Saturday, 30 Jul 2011
The Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union said that Australian union coal workers at the Norwich Park mine in Queensland state has started a 36 hour work stoppage as part of an ongoing labor campaign against BHP Billiton.
Mr Stephen Smyth Queensland division president of the CFMEU said that twelve hour rolling stoppages will also be held at the Gregory and Crinum mines on July 31st 2011 and August 1st 2011, as union workers press for job security. The mines are among six operated by a JV of BHP Billiton and Mitsubishi with a combined output capacity of more than 58 million tonnes per year of mostly metallurgical coal used to make steel.
Mr Smyth said that output from the mines accounts for about a fifth of annual global trade in metallurgical coal. He added that "We're now looking at escalating these actions to include more mines to press BHP over our concerns."
Union workers at the six coal mines operated by BHP Billiton and Mitsubishi have been staging protests over the past three months against rising non union staff jobs.
Mr Smyth said that "Ultimately, our intention is to disrupt production at the mines in order to pressure BHP."
A BHP Billiton spokeswoman declined to comment on any impact the actions may be having on production, saying any significant disruptions would be cited in the company's end of quarter operations review. The campaign has been helping underpin global coal prices, already firm on restricted supply from Australia due to widespread flooding of coal fields earlier this year.
The price of metallurgical coal used in steel production hit a record high USD 330 a tonne in the second quarter while thermal coal prices remained stable and have since only showed only a modest retreat, according to coal traders. The Norwich Park mine yields coking coal used in producing steel and is exported to Asia and Europe at a rate of about 4 million tonnes a year.
The Gregory and Crinum mines together yield around 5 million tonnes of both coking and thermal coals, also for sale in Asia and Europe. The CFMEU represents the majority of the 3,500 union workers at the BHP Billiton Mitsubishi mines, which is about one third of the total workforce.
Analysts have said the campaign contributed to a 28% decline in BHP Billiton's June 2011 quarter metallurgical coal production to 7.9 million tonnes from a year earlier, though flooding had a greater impact. Floods in Queensland between November and March crippled coal output from Australia, which provides two thirds of global exports of steel making coal, and contributed to the Australian economy's biggest decline in two decades in the first quarter. Coal miners had hoped operations would be back to normal by now, but the flooding of coal pits and damage to rail lines and ports proved worse than originally feared.
By Reuters
The Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union said that Australian union coal workers at the Norwich Park mine in Queensland state has started a 36 hour work stoppage as part of an ongoing labor campaign against BHP Billiton.
Mr Stephen Smyth Queensland division president of the CFMEU said that twelve hour rolling stoppages will also be held at the Gregory and Crinum mines on July 31st 2011 and August 1st 2011, as union workers press for job security. The mines are among six operated by a JV of BHP Billiton and Mitsubishi with a combined output capacity of more than 58 million tonnes per year of mostly metallurgical coal used to make steel.
Mr Smyth said that output from the mines accounts for about a fifth of annual global trade in metallurgical coal. He added that "We're now looking at escalating these actions to include more mines to press BHP over our concerns."
Union workers at the six coal mines operated by BHP Billiton and Mitsubishi have been staging protests over the past three months against rising non union staff jobs.
Mr Smyth said that "Ultimately, our intention is to disrupt production at the mines in order to pressure BHP."
A BHP Billiton spokeswoman declined to comment on any impact the actions may be having on production, saying any significant disruptions would be cited in the company's end of quarter operations review. The campaign has been helping underpin global coal prices, already firm on restricted supply from Australia due to widespread flooding of coal fields earlier this year.
The price of metallurgical coal used in steel production hit a record high USD 330 a tonne in the second quarter while thermal coal prices remained stable and have since only showed only a modest retreat, according to coal traders. The Norwich Park mine yields coking coal used in producing steel and is exported to Asia and Europe at a rate of about 4 million tonnes a year.
The Gregory and Crinum mines together yield around 5 million tonnes of both coking and thermal coals, also for sale in Asia and Europe. The CFMEU represents the majority of the 3,500 union workers at the BHP Billiton Mitsubishi mines, which is about one third of the total workforce.
Analysts have said the campaign contributed to a 28% decline in BHP Billiton's June 2011 quarter metallurgical coal production to 7.9 million tonnes from a year earlier, though flooding had a greater impact. Floods in Queensland between November and March crippled coal output from Australia, which provides two thirds of global exports of steel making coal, and contributed to the Australian economy's biggest decline in two decades in the first quarter. Coal miners had hoped operations would be back to normal by now, but the flooding of coal pits and damage to rail lines and ports proved worse than originally feared.
By Reuters
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