Strikes to escalate at BHPB BMA coking coal mines

Saturday, 16 Jul 2011

Close to 3,000 workers at BHP Billiton Ltd's coking coal operations in eastern Australia plan to increase the length and frequency of rolling strikes at seven mines the mining giant jointly owns with Mitsubishi Corp.

Mr Rohan Webb assistant state secretary of the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union said that three unions jointly bargaining with the BHP Mitsubishi Alliance also plan a ban on 30 day unrostered overtime.

A dispute over a new employment deal for unionized workers, who make up about a third of the workforce at the mines in Queensland state, has dragged on for weeks, and workers have held rolling strikes of between six and 12 hours at a time at each of the mines.

Mr Webb said that "They want a decent agreement that provides job security, natural justice within the workplace, training and skills development, and equity for all workers.”

The labor dispute has supported prices for coking coal, which had been easing after a surge earlier in the year, when production from the coal-rich Bowen Basin in Queensland was disrupted by flooding, analysts have said. BHP's seven mines have an annual capacity of roughly 58 million tons output, almost a quarter of the global seaborne supply.

BHP Mitsubishi Alliance has offered a 5% yearon year wage hike for workers as part of a new three year employment agreement, but unions, have said they want equal pay for contract workers as employees and a say in recruitment, among other things.

(Sourced from Dow Jones Newswires)