spring Creek mine during hazardous weather conditions shows that their main interest is in maximising profit rather than creating safe working conditions. When CEO Don Elder earns over $670,000 a year, there is no excuse to deny the workers the pay rise they deserve”
“We extend our full solidarity and support to the miners in their struggle for decent pay and working conditions.”
// ENDS
Re: Re: Coal miners across Aotearoa strike after negotiations br
Frances Mountier is a fucken dick head - she will do anything to stop Solid Energy, even making a ass off her self by saying that SHVC will back up us mine workers !Fuck off woman we don’t want anything to do with you, or your stupid group. At the end of the day all you want to do is stop mining altogether which would mean we would loose our jobs.
Yours truly
One pissed off mine working who would prefer to accept the current offer than have anything to do with SHVC
Re: Coal miners across Aotearoa strike after negotiations break
Get back to work you bloody snoozers!
The country would be fucked if we all were cockheads
like these unions.
Get with the programme - its 2007 for fucks sake.
Yours truly
Overpaid Aussie miner!! (ha ha suckers)
Re: Coal miners across Aotearoa strike after negotiations break
care to reveal your name?
the shv campaign seeks to have happy valley, by stopping the cypress mine. it also seeks to address the root causes of climate change - the fossil fuel industries amongst other things.
Re: Re: Coal miners across Aotearoa strike after negotiations br
Do you really believe that combustion of fossil fuels is the root cause of climate change? I suggest you do some research into the geological record of climate change - it has been happening for billions of years fool!
It may surprise most people to learn that the greenhouse gas that is the real key driver (or culprit if you prefer) of climate change is H20 (yes...water vapour)
Re: Coal miners across Aotearoa strike after negotiations break
Mine strike now indefinite
by Lisa Davidson
Solid Energy’s (SE) West Coast mines, Spring
Creek and Terrace, have taken the lead in mines’
nationwide industrial action by deciding yesterday to
stay on strike indefi nitely.
They will not return to work until SE agrees to
negotiate their multi-employer collective agreement
(Meca).
Huntly miners are also striking. Action at SE’s major
export mine, Stockton, is unknown.
SE communications manager Bryn Somerville said
the company would not negotiate until all industrial
action stopped.
Low-level industrial action for higher pay started
nationwide Monday week ago. It included an overtime
ban, starting shifts late, fi nishing early, and not
loading trucks.
Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union
(EPMU) Meca advocate Ray Urquhart said the union
had originally sought a 7 per cent base rise and 7 per
cent in the second year. It was now seeking a 4 per
cent rise in the fi rst year and a cash lump sum that
year of 1.5 per cent, Mr Urquhart said.
SE spokeswoman Vicki Blyth told The Press some
of the mines were only marginal. “The problem we
have is trying to get wage settlements within the affordability
of the mine.”
EPMU acting national manager Ged O’Connell
said SE’s actions had increased low-level industrial
action to high-level action.
“The move is not surprising given Solid Energy’s
behaviour last week, refusing to provide transport
over 2km to the [Spring Creek] mine entrance.”
A full strike started at Spring Creek on Friday when
miners began their shift two hours late and SE subsequently
refused to change the bus schedule to accommodate
them. Miners said it was too dangerous
to walk the 2km to the mine entrance.
EPMU West Coast organiser Matt Winter said
about 30 Spring Creek miners had picketed the mine
entrance yesterday. Another picket was planned this
afternoon to stop contractors from going in.
Ms Blyth said several Australian contractors did not
turn out for work as a result of yesterday’s picket. “We
also understand other contractors are not working
underground, probably about 18 to 20 people.”
She said the mine was in development, not production,
but the industrial action had stopped work.
Industrial action involves 850 coal miners belonging
to the EPMU in West Coast, Waikato and Southland.
About 400 are employed by SE and the other
450 employed by contractors to SE.
Mr O’Connell said Huntly miners struck for 20
hours over the weekend, with rolling stoppages to
continue. He said the Ngakawau processing plant for
the Stockton mine held a series of spontaneous stopwork
meetings over the weekend, each lasting up to
three hours. These were also on-going.
All other mine sites are maintaining an overtime
ban and deciding on further action.
EPMU site convenor at Stockton, Dave Reece, declined
to comment.
More union meetings are planned on Thursday.
The miners’ traditional enemy, conservation group
Save Happy Valley Coalition, has come out in support
of them.
“These miners have a diffi cult job, and the refusal
of a decent pay increase by Solid Energy and mining
contractors is nothing short of a disgrace,” said
spokeswoman Frances Mountier.