
Issue No 102		13 July 2001

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News

Rio Tinto Guilty of Hunter Valley Sackings

By Paddy Gorman

In a major victory for coal-miners, workers who were sacked from Hunter Valley No 1 Mine for their determination to remain trade unionists have been reinstated with full back-pay.

In a test case that has taken over two years to decide, the Australian Industrial Relations Commission this week found Rio Tinto guilty of unfairly dismissing 11 coal mineworkers on 20 October 1998 and ordered their reinstatement along with full backpay.

The Hunter Valley decision comes just three months after Rio Tinto was found guilty of victimising coal mineworkers at its Blair Athol mine in Central Queensland in June 1998. In that case, the Commission also ordered Rio Tinto to reinstate the sacked coal mineworkers and pay them for lost wages back to the day of their unfair dismissals.

The decision was welcomed by CFMEU Mining and Energy General President Tony Maher and Northern District President Mick Watson who called on Rio Tinto to immediately settle the outstanding 183 cases involving coal mineworkers sacked by the company using the same unfair dismissal system at its Hunter Valley No.1 and Mt Thorley mines.

"Rio Tinto has been found guilty of victimising coal mineworkers in NSW and Queensland. It is time the company brought this sordid episode to an end. This was a test case. The 10 found to be unfairly dismissed were subjected to the same system by which another 97 mineworkers at Hunter Valley No.1 and a further 86 at Mt Thorley were victims of.

"These mineworkers and their families have suffered enough hardship and stress in the past two-and-a-half years. It is time that Rio Tinto put an end to the agony endured by these 183 victims whose cases are still outstanding. We call on the company to show some decency and settle the issue now", Watson says.

The 110 Hunter Valley No.1 mineworkers were suddenly dismissed on 20 Oct 1998 and escorted off the lease like criminals by security guards. The unfair dismissal claims were immediately lodged by the Union and hearings began in March 1999. The Commission sat for 57 hearing days before finishing on 30 June last year.

The 86 Mt Thorley mineworkers were similarly dismissed in December1999 and also escorted like criminals off the lease. They were subjected to the same discredited system that has been exposed at Hunter Valley and Blair Athol. Their case is still before the Commission.

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  Issue 102 contents

Interview: Jolly Green Giant
Senator Bob Brown on the upcoming federal poll, balances of power and what the Greens can teach the trade union movement.

Workplace: Call Centre Takeover
Theresa Davison brings us this real-life story from the coal face of the call centre industry.

E-Change: 1.2 Community � The Ultimate Network
Peter Lewis and Michael Gadiel look at the potential for network technologies to reconnect communities.

International: Child's Play
Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA has recently entered a new alliance with the Child Labour Schools Company to support a project for child labourers in India.

History: Flowers to the Rebels Faded
With the departure of our own Wobbly, a look at the development of the Wobblies in Australia and their view of Labor politicians and the work ethic seems timely.

East Timor: A Dirty Little War
In this extract from his new book, John Martinkus recounts the scenes in Dili immediately following the independence ballot.

Satire: Telstra Share Failure Ends City-Bush Divide: Everybody Screwed Equally
Communications Minister Richard Alston today claimed that the government had fulfilled its promise to ensure that the bush was not disproportionately disadvantaged by Telstra's privatisation.

Review: Cheesy Management
Currently climbing Australian best-seller lists is the 'life-changing' motivational book 'Who Moved My Cheese?' Rowan Cahill has a nibble but doesn't like the taste.

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» Public Money Backs a Stellar Bully

» Workers Get First Meal Break In Five Years

» Soft Penalty for Video Nasties

» Negligent Employers Should Pay

» Brit Cleaners Serve It Up to Aussie Boss

» Rio Tinto Guilty of Hunter Valley Sackings

» Rail Workers Strike for their Families' Security

» Nurses Seek Urgent Action on Pay

» Workers Win Tip Top Delegate Rights

» Telstra Halts Latest Privatisation Plans

» Requiem for the Banks

» Surfers Remember Oil Slick Disaster

» Widespread Mail Disruptions on Cards

» Minister for Caged Hair Gets Hot Welcome in West

» Cleaner Wins Right to Attend Family Reunion

» Howard Cuts R&D Spending by 15 Per Cent

» Fears Grow Over Shangri-La Protests

» Mick Young Play Award

» Activist Notebook