Griffin coal negotiations fail

Saturday, 28 Jan 2012

The latest round of negotiations at Lanco's Griffin coal mine have failed. A settlement is yet to be reached in the battle between unions and the company over pay and working hours.

According to the Collie Mail, unions previously believed they had come to an agreement with Lanco over the proposed shift changes. However the company is still pushing for an increase in shift times and hotseat changeovers on site, with the aim to enhance production fourfold.

CFMEU secretary Mr Gary Wood stated that Lanco will not be able to support its motion. He said that "There is no way in the world they can get this up. They won’t be able to get it up before arbitration. We have provided documents showing it (the longer shift time) is inappropriate from a fatigue point of view.”

He added that "It is also is inappropriate from a community point of view. There are only 24 hours in a day and the workers need to travel, prepare for work and recover."

Mr Wood stated that while the most recent round of negotiations had failed, talks are progressing. He said that "We had only half a day with Griffin on Monday and are getting close. But nothing is agreed until everything is agreed."

The major sticking point remains the increased shift hours.

Mr Wood further said that "There is no firm position one way of the other, but we are reasonably confident that common sense on the safety issues will prevail.”

(sourced MiningAustralia.com.au)