The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union has condemned today’s decision by Griffin Coal owners, Lanco, to slash the wages of Collie maintenance workers by a further 40%.
In June 2016, the Fair Work Commission approved an application by Griffin Coal to terminate the enterprise agreement between the company and mine maintenance workers and return them to the Black Coal Mining Industry Award (2010).
Since then, workers have seen their wages and entitlements slashed by a massive 43%.
Lanco’s failure to bargain has continued in recent months, with the foreign multi-national insisting workers sign a common law agreement that would formalise the massive pay cut and family “unfriendly” rosters, with the threat of further pay cuts if they did not sign by today’s deadline.
With workers at the mine refusing to accept the massive pay cut and sign away their hard fought conditions and entitlements, Lanco has now cut their wages and accumulated entitlements by a further 40%.
AMWU State Secretary Steve McCartney said Lanco’s latest actions were an attempt by the company to “try and starve the workforce into submission”.
“Lanco’s lack of good faith and blatant disregard for these workers and the Collie community is yet another example of how foreign multi-nationals approach bargaining in Australia,” Mr McCartney said.
“While our State and Federal Liberal governments ignore their actions, companies like Lanco are coming into Australia, running businesses like Griffin into the ground, slashing wages and conditions, and having devastating impacts upon communities like Collie,” he said.
“The silence from Colin Barnett has been deafening on this issue, and workers will be hoping that we see a new State Government on March 11 that stands up for WA jobs and the South West.
“The AMWU won’t sit by while these workers take another blow from Lanco putting more stress on them, their families and the Collie community.
“We’ll be taking Lanco back to the Fair Work Commission to demand they come back to the bargaining table and start to negotiate in a fair and reasonable manner.”
