Peabody has confirmed that workers at the Wambo Washery would remain locked out for a further two weeks after failing to strike up an agreemennt late last week.
Workers at the mine were expectinng to return to work this morning, the original deadline set by Peabody for the lock out. Instead, a Peabody spokespersonn confirmed in a statement that “following communications from the MEU of ongoing protected industrial action and with a number of matters still unresolved including remuneration, Peabody has notified employees that Employer Response Action at Wambo’s Coal Handling and Preparation Plant (CHPP) will continue for a further two weeks.”
It comes as the Mining and Energy Union has pushed back against Peabody’s characterisation of stalled wage negotiations at the Wambo coal mine, after the company said it came prepared to improve its offer at the 18th bargaining meeting only for the union to make no movement on remuneration.
MEU Northern Mining and NSW Energy District president Robin Williams said the company’s focus on “total remuneration” figures was misleading.
“The company talks about total remuneration because it makes the offer sound bigger than it really is. Workers can’t pay their bills with assumed bonuses or superannuation. What matters is the guaranteed wages in the agreement,” Williams said.
Peabody’s latest offer would see employees on a rotating day and night roster earn more than $219,400 in the final year of the proposed agreement, a figure the company says includes 12 per cent superannuation and an average production bonus of 97 per cent paid over the past three years.
Williams said the union welcomed the company’s revised position on an Accident Pay clause, but said it didn’t address the core dispute.
“If Peabody moves on accident pay, that’s a positive step, but it doesn’t fix the fundamental issue. The sticking point has always been remuneration,” he said.
“Peabody says it wants an agreement as soon as possible. So do our members. The quickest way to achieve that is to stop trying to sell headline figures and put a fair wage offer on the table.
“Locking workers out doesn’t build goodwill, and it doesn’t resolve disputes. Fair bargaining does.”
